Objective Individual Combat Weapons System ("No place to hide" weapon)

"And the 20mm stand alone!

And make up the difference in weight with ammo? That would work.

We'll see what happens. This new toy might be the best thing since the self contained cartridge.

EXACTLY!

We might find out that in open country (most of the middle east, where we are most likely to fight) mixed squads of riflemen, SAWs and 20mm men might be VERY effective.

But what do you call him? A grenadier? Is this 20mm a grenade? Or something new?

Like you said, it might be the biggest development in small arms since the enclosed cartridge. Hiding behind a broken wall or berm just won't cut it any more, the enemy will just not get within small arms range of US troops in open country, period.

We might as well make the best advantage that we can of our tech edge.

M-16. The gunpowder problem was fixed immediately but not fast enough for people with long memories

The M16 was fielded poorly and in haste - the wrong powder, lack of a chrome lined chamber and bore, and a dearth of cleaning supplies because somehow it became common knowledge that it "didn't need cleaning" - a tragic set of circumstances that happened to coincide with a nasty little dust-up in SE Asia left a really bad taste in quite a few mouths that I can fully understand. Blame it on the bureaucrats involved though - it wasn't the guns fault. The M16 has since proven to be the 2nd most successful rifle in history, and it would likely be THE most successful if the AK series wasn't so economical to produce.

I'll add the ACOG to what our troops should have. At least that sight doesn't need batteries.

ACOG's are available to certain special operations units and some light infantry, as the TA01 NSN. They are available as components of the M4 Modular Weapons System, or the Navy M4 Special Operations Peculiar modular system (SOPMOD). Very popular but limited issue due to their expense, nearly equal to the rifle.

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