Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Houston Chronicle
May 30, 2008 By Jay Reeves, Associated Press
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — The military is reviewing soldiers' complaints that their standard ammunition isn't powerful enough for the type of fighting required in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army's highest-ranking officer said Thursday.
But Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the Army chief of staff, said it was too soon to say whether the Pentagon will switch.
Current and former soldiers interviewed by The Associated Press said the military's M855 rifle rounds are not powerful enough for close-in fighting in cities and towns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Speaking with reporters at a conference in Huntsville, Casey said it would be premature for the Pentagon to consider a different type of ammunition.
"I can't tell you exactly what we're going to do," he said.
The M855 rounds were designed decades ago to puncture the steel helmets of Soviet soldiers from hundreds of yards away. Some soldiers said that they are not large enough to stop an enemy immediately in close quarters.
Casey said the military has been evaluating its equipment and practices since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"Technology is pulling us, and what we're learning on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan is pushing us," he said.
May 30, 2008 By Jay Reeves, Associated Press
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — The military is reviewing soldiers' complaints that their standard ammunition isn't powerful enough for the type of fighting required in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army's highest-ranking officer said Thursday.
But Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the Army chief of staff, said it was too soon to say whether the Pentagon will switch.
Current and former soldiers interviewed by The Associated Press said the military's M855 rifle rounds are not powerful enough for close-in fighting in cities and towns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Speaking with reporters at a conference in Huntsville, Casey said it would be premature for the Pentagon to consider a different type of ammunition.
"I can't tell you exactly what we're going to do," he said.
The M855 rounds were designed decades ago to puncture the steel helmets of Soviet soldiers from hundreds of yards away. Some soldiers said that they are not large enough to stop an enemy immediately in close quarters.
Casey said the military has been evaluating its equipment and practices since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"Technology is pulling us, and what we're learning on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan is pushing us," he said.