Quote:
Originally Posted by k9870
The m16 has seen it's time and is being surpassed by more modern weapons. But there is the pointy stick syndrome:
Train a guy to use a pointy stick, he likes it. That pointy stck may save hs life, and he loves it. Over time he believes it to be the ultimate combat weapon. Up to the day he is butchered by iron spears.
The militiary has this syndrome with m4s.
|
I don't think the "pointy stick syndrome" explains the continued use of the M4. I'm not the biggest M16/M4 fan by any means, but I have always asked the question: If it's really such a bad design, why is it that so many SF units outside of the U.S. use it? If you take a look at the list of countries whose SF use M4s, you'll see a bunch whose countries adopted a newer design as their standard service rifle, and yet the SF still uses M4s instead. The SAS are the best example - even after the huge overhaul that the L85 received from H&K, they still stick to the M4. And likewise, Aussie SF uses M4s even though the rest of the military is issued Steyr AUGs. And while the L85 has a controversial history, isn't there pretty much a universal consensus on the excellence of the AUG?
The same applies to most American SWAT teams. How many SWAT teams in this country use either M4s or some similar derivative nowadays? How many use the G36, or the AUG, or the SCAR, or any other design from Western Europe? Is it really just the fact that Americans are so hung up on ARs? Or do these guys know something that the M4's critics don't?
There may be another explanation for all of this, but the "pointy stick syndrome" idea just doesn't seem to be that explanation.