Army Finally Decides to Test Potentially Superior Rifles

If you were to lay out a combat soldiers standard issue combat gear, andtold them to choose one item, I'm sure damn near 100% of them wouldchoose their rifle. So why has it taken months for  the Army to finallydecide to test three other options, that are considered by some to be a superiorweapon to the currently issued M4? I don't know either.

This story was kicking around back in April (The Blue State posted 'SoldiersIssued Inferior Rifles'), and here we are four months later with thedecision to do a "side by side test".

After months of heated debate, the Army will conduct a side-by-side testshoot next month with its standard-issued carbine to see how well it canwithstand extreme dust and sand environments.

The service yielded to critics - particularly lawmakers in Congress - whorecently ratcheted up the debate over whether the current M4carbine, manufactured by Colt Defense, is more susceptible to jamming industy conditions than other weapons used by Soldiers and special operators. Readon...

So, with the help of Senator Tom Coburn (R-OKLA.), theArmy decides to "look into" the problem, and the "winner"will be issued shortly, right?...Wrong. According to Lt. Col. Timothy Chyma( product manager for individual weapons with Program Executive Office Soldier)"The firing, collection of data and analysis of data is expected to takeapproximately five months."

The sand tests will include 10 samples ofeach weapon through which engineers will fire 6,000 rounds. Each weapon andloaded magazine will be exposed to "extreme dust" for 30 minutes thentest fired with 120 rounds, Chyma said.

"Each weapon will be wiped down and lubricated every 600 rounds with afull cleaning every 1,200 rounds," Chyma added. "The firing,collection of data and analysis of data is expected to take approximately fivemonths."

I understand you can not be too hasty while testingweapons, but I wonder if the tests will consist of three working shifts (24/7)like the shifts of the soldiers we are testing the rifles for?

Once theydecide which is the superior weapon, and if the tests prove to be one other thanthe one currently issued, our soldiers might see them in a year. That's what"approximately five months" means to our government.

Comments

[Chief Editor: Todd]

This is just stupid. We're paying $12 billion per month in the war. You'd think that maybe we could fork out another $50 million to fully equip the people that will be doing the fighting and the dying, so these Republicans can sit in their comfy DC chairs and not lie to their grandchildren about how we waged this war.

[granny]

This is such a good story; and we're so tangled in the web of wars, internal and external, that is being built around us, we tend to overlook these things. But it's part and parcel of the whole.

None of it is ever about what's right ~

It's all playing with personal agendas at anyone else's expense.

Good story!

[Chad Clayton]

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