Donald J. Trump’s pick for U.S. Secretary of Defense, General “Mad Dog” Mattis, doesn’t think too highly of the M16.
Senator Joni Ernst, quoted Mattis, who had previously pointed out that the 5.56 round is so small that it’s illegal to hunt deer with in many states. She asked General Mattis what he thought about the M16 and he basically agreed that it needs to be replaced by something more lethal.
From the Daily Caller:
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“Do you agree that we cannot grow a more lethal force while using outdated small arms and ammunition?” asked Earnst.
“I do agree with that approach, ma’am. I have been away for several years, and as you know, the Army, the special forces, the marines have all been working on creating a more lethal round for the M-16, M-4.”
Mattis noted he would have to review the military’s ongoing attempts to create a more lethal round, but he did “100 percent agree” with Ernst’s approach.
With advancements in body armor, the need to beef up the standard issue rifle is probably greater than ever. It’s entirely possible that the Military keeps the M16/M4 platform with a larger caliber or simply moves to a different bullet design. Whatever the final transition is, one thing is for sure, the final transition will be slow.
Even when a new standard is adopted by top brass in the U.S., such changes will need to bleed over to NATO. Odds are that U.S. forces serving alongside NATO allies will use the same ammunition as their allies. We might enter a territory where troops in different theaters are using different calibers. As it is, various special forces units are using different bullets. Designated marksmen are even using 50 year-old M14’s chambered for the .308 in the Middle East.
The never ending debate about the lethality of the 5.56 looks like it’s going to heat up when Mr. “Mad Dog” Mattis goes to Washington. Stay tuned folks.
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Great idea. Sensenbrenner should also introduce a bill to repeal the Gun Control Act of 1968, Lyndon Johnson’s
Prize along with the War on Poverty.
Great idea. Now for a bill to repeal the Gun Control
Act of 1968, child of Lyndon Johnson.
Yup, that should be the FIRST major repeal. That way all their totalitarian gun laws would be useless in their disarmament plans. The major rights violation of the 68 GCA was to make anybody who ever committed a crime permanently deprived of their Constitutional rights, even after paying their dues in prison and being freed andreturned to society as a law abiding citizen!
That defiles the entire moral fabric of rehabilitation and social atonement in an advanced, just society!
But they got away with it in 1968, coincidentally when there was also a lot of racial tension in the country. They played on public brainwashed fears and gullibility with nonsense like. “oh, that person shouldn’t have a gun, and that person’s a crime waiting to happen, or that one, or even…YOU! Who the fuck is anybody qualified to decide what other’s should and shouldn’t be allowed do before they even do something? And if you do violate a law, no matter if you used a knife, a truck, or a gun, then YOU get banned from society for the necessary period. Not your inalienable rights after you are back in society? What don’t people get about that?
This is one of the most amazing hoaxes ever perpetrated on the American People? It’s amazing how so many fell for it? They even banned voting for ex criminals because they knew they were creating a stronger sub culture to resent the unfair government rule and got away with it so far, so lets just make open society, somewhat of a…Prison, itself…to keep control over our political ‘opposition’???
So All ‘They’ had to do then was make the ‘right’ laws to target Any and All political opposition (in LBJ’s dictatorship days it was the hippies and the minorities who protested his profit monster war in Nam). And BINGO, our targeted opposition will be forever disarmed with just one infraction! And eventually, we’ll slip in lesser infractions down the slope of Tyranny, that don’t even involve guns, like smoking pot, domestic threats of violence, and the big catch all, that was previewed in Hillery’s presidential agenda, Mental deficiencies without any crime being even committed!!!
That shit needs to be broken down REAL FAST!
In reference to the new Sec of Defense, Gen Mattis’ statement about the 5.56 round and needing a larger caliber, what about adopting the 300 aac blackout round. I believe it will fit in the existing M-16 magazines, only the barrel would need to be replaced. From what I understand the barrel can easily be easily removed with a special tool. I believe, that would be very cost effective, and help Our Military Personal better in the field.
Well, this type of ‘debate’ has been going on since the M-16 shot its first Viet Cong In Viet Nam. Generals get a final say, but results get the money.
Besides the typical snail pace of getting something like a NATO caliber/round universally changed, the dynamics and equipment are changing so rapidly that it probably won’t be cost effective or even worth it in performance advantage compared to the new robotics, already created, which carry new munitions.
Right now there’s a better round improvement being perfected that will put .50BMG explosive smart ammo in Barretts in every rifle platoon that will be prioritized far before any actual caliber change in the M-16. The 20 mm explosive tipped smart round in a Barrett has already been tested. This will be coupled with the advanced version of the new ‘smart scope’ (available right now to civilians, even for around 15 grand) that is fire and forget and guides the round to the target and never misses.
That alone would increase the infantry’s shot effectiveness rates so dramatically as it makes ‘taking cover’ for the enemy virtually useless, to a point which makes changing the whole 5.56 cartridge a waste of time.
And as already mentioned, there are other ‘larger’ caliber rounds already in use and available with nothing more than a quick upper change for specific mission adaption like the 6.5 Grendel, the 6.8, 300 blackout (best for suppressed use) should the need absolutely necessitate. Which it rarely does. And the Spec-ops units already have these.
So don’t anybody hold their breath on a mass M-16 ammo change any time soon. You’ll probably see personal individual electronic rail guns before that.
I believe that the 6.8mm Rem SPC round is up to the task of replacing the 5.56mm round. It has superior ballistics and was selected by special warfare units before the Pentagon nixed it for purely political reasons.
I have built and shot the 6.5 Grendel for the last two years. It is an excellent round for killing deer. It is larger than the 5.56 twice plus the weight and is going supersonic at 1000 yards. I am convinced that it would do well in combat.
Semper Fi!
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