“Why was it necessary to ship the troops 50 year old weapons?”
Maybe because of the extended range over M16/M4 so we can reach out to enemy combatants. Also maybe due to .5 MOA accuracy. Other than that not much...
Very few M-14s are capable of .5 MOA, or ever were.
It takes a lot of tuning to work the M-14 into that condition.
“Also maybe due to .5 MOA accuracy”
The article said the military version was a 2.5 MOA but the extra snappy, special built, National Match version he got to shoot with $1.50/rd ammo was .05 MOA.
Having walked many a mile with a firearm, this looks heavy and cumbersome. I would prefer the AR10 or SCAR.
The M-16/AR platform is not limited to .223/5.56. An AR in .308 is lighter, more accurate, and more dependable than a M1.