Posted on 02/21/2014 3:38:04 AM PST by Timber Rattler
A former Army historian who chronicled the infamous Battle of Wanat in Afghanistan, where nine U.S. soldiers died after their M4 carbines jammed, tells The Washington Times that his official account was altered by higher-ups to absolve the weapons and senior officers.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Good food for thought. Thanks for sharing.
RPG would be better than the laws rocket? I have no experience with either.
These weapons did not cool off in the firefight referenced. It was sustained fire that was blamed for the jams. The AR platform is not perfect. I own several myself along with other weapons but Stoner did not design or build a pos. I will take an M4 over an AK any day of the week. I can strip it, clean it and repair it blindfolded and I can keep it clean enough to function in a firefight. I can shoot the eye out of a gnats head with it. My favorite is a 7.62 in the AR platform... scratch that... My Serbu .50BMG is my favorite.
LLS
The thinking as I've heard it is, "Screw all this marksmanship stuff. Especially with conscript peasant soldiers, (the same guys who had AKs yesterday), or with just a mob of Somali tribesmen chewing that homegrown loco weed for example, just let 'em launch a fragmentation bomb at the Americans and see if they can hit close enough to frag them. Close with a rifle is a miss; close with a little frag bomb is a hit."
I think that might be what the question was in this case. In our case, our military would probably arm our troops with frag bombs when they can be high-tech frag bombs that cost a lot of money, re the new infantry weapon we've been hearing about, with the 20mm (IIRC) projectile with the time-delay (I think) frag projectile warhead thingie.
There is nothing about a piston rifle design that makes it immune to sand, which according to the article is the primary cause of failure.
What piston? There is no piston in a M4.
“And the AR15 is the most popular sporting rifle in the US.”
Different set of criteria... Also, with the M-16 platform being the basic military rifle for so long the AR-15 is familiar to vets looking for a sport rifle.
That was one flaw in this report.
I challenge all of you to find ONE incidence in the history of warfare where commanders deliberately stationed their troops in a 'fishbowl', surrounded by high ground.
That little firebase was set up on low land with hills around it 380 - for the Tallban, it was like a kids game of shooting fish in a barrel.
In addition, there was no reason not to have spotted the hundred+ tallies coming over the mountain AND the soldiers were DENIED air cover the entire day!
Those in command were just as responsible for those deaths as the Taliban.
Orders from the top turned those little valleys, one by one, deliberately - back to the TAllies, many with caches of ammo/weapons and gas and without a fight, our guys just ordered to pull out - you really do not want to know...
Don't get me started -
Fantastic article! TY!
I’ll bet that you and I could have had fun helping them!
When I was a squad leader in Nam, I was regularly screaming at my guys to lighten up on the “auto” spot on the selector lever.
The M-16 rifle was NOT designed to be a Light Machine Gun. It doesn’t have a quick change barrel and it fires from a closed bolt. There is a time and place for full auto. (Gaining initial fire superiority, suppresive fire, final few yards of an assault, and when final protective fires are ordered.) Sometimes you may be forced into continual rock and roll but most often you are not.
But much of the time full auto is used unnecessarily, and leads to an unnecessary need for resupply and undue wear on overheated barrels. The direct impingement gas system does allow more carbon fouling into the reciever, but it also helps with controllability in full auto fire. The straight line recoil and the lack of a piston slapping back and forth makes it much smoother in that mode.
In Vietnam I carried an M-16A1 with a basic load of 600 rounds plus, often went through much or most of that in a day, and had very few stoppages with my routinely maintained rifle, none of which were not easily cleared with an immediate action drill.
The AK series and the AR platform rifles are both great infantry weapons with their own strengths and weaknesses. I am extremely familiar with it and would not hesitate to select it as an infantry arm. But as I consider their aggregate virtues, I would go with the M16/M4 every time, and I served as infantry in two wars.
There is a time and place for full auto. (Gaining initial fire superiority, suppresive fire, final few yards of an assault, and when final protective fires are ordered.) Sometimes you may be forced into continual rock and roll but most often you are not.AMEN... 100%!
Always willing to “help!
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