The Marine Corps may finally follow the U.S. Army and Special Operations Command with its plan to replace its M16s with M4 Carbines.
Marine officials recently announced the service wants to adopt the M4 Carbine to replace its beloved M16A4 for Marine infantry units, according to a source familiar with the effort.
The Army made the same decision in 2009 to replace its M16A4s with the M4. The lightweight weapon’s compact size makes it ideal working in tight quarters such as urban operations.
The M16A4 is 39.6 inches long and weighs about 8.8 pounds. The M4 is 33 inches long with its stock fully extended and 29.75 inches long with the stock retracted. It weighs about 7.5 pounds.
The M4, however, is not new to the Corps. The service has been issuing M4s to select Marines about a decade.
Change is slow. Marine Corps senior leaders have always had an extreme fondness for anything that can double as a club for beating the enemy to death.
