Serbian Rifles in Iraq (Photos)

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=101757 ^

[kronos77]

Here are photos of Serbian-made M-21 5,56mm assault rifle used in Iraq:

(can someone identify this unit? Some are saying they are Macedonians?)

[xmission]

Please thank your daughter for her service for me. Great American!

[Rakkasan1]

reminds me of my old Daewoo K-2,but it had a collapsible
stock.

[Thunder90]

It is a licensed copy of the IDF Gaili rifle.

[Thunder90]

[Jack Hammer]

You mean Galil, right? Isn't that essentially a high-end AK47...?

[Thunder90]

Not entirely, but much of the action and mechanisms are barrowed from it.

[ExSoldier]

Maybe it's my tired old eyes but they LOOK like they're topped with an EOTech optic. The angle is funky on most shots and the one good angle seems too dark for me to tell.

[ExSoldier]

The guy in the Blue Tee in the second pic seems to be wearing a ROLEX. If so that's the trademark of American SF or maybe Delta....but the A-Teams love them.

[ExSoldier]

Hmmmmm the SIDEARM looks vaguely GLOCK-ish. I've heard that some of the guys in 5th Group are carrying Glocks because that's the issue weapon to the Iraqi police and since SF is embedded and training them, they get to carry what the students carry. Glock or maybe....HK?

[wku man]

Not sure myself. I'm not a big fan of all these gee whiz optics we've been seeing lately. Give me good ol' iron sights...easy for me to say, as my eyes are still pretty good. I have an old Redfield 1.73-5x on my deer rifle, and to be honest, I'd like to upgrade to a 3-9x. But on my other shooters, nothing...just good ol' iron sights.

And I really dislike those stupid broomstick fore grips!

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[archy]

Any guesses?

The M-21 is a very credible derivation of the Finnish Valmet M62 and the Israeli Galil, in effect a *3rd generation* 5,56mm AK. And the Choate-type sidefolder stock is likely more substantial than that of the Galil, one reason something similar has turned up on American H&K MP5k PDWs and some G3s used by special operations snakeeaters.

And not surprisingly, the M21 is in high demand by security contractors in Iraq, who get around the country a bit more than most troops stuck in one base camp, but whose equipment frequently turns up in gee-whiz photos sent back home. The Galil [and probably the M21] is far less sand-sensitive than the M16/M4, and the folding stock makes the weapon more compact than the push-pull collapsing stock of the M4. And it helpfully takes 5,56mm ammunition instead of 7,62x39mm M43 Soviet, letting many more loaded magazines be carried.

Note that the guy from the top pic has a Brit Union Jack flag on his armour vest SAPI plate carrier, slightly covered by the rifle sling and right beneath his bloud group and rocker patch. Which does not necessarily mean that he's a Brit....

[archy]

I've heard that some of the guys in 5th Group are carrying Glocks because that's the issue weapon to the Iraqi police and since SF is embedded and training them, they get to carry what the students carry.

It's true. And not all of them are 9mm, either....

[archy]

It is a licensed copy of the IDF Gaili rifle.

But with improved stock, sights and a barret twist rate suitable for M855 and SS109 5,56mm NATO ammunition with 62-grain and heavier projectiles. And nifty rails for grips and handles and electrooptic goodies, as well as the Russian GP-30 grenade launcher.

[archy]

Maybe it's my tired old eyes but they LOOK like they're topped with an EOTech optic. The angle is funky on most shots and the one good angle seems too dark for me to tell.

Maybe, but the usual dotsight optic factory fitted is the Zastava version of the Bushnell HoloScope.

[archy]

And I really dislike those stupid broomstick fore grips!

They make a nice *stop*, handy when hanging the weapon out a vehicle window on convoy escort jobs, less so with a M203 or GP30 blooper attached.

[ExSoldier]

Well, I dislike anything requiring a battery to operate based on an unexpected appearance by Mr Murphy. But the EOTech has a good rep there with average battery life hovering around 1000 hours. Still, the best optic for my money (considerable amount, too!) is the Trijicon ACOG. Tritium reticle that glows in the dark and has a light gathering strip of plastic embedded in the body to highlight the scope reticle in brighter conditions. No batteries needed. Replace the reticle after 12 years. My eyesight stinks. Last visit to my eye doctor I told him I needed to be able to focus just six inches past the end of my outstretched arm. He didn't get it. My front sights are pretty fuzzy these days unless it's slightly dark and I can see the tritiums. That's one reason I put the CT Laser Module on one of my carry guns, the Glock 27. It really does help. The best thing is that when you zero it properly, the red dot "sits" right on top of your front sight post for your sight picture and will hit to point of aim at any point between the muzzle and about 50 feet which is more than enough for any self defense scenario.

[archy]

The guy in the Blue Tee in the second pic seems to be wearing a ROLEX. If so that's the trademark of American SF or maybe Delta....but the A-Teams love them.

It used to be in the old Vietnam days that a Rolex *submariner* and the pocket knife out of a GI-issued demolition kit were SF trademarks. Sometimes a commo knife offered a little variety, if the owner was one of the two commo men on an A team, or an old paratrooper's switchblade for those who had been Korean War-era jumpers. And sometimes, a Swiss Army knife or foreign equivalent was sported by officers, among whom Rolex *Oyster* watches were sometimes seen instead.

Having come to SF via the Armor branch, my watch was a little different.

[archy]

Last visit to my eye doctor I told him I needed to be able to focus just six inches past the end of my outstretched arm. He didn't get it.

Interesting. I told mine I needed perfect or better vision out around 600 yards. He knew exactly what I was after.

Happily, no bifocals for me yet. And I can still work on stuff up close with glasses off.

[ExSoldier]

My best friend retired a few years ago as an SF 05 and he was one of those Oyster/Demo Knife guys. You used to be a DAT (Dumb A$$ Tanker)? I branch transferred from Infantry to Armor in the reserves. Had just enough time to do the Advanced Course at Fort Knox and get qualified on the M1 out in Idaho before the Clinton RIF hit me. Damn him.

[ExSoldier]

Happily, no bifocals for me yet..

Lucky dog. I'll be 50 this year. When I turned 40, it was like somebody flipped a switch and I've been using them ever since. Literally, I was fine one day and couldn't read the paper the next day. Now I've finally gone farsighted, so I'm fine that way, but for reading, or using the computer, I need special mid range glasses. ~SIGH~