Leatherneck Magazine

NEW FOR LEATHERNECK READERS

EMXMC L UBS I VLE UEN I TME D SOTOA TFEFS M AGR I NOE CLO R PDS
COMMEMORATIVE BIRTHSTONE DRESS RING
Personalized with your Birthstones, initials and year dates of Service

had what some have called the greatest assault weapon of all time, the AK47. It has always bothered me that, with our technical ability, we could not match the reliability of the AK.

If we need a true assault weapon, then by all means bring back the Thompson submachine gun, and with today’s materials it would be lighter, or have Colt firearms redo the AK and have a true NATO weapon.

R. L. Stocker Phillipsburg, N.J.

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In response to John Hamilton’s letter in the February issue I can only assume Mr. Hamilton has never carried an M16A2 or M16A4 into combat. This weapon needs only a minimal amount of maintenance in a desert, jungle or snowy environment. In my experience, problems with the weapon are directly related to operator error or bad magazines.

As far as “our troops being trained to point and shoot,” I guess he is talking about the Army. I have always trained my Marines to take aim, with the exception of a Military Operations on Urban Terrain (MOUT) environment, where they are taught to look over the sights to ensure maximum peripheral vision.

When Hamilton states that it “has ruined our troops’ fire discipline and marks-manship” nothing could be further from the truth. The responsibility of marks-manship and fire discipline still lies with the small-unit leaders, as it always will. This doesn’t mean that the Marine Corps shouldn’t stop looking for upgrades in weaponry for today’s Marines, but don’t be so quick to dismiss what we have in the armory today!

SSgt Dan Bridges Fallbrook, Calif.

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• While former Cpl Joe Thein of Hales Corners, Wis., wrote a similar letter to R. L. Stocker’s, I think SSgt Bridges articulately stated his case with facts. We older Marines sometimes overlook the many changes and improvements to the Corps’ weapons systems. Many of us who transitioned to the M16 in a combat zone in Vietnam have a tendency to be skeptical—and with good reason. SSgt Bridges, however, put it in the “V” ring, and we are sending him our Leatherneck Challenge Coin.