No fabs or mods allowed

PS: The Preventive Maintenance Monthly, July, 2004

Some units are looking to save money by fabricating their own machine gun mounts. Those units should immediately stop looking at fabrication as a way of saving a few dollars. That kind of savings can cost lives.

Before a piece of equipment is fielded by the Army, it undergoes lots of testing for safety and reliability. And when you're talking about something that must withstand the force of an M2 machine gun firing, all that testing is critical. If a machine gun mount fails, bullets could go flying where they're not supposed to or a machine gun could topple off a tank or truck. Either situation would be a disaster. So no fabrication when it comes to machine gun mounts!

No modifications are allowed, either. Any modification could affect the safety and reliability of the mount. Need something in writing to show your commander? Para 3-11 in AR 750-1 says: "Modifications or alteration of Army materiel is forbidden, except as authorized by AR 750-10." Para 3-le in AR 750-10 states: "Commanders will not allow their equipment to be modified unless there is an official MWO." There are exceptions to this rule for special missions, but any modifications must go through channels for approval.