USMC adopts M4 for Officers, SSgts and above!

[ChuckMK23]

Interesting article on Defense News dot com...

• Staff Sergeants and up, as well as second lieutenants through lieutenant colonels and chief warrant officers, will now be issued the M4 carbine as their T/O, or “table of organization,”
  
• Colonels continue to be issued M9/M9A1
  
• Privates through Sergeant will still be issued the M16A4.
  
• Sailors E-5 and below who are with Marine units will be issued the M4.
  
• The remaining pay grades will still carry the pistol.

http://defensenews.com/story.php?F=2875371&C=america

 

[Crowbar]

MARADMIN 378/07 for those interested.

 

[xmid]

Thats kind of wierd seeing the date on this MARADMIN. I viewed a friends pictures of work ups during the early spring and all the officers and staff sergeants were already carrying M4s.

 

[skidkid]

This is a case of policy catching up with reality. most Helo crews are carrying both M4s and pistols.

 

[Cavt]

The article mentioned that one Col. carried an AK, MP5, and a shotgun with him. Whats the deal with guys carrying stuff like that? You can't just bring your own shotgun/ak/anything over there with you and just carry it around can you?

 

[skidkid]

Shotguns and MP5s are issueable, AK are very easy to come across (one raid will net anyone who wants them). That is a lot of weight for anyone to carry around and anyone who is carrying all three will be laughed at, to their face if of equal rank or behind their back if senior. A pistol and a rifle are enough for anyone who actually ventures beyond the wire.
It depends on the unit, most wont allow personal weapons, some will. The tough part is not bringing them there it is bringing them home based on the strict war trophy policies.

 

[gaijin6423]

I have reason to suspect that there are nowhere near enough M4's to go around. At least on the East coast, anyway. So sayeth various MEU and MEF sources.

 

[skidkid]

I have reason to suspect that there are nowhere near enough M4's to go around. At least on the East coast, anyway. So sayeth various MEU and MEF sources.

Just go to DRMO in Kuwait and unroll some Air Force or Army tents, I guarantee you find at least one rolled up in old tents.

 

[gaijin6423]

Probably could, but even that might not be enough. We asked the M4 question in a SLAP/LTI meeting for the MEU today, and we were nearly laughed out of the room by the MEU and MEF -4 reps.

edit: For the record, I think everyone got such a chuckle out of our question because my boss was hinting that the MEU should pay for us to have the M4's. I'll just get my armorer to issue me a shotgun if we don't have any M4's.

 

[usmarinemike]

Just go to DRMO in Kuwait and unroll some Air Force or Army tents, I guarantee you find at least one rolled up in old tents.

Un-%$**ing sat.



They're still qualifying with the M16 AND the pistol at TBS. With as long as it took for everybody just to get a single set of digital cammies I can't imagine how long it will take to come up with 125,000 new rifles given all the controls and what-nots that they'll have to go through to get them down to the platoons.

Suppose everybody will just keep carrying their M9s? As long as there is ammo, why not?

 

[phrogdriver]

I can only see the pain when all these officers and SNCOs need to get quotas on the rifle range, especially if it's the new 3 week qualification program. Think a LtCol squadron CO is going to take a week of his time snapping in?

 

[jfulginiti]

I wonder how they expect Pilots/NFOs/aircrew to carry an M4 in the cockpit. I don't think they make a holster for that.

 

[Gatordev]

Several Marine buds here who did FAC tours have said they carried M4s w/ optics when on the ground, so wouldn't that lend credence that there's actually quite a few assets around already? Obviously, there's never "enough," but honest question.

 

[nittany03]

Shotguns and MP5s are issueable, AK are very easy to come across (one raid will net anyone who wants them). That is a lot of weight for anyone to carry around and anyone who is carrying all three will be laughed at, to their face if of equal rank or behind their back if senior. A pistol and a rifle are enough for anyone who actually ventures beyond the wire.
It depends on the unit, most wont allow personal weapons, some will. The tough part is not bringing them there it is bringing them home based on the strict war trophy policies.

Minor threadjack; I'm curious as to what those policies are. BATF-imposed, I assume?

 

[gaijin6423]

Sure, there's plenty of assets for guys in Division, which is who the FAC's belong to while their on that tour. But we're set up almost completely dedicated to the old ways here in the wing. Having been forced to inspect/inventory both my squadron and group's sections of the armory, I know precisely how many M4's are available for us, and it's not a lot. I was on the range two weeks ago (technically on the weekends, thanks to some construction), and out of 200-ish people, there wasn't a single person with either an M4 or an -A4.

I think that phrogdriver has a more valid point, however, by bringing up that the range is supposed to be 3 weeks long, and what CO/XO is going to have the space in their schedule to make that happen? Of course, with the range being inop during weekdays here, our range personnel somehow manage to get everything done in six days (two sets of weekends and Fridays), vice three weeks. So I guess it is possible to shorten that up a bit. But 'grass week' and Tables 1 & 2 take a long time to complete.