Our S-2 guys rarely went outside the wire. Our Bde S-2 was a girl, who while hyper-competent at her job, was always skiddish about going out of the FOB.
Rightfully so, in my opinion. If I were female and had to interact with guys who were sexsist, stuck in the past, liked to fight, and generally rough around the edges, I'd be uncomfortable too. Not to mention the Taliban.
For the record, I carried an M-4A1, an ACOG, and AN/PEQ-2.
About halfway through our deployment, we did some personnel shuffling, and in addition to a squad leader I became a Grenadier, so I swapped carbines, for one with a -203.