Combat Firearms "Report Card" from Iraq

[Cajunrider]

You may have seen this before. It is long but I found it an interesting read. I received it via email from a friend whose brother is a DEA agent.


Combat Firearms "Report Card" from Iraq . . .

From a Marine Lt. Col. (R).

US Weapons:

1) The M-16 rifle:
Thumbs down. Chronic jamming problems with the talcum powder
like sand over there. The sand is everywhere. Jordan says you
feel filthy 2 minutes after coming out of the shower. The M-4
carbine version is more popular because it's lighter and
shorter, but it has jamming problems also. They lack the
ability to mount the various optical gunsights and weapons
lights on the picatinny rails, but the weapon itself is not
great in a desert environment. They all hate the 5.56mm
(.223) round. Poor penetration on the cinderblock structure
common over there and even torso hits can't be reliably
counted on to put the enemy down.

Fun fact: Random autopsies on dead insurgents show a high level
of opiate use.

2) The M243 SAW (squad assault weapon):
.223 cal. Drum fed light machine gun. Big thumbs down.
Universally considered a piece of sh*t. Chronic jamming
problems, most of which require partial 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 all hate the 9mm cartridge. The use of handguns for self-
defense is actually fairly common. Same old story on the 9mm:
Bad guys hit multiple times and still 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 old M-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 are being dismounted and taken into the field by
infantry. The 7..62 round chews up the structure over there.

6) The M2 50 cal heavy machine gun:
Thumbs way, way up. "Ma Deuce" is still worth her considerable
weight in gold. The ultimate fight stopper - puts their
dicks in the dirt very time. The most coveted weapon in
theater.

7) The .45 pistol:
Thumbs up. Still the best pistol around out there. Everybody
authorized to carry a sidearm is trying to get their hands on
one. With few exceptions, can reliably be expected to put 'em
down with a torso hit. The special ops guys (who are doing
most of the pistol work) use the HK military model and supposedly love it. The old government model .45's are
being re-issued en masse.

8) The M-14:
Thumbs up. They are being re-issued in bulk, mostly in a
modified version to special ops guys. Modifications include
lightweight Kevlar stocks and low power red dot or ACOG
sights. Very reliable in the sandy environment, and they love
the 7.62 round.

9) The Barrett .50 cal sniper rifle:
Thumbs way up. Spectacular range and accuracy and hits like a
freight train. Used frequently to take out vehicle suicide
bombers (we actually stop a lot of them) and barricaded
enemy. It is definitely here 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
used heavily to great effect. Rumor has it a marine sniper on
his third tour in Anbar province has actually exceeded Carlos
Hathcock's record for confirmed kills with OVER 100.

11) The new body armor:
Thumbs up. Relatively light at approx. 6 lbs.and can reliably
be expected to soak up small shrapnel and even will stop an
AK-47 round. The bad news: Hot as sh*t to wear, almost
unbearable in the summer heat (which averages over 120
degrees). Also, the enemy now goes for head shots whenever
possible. All the bullsh*t about the "old" body armor making
our guys vulnerable to the IED's was a non-starter. The IED
explosions are enormous and 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 and own the night, period. Very little enemy action after
evening prayers. More and more enemy being whacked at night
during movement by our hunter-killer teams. We've all seen
the videos.

13) Lights:
Thumbs up. Most of the weapon mounted and personal lights are
Surefire's, and the troops love 'em. Invaluable for night urban
operations. Jordan carried a $34 Surefire G2 on a neck lanyard
and loved it. I cant help but notice that most of the good
fighting weapons and ordnance are 50 or more years old!! With
all our technology, it's the WWII and Vietnam era weapons that
everybody wants!! The infantry fighting 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 in the desert than the M16 and the .308 Russian round
kills reliably. PKM belt fed light machine guns are also
common and effective. Luckily, the enemy mostly shoots like sh*t. Undisciplined "spray and pray" type fire. However, they
are seeing more and more precision weapons, especially sniper
rifles. (Iran, again)

2) The RPG:
Probably the infantry weapon most feared by our guys. Simple,
reliable and as common as dogsh*t. The enemy responded to our
up-armored Humvees by aiming at the windshields, often at point
blank range. Still killing a lot of our guys.

3) The IED:
The biggest killer of all. Can be anything from old Soviet
anti-armor mines to jury rigged artillery shells. A lot found
in Jordan's area were in abandoned cars. The enemy would take
2 or 3 155 mm artillery shells and wire them together. Most
were detonated by cell phone and the explosions 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)
specifically designed to penetrate armor. Fact: Most of the
ready made IED's are supplied by Iran, who is also providing
terrorists (Hezbollah types) to train the insurgents in their
use and tactics. That's why the attacks have been so deadly
lately. Their concealment methods are ingenious, the latest
being shape charges, in Styrofoam containers spray painted to
look like the cinderblocks that litter all Iraqi roads. We
find about 40% before they detonate, 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 was hit almost daily his entire time
there by mortar and rocket fire, often at night to disrupt
sleep patterns and cause fatigue (It did). More of a
psychological weapon than anything else. The enemy mortar
teams would jump out of vehicles, fire a few rounds, and then
haul ass in a matter of seconds.

Fun facts:
Captured enemy have apparently marveled at the marksmanship of our guys and how hard they fight. They are apparently told in
Jihad school that the Americans rely solely on technology, and
can be easily beaten in close quarters combat for their lack
of toughness. Let's just say they know better now.

Bad guy technology:
Simple yet effective. Most communication is by cell and
satellite phones and also by email on laptops. They use
handheld GPS units for navigation and "Google Earth" for
overhead views of our positions. Their weapons are good, if
not fancy, and prevalent. Their explosives and bomb technology
is TOP OF THE LINE. Night vision is rare. They are very
careless with their equipment and the captured GPS units and
laptops are treasure troves of Intel when captured.

Who are the bad guys? Most of the carnage is caused by the
Zarqawi Al Qaeda group. They operate mostly in Anbar province
(Fallujah and Ramadi).
These are mostly "foreigners", Non-Iraqi Sunni Arab Jihadists
from all over the Muslim world (and Europe). Most enter
Iraq through Syria (with, of course, the knowledge and
complicity of the Syrian govt.), and then travel down the "rat
line" which is the trail of towns along the Euphrates River
that we've been hitting hard for the last few months.
Some are virtually untrained young Jihadists that often end up
as suicide bombers or in various "sacrifice squads". Most,
however, are hard core terrorists from all the usual suspects
(Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas etc.). These are the guys running
around murdering civilians an masse and cutting heads off.
The Chechens (many of whom are Caucasian) are supposedly the
most ruthless and the best fighters. They have been fighting
the Russians for years. In the Baghdad area and south, most of
the insurgents are Iranian inspired (and led) Iraqi Shiites.
The Iranian Shiia have been very adept at infiltrating the
Iraqi local govt.'s, the police forces and the Army. They have
had a massive spy and agitator network there since the Iran
-Iraq war in the early 80's. Most of the Saddam loyalists were
killed, captured, or gave up long ago.

Bad Guy Tactics: When they are engaged on an infantry level
they get their asses kicked every time! Brave, but stupid.
Suicidal Banzai-type charges were very common earlier in the
war and still occur. They will literally sacrifice 8-10 man
teams in suicide squads by sending them screaming and firing
AK's and RPG's directly at our bases just to probe the
defenses. They get mowed down like grass every time (see the
M2 and M240 above). Jordan's base was hit like this often.
When engaged, they have a tendency to flee to the same
building, probably for what they think will be a glorious last
stand. Instead, we call in air and that's the end of that more
often than not. These hole-ups are referred to as Alpha
Whiskey Romeo's (Allah's Waiting Room). We have the laser
guided ground-air thing down to a science. The fast mover's,
mostly Marine F-18's, are taking an ever increasing toll on
the enemy. When caught out in the open, the helicopter
gunships and AC-130 Spectre Gunships cut them to ribbons with
cannon and rocket fire, especially at night.
Interestingly, artillery is hardly used at all.

Fun facts:
The enemy death toll is supposedly between 45-50 thousand.
That is why we're seeing less and less infantry attacks and
more IED, suicide bomber sh*t. The new strategy is just
simple: attrition.

The insurgent tactic most frustrating is their use of civilian
non-combatants as cover. They know we do all we can to avoid
civilian casualties and therefore schools, hospitals and
especially Mosques are locations where they meet, stage for
attacks, cache weapons, and ammo and flee to when engaged.
They have absolutely no regard whatsoever for inflicting
civilian casualties. They will terrorize locals and murder
without hesitation anyone believed to be sympathetic to the
Americans or the new Iraqi govt. Kidnapping of family members,
especially children, is common to influence people they are
trying to influence but can't reach, such as local govt.
officials, clerics, tribal leaders, etc..

The first thing our guys are told is "don't get captured".
They know that if captured they will be tortured and beheaded
on the internet. Zarqawi openly offers bounties for anyone who
brings him a live American serviceman. This motivates the
criminal element who otherwise don't give a sh*t about the
war. A lot of the beheading victims were actually kidnapped by
common criminals and sold to Zarqawi.

As such, for our guys, every fight is to the death. Surrender
is not an option. The Iraqi's are a mixed bag..Some fight
well; others aren't worth a damn. Most do okay with American
support. Finding leaders is hard, but they are getting better.

It is widely viewed that Zarqawi's use of suicide bombers, en
masse, against the civilian population was a serious tactical
mistake. Many Iraqi's were galvanized and the caliber of
recruits in the Army and the police forces went right up,
along with their motivation. It also led to an exponential
increase in good intel because the Iraqi's are sick of the
insurgent attacks against civilians. The Kurds are solidly
pro-American and fearless fighters.

Morale:
According to Jordan , morale among our guys is very high. They
not only believe that they are winning, but that they are
winning decisively. They are stunned and dismayed by what they
see in the American press, whom they almost universally view
as against them. The embedded reporters are despised and
distrusted. They are inflicting casualties at a rate of 20-1
and then see sh*t like "Are we losing in Iraq" on TV and the
print media.

For the most part, they are satisfied with their equipment,
food, and leadership. Bottom line though, and they all say
this, is that there are not enough guys there to drive the
final stake through the heart of the insurgency, primarily
because there aren't enough troops in-theater to shut down the
borders with Iran and Syria. The Iranians and the Syrians just
can't stand the thought of Iraq being an American ally (with,
of course, permanent US bases there).


Anyway, that's it, hope you found it interesting.

[ringadingh]

That was quite an interesting read. Its good to see that most of the guys keep their spirits up.

[macmac]

Good read...

[Idaho]

This was a good read. I'm surprised that the M16 has problems with the sand. I thought those rifles had proven themselves. I definitely agree with the M14, my fav military rifle. Was trained on the 14 in boot camp and they came out with the 16's shortly after.

I think that many of our enemies are surprised at the fighting spirit of the American soldier.

Also, this report demonstrates that news and common knowledge definitely affects a soldiers fighting spirit. Our soldiers "fight to the death" out of fear of being captured and be-headed. Same goes for the opposite side of the coin. Enemy soldiers are emboldened by dissent in the opposite camp. That is why it is maddening when the news media in the US berates the military, "reports" on upcoming campaigns and almost gleefully reports American casualties. We NEVER see the pictures of the carnage wrought by jihadists, we never see a man screaming for his life while a saber saws off his head. We are too civilized and as a result we are ignorant, isolated and soft and our enemies are encouraged and continue the fight.

Imagine if you will what would happen if we all stood 100% behind our troops. If our news carried stories of heroism and let the enemy know that we will not stop until they surrender or die. They would not even pick the fight in the first place. I believe that is called "Peace through strength."

[Cajunrider]

You are correct in all of what you posted Bud. Not broadcasting the carnage that these animals inflict upon innocent civilians keeps the anti-war sentiment rolling right along. That same anti-war sentiment emboldens our enemies and gets more of our guys killed unnecessarily. I feel certain that if our liberal mainstream media broadcasted what really happens in the world of Jihadists, support for our troop's mission would escalate.

[macmac]

Nope the lock up at thye bolt in M-16 and Ar-15 has flaws of too tight a tolerance. I won't own one due to the way they lock up. I forget how many little locing lugs there are, but they don't lock halfway and with wear in time will try to lock up more. Any serious dirt or carbon with clog them up and cause a jam.

For civies there is a kit out now that cleans up the carbon mess, but it isn't a mil re-fit.......yet.

Then the .223/5.56 just lacks punch. There is a new round that can and may be converted in 6.5 mm, that will add more punch. 'IF' that is made with a clean action and a little slop is built in, it will be the gun for the next 50 years. There is no question the of the accuracy of these guns..

I have vials of sand from over there, and other places like the Alamo, etc etc etc... better than never going to see at all. The sand varries widley and is nothing like sand here anywhere in the USA. Turk sand is course and a red brown, and lots different than other places in the Saudi penninsula. I have some odd hobbies huh?

[Idaho]

mac, you never cease to amaze me.

[Cajunrider]

Mac, They are slowly progressing from the 5.56 to the 6.8mm Remington. Better penetration through cinder block walls and more knockdown power. You can purchase the semi auto version from Barrett. Pricey but an excellent rifle.

[macmac]

Well I hear it as 6.5mm. I wonder which of us is correct.

Well thar's a lot of places I can't go to see, so the next best poor man way, is find a fool who will send me sand. Oddly it isn't that hard to get sand from people in far away places. I figure when I have enough sand i can call the whole world mine and be king. That idea can work right? I got all these 35mm film cans of sands... Like a stamp collection but cheaper.

The black volcanic sand is way cool stuff, it would make a great paint.

[afgunner]

I have three tours in the desert between Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom and I have never found anything like the sand in Southern Iraq. This stuff is so fine it can actually filter through just about anything. As for the M-16, it is just not made for the desert environment. I got in the habit of stripping mine down every night and giving it a thorough cleaning because I had seen others jam due to the dirt and sand. One problem that I saw was people who didn't pay attention and used too much oil. The oil collects the sand and turns it into concrete in your weapon. I never really had to use mine, but I wanted it to work if I needed it. I talked to a lot of the guys that went outside the wire every day and they almost to a man would rather have an old M-14 or one of the new Barretts for the stopping power. When you shoot some guy hopped up on opiates in the chest and he keeps coming, it can ruin your whole day. Universally, they all love the Barrett .50 for anything at a distance and the .45 for up close and personal. None of the Spec Ops teams carry the M-16 or the 9mm anymore. They carry the H&K in 7.62 and the .45.

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Very good read. I have used the M-16 many a time. It never let me down.

[macmac]

afgunner, I am curious if you some how remained with the same M-16 for the 3 tours? And if so what the condition of the locking lugs were from any shooting and the constant cleanings.

I have forgotten how many lugs there are exactly, 9 seems to be the figure in my head, but I am not sure that is correct.

Did the lugs polish? Did you notice anything about them? Understandably a hard question after the fact...

What else in your opinion did sand get into that would stop function?

[afgunner]

Mac,
I deployed with three different weapons over the three tours. The Air Force doesn't permanently issue a weapon to us like the Army and Marines do.
The locking lugs and the firing pin are the main problem areas that I saw with the sand on other peoples weapons. I had to strip my AR-15 down and count the lugs on the bolt carrier assembly and I come up with a number of eight and I don't remember anything different on the M-16....Huck