Like the quests of El Ingenioso Hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha (Don Quixote), the U.S. Army’s Col. Doug Tamilio, PM for Soldier Weapons, moves forward in a quest for the carbine of the future. Much to Col. Tamilio’s credit, he is committed to a transparent and fair process, but emphatic in his position that a winner must score with a “knock out punch” against the incumbent M4.

The M4 controversy has its roots in two key areas; lethality and reliability. These concerns made their way through the media and ultimately into Congresses’ lap where they became inflamed and wrapped up in politics. However, is their anything seriously wrong with the M4 or M16 family of weapons?

In a series of posts, I will be discussing the lethality and reliability concerns. Are they real, or is Congress asking the Army to fight windmills.