THE GOOSE IS LOOSE — HOW THE CARL GUSTAF RECOILLESS RIFLE CHANGED THE GAME
June 22, 2023Matt Fratus
A coalition force member fires a Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle system during weapons practice on a range in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Feb. 16, 2013. US Army photo by Sgt. Benjamin Tuck.
It was 2013, in northern Afghanistan. The men of the 3rd Ranger Battalion were on a nighttime mission to eliminate a local Taliban commander holed up in a small village at the bottom of a valley.
Moving on foot, the Rangers came to the edge of a wadi and determined that the only way forward was to jump over it. (Bridges in the area were often rigged with improvised explosive devices.) Sgt. Wayne Capacillo, then on his fourth deployment to Afghanistan with the Rangers, watched through his night-vision goggles as some of his comrades leapt over the flowing water and landed, just barely, on the other side.
Capacillo knew that his chances of clearing the gap were slimmer than most. Assigned to his platoon’s anti-tank section, he carried a 20-pound Carl Gustaf 84mm recoilless rifle on his back. He also had an M4 assault rifle and a full combat load of 210 bullets, grenades, flash bangs, and two rounds of Gustaf ammo. The heavy load only made the prospect of being submerged in water even more unnerving.
When it was his turn, Capacillo took a running start, jumped, and, to his surprise, landed on solid ground. Then something struck the back of his head with a loud ping and he face-planted into the dirt. He laid there for a few moments, realizing that the Carl Gustaf on his back had nearly just knocked him out, as his teammates gathered around. “They were like, ‘Was that you pinging?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, my skull is bleep rattled.’”
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