Urban warfare recommendations from a Marine who knows.

In the Inside the Ring column (The Washington Times), Sgt. Garrett A. Barton USMC says equipment needs to change.

MOUT warfare

We've obtained a copy of several recommendations and suggestions made by a Marine Corps machine gunner and veteran of Fallujah. He offered his thoughts on how to better wage urban warfare, what the military is now calling MOUT, for military operations in urban territory.

Marine Sgt. Garrett A. Barton, now based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., says Marines need more realistic training, have equipment that's too heavy, and need better-penetrating armaments, such as armor-piercing rounds, to use against Islamist car bombers.

"A firefight in a MOUT environment against drugged-up insurgents is not the place to discover Pfc. Smith needs to work on his shoulder pressure and manipulation of the [testing and evaluation]," he said.

"This is life and death. The average grunt is swamped with weight," he said. Marines carry gear and ammunition that include flak jackets, Kevlar helmets, two ceramic plates, M-16s with seven magazines, grenades, radios, water, chow, night-vision equipment and more.

"Ounces equal pounds, and pounds equal pain," he said. "This is not good when Marines need to move quickly in a combat situation, and the extreme weight reduces their fluidity."

As for weapons, "the M-16 is prone to jams," he said.

"I can personally attest that I kept my weapon properly cleaned and lubed yet within ten minutes I had two jams ... in Al Fallujah," Sgt. Barton said.

The M-16 round also is "too fast, too small and too stabilized. It cannot compete with the 7.62 fired by Warsaw Pact weapons" such as AK-47s.

Sgt. Barton said he has never seen armor-piercing rounds for his M-240G medium machine gun.

"Our current enemies like to use [car bombs]. Personally, I would feel more comfortable shooting at a vehicle laden with explosives if I had armor-piercing rounds," he said.

Troops also need more powerful hand grenades. "The insurgents in Iraq like to inject themselves with adrenaline," Sgt. Barton said. "The casualty radius of our current grenades is insufficient."

Sgt. Barton concluded his "grunt wish list," which was sent to the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory in Quantico, Va., saying he tried not to be too critical, knowing current resources are limited. But he noted: "Any improvement is a big step in our capabilities."

Now, I'll admit I know nothing about it at all, but I have been hearing bad things about the M-16 since I was in fifth grade and playing at war.

Let's hope we learn our lessons from this war quickly. And well.