Improved Infantry Squad Capabilities Article

[LRRPF52]

“A Soldier must be able to engage the threat he’s faced with – whether it’s at eight meters or 800,”

Ultimately, Army service rifles must be general purpose in nature and embody a series of tradeoffs that balance optimum performance for a wide range of possible missions in a range of operating environments. With global missions taking Soldiers from islands to mountains and jungles to deserts, the Army can’t buy 1.1 million new service rifles every time it’s called upon to operate in a different environment.

Ultimately, the “best” weapon for an operator with a unique target set will not be the same weapon as the best weapon a large Army facing a wide range of targets.

To be effective in all scenarios, a Soldier needs to have true “general purpose” rounds in his weapon magazine that are accurate and effective against a wide range of targets.

Weapons….must be accurate and capable of engaging the enemy at overmatch distances.

Whoever is writing this is obviously out-of-touch with what it takes to achieve hits at 800m, and how a cartridge/rifle system capable of that is a liability at the 8m range. Even among the infantry squad, there are weapons capable of reaching out to 800m, where a rifleman can't even see a target unless he's using optics. This really sounds like an officer sitting is some air-conditioned building who hasn't even served in a combat arms units writing these requirements. The statements are made as if riflemen are the only soldiers on the battlefield.