Posted by Field and Stream on October 21, 2010 · Leave a Comment
In my post of October 8, I introduced you to C.J. Chivers, a senior correspondent for The New York Times, former Marine officer, and the only Times staffer who knows which end of a gun the bullet comes out of, which makes him as rare as a coelacanth. Due to an arrangement far above my pay grade, Chris has agreed to field questions from you on his book, AKs, the military, The New York Times, or anything else he could reasonably be expected to know about. To prime the pump, here are my two along with his answers. When this post appears, chime in with your own questions and Chris will answer them shortly.
Petzal: In your book, our small arms procurement system, and in particular the Army Ordnance Department, come off very badly, and over a long period of time. Based on what you’ve seen in the past ten years, are things better now?
Chivers: How could they not be better? The introduction of the M-16 into American military service (to which The Gun devotes considerable space) was so badly executed that it’s hard to imagine worse.
But let’s do a fuller answer about the present day, and channel some of what I hear from the field or have seen in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Petzal: Your Chance to Chat with Chivers