Iraqi Army receiving M-16s and new trust

StarTribune ^ | 6/4/07 | Scott Canon

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

The M-16 is America's rifle. Putting it in Iraqis' hands is a symbolic but also a tactical maneuver.

The U.S. military in Iraq has begun issuing American M-16 rifles to some Iraqi troops in exchange for their Soviet-designed AK-47 rifles, the cheap and sturdy weapon that currently hangs from the shoulder of virtually every Iraqi soldier, police officer, insurgent and militiaman. U.S. military officials describe the switch, part of a $2 billion arms purchase for the country's fledgling security soldiers, as a modernization and a vote of confidence in Iraqi troops. The M-16 requires more care than the rugged and familiar AK-47 and demands a better-trained soldier.

That confidence extends only so far, however. With Iraq's security services infiltrated by both Sunni Muslim insurgents and Shiite militias, the U.S. military is requiring that each Iraqi soldier turn in his AK-47, take four days of training and be photographed with the serial number of his new M-16.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Have at it......

[trd6478]

m16s are weaksauce, we should give them all of them and replace our guns with hk416s and fn scars, who cares if they arent american

[elhombrelibre]

M16 for IAF ping.

[GoldCountryRedneck]

Given the mission and environment, I'd only trade if it was in a .308 flavor....

[Bob J]

Are they .223 or .308?

[Bob J]

Are they .223 or .308?

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

I first saw this in the print version of the Strib. All the info was in one article. They have split the two on the web.

5.56mm

http://www.startribune.com/722/story/1223044.html

[NeonKnight]

"Already, more than 1,000 Iraqi soldiers have made the switch to the $1,000 rifles, with three-fourths of the cost paid by the Iraqi government."

I get it now.

[Arthalion]

Yesh, poor Iraqi’s. I’ll take an AK over an M16 any day. Especially in a dirty, sandstorm prone desert environment.

The M16 doesn’t fare all that well in urban combat either. The 5.56 doesn’t have the mass to punch through walls and cars nearly as well as the 7.62.

[OldEagle]

I agree.

[1COUNTER-MORTER-68]

JMHO~~~Bad move,,,the AK is a far better weapon than the
M-16 type rifle,,,any of them,,,they WILL NOT operate
with any sand/etc. in the action,,,the AK will,,,
this ammo problem(stealing) is BS,,,the world is full of AK ammo,,,it will never “dry-up”...

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

I think we’re all in agreement on this. Not the best choice.

[1COUNTER-MORTER-68]

LOL,,,They never ask us nothin’...;0)

[omega4179]

BS. The Ak is perfect for that enviroment and if we had used them we still would have won in 3 weeks. Now the Iraqis wont clean them, they will jam and they can get captured and beheaded on al jazeera and you are out $250 in tax dollars for each one when they already had serviceable AKs.

[Marine_Uncle]

M16 are pee shooters. It is a wonder the Iraqi are going along with the plan. For the life of me I cannot figure out why our Army and Marines have not gone back to the 7.72 round as standard issue. Damn kids now adays could get used to a little recoil. One aims, shoots to kill. Not put a little hole in someone, where their target often can get away. Blow their damn leg or arm off, if you can't pump a few into the kill zone.
I have owned twenty twos, shot Win. 222 and 250, owned a custom Rem. 243 1" barrel BDL, 7.65 Mauser, and shot plenty of rounds from Springfield 306.
I for one would never have choosen such a small bore round. The least the Army could have done is used a high end 6mm round if they where so concerned with new recruits getting their shoulders bruised. But the old NATO round should have been keeped in service all to use. Not just snipers. The Army went along with the PC gang. Now both or Soldiers and Marines have an undersize/powered field rifle to contend with. As far as the arguments always given about how a small bore high velocity bullet can do all kinds of damage, fine. But in the reality one wants to knock down their target with one well placed round. Not have to put a half dozen holes in them.

[labette]

"this ammo problem(stealing) is BS,,,the world is full of AK ammo,,,it will never “dry-up”..."

For some reason, I can't re-access the full article...But I think the point is that WE are no longer suppling AK ammo that is being stolen at an alarming rate.

P.S. Although I have kept an AR in .223 for many years, I'm no cheerleader for it as a combat weapon, either.

All in all, This idea makes sense....Provided our friends remember how important cleanliness is in their few days of training.

[elhombrelibre]

I agree. To me, there is one good reason for the 5.56 round. You can carry a lot more of them. Other than that I don’t get it. The recoil is something the flash suppressor and the release of the gasses as they work the action should mitigate for nearly every shooter. And like you said, if they couldn’t have a bullet bigger than a varmint round, they could have chosen a 6mm round, like the .260 Rem.

[OldPossum]

Once while talking with a former Navy SEAL, I was told that when he was in Vietnam, he was shooting at an oncoming Vietcong with an M-16. He said “I knew that I hit that SOB at least 10 times and he still kept on coming. A guy next to me shot the same soldier with an M-14 once and he went down.”

[x1stcav]

AK’s are for illiterate 3rd-world soldiers. They aren’t worth a shit beyond a hundred yards. The M-16 and its varients, is a much more accurate weapon at longer ranges. Most of the combat that I’m aware of in Iraq tends to be urban, or at ranges under 300 meters. The M16 will do fine here.

Don’t get me wrong...I still think the best main battle rifles was/is the M14. I carried one in the Nam and can attest to its ruggedness and reliability. That long barrel got in the way of, or got caught on, anything and everything. Someting like Springfield Amory’s SOCOM would be a better solution. Sure, put a pistol grip on it.

7.62 NATO rules.

[x1stcav]

Before or after he’d been hit with the 10 rounds of 556?