Posted on 11/10/2017 8:03:06 AM PST by w1n1
Fifty years ago this month, the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) fought in close quarters and uphill through deep foliage to take Hill 875 in what became known as the Battle of Dak To.
The 173rd Airborne Brigade had already seen action before moving inland to South Vietnam’s Central Highlands in early November of 1967. This support included a role in Operation Junction City in the spring, as well as a search-and destroy (S&D) mission in the vicinity of Tuy Ho on the south-central coast.
The 173rd was assigned to Dak To after intelligence reports indicated that North Vietnamese Army (NVA) regiments had reinfiltrated the region after the termination of Operation Greeley in late summer. Just before noon on November 6, “D” Company, under Capt. Thomas H. Baird, was moving up a trail to Hill 823 when one of the men spotted an NVA communications (“commo”) wire running alongside the path. A white pith helmet was also located nearby, further confirming NVA presence.
At approximately 1 p.m., the trail widened and the soldiers came across fresh bare footprints. Although the 173rd had been in existence since 1915, it was restructured in 1963 as an airborne infantry brigade combat team, and members of the unit became known as Sky Soldiers. In the heavily forested hills and steep valleys near Dak To, however, they would fight on foot. Read the rest of the Battle of Dak To story here.
The 173rd Airborne Brigade took on some tough stuff, must have thought they were MARINES.
Early M16’s. Before they fixed the jamming/cleaning problems. Wonder how many men were lost with dismantled weapons due to (deliberate) Pentagon interferences with the original AR design
Bull S**t. Not everything is a conspiracy. Yes, there were problems, my friends died, but no one at DA or DOD wanted it.
S**t happens.
PS, nothing personal, but FR is becoming “nut job central” for every wacko conspiracy theory on the net.
Be well.
Ah. So they didn’t interfere with the design. Guess all the history of the weapon is false then.
Sorry, my comment was a bit over the top. What I meant was that do no one intended to cause the problems. They were caused by stupidity and malfeasance, not malintent.
My apologies.
Mc Namara and his “whiz kids” failed to follow manufacturer
specs that chamber be chrome plated - why should we do that
if costs money .....
Chrome plating prevented corrosion which caused rounds to
stick in chamber
Also changed specs on propellant from IMR to ball powder
which burned dirty and caused fouling
Failed to issue cleaning kits - said rifle was “self cleaning” - big mistake
"During the first battle in the vicinity of Dak To, last August, "A" Battery, 1st of the 92d fired as many as 800 rounds a day in support of the 173d Airborne Brigade during the bitter fighting for the hilltops near the junction of the Laotian, Cambodian, and South Vietnamese borders. Eight members of the battery later received awards for valor and "A" Battery earned the respect of the Skytroopers for their performance in the hills of Dak To."
No. That’s fine. I agree it was mainly incompetence. We had an M16A1 and an A2 on my gunboat. Even with the relatively clean environment the A1 would jam after 2 or 3 mags everytime. It was one useless piece of crap. So I get hot under the collar about it to sometimes. Lol.
I have a Brit friend, recently retired, that worked for a European company that did a lot of work with DHS and TSA.
One day I was on a rant about both of them. He told me a lot of what I put down to calculated maliciousness was mostly just stupidity and gross incompetence.
The powder change also increased the cyclic rate. Don’t forget they also “adjusted” the twist rate to increase the range (though the weapon was designed for jungle skirmishes). To see the extremes of such screwing around see https://www.ammoland.com/2017/02/ar-15-barrel-twist-rates-you-need-to-know/#axzz4y3KQ7fGA
What’s strange is how many of these anecdotes and apocryphal reports made it into popular gun culture without destroying the weapon’s reputation.
Despite all the efforts of the establishment to ruin a decent weapon, the AR not only survived, it became synonymous with the term assault rifle. American was birthed with a healthy hatred of “the establishment,” and Americans have done well over the years in recognizing the distinctive odor of the establishment’s handiwork.
Hell isn’t staffed with fiends, but bureaucrats. Evil requires neither conspiracy or malice, just a willingness to set aside those pesky moral issues for a later date.
Thanks for your service, brother! You guys made my service easier by beating the commies back.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.