Lance Cpl. Chris Eichelberger, a Huey door gunner with a Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, unloads on a target at the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range, California, Oct. 2, 2013.
Huey door gunners, whose role is firing and maintaining manually directed armament to provide cover to ground operations as well as to defend the helicopters from ground threats, participated in the close-air support exercise as supporting gunners for the student pilot to be able to learn to communicate and coordinate with the two gunners on the helicopter.
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Gunners are particularly vulnerable to the ground enemy fire because of the helicopter’s open door that doesn’t shield them.
Image credit: U.S. Marine Corps
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