Did Weapons Fail U.S. Troops During Afghanistan Assault?

[KySongDog]

Did Weapons Fail U.S. Troops During Afghanistan Assault?

The debate over the reliability of the M4 is sure to heat up again.   

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,563883,00.html

In my opinion, the U.S. military should have switched to the AK-47 decades ago.   The M16\M4 rifle is too prone to problems at the absolute worst times.  The bullet is too small ( hell, it is marginal for coyotes!) and the rifle has to be meticulously clean to function.   I have never understood the politics of gun selection by our military chiefs.   

BTW, I feel the same way about the 9mm hardball Beretta M9 our soldiers got stuck with.  Moving from the .45 1911 platform was a mistake that our troops pay for with their blood. 

[CCP]

I think the simplest solution would be to switch the uppers to the HK416 and chamber them in the 6.8. More reliability and more knock down.

the barrels on their weapons turned white hot

Cpl. Jason Bogar fired approximately 600 rounds from his M-249 before the weapon overheated and jammed the weapon.

20-30round mags in 30 min would put a hell of a strain on any weapon. I do believe getting away from the M16/M4 gas system and a larger bore would go along way in helping with heat related stoppages.



As far as the 9mm you are correct it is a junk cartridge for battle or one shot stops. If they wanted to change to a new caliber they would have been better off with the 40 S & W.

[timbertoes]

M14, baby.
Just make it lighter. :)

[NASA]

More than once while watching news footage from Afghanistan, I have seen U.S. troops carrying AK-47's.  Yes, I think reliability is an issue, and so do the troops.  My daughter is on her 2nd tour in Iraq and says she "hates" having to use the M-4.

[JohnP]

When the US Army was looking for a replacement service pistol our organization was one of probably many selected to do some testing.  We had H&K's, Glock and Beretta's all 9mm.  At the conclusion of the testing program  our recommendation was 1st H&K, 2nd Glock and last Beretta.  We also recommended that the US not go with the 9mm, but stay with the .45.  We lost not only on the caliber but the make.  The 9mm would be the caliber for two reasons - it was the NATO round and the second reason although not official but widely believed was because of the large and growing number of females in the armed forces.  

I can't address the long gun situation as our organization used  no American long guns (with a few exceptions) in Afghanistan.  Not because we found them faulty but because of our mission.  We also didn't shave or wear a military uniform, as a matter of fact we had no American ID at all.  

Isn't it nice to know that your sons and daughters are being sent into combat with a weapon from the lowest bidder, yet we bail out big business and wall street.

From the AP:  U.S. special operations forces, with their own acquisition budget and the latitude to buy gear the other military branches can't, already are replacing their M4s with a new rifle.

[Silvertip]

Amen to all of the above. 
As for the 45 and women in the military, I watched a WAC Major win a Leg Match with a quarter sized 10-shot group at 50yd. at the 4th Army Pistol Matches in San Antonio, TX in 1968!

[Jimmie in Ky]

There is supposed to be a new toy for the boys in the works,not ok'd yet, but being tested in the field. Haven't heard how its coming out though. Jimmie