Recently, the U.S. Navy posted a photo on social media showing a commander firing what appears to be an AR-15. At first glance, this may seem to be a completely normal picture depicting combat-related Naval activity. However, a closer look reveals several undeniable flaws with the photo.
First, the scope, what appears to be a Trijicon VCOG, seems to be mounted backward on the rifle. Therefore, the commander, identified as Commander Cameron Yates, would have had no visible sight picture when looking through the scope. A caption of the photo reads, “From engaging in practice gun shoots, conducting maintenance, testing fuel purity, and participating in sea and anchor details, the U.S. Navy is always ready to serve and protect.”
Furthermore, Yate’s elbow’s positioning appears awkward and flared out in a manner the gun community would describe as “chicken winged.” Shooting instructors will typically teach riflemen to keep the elbow of their shooting arm tucked in by their side. Another aspect of the photo that has drawn questions is the placement of the buttstock, which sits unusually high on the commander’s shoulder. Usually, a shooter will place the rifle in a firmly seated position in the pocket of their shoulder.
Furthermore, the foregrip appears to be placed too close to the magazine well, where they are usually placed farther down the mounting rail of the upper receiver. Making matters even worse, it appears that the scope caps are still covering the already backward-mounted optic. Additionally, others have questioned why the commander required a steadying hand on his shoulder to fire a caliber that doesn’t pack that much recoil.
X user Adam Apple summarized five other problems he observed with the photograph aside from the improperly mounted scope. He wrote, “1) Buttstock is about to fly out of his should, needs to be seated deeper. 2) There’s no rounds in the mag windows. 3) Scope covers are still on. 4) Fore-grip is placed too close. 5) His elbow is chicken-winged.”
After social media users pointed out the obvious errors with the photo of Commander Yates, they posted an update that read, “Thank you for pointing out our rifle scope error in the previous post. Picture has been removed until EMI is completed!” Moreover, the Marines then posted a picture of a soldier firing into the Pacific Ocean with a proper shooting stance and correctly mounted scope, seemingly “trolling” their Navy counterparts.
Co-founder and editor of the American Tribune Will Tanner posted about the incident on X, noting that while the mistake may seem comical, it shows a much deeper issue within the United States military capabilities. The fact that no one caught such an obvious error, including a commander, is a troubling suggestion of incompetence within America’s military ranks.
“The Marines trolling the Navy over the backwards scope picture is hilarious. What’s not hilarious is the serious crisis of competence within the Navy that the picture signifies. Even if the armorer who put the scope on backwards was pranking the boss, still the commander, the officer on the firing line, and the photographer didn’t notice. Then they fired off the picture to whatever promotion/public relations office, and still no one noticed So at least four or fixe, but likely far more, officers saw a scope on backwards and didn’t realize it…and the commander had the scope caps still on, so he was firing without a sight picture, and his grip and stock placement are ridiculous,” Tanner wrote.
Featured image credit: Will Tanner / X
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