15. Remedial Measures and a Redesign Were Needed to Address the US Military’s Main Cold War Rifle
The growing intensity of the war in Vietnam was accompanied by a growth in the notoriety of the M16 as an unreliable weapon. The first step to address the problem was to walk back the claims that the new rifle did not have to be cleaned, let alone the bonkers notion that it was a self-cleaning firearm. Along with cleaning kits, which were belatedly issued to the troops, the Pentagon saw to it that manuals were hurriedly printed and distributed.
They instructed the rifle’s users on how to clean, maintain, and when necessary, troubleshoot common problems that cropped up with their M16s. Design defects with the rifle and its ammunition were also addressed. Cartridges that used cleaner firing powder – for which the M16 had been designed in the first place – replaced the dirtier ones that had been initially issued to the troops. The rifle itself was redesigned, and an improved model, the M16A1, addressed some of the original mode’s shortcomings.
