Weapons fail US troops during Afghan firefight

The Woodward Report ^ | October 11, 2009 | Richard Lardner

[honestabe010]

WASHINGTON (AP) - In the chaos of an early morning assault on a remote U.S. outpost in eastern Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Erich Phillips' M4 carbine quit firing as militant forces surrounded the base. The machine gun he grabbed after tossing the rifle aside didn't work either.

When the battle in the small village of Wanat ended, nine U.S. soldiers lay dead and 27 more were wounded. A detailed study of the attack by a military historian found that weapons failed repeatedly at a "critical moment" during the firefight on July 13, 2008, putting the outnumbered American troops at risk of being overrun by nearly 200 insurgents.

Which raises the question: Eight years into the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan, do U.S. armed forces have the best guns money can buy?

Despite the military's insistence that they do, a small but vocal number of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq has complained that the standard-issue M4 rifles need too much maintenance and jam at the worst possible times.

A week ago, eight U.S. troops were killed at a base near Kamdesh, a town near Wanat. There's no immediate evidence of weapons failures at Kamdesh, but the circumstances were eerily similar to the Wanat battle: insurgents stormed an isolated stronghold manned by American forces stretched thin by the demands of war.

[gandalftb]

It doesn't matter, impingement or piston. The issue is that as the barrel wears, a furrow starts to occur before the gas port that starts to allow excessive gas pressure and carbon into the gas tube.

There gets to be so much gas that not all is vented and it causes the chamber to reopen, causing the double-feeding. There are pressure regulators available that end this problem. The exact pressure is fed to the recoil and the rest is vented, very smooth firing.

[gundog]

It's a "lowest bidder" thing...

When the lowest bidder is FN Herstal, quality is not an issue.

[Rodebrecht]

Unfortunately, FN couldn’t go lower than Colt.

[omega4179]

Definitely.
Why do “They” always qualify M16 is a great weapon with “if properly maintained”

at what point do we throw the pos out after 44 years of people telling the troops to maintain it better???

[Copernicus]

Why do “They” always qualify M16 is a great weapon with “if properly maintained”

Or as we used to say " Do you trust your life with a weapon that comes from the factory with a "forward assist"?

Best regards,

[gundog]

FN makes a lot of our M-4’s and the 240’s and 249’s.

[omega4179]

I blame McNamara for this problem.
M16M4 are a front wheel drive cavalier in a world of SUVs

They shit where they eat.
The mag has to be just right.
The ammo has to be just right.
The cleaning and lube has to be just right.

An Ak can be cleaned and reassembled blindfolded in 3 minutes flat with an oily rag and 2 patches. It takes 20 minutes and several q tips , a tooth brush and chamber brush to clean a poodle shooter.