Screaming Eagles Get Hands on NGSW
The Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapons program is rolling right along, with the SIG Sauer-produced firearms making an appearance at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
The base, home to the iconic “Screaming Eagles” of the 101st Airborne Division, will be the first to field operational units with the new guns under current plans, and Campbell brass appeared on the firing line to get a feel for the new hardware.

U.S. Army Fort Campbell Command Sgt. Maj. Chad Stackpole fires a Next-Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) Machine Gun during a weapon familiarization demonstration, Sept. 25, 2023, at Fort Campbell, Ky. (Photo & caption: Kayla Cosby/U.S. Army)

U.S. Army Fort Campbell Garrison Commander Col. Christopher Midberry fires a Next-Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) Machine Gun during a weapon familiarization demonstration, Sept. 25, 2023, at Fort Campbell, Ky. (Photo & caption: Kayla Cosby/U.S. Army)
As outlined by Soldier Systems Daily, Company A of the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, a historic unit that has been part of the 101st since World War II, will begin a Limited User Test with the NGSW platforms this week, comparing them to legacy systems. The Army plans to have the 101st’s 1st Brigade be the first unit fully equipped with the NGSW, likely sometime early next year.
I don’t see any belts or magazines during this “test fire”
Oh for sure. Those were official captions. You know the base commander and command SM showed up when the first two guns were uncrated and wanted to get their pics in there for the social blast. They prob didn’t even have any ammo on hand.