1966 Lackland AFB. Trained on the original M-16. No forward assist, no birdcage flash hider. Worked fine-then. Fell in love with the rifle.
At later military bases though, we shot M1 carbines. Then when going to SE Asia, I got to shoot the M-16 on full auto for the first time.
[1966 Lackland AFB. Trained on the original M-16. No forward assist, no birdcage flash hider. Worked fine-then. Fell in love with the rifle.]
That rifle was better than the first lots of M-16’s issued to the Marine Corps and Army. It had a chrome plated bolt and bore. Later these features were added to all M-16’s.