X-driver
02-21-2010, 07:15 PM
I rceived this email the other day from a retired miltary friend. I'm not sure if it is true or not. It is a very interesting assessment though-
*US Weapons: * ** *
1) The M-16 rifle: * * Thumbs down. Chronic jamming problems with the talcum powder like sandover there. The sand is everywhere. Jordan says you feel filthy 2 minutesafter coming out of the shower. The M-4 carbine version is more popularbecause it's lighter and shorter, but it has jamming problems also. Theylack the ability to mount the various optical gunsights and weapons lightson the picatinny rails, but the weapon itself is not great in a desertenvironment. They all hate the 5.56mm (.223) round. Poor penetration on thecinderblock structure common over there and even torso hits can't bereliably counted on to put the enemy down. * *Fun fact: Random autopsies on dead insurgents show a high level ofopiate use. * * * *
2) The M243 SAW (squad assault weapon): * *.223 cal. Drum fed light machine gun. Big thumbs down. Universallyconsidered a piece of ****. Chronic jamming problems, most of which requirepartial disassembly (that's fun in the middle of a firefight). * * * *
3) The M9 Beretta 9mm: * * Mixed bag. Good gun, performs well in desert environment; but they allhate the 9mm cartridge. The use of handguns for self-defense is actuallyfairly common. Same old story on the 9mm: Bad guys hit multiple times andstill in the fight. * * * *
4) Mossberg 12ga. Military shotgun: * * Works well, used frequently for clearing houses to good effect. * * * *
5) The M240 Machine Gun: * *7.62 NATO (.308) cal. belt fed machine gun, developed to replace the oldM-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 arebeing dismounted and taken into the field by infantry. The 7..62 roundchews up the structure over there. * * * *
6) The M2 50 cal heavy machine gun: * * Thumbs way, way up. "Ma Deuce" is still worth her considerable weightin gold. The ultimate fight stopper - puts their dicks in the dirt verytime. The most coveted weapon in-theater. * * * *
7) The .45 pistol: * * Thumbs up. Still the best pistol around out there. Everybody authorizedto carry a sidearm is trying to get their hands on one. With fewexceptions, can reliably be expected to put 'em down with a torso hit. Thespecial ops guys (who are doing most of the pistol work) use the HK militarymodel * * and supposedly love it. The old government model .45's are beingre-issued en masse. * * * *
8) The M-14: * * Thumbs up. They are being re-issued in bulk, mostly in a modifiedversion to special ops guys. Modifications include lightweight Kevlarstocks and low power red dot or ACOG sights. Very reliable in the sandyenvironment, and they love the 7.62 round. * * * *
9) The Barrett .50 cal sniper rifle: * * Thumbs way up. Spectacular range and accuracy and hits like afreight train. Used frequently to take out vehicle suicide bombers(we actually stop a lot of them) and barricaded enemy. It is definitelyhere to stay. * * * *
10) The M24 sniper rifle: * * Thumbs up. Mostly in .308 but some in 300 win mag.Heavily modified Remington 700's. Great performance. Snipers have been usedheavily to great effect. Rumor has it a marine sniper on his third tour inAnbar province has actually exceeded Carlos Hathcock's record for confirmedkills with OVER 100. * * * *
11) The new body armor: * * Thumbs up. Relatively light at approx. 6 lbs.and can reliably be expectedto soak up small shrapnel and even will stop an AK-47 round. The bad news:Hot as **** to wear, almost unbearable in the summer heat (which averagesover 120 degrees). Also, the enemy now goes for head shots wheneverpossible. All the bull**** about the "old" body armor making our guysvulnerable to the IED's was a non-starter. The IED explosions are enormousand body armor doesn't make any difference at all in most cases. * * * *
12) Night Vision and Infrared Equipment: * * Thumbs way up. Spectacular performance. Our guys see in the dark andown the night, period. Very little enemy action after evening prayers.More and more enemy being whacked at night during movementby our hunter-killer teams. We've all seen the videos. * * * *
13) Lights: * * Thumbs up. Most of the weapon mounted and personal lights areSurefire's, and the troops love 'em. Invaluable for night urbanoperations. Jordan carried a $34 Surefire G2 on a neck lanyard and lovedit. I cant help but notice that most of the good fighting weapons andordnance are 50 or more years old!! With all our technology, it'sthe WWII and Vietnam era weapons that everybody wants!! The infantryfighting is frequent, up close and brutal. No quarter is given or shown. * * * *
Bad guy weapons: * *
1) Mostly AK47's. The entire country is an arsenal. Works better inthe desert than the M16 and the .308 Russian round kills reliably. PKM beltfed light machine guns are also common and effective. Luckily, the enemymostly shoots like ****. Undisciplined "spray and pray" type fire.However, they are seeing more and more precision weapons, especially sniperrifles. ( Iran, again) * * * *
2) The RPG: * * Probably the infantry weapon most feared by our guys. Simple, reliableand as common as dog****. The enemy responded to our up-armored Humveesby aiming at the windshields, often at point blank range. Still killing alot of our guys. * * * *
3) The IED: * * The biggest killer of all. Can be anything from old Soviet anti-armormines to jury rigged artillery shells. A lot found in Jordan 's area werein abandoned cars. The enemy would take 2 or 3 155 mm artillery shellsand wire them together. Most were detonated by cell phone and theexplosions are enormous. You're not safe in any vehicle, even an M1 tank.Driving is by far the most dangerous thing our guys do over there. Lately,they are much more sophisticated "shape charges" (Iranian) specificallydesigned to penetrate armor. Fact: Most of the ready made IED's aresupplied by Iran, who is also providing terrorists (Hezbollah types) totrain the insurgents in their use and tactics. That's why the attacks havebeen so deadly lately. Their concealment methods are ingenious, the latestbeing shape charges, in Styrofoam containers spray painted to look like thecinderblocks that litter all Iraqi roads. We find about 40% before theydetonate, and the bomb disposal guys are unsung heroes of this war. * * * *
4) Mortars and rockets: * * Very prevalent. The soviet era 122mm rockets (with an 18km range)are becoming more prevalent. One of Jordan 's NCO's lost a leg to one.These weapons cause a lot of damage "inside the wire". Jordan 's base wa**** almost daily his entire time there by mortar and rocket fire, often atnight to disrupt sleep patterns and cause fatigue (It did). More ofa psychological weapon than anything else. The enemy mortar teams wouldjump out of vehicles, fire a few rounds, and then haul ass in a matterof seconds. * * * * Fun fact: * * Captured enemy have apparently marveled at the marksmanship of our guysand how hard they fight. They are apparently told in Jihad school thatthe Americans rely solely on technology, and can be easily beaten inclose quarters combat for their lack of toughness. Let's just say theyknow better now. *
*US Weapons: * ** *
1) The M-16 rifle: * * Thumbs down. Chronic jamming problems with the talcum powder like sandover there. The sand is everywhere. Jordan says you feel filthy 2 minutesafter coming out of the shower. The M-4 carbine version is more popularbecause it's lighter and shorter, but it has jamming problems also. Theylack the ability to mount the various optical gunsights and weapons lightson the picatinny rails, but the weapon itself is not great in a desertenvironment. They all hate the 5.56mm (.223) round. Poor penetration on thecinderblock structure common over there and even torso hits can't bereliably counted on to put the enemy down. * *Fun fact: Random autopsies on dead insurgents show a high level ofopiate use. * * * *
2) The M243 SAW (squad assault weapon): * *.223 cal. Drum fed light machine gun. Big thumbs down. Universallyconsidered a piece of ****. Chronic jamming problems, most of which requirepartial disassembly (that's fun in the middle of a firefight). * * * *
3) The M9 Beretta 9mm: * * Mixed bag. Good gun, performs well in desert environment; but they allhate the 9mm cartridge. The use of handguns for self-defense is actuallyfairly common. Same old story on the 9mm: Bad guys hit multiple times andstill in the fight. * * * *
4) Mossberg 12ga. Military shotgun: * * Works well, used frequently for clearing houses to good effect. * * * *
5) The M240 Machine Gun: * *7.62 NATO (.308) cal. belt fed machine gun, developed to replace the oldM-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 arebeing dismounted and taken into the field by infantry. The 7..62 roundchews up the structure over there. * * * *
6) The M2 50 cal heavy machine gun: * * Thumbs way, way up. "Ma Deuce" is still worth her considerable weightin gold. The ultimate fight stopper - puts their dicks in the dirt verytime. The most coveted weapon in-theater. * * * *
7) The .45 pistol: * * Thumbs up. Still the best pistol around out there. Everybody authorizedto carry a sidearm is trying to get their hands on one. With fewexceptions, can reliably be expected to put 'em down with a torso hit. Thespecial ops guys (who are doing most of the pistol work) use the HK militarymodel * * and supposedly love it. The old government model .45's are beingre-issued en masse. * * * *
8) The M-14: * * Thumbs up. They are being re-issued in bulk, mostly in a modifiedversion to special ops guys. Modifications include lightweight Kevlarstocks and low power red dot or ACOG sights. Very reliable in the sandyenvironment, and they love the 7.62 round. * * * *
9) The Barrett .50 cal sniper rifle: * * Thumbs way up. Spectacular range and accuracy and hits like afreight train. Used frequently to take out vehicle suicide bombers(we actually stop a lot of them) and barricaded enemy. It is definitelyhere to stay. * * * *
10) The M24 sniper rifle: * * Thumbs up. Mostly in .308 but some in 300 win mag.Heavily modified Remington 700's. Great performance. Snipers have been usedheavily to great effect. Rumor has it a marine sniper on his third tour inAnbar province has actually exceeded Carlos Hathcock's record for confirmedkills with OVER 100. * * * *
11) The new body armor: * * Thumbs up. Relatively light at approx. 6 lbs.and can reliably be expectedto soak up small shrapnel and even will stop an AK-47 round. The bad news:Hot as **** to wear, almost unbearable in the summer heat (which averagesover 120 degrees). Also, the enemy now goes for head shots wheneverpossible. All the bull**** about the "old" body armor making our guysvulnerable to the IED's was a non-starter. The IED explosions are enormousand body armor doesn't make any difference at all in most cases. * * * *
12) Night Vision and Infrared Equipment: * * Thumbs way up. Spectacular performance. Our guys see in the dark andown the night, period. Very little enemy action after evening prayers.More and more enemy being whacked at night during movementby our hunter-killer teams. We've all seen the videos. * * * *
13) Lights: * * Thumbs up. Most of the weapon mounted and personal lights areSurefire's, and the troops love 'em. Invaluable for night urbanoperations. Jordan carried a $34 Surefire G2 on a neck lanyard and lovedit. I cant help but notice that most of the good fighting weapons andordnance are 50 or more years old!! With all our technology, it'sthe WWII and Vietnam era weapons that everybody wants!! The infantryfighting is frequent, up close and brutal. No quarter is given or shown. * * * *
Bad guy weapons: * *
1) Mostly AK47's. The entire country is an arsenal. Works better inthe desert than the M16 and the .308 Russian round kills reliably. PKM beltfed light machine guns are also common and effective. Luckily, the enemymostly shoots like ****. Undisciplined "spray and pray" type fire.However, they are seeing more and more precision weapons, especially sniperrifles. ( Iran, again) * * * *
2) The RPG: * * Probably the infantry weapon most feared by our guys. Simple, reliableand as common as dog****. The enemy responded to our up-armored Humveesby aiming at the windshields, often at point blank range. Still killing alot of our guys. * * * *
3) The IED: * * The biggest killer of all. Can be anything from old Soviet anti-armormines to jury rigged artillery shells. A lot found in Jordan 's area werein abandoned cars. The enemy would take 2 or 3 155 mm artillery shellsand wire them together. Most were detonated by cell phone and theexplosions are enormous. You're not safe in any vehicle, even an M1 tank.Driving is by far the most dangerous thing our guys do over there. Lately,they are much more sophisticated "shape charges" (Iranian) specificallydesigned to penetrate armor. Fact: Most of the ready made IED's aresupplied by Iran, who is also providing terrorists (Hezbollah types) totrain the insurgents in their use and tactics. That's why the attacks havebeen so deadly lately. Their concealment methods are ingenious, the latestbeing shape charges, in Styrofoam containers spray painted to look like thecinderblocks that litter all Iraqi roads. We find about 40% before theydetonate, and the bomb disposal guys are unsung heroes of this war. * * * *
4) Mortars and rockets: * * Very prevalent. The soviet era 122mm rockets (with an 18km range)are becoming more prevalent. One of Jordan 's NCO's lost a leg to one.These weapons cause a lot of damage "inside the wire". Jordan 's base wa**** almost daily his entire time there by mortar and rocket fire, often atnight to disrupt sleep patterns and cause fatigue (It did). More ofa psychological weapon than anything else. The enemy mortar teams wouldjump out of vehicles, fire a few rounds, and then haul ass in a matterof seconds. * * * * Fun fact: * * Captured enemy have apparently marveled at the marksmanship of our guysand how hard they fight. They are apparently told in Jihad school thatthe Americans rely solely on technology, and can be easily beaten inclose quarters combat for their lack of toughness. Let's just say theyknow better now. *