Author wrote “assault weapons”. No military man thinks that way. Especially infantry.
I was 11B. I have no idea what an assault rifle is.
You carried one: your M16 (or M4, if that's what you had). Your enemies carried (AK47|AKM|AK74|etc), also assault rifles. Assault rifles (from the German sturmgewehr) are compact, select-fire rifles chambered for intermediate power cartridges.
"Assault weapon", OTOH, is a vague term invented by "enemies ... domestic" of the Constitution. Their purpose is to instill fear in the ignorant populace, and convince legislators to pass unconstitutional legislation banning various types of firearms.