Courtesy Photo | Staff Sgt. Bobby Moore, armament section non-commissioned officer-in-charge with the...... read more read more
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By Spc. Zane Craig
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq— The Army has ordered 12,000 new M4-A1 carbine rifles from Colt, and plans to order 25,000 more early in 2011 to gradually replace the older model.
The new M4-A1 differs in several ways from the older model.
“The new version has some perks as well as some downfalls,” said Spc. Dave Hanson, a small arms repair specialist with the 298th Support Maintenance Company, 13th Combat Support Sustainment Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), currently stationed at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, and a Washington, Ill., native. “It can lay down a lot of fire, but the amount of ammunition you use increases the combat load.”
The main difference is that the new M4-A1 can fire fully automatic instead of the burst function of the old M4. The barrel is heavier to dissipate the heat that builds during sustained firing.
“The automatic function creates more recoil than the three-round burst,” said Staff Sgt. Bobby Moore, armament section non-commissioned officer-in-charge with the 298th SMC, and an Altoona, Pa., native. “The whole key to the burst function was to allow you time to reacquire the target.”
The war fighter on the ground will need to exercise discipline to regulate the use of the ammunition.
Hanson said that he likes the idea of updating everyone with one uniform weapon to both save money and simplify the repair process. Moore added that although most M-series parts are interchangeable, he has thousands of parts in his stock and many could be eliminated at great savings to the taxpayer.
JBB’s small arms repair shop is tucked away in a nondescript corner of the 298th SMC’s auto repair yard, occupying a row of tiny buildings containing the staff and supplies to service the range of non-artillery weapons present on the base.
Five soldiers constitute the only such unit remaining at JBB since the civilian contractors left last month as part of the ongoing responsible drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq.
The small arms shop handles annual gauges of weapons and repairs, the vast majority being completed same day.
The new M4-A1 carbine rifle has the potential to greatly increase the amount of firepower at the disposal of every service member who carries it into battle. Though its benefits come with some drawbacks, its addition to the military arsenal has the potential to save money and lives.
| Date Taken: | 11.19.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 11.22.2010 11:21 |
| Story ID: | 60657 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 218 |
| Downloads: | 13 |
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