12-23-2015, 02:28 PM
Having debated in favor of and having not just a few arguments on the topic, I reluctantly concluded that the factors driving the choice of the 5.56 in the first place are even more strongly present today. That conclusion, however, does not mean that I agree with the notion that the best path for the next infantry cartridge is a smaller, not larger, footrprint in all respects that the current 5.56 NATO. My view isnthat our soldier's confidence is better served if they ready access to weapons that will eliminate any threat they can see.
The principal factor is the doctrine that air and artillery will do the heavy lifting and that the infantry is there to more or less clean up. That doctrine relegates the individual weapon to a defensive role with much less demand on range and lethality than would be if the role were more an offensive one.
To be sure, however, there are openings for a cartridge like the Grendel but they are more roles currently held by the 7.62x51.
As BFT pointed out, however, logistics and politics will dominate any decision.
The best we can do is to understand and articluste the cartridge in terms of its effectiveness and impact on logistics tail in the combined arms role and articulate that understanding. This gives those who are truly able to influence the influencers ammunition to support the political arguments.
The principal factor is the doctrine that air and artillery will do the heavy lifting and that the infantry is there to more or less clean up. That doctrine relegates the individual weapon to a defensive role with much less demand on range and lethality than would be if the role were more an offensive one.
To be sure, however, there are openings for a cartridge like the Grendel but they are more roles currently held by the 7.62x51.
As BFT pointed out, however, logistics and politics will dominate any decision.
The best we can do is to understand and articluste the cartridge in terms of its effectiveness and impact on logistics tail in the combined arms role and articulate that understanding. This gives those who are truly able to influence the influencers ammunition to support the political arguments.
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"To those who have fought and almost died for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know."
-- Author Unknown
"If at first you do succeed, try not to look astonished!" -- Milton Berle