New Army "Caliber Configuration Study"

[stanc]

I have worked with some of the best in the business and I can tell you, if you can get a reliable system thats 10-15% less effective, it doesnt matter, it will have to be a huge difference to make the change worth it. The guys I worked with would run battle drills to build muscle memory for hours, I have been on missions that were mocked up on a sound stage type building where each guy knew how many steps he would take to each point and how many stairs there were in each portion of the building etc, so yes things are very hard to change because they are drilled into your body, stuff like malfunctions are felt before they are seen, so all of this will have to be re-learned and retrained so, any change in platform is out of the question for some commands.

Would that also apply to a change in size? The cartridges being developed by USAMU and other entities are too long to fit the M4 mag length. Could a new carbine that's a bit larger than the M4, but otherwise identical, be acceptable? I'm thinking something like the DPMS GII (bottom gun in photo).



Of course, such "general purpose cartridges" will need magazines substantially larger than for 5.56mm, and weight of loaded 30-rd mags will be ~50% heavier.