Barrel overheating could be the cause of a number of the malfunctions. Talking to Korean vets who had to weather mass Chinese assaults on their positions I’ve been told that their BAR barrel was melting and rounds were firing out at the point of the bend.
Weapons malfunction is not a new problem but one that needs to be investigated for the sake of our troops. I’m not a big fan of fully auto main battle rifles. Even the M-249 should be used in bursts. Is the M-4 fully auto or is there a three round burst on it like the M-16? I think that was one of the best enhancements between the A-1 and A-2. Fully auto is inaccurate and can cause malfunctions much more rapidly.
One of the soldiers said he fired off 500 rounds continuously until the barrel malfunctioned. That is far too much. At 90 rounds, the barrel steams off all the lube and you are dry firing after that.
Being patient, waiting for a target, pacing your weapon is damn hard to do. But the alternative is no weapon and no ammo and an enemy that knows your weapon is down....