Obama’s eye-opening order to Pentagon: Make combat weapons safer, not more lethal

[dhoobler]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... s-pentago/

[anygunanywhere]

Just when you thought you had heard everything and that the situation could not possibly get any worse……...

[The Annoyed Man]

Lord how I hate the Washington Times' insistence on being click-bait. Their pages are nearly impossible to read because you're having to continually click the "X" button on ads that pop up everywhere, obscuring the text you're trying to read.

Now, that weight off my chest.......

I am unaware of attempts mentioned in the article to get the Army to adopt a "German designed" rifle as a primary small arms weapon, but the military already has extensive experience with both the 5.56 and 7.62 versions of the FN SCAR platform, which has several advantages over the AR platform (not to mention crazy-good accuracy for a semi auto battle rifle). I like ARs, own more than one, and have built several. But I also have a .308 SCAR, which I love enough that I could afford to buy another one in 5.56, I'd probably do it.

But that said, the AR is a fine platform, and the M4 version of it in particular is a great weapon for nearly any conflict that is not a large scale, WW2-style, gigantic land battle fought in open country. One can argue about the combat efficacy of the 5.56 cartridge, and maybe there are other choices that are "better", but that cartridge has killed a LOT of enemy combatants in the years since its adoption and distribution to the services. To me, it's a lot like the 9mm vs .45 ACP debate. The larger one might be a better killer (or not, depends on POV), but it is hard to argue with the sheer number of people who have been dispatched with a 9mm in the 115 years of its existence.

I think that, up to a point, combat proficiency is more important than combat arms. If the SCAR 16 (for example) is a superior weapon to the M16/M4, a better trained fighter armed with an M4 will succeed more often than not against a poorly trained fighter armed with a SCAR, or some other more advanced weapon design than the AR platform.

I don't know the exact number of AR15/M16/M4 weapons that are in the aggregate military inventory, but it has GOT to be at least several millions of them. The cost of replacing them all would be absurd, particularly for a nation that is not on a WW2-style industrial footing. Weapons like the SCAR are nice, and they had the right idea to try to retain AR ergonomics and manual of arms, while still adding features to upgrade the platform and increase accuracy, but at a price nearly double that of a AR based platform, it would be difficult to justify the cost.

Basically, and for better or for worse, I think the military is stuck with the AR platform until something new comes along that SO completely revolutionizes small arms design as to render both the AR platform and all previous attempts to redesign/upgrade/replace it completely irrelevant and not worth pursuing.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with the irredeemably stupid idea of wasting military budget on unattainable civilian safety goals.

[MechAg94]

Well, people keep telling them to make the police and military use those smart guns first. Though normally in jest I think.

Sounds like he just wants the feds to research smart guns since the free market doesn't want to.

[Abraham]

Does anything this America hating self considering demi-god does really surprise anyone...?

[Pawpaw]

Hopefully the military will just go through the motions while quietly thumbing their nose at him.

The first place "smart guns" should be mandatory should be the Secret Service and anyone, military or civilian, that is working with or for them on VIP protection. This should be followed closely by all bodyguards and other VIP protection organizations.

If such failure-prone technology were required to be implemented in that order, it would never get off the ground. The libtards want to shove "safety" down our throats, not their own.

[JP171]

I do hope the Military industrial complex does tell Chairman Maobama to go have a serious meeting with a short distinctly wound piece of rope, however the M-16 series of battle rifle needs to go. The thing is garbage the caliber was designed to make our enemies mad as opposed to kill them and the country went down hill from there. I had to carry a bottle of CLP and a rag all through my time in beautiful welcoming middle eastern countries and use both liberally to maintain functionality. if you think different, well I seriously doubt you have been there

[Nortex]

[Jusme]

Hopefully the military will just go through the motions while quietly thumbing their nose at him.

The first place "smart guns" should be mandatory should be the Secret Service and anyone, military or civilian, that is working with or for them on VIP protection. This should be followed closely by all bodyguards and other VIP protection organizations.

If such failure-prone technology were required to be implemented in that order, it would never get off the ground. The libtards want to shove "safety" down our throats, not their own.

Yeah I can see it now "Just keep your head down Mr President we are still recharging the batteries in our smart guns"