Well said General!
True enough but if that is your philosophy then why use the SAW at all. You can do the same thing with your standard issue weapon.
Reading down further
The Corps' adoption of the IAR has been fraught with controversy, with critics arguing the limited firepower of an M-27 -- which shoots a 30-round magazine -- would leave Marines vulnerable.
The replacement of the M-249 with the M27 does not make sense if you still consider the SAW a useful part of your combat strategy.
It has a lower rate of fire than the current SAW and the same mag capacity as the standard infantry weapon. So the M-27 can not produce the sustained fire of the current SAW and it can not produce the rate of fire of the current SAW.
The M-27 does not fit the strategy profile of a SAW. Basically they are simply issuing a second standard issue infantry weapon which makes no sense.
Accuracy for the SAW is secondary to the sustained suppressive fire it is there to produce. The 30 round mag and low rate of fire makes it inferior to the present weapon. If HK could field a new weapon with same rate of fire and a 200 round drum mag with improved accuracy I could get behind it.
IMO this new weapon is placing our Marines at increased risk. The SAW carrier job is to lay down suppressing fire while the squad maneuvers. In other word he is supposed to scare the SH!T out of the enemy. He can’t perform that job as well if he has to change has to change magazines 6.5 times more often. I don’t care how much more accurate the rifle is. It is pretty simple math.