of the M-16 and the considerable amount of discussion and argument that went into adopting that type of weapon and that one in particular. I found the article to be quite interesting. From what I can gather, it became less necessary for soldiers to develop marksmanship skills and more necessary that they be able to spray lead. This, I understand, came from the Korean War where the Chinese army would flood the battlefield with bodies so that a few would make it to hand-to-hand fighting grounds. Sounds gruesome to me. As well, the worst that could happen to a soldier was for him to run out of ammo and the smaller projectile meant he could carry more of it. The article mentioned that some soldiers when packing would leave behind food to make more room for bullets. I would wonder how that survival mentality translated to how they'd pack for vacations when returning home from war. ![]()
Strange, that I posted a few wks. ago about the 782 gear we had in USMC many yrs. ago to what is now available. It just so happens a new book entered my library that explains much of this. The book:
GRUNT: the curious science of humans at war
by: Mary Roach
It covers whatever it takes to get new gear of any sort to become available. Some slivering thoughts are surely in this book. Anything from reducing injuries by IEDs, fire retardants, hearing protection and improvement as well as vehicles. So far it has proven to be well put t0ogether. Who knew "silk" was used to reduce injuries from "garment fragments" entering wounds causing infection. Of course, all this from vendors providing the lowest bids.
Understand, this is from a Marine that was issued woolen underwear for the cold, not the newer "Ninja PJs" offered now. Of course, in the jungle I didn't need PJs just fresh clean socks. Hey, anyone use the K-bar to pick at things:
-----Willy ![]()

Chowhound
Comic Vine
GameFAQs
GameSpot
Giant Bomb
TechRepublic