M16 & M4 Reliability

[Specialized Armament]

Here is a good read from the New York Times:

Examining the Complaints About American Rifle Reliability (http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/07/examining-the-complaints-about-american-rifle-reliability/).

[Dos Cylindros]

Very good read, and an a well written and thought out article. Getting over the fact that someone who writes for the NYT would even be able to acurately articulate anything about a firearm, I found the article to confirm for me, what I have always thought and experience from being issued the rifle as a patrol officer, to now using it in a tactical environment and teaching it to other officers. The AR is a very reliable system, as long as it is of decent quality and is somewhat maintained.

[Eric]

The answer was a surprise: The M-4 and M-16 were not seen to be suffering from reliability problems, at least not among people whose paths have crossed ours.

Simply put, in observations in many firefights in harsh conditions, and in the experiences of Army and Marine grunts queried this year, the issue of rifle reliability seems much less pressing than it has appeared in accounts of widespread worries about or dislike of the M-4 and M-16.
While not a controlled scientific study, I think the article is fair.