Fascinating Article on M-16/AR-15 History/Reliability

[Guerrero]

Credit to Greg Ellifritz's blog. I'm sure most of you around these parts know of the "teething problems" of the early M-16 in Vietnam. I guess I never knew the whole story, and this article did a great job of explaining things in a way I could understand.

https://www.pewpewtactical.com/m16-vietnam-failure/

[Totem Polar]

That was an interesting read, thanks. Pretty much killed my morning coffee time.

[SiriusBlunder]

Credit to Greg Ellifritz's blog. I'm sure most of you around these parts know of the "teething problems" of the early M-16 in Vietnam. I guess I never knew the whole story, and this article did a great job of explaining things in a way I could understand.

https://www.pewpewtactical.com/m16-vietnam-failure/

I'm kinda geeky about gun lubrication so I think the role LSA played in this saga is also fascinating.

Vietnam, & the Great Disconnect - How "Gun Oil" Became the Norm (https://www.cherrybalmz.com/history-vietnam-and-the-great-disconnect)

[Rex G]

I remember hearing, in real time, and soon after the fact, gripes about M16 reliability, in Vietnam. I later read plenty of the writings of Col. Jeff Copper and Chuck Taylor. So, I came of age with a distrust for the M16/AR15 system.

At age 40, in 2002, my attention did turn to the AR15, because I worked for Houston PD, in Texas, which decided to resurrect its long-dormant patrol rifle program. (Yes; no coincidence; this was shortly after September Eleventh, 2001.) I got my first AR15, actually a Knight Armament SR15, a gift from my wife. Well, it was unreliable; several failures-to-feed, per mag. Not a favorable first impression!

Well, it was time to decide whether to cancel my coveted place in an upcoming patrol carbine certification class, or solve the rifle problem. I quickly got a letter, on official letterhead, from my captain, and bought a then-LE/Govt-only* pencil-barrel Colt AR15A2 Govt Carbine, from a local LE supply place. This Colt AR ran and ran; I could not make it malfunction. All was right, with the world. “Have Colt, Will Travel” became my sig line on more than one forum. Life was good. :)

About that SR15: Well, it seems that KAC had made a whole run of SR15 carbines without telling the computer to machine the M4 cuts, and had notified its dealers to quietly ship all of them back to KAC. Or, at least, that was the dealer’s story. My SR15 went back to KAC, and when I got it back, it assumed to-be-traded status.

*The 1994-2004 Assault Weapon Ban was still in effect.

[vaglocker]

How is it now one ever went to jail behind any of that shit?

[JRB]

How is it now one ever went to jail behind any of that shit?

Once you get to a certain rank in the Army, usually somewhere between Lt. Colonel and Brigadier General, it's surprisingly close to impossible to fuck up so bad that you go to jail. Even if it kills your Soldiers.
Around the same threshold that'd get a SGT MAJ sent to Leavenworth, you get an early retirement or just get reassigned somewhere else and torpedo your chances at promoting further.
Anything less and it never happened at all, and anything more and it's all over the MSM news.