Rocket Man

The Marine in the photo is preparing to fire an AT-4 single-use anti-tank weapon. Notice that he's a lefty but aiming with his right eye (the photo has not been flopped, I checked, you can flip it upside down and read the instructions on the barrel at high res). What puzzles me about the photo is the casings and debris flying at him from the right. They are easily identified as the output of an M249 SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon), the Marine Corps' machine gun. The casings eject from the right of the weapon. If the SAW was pointed in the same direction as Rocket Man, it would take a strong wind to throw the casings in his direction. But that strong wind would also stir up a sandstorm in the surrounding area, which is undisturbed. Thus the only explanation is that the SAW is pointed and firing in the opposite direction. The photo was taken at the Udairi Range in Kuwait, the most contaminated artillery range in the world. Someday the United States will agree to clean up the Udairi Range, and by then, it will cost at least a billion dollars.