Posted on 05/11/2007 6:44:12 PM PDT by mdittmar
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – At the start of May, Iraqi Army recruits at the Regional Training Center here began receiving new M-16 and M-4 rifles.
The Iraqi government made the decision to crossover from standard AK-47 assault rifles to the American rifles as part of the reshaping of their military and security forces.
Under the program, Coalition Military Assistance Training Teams issue enlisted IA troops the M-16A4, while officers receive the M-4. With 200 basic training recruits per rotation, CMATT officials estimate that 1600 IA soldiers will receive the new weapons by the end of May.
According to Lt. Col. Walter Easter, Military Transition Team commander and senior advisor to the RTC, the exchange is as much a symbol of the new IA as it is an upgrade to the individual soldier’s capabilities.
“The M-16 has long been considered the world’s best rifle,” Easter said. “There’s a high percentage of [Iraqi Army recruits] who can shoot more accurately than we expected just because of the better weapon system that they have.”
The weapon exchange is just the first step in a five-day program of instruction for the Iraqis. However, new rifles are not handed out in a one-for-one swap. Coalition Forces assign each IA recruit a weapon using a high-tech, biometric issue system.
Verified against a master list and having tuned in his old rifle, the IA soldier and his new M-16 continue on to one of ten biometric stations, where he is finger printed, undergoes a digital retinal scan and is photographed with the M16’s serial number. Officials then transfer the information to a database in Baghdad, to ensure accountability and to prevent the weapon from ending up in the wrong hands.
“We are very excited about it,” said a 9th Iraqi Army Division second lieutenant, whose name is withheld to protect his identity. “We have been hearing about getting the new weapons for some time and finally they are here.”
U.S. Department of Defense civilian contractors provide hands-on instruction modeled after the same training American troops receive. Familiar box drills, sight picture training and live-fire weapon zeroing provide consistent and effective basic marksmanship skills.
It does a number of things for the basic IA soldier, said George Conrad, an assistant team leader providing the primary marksmanship instruction. The better weapon system puts the IA forces in sync with coalition troops and it builds their confidence.
Conrad said they have all seen change and new equipment at the higher echelons, but now, the soldier in the dirt has something new, something tangible, in his hands.
“It’s a sign of hope that things are changing,” he said. “It’s something that needed to be done.”
Easter said that training at the Taji RTC would continue at the company-size level, with program augmentation at Besimaya Range later this summer for IA battalions.
A properly trained soldier always takes care of his 'stuff', who knows maybe our Army there will perform a miracle?
See post 12 for a potential solution to Iraq’s needs to become NATO compliant.
I thought our troops wanted a bigger caliber bullet with more shock so it could penetrate those mud blocks over there.
“We are very excited about it,” said a 9th Iraqi Army Division second lieutenant, whose name is withheld to protect his identity. “We have been hearing about getting the new weapons for some time and finally they are here.”
The sand will probably not be kind to the M16s.
I wouldn’t know about that.
That really depends on the AK in question. I haven't seen any chambered in 7.62x39 that could hold a candle to the AR for accuracy, but the ones in other calibers, (particularly the 5.56), often do quite well. I've got two in 5.56 that will shoot 2 MOA and one in .308 that will do 3. My old Mak90 on the other hand was lucky to shoot 6 MOA.
Being the armchair commandos are attempting to put lumps on this old bod anyway; I'll stir the pot. No likey the way one would have to break view of enemy zone to change magazines.
What say you?
I like the symbolism of this. The Kalashnikov is a symbol of third-worldism, communism, and terrorism. The M-16 is a symbol of the free world and being on the right side of history.
I shoot literally thousands of rounds through AR-15/M-16 variants a year. The Russian COPPER FMJ is my round of choice for target shooting; it is reliable and very clean. There was some Russians steel jacketed stuff that was very hot and caused excessive barrel wear - stopped using that.
“The Iraqi government made the decision to crossover from standard AK-47 assault rifles to the American rifles as part of the reshaping of their military and security forces.”
Good gawd. The country is awash in AK-47s. What a waste.
The M-16 series rifle requires a LOT of maintainence and training for same. The M-16 is particularly sensitive to sand. Iraq has plenty of sand.
If there is an Iraqi who does not know how to use an AK that Iraqi is less than 4 years old.
Since this thread has a bunch of ‘keyboard kommandos’, I was wondering if I could get a straight answer to a question.
Does anyone know the standard accuracy of an AK-47? Now, I’m not talking about a cherry-picked, accurized AK. Nor am I talking about one with match ammo. I’m talking about a Third World-issued AK with Warsaw Pact ammo. One concession, maybe, with a milled receiver and not a cruddy AKM stamped receiver. I’m just curious what our Spec Forces people run across when it comes to accuracy.
AK47/AKM accuracy? probably 3-6MOA. 3”-6” @ 100m 6”-12” @200m.
AR15/M16 1-3MOA
This is a great idea. I think the Iraqis will get alot of pride from arming themselves with the small arms symbol of the free world.
I thought my M-16 was a pice of crap in the first Gulf War. Now, the M-2 ... THAT is a nice piece of hardware.
Now that Mookie and his douchbag brothers are kicked out, its time to arm our friends.
More than that. If you want it to work, you have to pay attention to detail cleaning and maintaining the weapon. That in and of itself will make them more professional.
More attention to detail means they will pay more attention to detail elsewhere.
Thanx for the info! I agree, the M16 will be a step up in accuracy and a big leap in prestige for them.
Well, originally, Vietnam had almost a million of them. They sold or gave much of them away as military aid to their fellow Marxists, especially to Latin America. For example, did you know that Vietnamese ‘16s were used by the El Salvadorian FMLN, the Guatemalan URNG, the Colombian and Honduran anti-government forces, the FPMR of Chile and the Nicaraguan Sandinista govenment?
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