Overview
- Reports published Wednesday revealed that the Army’s 1st Corps revised guard-duty instructions earlier this year so K6 heavy machine guns were stored without ammunition belts attached while live belts sat beside the weapons.
- The Joint Chiefs of Staff said keeping frontline firearms loaded is the standard principle and that it was not informed of the 1st Corps’ change, and it has ordered inspections and possible corrective measures.
- Local reporting indicates the Ground Operations Command knew of the procedural change but did not notify the JCS, raising questions about upward reporting and command oversight.
- Critics warned the practice could slow emergency fire responses because troops must attach belts before firing, and officials point to a May 2025 accidental K6 discharge toward North Korea as a likely reason for the policy shift.
- The K6 is the Army’s largest-caliber machine gun, firing 12.7 mm rounds to roughly 1.8 km at about 600 rounds per minute, and other frontline corps are reported to have kept belt-fed weapons, leaving operating standards uneven along the front.