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Slims · 10-17-2009, 01:12 PM

Sorry, I have been away for a while.

I will try to give my two cents without getting into a full deconstruction of the article:

1'st: Since the Army uses the M-4/M-16 platform almost exclusively, any stories about small-arms failing the troops will always be about the m-4/m-16 platform.
2'nd: SF has been trying to adopt a new rifle, the SCAR, and they have met resistance like you couldn't possibly believe from the soldiers on the teams who are supposed to be using it. Why: because they have well maintained weapons (a big variable army-wide) which work reliably and get the job done. You can argue all day long about caliber, but given the choice between 5.56 platforms, the guys on the ground in the SOF community want an m-4 style weapons system (though most will ask for a 416).

3'rd: I have melted barrels in a fight before. The solution was to swap the barrel (I was using a crew-served weapon). Conventional units aren't given m-4's with full auto and I have never seen instances where sustained automatic fire was appropriate. Even an AK won't hold up to barrel-melting abuse.

On another issue, here is what happenned in Kamdesh, short short verison:

That firebase sits more or less in a bowl with large OP's on high ground around the perimeter providing most of the actual security.

Several hundred HIG (almost certainly not Taliban, as reported) fighters seem to have massed in PK and pushed deeper into Afghanistan than is currently typical. They initiated with indirect and PK fire onto the main base to prevent a coordinated counter attack and to suppress the base mortars. The bad guys then took out each OP and then breached the wire gaining access to the main base. The occupants of the base took up a final defensive perimeter and held long enough for a large QRF to get in. The INS then counter attacked and re-took most of the base as their proximity to the defending unit prevented the QRF from straight smashing them. There was some other nonsense and the call was made that retaking the base would cost too many lives and simply wasn't worth the cost of holding it.

The occupants of that base were horribly complacent, relied solely on Afghans for security, failed to push out and reinforce their OP's when the fighting started, congregated in bunkers, failed to man their counter battery despite incoming rounds, blew all their claymores at once (I believe) and generally acted in a reactive and defensive fashion.

10-17-2009, 01:12 PM	#10 (permalink)
Slims Eccentric insomniac Location: North Carolina	Sorry, I have been away for a while. I will try to give my two cents without getting into a full deconstruction of the article: 1'st: Since the Army uses the M-4/M-16 platform almost exclusively, any stories about small-arms failing the troops will always be about the m-4/m-16 platform. 2'nd: SF has been trying to adopt a new rifle, the SCAR, and they have met resistance like you couldn't possibly believe from the soldiers on the teams who are supposed to be using it. Why: because they have well maintained weapons (a big variable army-wide) which work reliably and get the job done. You can argue all day long about caliber, but given the choice between 5.56 platforms, the guys on the ground in the SOF community want an m-4 style weapons system (though most will ask for a 416). 3'rd: I have melted barrels in a fight before. The solution was to swap the barrel (I was using a crew-served weapon). Conventional units aren't given m-4's with full auto and I have never seen instances where sustained automatic fire was appropriate. Even an AK won't hold up to barrel-melting abuse. On another issue, here is what happenned in Kamdesh, short short verison: That firebase sits more or less in a bowl with large OP's on high ground around the perimeter providing most of the actual security. Several hundred HIG (almost certainly not Taliban, as reported) fighters seem to have massed in PK and pushed deeper into Afghanistan than is currently typical. They initiated with indirect and PK fire onto the main base to prevent a coordinated counter attack and to suppress the base mortars. The bad guys then took out each OP and then breached the wire gaining access to the main base. The occupants of the base took up a final defensive perimeter and held long enough for a large QRF to get in. The INS then counter attacked and re-took most of the base as their proximity to the defending unit prevented the QRF from straight smashing them. There was some other nonsense and the call was made that retaking the base would cost too many lives and simply wasn't worth the cost of holding it. The occupants of that base were horribly complacent, relied solely on Afghans for security, failed to push out and reinforce their OP's when the fighting started, congregated in bunkers, failed to man their counter battery despite incoming rounds, blew all their claymores at once (I believe) and generally acted in a reactive and defensive fashion. __________________ "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill "All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence Last edited by Slims; 10-17-2009 at 11:55 PM..