Retraction

It seems that I may have been a bit hasty in providing the link published on Clayton Cramer's blog on the weapons/tactics report from Iraq. The article has also appeared elsewhere on the internet (Survival Blog and Nation of Riflemen forum to name but two) and its provenance has been called into question for several inaccuracies in the piece. Most recently it has appeared on Frontpage. I have contacted them to see if they can shed further light on the author of the article.

The inaccuracies are minor and it could just be that they are a matter of the father of the Marine making simple errors in reporting what his son has told him. They are as follows-

Interceptor body armour weighs 16lbs, not 6lbs.
The M24 rifle is issued to Army, not Marine units and although the action was designed to handle the .300 Win Mag cartridge, it has apparently not been issued in that calibre.
There has been no mass re-issue of the .45ACP pistol or the M14 rifle. According to mil-blogger Collegiate Warrior (currently serving in Iraq) the only units using the .45ACP sidearm are the MEU SOC and SF.
The AK-47 is not chambered for .308 Russian (although as 7.62mm NATO and .308 are generally considered interchangeable this may explain that rare terminology).

It is fairly minor stuff but it has been enough to make some people question the veracity of the whole piece. My advice is to not take it as gospel- and instead read the Collegiate Warrior's take on the piece.

Of course this shows the power of the blogosphere- factual inaccuracies are quickly called into question. I'll keep updating the story as and when more information becomes available.