Crap Tech

Our military has officially jumped the shark, so to speak. It seems to not only just care about the bottom line but doesn't want to change. And when it does change it drops the ball. Two prime examples are the adoption of sub-standard equipment: the adoption of the UCP(Universal Camouflage Pattern) in conjunction with the ACU(Army Combat Uniform) and the second is the refusal to give up the M16 as a standard combat rifle.
The adoption of a better camouflage pattern has been successful when it comes to MARPAT(Marine Disruptive Pattern). This design come in two patterns: one for the forest/woodlands and one for desert. The pattern is often called digital but is really a mathematical pattern designed to fool the eyes. The Army saw this and decided they needed to be cool like the Marines and set about conducting a competition between multiple patterns. What they decided on was possibly the worse of the top 4. The pattern that should have won, in my opinion, was Multicam, but no they chose UCP instead. You might be asking whats wrong with that, obviously the Army knows something about camouflage? Well they should but instead they chose a design that was to blend into 3 different environments, Urban, Forest and Desert plus be less visible to night vision. Well they only succeed in being less visible to night vision, which is basically useless because most of our current or potential enemies have no night vision capabilities. By trying to blend into three completely different environments they succeed in blending into none. Its too bright to use in woodland/forest, its too grey to use in the urban environments except maybe LA, and the same for desert being too grey. I own this pattern in two different forms, I also own MultiCam and the two patterns of MARPAT. MulitCam is by far the best for all environments but MARPAT as the two separate patterns is the best option. I can understand that its more cost effective to have one uniform pattern that will work in all environments but aren't our men and women in uniform priceless?
Now on to my other gripe, rifles. The US military has used basically the same rifle for 40+ years and its time to move on. My problem with the M16 system is very complex and would take lots of room and time to write. I'll try to keep it simple: the M16 uses a system to cycle its bolt that is overly dirty and makes for a gun that jams at inopportune times and it fires a round that is ineffective against deer let alone people. The easiest answer to one of these problems is to retro fit the rifles with a new gas system that is more modern and cleaner. This system is already in wide use by other military's in other guns, like the AK-47 and G36. Our military has even tested M16/M4 rifles with the new gas system and they came out ahead in every respect. It would cost a little bit more to start buying rifles already with the system but kits could also be bought to modify already bought rifles. The rifle below uses the basic M16/M4 rifle with the improved gas system at only a marginal increase in price or a kit from the same company could be bought instead. Another option is to buy a whole knew rifle system all together. In my opinin this is the best long term solution. And the best weapon for the job is the Bushmaster ACR formally called the Magpul Masada. It improves on the M16 rifle in every way and it can be easily converted to almost any caliber in just minutes. But price has again become an issue. The second issue with the M16 is the ammo used is too underpowered nad in effective against humans. new rounds have been developed but it would be costly and take time to convert existing weapons and start getting the logistics ready. But Special Forces have already begun to use one alternative to the 5.56 NATO its called the 6.8 Remington SPC. It is the most cost effective solution to the problem but not nessicarily the best, the best being the 6.5 Grendel. The 6.5 Grendel could effectivly suplant not only the 5.56 NATO but also the 7.62 NATO which is used in many machine guns and sniper rifles. The Grendel though would be very costly and take even more time to convert weapons already in use. Again the Bushmaster ACR would be a solution to this problem since it can be easily changed to different calibers on the fly, including 7.62 Soviet which is the most common cartridge on the planet.
Anyways to rap up my rant the Military Industrial Complex has yet again let the troops down by making cost the key issue in how the troops are outfitted. Maybe if our government cared more about winning and less about dollars and cents our troops would be in better shape