I had earlier point out that the progressives weren't giving up without a fight. Their hard-fought victory over the military establishment and the consequent loss of it, even if partial, cuts deeply. They have so weakened the edifice that it is crumbling. The department cannot meet recruitment goals, needs warfighters for the national defense and cannot find them, wastes increasingly precious dollars on failed programs, and celebrates transgenders and LGBTQ. This crumbling of the edifice meets…… [read more]
From the time I came to Vietnam in May 1967 to date, I have been on 82 patrols as an infantry unit commander and have been shot at on 38 separate occasions. From this experience I have several observations which may interest readers of THE AMERICAN RIFLEMAN, especially those who may be slated for combat duty in this area. The standard U.S. infantry rifle in Vietnam is the M16. There have been stories of men getting killed because their M16s jammed in battle. My advice is to ignore these tales. I have carried at different times two M16s as well as two of the stubby little CAR-15s. The CAR-15 is simply an M16 with a short, carbine-length barrel and telescoping stock. With these four arms I have never experienced a jam in 18 months of combat. If given the same care as a .22 rimfire semi-automatic rifle, the M16 will not fail.
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I have knocked out Communists at ranges from 50 feet to 750 meters and have yet to use full-automatic fire. There are two reasons why I stress semi-automatic fire. First of all, it is just wasteful of ammunition. The average G.I. carries from 10 to 20 18-round magazines (21 rounds can be squeezed into the M16 magazine, but overfilling can cause jams. One can fire off 20 magazines of ammunition in from 5 to 10 minutes, but then there are likely to be problems.
You can read the rest at American Rifleman.
Of course the M-16 / M4 and AR-15 variants today are good rifles, the current suite of AR-15s even better (in most cases, assuming you don’t buy a “rack” or budget AR).
Here is another image that’s helpful.
All of the initial changes were made by the Army against the advice of Eugene Stoner, and all of the changes you see in the image above were made back to what Eugene Stoner had originally designed.
It remains today an awesome weapon. Personally, I don’t think the DoD should ever have gone with the new ceramic cartridge design. The only change that should have been considered is a re-barrel to 6 mm ARC. It is a awesome cartridge – I know from hunting with it.
John Moses Browing and Eugene Stoner are the greatest weapons designers America ever produced.
At one time the cartels made most of their money from drugs. Today, it’s people. This video breaks some ground concerning things on the table for the cartels.
When I posed this question earlier, I don’t think most readers are considering the depths of the problem, how far the roots go, the interconnectedness of the world economy today, or how difficult and intransigent this problem is.
For the record, I agree with the commentator above. If the U.S. sends “The Unit” in direct action military action against cartel targets, the notion that any target will escape with their lives is beyond ludicrous. It’s not going to happen. I’d say the same thing if we sent MARSOC, approximately so.
Because we can and would win each individual engagement, does that mean we should? Well, no, not necessarily so. But as I said above, this will prove to be an intransigent problem.
The comments on my earlier post remained stateside and focused on drone warfare. Well, the cartels have drones too, and have sanctioned the use of them against ICE agents. Drones fighting drones and retaliatory strikes after retaliatory strike isn’t a viable option. Neither is shutting down the border never to trade with any other country again. You want watch this video to understand what I’m saying. I can’t embed it – you’ll have to click away to watch it.
The U.S. is one of the largest oil producers in the world. We don’t use a drop of the oil we produce, nor can we. Our refineries are outfitted to produce another type of oil that can be used for transportation. Refitting our refineries to produce the oil we use would cost billions upon billions of dollars and likely bankrupt the oil companies, and certainly wouldn’t happen in time to prevent a complete and comprehensive shutdown of all traffic in America, every truck and car, coming from everywhere and going to everywhere.
Furthermore, simply engaging in combat across the border will invoke nation on nation warfare. The cartels are shooting on border and ICE agents as we speak. So the notion that we can avoid near peer conflict and achieve an adequate resolution is already off the table. It was never on the table. You can cross that option off of your list. It’s not viable.
Then there is the issue that law enforcement isn’t going fast enough or engaging in operations far-reaching enough to have the necessary impact. There are protests across America, probably funded by Soros and his organizations. There was one a few miles down the road from me this weekend.
NEW: Group of protesters waving Mexican flags harass a man flying an American flag on his truck in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Only in America.
The incident happened as several hundred people gathered near the Broadway Bridge to pledge their support for Mexico as they protested… pic.twitter.com/qiCGIRw4rQ
Salem, Ore. — A @SalemPoliceDept officer was surrounded by Mexican nationalists at a protest on Feb. 1 against the U.S. for deporting illegal foreign nationals. After getting back in the car to drive away, they beat on his windows. Video by @davidmedinapdx:pic.twitter.com/QPyBs9CI71
Blocking traffic, and disorderly conduct. And the officer just drove away as they beat on his car.
NOW: Anti-ICE protesters are blocking both sides of the 101 Freeway near the Alameda Street exit in DTLA. The CHP has since closed that portion of the freeway. Read more: https://t.co/K60ImdzmDipic.twitter.com/iO5ARSTyTL
It’s not like the enemy is outside the gates and all we have to do is keep the gate intact. The gate has been broken for decades. To them, they are “La Raza.” The Nation. And this is their land, so they see it. They won’t give it up without a fight.
So call in the militia. Or not. Will the government do that? Probably not, and neither could you indemnify yourselves from actions you would take as a militia member.
We are more intertwined with this problem than we ever were in Iraq or Afghanistan. It’s not even close, and nothing we did there would be of any benefit to us. We have no largesse to spread. There isn’t enough money to go around to stop this conflict, especially when we are enacting tariffs on Mexico (as we probably should).
I’m not making recommendations for action of any sort, nor am I recommending against actions of any sort. What I’m saying is that the comments to the previous post don’t even come close to recognizing the depths of the problems we face with La Raza, the cartels, the human trafficking problem, or a near peer enemy on our southern border.
