Thursday, February 20, 2014

Troops left to fend for themselves after Army was warned of flaws in rifle

Via WiscoDave


Army Senior Warrant Officer Russton B. Kramer, a 20-year Green Beret, has learned that if you want to improve your chances to survive, it’s best to personally make modifications to the Army’s primary rifle — the M4 carbine.

Warrant Officer Kramer has been dropped into some of the most ferocious battles in the war on terrorism, from hunting Islamists in the mountains of northern Iraq to disrupting Taliban opium dealers in dusty southern Afghanistan. He was awarded the Silver Star for his bravery in Operation Viking Hammer to crush the terrorist group Ansar al-Islam in Iraq.

The warrant officer said he and fellow Special Forces soldiers have a trick to maintain the M4A1 — the commando version: They break the rules and buy off-the-shelf triggers and other components and overhaul the weapon themselves.

“The reliability is not there,” Warrant Officer Kramer said of the standard-issue model. “I would prefer to use something else. If I could grab something else, I would.”

6 comments:

  1. Who are you going to believe? A 20 year old WO or 50 years of experience? Over 65 improvements to the M4A1 just over the M4. It is a constantly improved and tested system (Millions of rounds fired just in the last year). The Army has is because there is nothing better. Even SOCOM, which can buy any weapon it wants (and often does), still uses it.

    There is no doubt that the WO is good at what he does, or that he is brave and manly, but that does not make him a weapons engineer.

    All sorts of Army units maxed out their credit cards buying extra enhancements for their M-4s prior to going into Iraq and Afghanistan in order to accommodate everyone "good ideas". But no reliable data returned from the field on how well those improvements worked or if they were even used.

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  2. Even if there are issues with some of the M4A1's. I would wonder if an Obama Doner - got a contract and was selling substandard parts/weapons. I got to the point I could strip my M-16 in the dark and put it back together. Considering everything is so fucked up in the military now I wouldn't be surprised if "Van Jones" was cranking the garbage out. On a personal note I would lose the 3 shot burst parts - I am a fan of simplicity.

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    1. I would wonder if an Obama Doner - got a contract and was selling substandard parts/weapons.

      Naw, never happen......:)

      ======

      I am a fan of simplicity.

      :)

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  3. Seems like I heard all this once before . ......... Thank you Mr. Kalashnikov .

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    1. Yes and here's a picture of it being carried instead of the M16.

      2nd one.
      http://freenorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-few-vietnam-pictures.html

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