Rediscovering the 60: Handheld Mortars for the Modern Fight by Capt Mitchell Teefey, USMC

Mortarmen with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, fire a M224 60mm Mortar in handheld mode.

Image source: https://tinyurl.com/bdeaxwub

There’s little middle ground when it comes to employing the M224 60mm mortar in handheld mode. You either think it’s the most versatile, underappreciated weapon in the rifle company’s armory, or you dismiss it as a dangerous and pointless gimmick. Say “handheld” to a group of grunts and you’ll get ten different reactions: a fired-up, advanced school-trained corporal who swears by it, a skeptical gunny who remembers a safety incident from ’09, and a lost lieutenant still trying to figure out what the hell a “surface danger zone” is.

But here’s the thing: Handheld 60s aren’t some fringe technique. They’re a valuable tool that fits the type of war we expect to fight—distributed operations, small unit initiative, fast tempo, and minimal logistics. If we’re going to win through our small unit tactics, why are we afraid to lean into the most mobile indirect fire support asset in the Marine Corps arsenal?

Let’s make the case. Not with theory, but with history, fieldcraft, and some hard-won lessons from the jungle and the bush. If you’re a company-grade infantry officer or non-commissioned officer looking to make better use of your 60s, this one’s for you.

How We Got Here

Force Design 2030 reshuffled the deck. Weapons companies vanished. 81mm mortars were bumped down to rifle companies. We experimented with Carl Gustafs, Javelins, loitering munitions, and everyone’s favorite obsolete drone. The 60mm mortar, once the “company commander’s artillery,” got edged out, left to rust in both the notional and literal “arms room.”[1]

The formal arguments were clear: 81s have more range and firepower. Tech gives us better standoff. Loitering munitions are sexier. And in conventional employment, the 60mm mortar struggles to justify itself.

But that’s the problem—we’ve been thinking about 60s the wrong way. We judged them by their performance in static, conventional roles: bipods, full sections, FDCs, and reinforced mortar pits. And yes, in these roles, the 81mm mortar wins every time.

But the handheld 60? That’s a whole different weapon.

By reassigning 81s to the rifle company, the Marine Corps didn’t render 60s obsolete. It merely opened the door to using them in more creative ways. By looking to the past, we can help shape handheld tactics, techniques, and procedures for the future fight.

Case Study 1: Japanese Knee Mortar

An Imperial Japanese Army soldier aims a Type 89 “Knee Mortar.”

Image source: https://shorturl.at/oqQq0

Let’s begin in World War II. The Japanese used the Type 89 Grenade Discharger—the infamous "knee mortar." Technically not a true mortar, but it punched way above its weight. It gave infantry small units the ability to drop indirect fire from cover in dense jungle terrain on remote South Pacific Islands. Sound familiar?

Their doctrine favored decentralized, aggressive maneuver. Knee mortars sat just behind the assault elements, used to suppress bunkers and machine guns right before a close assault with bayonets, often at night.[2] No comms with battalion. No FDC. No waiting.

Now think about a modern rifle company operating in jungle, urban, or ridgeline-heavy littorals with limited lines of sight. A Mk19 isn’t going to cut it. An M320 can’t shoot over that ridge into defilade. But a Marine with a 60 in handheld mode? He can. And he can do it with a far broader array of shell-fuze combinations.

Case Study 2: South African Patrol Mortars and the Selous Scouts

South African Defence Force soldiers train with the M4 Commando Mortar.

Image source: https://shorturl.at/uQsPx

Fast forward to the 1970s and the Rhodesian Bush War. The Selous Scouts, a deep-reconnaissance counter-insurgency unit, ran raids across borders often without artillery or air on call. Their go-to fire support? The South African M-4 Commando Mortar or "PatMor" (Patrol Mortar). Lightweight. Two-man team. Handheld.[3]

In 1976, during Operation LONG JOHN, the Selous Scouts raided a ZANLA base in Mozambique. Before the “flying column” rolled in on gun trucks, guns blazing, their mortar team posted just outside of town and fired from the hip, literally, to kick off the raid with indirect fire. Then the rest of the team hit the objective. The result? 37 enemies killed. Only two Scouts wounded.[4]

What’s the lesson? Handheld mortars let light and motorized infantry punch above their weight. If you’re in a CAAT section supporting a rifle company, imagine rolling up to an enemy command post, dismounting a two-man mortar team, and dropping HE from defilade. No baseplate. No setup. You initiate with indirect fire, maintain surprise, and clean up with machinegun fire.

Why It Works Today

The M224 60mm mortar in handheld mode isn’t a silver bullet, but it’s a scalpel in the right hands. Here’s what it brings to the fight:

• Mobility: Two Marines. Two rounds. Ten seconds to fire and displace. You can move, shoot, and displace faster than the enemy can react.

• Versatility: Smoke, HE, illumination—from a kneeling position in a treeline.

• Low Signature: No baseplate. No pit. Shoot and scoot.

• Fewer Marines: A two-man team can do what used to take four, freeing up Marines for other tasks without sacrificing fire support.

Fieldcraft That Works: Tactical Advice for Rifle Companies

As a rifle company, you’re fighting the usual fights: service-level exercises, maintenance stand-downs, commanding general readiness inspections, and more. You don’t have time to reinvent Force Design 2030. But you can act at your level to maximize your new table of organization and equipment. Now, for the small unit leaders reading this: Here’s how to make handheld mortars part of your playbook—not just another armory sight count.

1. Rehearse Fire Missions with Movement.

Integrate handheld fire into raid SOPs. Assign a 60mm handheld team to your security or support elements. Rehearse time-on-target, shifting fires, and talk-on using a compass or terrain features, not a rangefinder. Keep it analog—this isn’t a battalion-level FSCC game. Remember, the target won’t always be a stationary tank hull in the open.

2. Use Them for Pursuit.

When the enemy breaks contact, most companies consolidate on the objective. Be the unit that keeps up the pressure. Have two mortarmen bound behind your assault element. Drop HE into suspected fallback positions.

3. Put Tubes on Trucks.

CAAT sections should train to fire handheld mortars from vehicles. Use bungee cords to keep tubes accessible and ready. Train for short halts where a two-man team dismounts, fires two rounds, and remounts before the enemy can fix your position. Insurgents worldwide do this with technicals to great effect. Why can’t we?

4. Combine 60s with Drones.

If you’ve got a drone in the sky, don’t just use it for recon—use it for spotting. Use the drone to mark targets visually and walk in handheld fire. A spotter with a drone and a two-man mortar team can control a grid square. No clear line of sight? That doesn’t mean you give up.

5. Train With Paints in Force-on-Force Exercises.

If you’re doing force-on-force and not painting handheld mortar effects, you’re missing a key opportunity to validate tactics. Incorporate 60mm fire into training lanes. Force your platoon commanders and squad leaders to think about suppression, obscuration, and tempo.

Sure, you can’t get true duration suppression from 60s in handheld, but remember that time a single arty sim went off in your patrol base at school in the middle of the night, and the instructors painted a casualty? That probably wasn’t very fun. Train them for that. Give them the tool—and make them use it.

Train Smart: Building the Skillset

Handheld mortars take finesse. You can’t just “Kentucky windage” your way to good effects.

Here’s how to build competence:

• Start with known distances, like a football field, then practice range estimation and arm-angle muscle memory.

  
  

• Incorporate handhelds into company FEXs. Let platoons run missions without an FDC or TBS-style handwaving.

  
  

• Put handheld rounds into your own live-fire scheme of maneuver. Use live-fire to validate your tactics. Yes, SDZs are tough. Yes, your battalion gunner can help—ask him early. Yes, range control will need a read-ahead.

  
  

• Build confidence by training under time pressure and simulated contact.

  
  

This Isn’t Nostalgia. It’s the Next Step.

This isn’t about bringing back the “good ol’ days.” It’s about preparing for the fight ahead. Distributed operations mean fewer Marines, less gear, and more autonomy. Handheld 60s are made for that world.

They’re not going to win the war alone. But they’ll help you win a ridge, a compound, or an ambush. And sometimes, that’s the difference between calling in a mass casualty or walking off the objective.

So, act at your level. If you’re a company commander, ask your battalion gunner for his take. If you’re a section leader, task a squad with employing handhelds for your next live-fire. If you’re an 0341 NCO with rounds and time, train your guys.

Because if Force Design 2030 is right, the future fight will be light, fast, and dirty. And a two-man mortar team, moving fast with rounds on their backs, might be exactly what carries the day.

Author Bio: Captain Mitchell Teefey is an active-duty infantry officer. He currently serves as the operations officer for Recruiting Station Sacramento. He previously served as 81mm mortar platoon commander with First Battalion, Eighth Marines. He can be reached at Mitchell.Teefey@marines.usmc.mil. 

References

1. Headquarters Marine Corps, “Force Design 2030 Annual Update,” May 2022, Force_Design_2030_Annual_Update_May_2022.pdf.

2. Military Intelligence Division, War Department, “Japanese Mortars and Grenade Dischargers,” March 1945, pp. 7-10,  special-series-30-japanese-mortars-and-grenade-dischargers.pdf. 

3. Denel Land Systems, “Commando Mortar System, M4 60mm,” M4 60 mm Sept. 2008:M4 60 mm BROS. MAY 2007.qxd.qxd

4.     Baxter, Peter. “Selous Scouts: Rhodesian Counter-Insurgency Specialists,” Africa at War Series, 2011, pp. 85-104, peter_baxter_selous_scouts_rhodesian_counter-inbook4you.pdf.