Weapons failed US troops during Afghan firefight
Submitted by meekandmild on Sun, 10/11/2009 - 08:25
WASHINGTON – In the chaos of an early morning assault on a remote U.S. outpost in eastern Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Erich Phillips' M4 carbine quit firing as militant forces surrounded the base. The machine gun he grabbed after tossing the rifle aside didn't work either.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091011/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_afg...
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If you read the article,
it clearly states that there were different types of weapons there that were experiencing problems. That takes the discussion out of the "weapon design" context.
The stated problem was "overheating".
ALL weapons can overheat if the recommended rate of fire is exceeded.
This is a troop training problem, not a weapon system problem.
For the people who want to blame the M4 and it's Stoner Gas System, please recognize that the M249 Minimi S.A.W. (machine gun) which also "malfunctioned" is a piston-operated design, and it failed too.
I surmise that these troops did not keep their weapons as clean as they claimed they did, and that they were probably not battle-tested, and exceeded the rate of fire allowed for the time period of sustained firing involved.
This incident reeks of "panic firing" by raw troops, exceeding the capabilities of the weapons. And again, there is NO weapon which cannot be overheated. Period.
Surprise, surprise.
Government paying lots of money for crap... and putting our son's and daughter's lives at risk.
Those (corporations) who are responsible are worse than traitors on the battlefield.
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Leave Us Alone and Bring the Troops Home
might explain why we are even there
http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2008/02/21/afghanistan-sitti...
This report may explain a lot of things regarding US involvement in Afghanistan.
AK vs AR vs Mosin Nagant
http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinHumor.htm
MUST BUY MORE & BETTER WEAPONS!
I guess that's what this article wants me to support. How about someone just get them all home. now. its over. shake hands say sorry and just call it a day. we have no money or time for this.
Sounds just like the M-16's we used to have
Colt makes jammy weapons. They can't handle sand either. I'll bet every US weapon was cleaned thoroughly after this episode. I hate to say it, but a lot of these young Americans are lazy and there's a very good chance neither of these weapons were properly maintained. In basic, I always noticed the guys having the worst problems with their weapons were the ones who half-assed their way through cleaning and oiling.
He should have never been in that position to begin with; we have no business in Afghanistan.
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The article mentions their M249's failing.
That surprises me. The M249 is a very well made weapon and made to be fired and a bit abused actually. I wonder what condition they were in before the firefight.
Shameless AK plug
It also mentioned they were over taken by 'a barrage' of AK-47 fire. I can't imagine those things were in prime condition.
Another fine government contract, another satisfied customer!
I've hear that with proper tuning....
AK's can be make to fire dirt and rocks.
I may not know the truth, but I know when I'm being lied to...
I may not know the truth, but I know when I'm being lied to...
The military needs a bailout! Quick!
The military might not have the best weapons that money can buy! Oh no! Just another excuse to pump more money into the death and mayhem division of the empire.
While I'm repulsed by the fact that people are killing people in Afghanistan, I find some amusement that the best armed military in the world is being held at bay by people fighting with AK-47 clones that are frequently MADE BY HAND one at a time.
AK47
Handmade is generally superior in quality to mass production. We adopted mass production because it is vastly cheaper, not because it produces a higher quality product. And the AK is an inherently more reliable and robust design than the AR. The AR has other advantages. But in terms of reliability and robustness, especially in a sandy environment, the AK wins without even a struggle. So no surprise here, really.
Handmade with modern tools is superior, agreed.
Handmade with the tools available to some Afhgani craftsman? Amazing that they can pull it off at all.
it's the rationale that is failing
out now