Marine Corps Officially Adopts M4 Carbine

[Zarvan]

The U.S. Marine Corps has officially adopted the M4 carbine to replace the M16.

An official confirmed to Military.com on Tuesday that Commandant Gen. Robert Neller has approved the decision, which follows similar moves by the U.S. Army and Special Operations Command.

Many Marines already have the M4, which has been issued to the select members of the service for about a decade.

The weapon’s shorter barrel, compact size and lighter weight make it ideal in tight quarters such as urban operations.

As my colleague, Matthew Cox has reported, officials this summer signaled their intentions to finally switch out the M16A4, in part because of the M4’s improved accuracy using new 5.56mm rounds.

The transition is expected to be complete by the Sept. 30 end of fiscal 2016.



Read more: Marine Corps Officially Adopts M4 Carbine | Kit Up!

 

[TheNoob]

That took a big while for time....

 

[That Guy]

That took a big while for time....

Bureaucratic nonsense, probably.

At least it shouldn't be too expensive, considering that the M4 is just an M-16 variant, so minimal (to zero) retraining will be required, as the M-16 is phased out. It will probably be quicker to phase out of M-16s as well.