Despite the complaints, such venting was ultimately a form of verbal release without practical effect. Gritting his teeth, Deng Shiyang took a deep breath through his nose and then asked, “Is modifying this type of fuze difficult?”
“I’ve already got the schematics for the fuze,” Jansen said as he sent over a document, a black-and-white image. “This is the internal structure of the fuze.” Jansen explained, “The M52 impact fuze isn’t particularly complicated. The detonator is mounted on a spring-loaded slider, which is held in place by a safety pin with a spring at the top. The tail end of the safety pin has a small hole, through which a retaining pin passes to secure it—this is the safety mechanism. The retaining pin also has a small hole, through which a fine wire is threaded, serving as the transportation safety.”
Deng Shiyang nodded.
“So, the safety release mechanism works like this: once the transportation safety is removed, the retaining pin is no longer constrained. When the shell is fired, inertia forces the retaining pin downward, allowing the safety pin to be ejected by the spring. The slider then moves forward, aligning the detonator with the firing pin. When the top of the fuze is impacted, the firing pin strikes the detonator, igniting the primer charge at the base.”
“Hmm,” Deng Shiyang said, “so we could use the method they show in movies—pull out the safety, tap the bottom of the shell, and throw it.”
“That’s theoretically possible,” Jansen paused before adding, “but loading them into the launcher becomes tricky. A full set of shells weighs about 130 pounds, knock that explosives inside a helicopter isn’t exactly a great idea. Plus, re-arming them after removing the safety isn’t safe, and there’s a risk of accidental detonation during handling.”
“That’s definitely an issue,” Deng Shiyang clicked his tongue and asked, “What if we disassemble the fuzes beforehand and remove the retaining spring? That way, we could skip the ''knocking'' step.”
“But you’d need to modify 200 fuzes, disassembling each one would take too much time, and it’s not safe for non-experts to handle this.”
Deng Shiyang thought for a moment and said, “Try this plan—ask your former colleague if there’s a simpler method. If money’s needed, Keith will handle it.”
Jansen glanced at Keith sitting nearby, who nodded in agreement.
Seeing they were on the same page, Deng Shiyang asked, “Is there anything else regarding the ammunition?”
“No,” Jansen replied, shaking his head.
“Alright,” Deng Shiyang turned to Keith, “How’s the helicopter situation?”
“I’ve started arranging it,” Keith responded, “Du Preez went to Cape Town today to meet with the mortar team’s backup members. I plan to join him in Pretoria once that’s wrapped up. Should be done within the week.”
“Appreciate it,” Deng Shiyang nodded, “I need to conduct a training evaluation for the black students tomorrow, so the design for the shell launcher will be delayed a bit.”
“There’s still enough time for that,” Jansen said, “You can handle it after the test results come in.”
“Understood,” Deng Shiyang affirmed and ended the call after confirming there was nothing else.
According to the original schedule, the soldiers had only three weeks of training, with two-thirds of that time already used up. Semler, however, had high training standards and insisted that no one could participate in advanced combat training without completing the physical and basic skills training to minimize casualties from training accidents. Thus, for the past two weeks, the soldiers had endured endless running, push-ups, and live-fire exercises.
The training evaluation was essentially a final assessment to determine if they had mastered what they’d been taught and to assess their readiness for more advanced combat skills.
There was no denying the impressive physical condition of these soldiers. In the morning’s physical tests, they could each do 35 push-ups in two minutes, 40 sit-ups in the same time frame, and at least five pull-ups. They could also run a mile in under 10 minutes while wearing combat gear, boots, and carrying 30 pounds—equivalent to the physical fitness standards of the U.S. Army.
The afternoon was dedicated to combat skills evaluations, which included rifle and light machine gun shooting tests as well as live-fire practice with grenade launchers and rocket launchers.
According to Semler’s rules, everyone had to run two full laps around the training camp in full gear before heading to the shooting range. They had to use cover made of wooden walls and sandbags, fire at targets at various distances, and throw training grenades into sandbagged positions and windows. Moving between different covers at a run was mandatory to simulate combat conditions and assess their shooting skills.
Machine gunners faced additional targets, such as doorways and windows, requiring suppression fire. Since the training camp had only a 100-meter range, longer-distance targets were represented by scaled-down silhouettes placed against the dirt walls.
However, the limitations for “larger weapons” like rocket launchers and grenade launchers were less stringent. The former’s fuze had a five-second delay and a self-destruct mechanism beyond 1,000 yards, while the latter used training rounds that could be fired in an open field next to the camp.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
The evaluation lasted over four hours. Besides Semler and Deng Shiyang, Harris and several instructors were present to observe at the range.
Training had clearly paid off. After two weeks, the soldiers weren’t sharpshooters, but their accuracy had significantly improved. Even the tricky semi-automatic grenade launchers could hit window targets at 150 yards and sandbagged positions at 200 yards with reasonable success. The M680 smoke grenades, despite their different ballistics, could also hit their targets accurately.
In rifle training, they had overcome the habit of firing wildly without aiming. Now, they knew how to adjust their shooting technique based on target distance—firing single shots at 100-meter targets, short bursts of two to three rounds at 50-meter half-body targets, and only using longer bursts for very close-range head targets, never firing more than five rounds at a time.
As the test concluded, Deng Shiyang pulled Harris aside and whispered some instructions. Harris nodded and drove an M-Gator back to the camp. About five minutes later, he returned with an AMD-65 assault rifle fitted with a blank-firing adapter, two Chinese-made 75-round drum magazines, and a box of 7.62 caliber blank rounds.
Gathering everyone at the 50-meter range, Deng Shiyang had Semler select ten soldiers for a basic standing shooting exercise.
As before, Semler issued each man ten rounds. The results were significantly improved, with only two targets showing nine bullet holes while the other eight had all ten shots on target.
Deng Shiyang then ordered the targets to be reset and quickly loaded the magazines with blank rounds. He turned to Semler, “Load them up for shoot another round.”
With magazines reloaded, the ten soldiers stood at the firing line, rifles at the ready. Deng Shiyang stepped behind them, raised the AMD-65 loaded with blanks, and signaled to Semler.
The whistle blew.
“Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang…” The AMD-65 roared with a rapid burst of blank rounds, but the soldiers hesitated, some turning to look at him in confusion.
“Don’t stop!” Deng Shiyang released the trigger and shouted to Semler, “Tell them to shoot!”
“Fogo!” the German snapped in portuguese, shouting commands.
The firing line erupted in chaotic noise, a mix of live and blank rounds blending into a cacophony.
This time, half the rounds missed the targets.
“Did you see that?” Deng Shiyang lifted the empty AMD-65 and said to Semler, “I only fired blanks from behind them, and they were already miss the target. How are they supposed to fight on a battlefield where real bullets fly?”
Semler awkwardly lowered his head, looking like a student caught without homework.
“This was just with blank rounds,” Deng Shiyang continued. “What happens when real bullets are flying over their heads?”
“I’m sorry...” Semler finally managed to say after a moment’s hesitation. “...It was an oversight on my part...”
“Don’t say things that aren’t helpful,” Deng Shiyang cut him off. “What’s on the schedule for next week?”
“Squad tactics and indoor combat training.”
“Cancel all of it. Replace it with stress resilience training.”
The German’s mouth opened slightly, but he said nothing.
“You should know I’m not training these men just to stand guard,” Deng Shiyang glanced at Harris and lowered his voice. “A group of soldiers who can’t hit a target when they hear gunfire is useless to me.” He paused before adding, “I’ll find a way to extend their training here, but we don’t have much time left. Once we’re done here, prepare a plan for stress resilience training and have it on my desk by noon tomorrow.”
“Understood.” Semler nodded.
Deng Shiyang turned and waved Harris over.
When Harris jogged over, Deng Shiyang asked, “If I need to set up a facility for overhead live-fire training, how soon can it be done?”
Harris thought for a moment before replying, “We don’t have tripods or mounts, but we do have a few camera tripods. We could secure them at a fixed angle and mount an RPD on them,” he said, looking a bit troubled. “But using live rounds is risky—if anything goes wrong, I won’t be able to explain it to the higher-ups.”
“The sound of blanks isn’t the same; there’s no point unless we use live rounds,” Deng Shiyang replied. “I’ll get Harobi’s approval first. Just get the tripods ready as soon as possible.”
“No problem,” Harris agreed readily.
“I have other things to handle; this area is in your hands now.” With that, Deng Shiyang said goodbye to Semler, placed the AMD-65 in the M-Gator’s cargo bed, and walked back toward the camp.
After leaving the range, he didn’t return to his quarters immediately but instead went to the office and used the training camp’s satellite phone to call Harobi’s cell.
The phone rang for a long time before it was answered, and a yawn was the first sound from the other end, followed by Harobi’s voice: “Hello, who is this?”
“It’s me, JD.”
Another yawn followed, and Harobi’s voice was muffled as he said, “Is it urgent?”
“Very important.” Deng Shiyang summarized what had happened at the range and ended with his concern: “I think we need to get these men used to the battlefield environment, or I can’t guarantee their combat resolve when things turn against us.”
“You’re right to be concerned. What do you need from me?”
“Harris is worried about accidents with live-fire training. I want you to give him a written authorization.”
“OK. What time is it there?”
Deng Shiyang checked his watch. “Twenty minutes to six.”
There was the sound of rustling papers on the other end, and after a moment, Harobi said, “Alright, I’ll fax over an official notice. He’ll have it by tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks,” Deng Shiyang said before ending the call.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was time for the evening briefing.
Deng Shiyang recounted the day’s assessment to Keith and asked, “I want to extend their training here as much as possible. Can you check with Du Preez to see how much more time we can get and find out what paperwork we need for their entry?”
“No problem,” Keith nodded. “But we only have a month left. According to the schedule, everything needs to be prepped and shipped in three weeks. I think we can squeeze out an extra week at most.”
“That’s good enough. I plan to conduct a seven-day stress training in the third week. If we can add another week, we can cover some basic CQB tactics and squad combat drills.”
“Got it. I’ll have Du Preez handle it.” Keith said.
“Anything else I should know?”
“Today, Mark informed me that our ship has cleared the Red Sea and will enter the Gulf of Aden tomorrow. At its current pace, it will be a few days late to reach the designated spot.”
“As long as it arrives at Richards Bay within two weeks, we’re fine,” Deng Shiyang said. “Also, I’ve finished a sketch for the shell launcher. Want me to send it over now?”
Keith looked a bit surprised but nodded. “Sent it.”
Deng Shiyang sent the rough drawing he had made after dinner. It wasn’t detailed since he only had access to Windows Paint. The launcher’s main structure was a rectangular box with two rings on the longer sides. Two sturdy wooden poles ran horizontally through the rings to act as carrying handles.
After viewing the sketch, Keith frowned and asked, “Are you sure you didn’t send the wrong file? Or are you trying to build the Ark of the Covenant?”
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Annotations:
The Ark of the Covenant is a legendary ancient relic said to be a chest made of acacia wood and gold, used to hold the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments brought down by the prophet Moses from Mount Sinai.