Guido Jones wrote:

1) The M-16 rifle ...

Guido Jones wrote:


>2) The M243 SAW (squad assault weapon): .223 cal. Drum fed light machine gun.
Big thumbs down. Universally considered a piece of shit. Chronic jamming
problems, most of which require partial disassembly. (that fun in the middle of
a firefight).
>
First off, it's the M249 SAW and it's not drum fed. It's belt fed.
Granted, the plastic box magazines the 200 rd belts come in, could be
mistaken for a drum magazine by someone who had never seen one before,
but I would think that a Marine would know the nomenclature of this
weapon. Also most units are buying the nylon bags to carry the belts in
because they don't rattle and fall off like the plastic box magazines,

Guido Jones wrote:


>3) The M9 Beretta 9mm: Mixed bag. Good gun, performs well in desert
environment; but they all hate the 9mm cartridge. The use of handguns for
self-defense is actually fairly common. Same old story on the 9mm: Bad guys hit
multiple times and still in the fight.
>
Well the M9 has had all kinds of problems with the aftermarket magaines
the military is buying, but the author leaves this out. It's been
documented in many offical AARs that the Checkmate brand magazines are
junk, yet they haven't been recalled and soldiers and Marines are still
having problems with them.

Guido Jones wrote:


>4) Mossberg 12ga. Military shotgun: Works well, used frequently for clearing
houses to good effect.
>
The Marines are using the Benelli 1014 shotgun. They may still field
the Mossberg in some quantity. Hate to bust the author's bubble, but
shotguns are used to breech. With the restrictive rules of engagement,
rifles and precise shooting is the order of the day for clearing
operations. Buckshot and slugs are hard to aquire in country and I have
a friend who said they used birdshot to scare people who approached too
close to convoys.

Guido Jones wrote:


>5) The M240 Machine Gun: 7.62 Nato (.308) cal. belt fed machine gun, developed
to replace the old M-60 (what a beautiful weapon that was!!). Thumbs up.
Accurate, reliable, and the 7.62 round puts em down. Originally developed as a
vehicle mounted weapon, more and more are being dismounted and taken into the
field by infantry. The 7.62 round chews up the structure over there.
>
The Army and Marines have used the M240 for years. It's the standard
platoon level machine gun. They don't have to dismount them from the
vehicles. The dismount kits for the M240 thats the coax gun in the
Abrams and Bradley is very hard to come by. If they dismounted the M240
from the turret, it's most likely unusable in a ground mount role.

Guido Jones wrote:


>6) The M2 .50 cal heavy machine gun: Thumbs way, way up. Ma deuce is still
worth her considerable weight in gold. The ultimate fight stopper, puts their
dicks in the dirt every time. The most coveted weapon in-theater.

Guido Jones wrote:


>7) The .45 pistol: Thumbs up. Still the best pistol round out there. Everybody
authorized to carry a sidearm is trying to get their hands on one. With few
exceptions, can reliably be expected to put em down with a torso hit.
>
Force Recon and Det 1 are the Marine units carrying .45s. There are
couple Army units that don't really exist using 1911 types and Glock 19s.

>The special ops guys (who are doing most of the pistol work) use the HK
military model and supposedly love it.
>
The special ops guys are using SIGs (Navy Special Warfare), M9s (Army,
Air Force), MEUSOC 1911 (USMC Force Recon), Kimber 1911 (USMC Det 1)
Various 1911s and Glock 19s (unnamed Army SOF). As a side note
Springfield Armory was recently given a contract to build the new MEUSOC
pistol.

> The old government model .45s are being re-issued en masse.
>
Not true at all.

Guido Jones wrote:


>8) The M-14: Thumbs up. They are being re-issued in bulk, mostly in a modified
version to special ops guys. Modifications include lightweight Kevlar stocks and
low power red dot or ACOG sights. Very reliable in the sandy environment, and
they love the 7.62 round.
>
Again not true. Some units are using modified M14s with commercial
aftermarket stocks, but they are not being issued in bulk. None of the
aftermarket stoks currently in use is made of kevlar.

Guido Jones wrote:


>9) The Barrett .50 cal sniper rifle: Thumbs way up. Spectacular range and
accuracy and hits like a freight train. Used frequently to take out vehicle
suicide bombers ( we actually stop a lot of them) and barricaded enemy.
Definitely here to stay.
>
A single shot even from a .50 BMG isn't enough to stop a vehicle.
Machine guns, especially the M2 are most used to stop car bombs. They
are used to remotely detonate IEDs that are discovered and you'll find a
lot of them in the hands of EOD.

Guido Jones wrote:


>11) The new body armor: Thumbs up. Relatively light at approx. 6 lbs. and can
reliably be expected to soak up small shrapnel and even will stop an AK-47
round.
>
We only wish it weighed 6 pounds. The IBAS with SAPI plates weighs in
at just under 16 pounds and when you add in the neck, shoulder and groin
protection you're back up over 20 pounds.