POTD: The M16A4 Service Rifle
Photo Of The Day: At the range, where the cardboard targets never give up. They keep on coming wave after wave, in a completely fearless way. Above you see U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jonathan Sutchen, a network administrator with Combat Logistics Battalion 4, Combat Logistics Regiment 3, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, as he fires his M16A4 service rifle. The M16A4 is a semi-automatic select fire rifle, with the ability to fire in semi-auto and three-round burst modes.
The location is Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan. The purpose of the training was to improve the Marines’ ability to operate their rifles at close quarters and in low-visibility environments more effectively.
3rd MLG, based out of Okinawa, Japan, is a forward-deployed combat unit that serves as III MEF’s comprehensive logistics and combat service support backbone for operations throughout the Indo-Pacific area of responsibility.
Photos by U.S. Marine Corps, Lance Cpl. Weston Brown.
Ex-Arctic Ranger. Competitive practical shooter and hunter with a European focus. Always ready to increase my collection of modern semi-automatics, optics, thermals and suppressors. TCCC Certified. Occasionaly seen in a 6x6 Bug Out Vehicle, always with a big smile.
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Most US Army officers are unaware of the purpose of carbines, so here is a lesson. Truck drivers, supply, and headquarters personnel may encounter enemy and need something more than a pistol for self-defense. Rifles are large and heavy. Toting them around while doing support work is difficult. As a result, carbines were developed for occasional close-in skirmishes by rear area troops. These are roughly half the size and weight of standard infantry rifles, with half the range and stopping power. Their lightweight metal parts heat up fast from sustained fire and cause jams, but they are MUCH better than pistols. The most recent proof of incompetence are leaked details about the infamous Battle of Wanat in Afghanistan where nine American soldiers were killed. The Afghans attacked and engaged these soldiers in serious combat. Even though they were in defensive positions in a hostile area, they were armed with M-4 carbines that overheated and jammed. The after-action discussion focused on improving the M4 carbine. That is the wrong issue. Why were these infantrymen not armed with rifles! After decades of complaints that the M-16's 5.56mm round is too weak
I finally discovered the 20” barrel 3 years ago when I built my version of the green Air Force 601 rifle (Criterion barrel, Geissele G2S trigger). Loved it immediately. So last year I got lazy and bought a PSA A2 upper and threw together a lower for it and, man, I love that rifle, too. There’s a place, of course, for the 16” barrel but I’m really taken by that 20” version, it’s a really smooth shooter.