You carried one:
No I didn’t. I did carry an M16 A2. Assault weapon? Nah. Didn’t have one of those. Just a rifle, some grenades, a bayonet. But no. I didn’t have an assault rifle or assault weapon. That’s just dumb.
You're not reading carefully. If you want to deny that the M16A2 falls into the category of "assault rifle", that's your business ... but it puts you at odds with reality. Thank you for carrying the thing, though.