Weapons Upgrade For US Special Forces

[sid]

They are going to put suppressors on their combat rifles. Interesting read:

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2018/09/13/weapons-upgrade-set-to-make-us-special-operations-even-more-deadly.html

[dogtag]

Too late, they're already deaf.

[Vern Humphrey]

We tested that in Viet Nam.

If I'm telling you something you already know, forgive me, but a rifle makes two sounds. The first is the escape of gas at the muzzle. This is a dull sound, often described as a pop or a thump. The second is the supersonic shock wave generated by the bullet as it goes down range. This is a sharp sound, often described as a crack!

In the Infantry we teach the "crack-thump" method. If you are under fire, the first sound you hear will be the crack, followed by the thump. The crack -- which seems to be coming from the closest point of approach of the bullet -- is disorienting. Troops are trained to be alerted by the crack and listen for the thump -- which will reveal the enemy's location.

In actual combat, suppressors tended to confuse the enemy -- at first. When troops were moving, and shaking the brush and dust and smoke built up, the enemy learned where we were.