So see if I understand this...we had the 06 which more than proved itself. We then went to the 7.62NATO to be one with our allies. Then we went to the 5.56 NATO, again, to be one with our allies. We have used it for several decades, spending milions upon millions perfecting a platform, and manufacturing millions{?} of rifles for that cartridge. Now, all of a sudden, having been used in 3 wars, or whatever you want to refer to them as, it is no longer useful, appropriate, effective, etc. And, unless I am mistaken, there are no other countries that will use the same cartridge. The military also deccided that the 9mm was superior to the .45 ACP, but the special forces and some Marines went back to a newly manufactured 1911 platform pistol. Just don't quite get it...

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So see if I understand this...we had the 06 which more than proved itself. We then went to the 7.62NATO to be one with our allies. Then we went to the 5.56 NATO, again, to be one with our allies. We have used it for several decades, spending milions upon millions perfecting a platform, and manufacturing millions{?} of rifles for that cartridge. Now, all of a sudden, having been used in 3 wars, or whatever you want to refer to them as, it is no longer useful, appropriate, effective, etc. And, unless I am mistaken, there are no other countries that will use the same cartridge. The military also deccided that the 9mm was superior to the .45 ACP, but the special forces and some Marines went back to a newly manufactured 1911 platform pistol. Just don't quite get it...

Uhh...we shoved the 7.62Nato down our allies throats and basically told them our way or the highway. There were some better rounds out there, but we were invested in 30 cal production and wouldn't budge.

And we, specifically Stoner and Winchester, invented the 5.56 in order to meet the US Army's specifications for ballistics, weight, etc. Nato again had zero input. And we've used it for almost 60 years, so I wouldn't exactly say any change is "sudden." You wouldn't want a 60 year old car or TV. Technology, specifically body armor, has improved.

It isn't that 5.56 will no longer make holes in people, it's that it won't make holes in currently fielded armor of potential opponents, and the number of countries fielding armor is increasing sharply.

And SOF and the Marines not longer use those 1911s. Cheers!