Marine Corps to Put Silencers on a Whole Infantry Battalion

[Hummer]

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2...battalion.html

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...re-infantry-b/

The U.S. Marine Corps is attempting a unique experiment that pairs the deadly — but typically loud — fire power of an infantry battalion with silence.

Maj. Gen. John Love of 2nd Marine Division out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, is gathering data on the way suppressors improve battlefield communication and efficiency. Early testing at Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms indicates that suppressing everything from M4 rifles to .50 caliber machine guns can dramatically assist U.S. warfighters.

“What we’ve found so far is it revolutionizes the way we fight,” Gen. Love recently said at the Marine Corps Association Ground Dinner, Military.com reported Tuesday. “It used to be a squad would be dispersed out over maybe 100 yards, so the squad leader couldn’t really communicate with the members at the far end because of all the noise of the weapons. Now they can actually just communicate, and be able to command and control and effectively direct those fires.”

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Well, it's about time. Imagine if the Army had included integrated suppressors on the M1 Garand in WWII.

[BushMasterBoy]

Tinnitus is a VA compensable disability. Deafness is a horrible thing to bear.

[Ronin13]

It worked for Boulder PD... I could totally see this going well for the USMC! I've been told that in Europe, what little they do, hunting without a suppressor is considered inconsiderate. Let's hope and pray under R control with an R POTUS, we can get the Hearing Protection Act passed next year.

[BladesNBarrels]

Hunters in New Zealand can buy a suppressor at the hardware store.

[Skip]

[snip]

Let's hope and pray under R control with an R POTUS, we can get the Hearing Protection Act passed next year.

At first, I'm thinking my credit card is going to get killed. But then I realize a lot of the cost is regulations. If the manufacturing cost of a can dropped, and no stamp required, it should drop the retail price considerably.

I don't know that I'd have a can for each rifle/carbine/pistol but maybe one or two would be fun.

[BladesNBarrels]

The pendulum swings and times change.
Might become a requirement to conform with noise restrictions.
Then the manufacturer's would scramble to get the suppression low enough to meet standards or you can't shoot.
Hmmmm..........

[smchop]

I don't know that I'd have a can for each rifle/carbine/pistol but maybe one or two would be fun.

This is how it all starts, and then you decide one more can't hurt, then you buy a suppressor without a host because you have the perfect build idea for that suppressor. It is the best drug out there!

[Irving]

At first, I'm thinking my credit card is going to get killed. But then I realize a lot of the cost is regulations. If the manufacturing cost of a can dropped, and no stamp required, it should drop the retail price considerably.

I don't know that I'd have a can for each rifle/carbine/pistol but maybe one or two would be fun.

Suppressors won't drop in price. People already pay the price and they'll get a $200 discount from the government.

[TFOGGER]

Suppressors won't drop in price. People already pay the price and they'll get a $200 discount from the government.

Not initially, but if they are deregulated (removed from the ATFE purview entirely), there will initially be a shortage, then every Tom, Dick, and Bartholomew will start manufacturing them. Prices will drop, and a bunch of those guys will go bankrupt. The remaining manufacturers will move all or part of their operations to countries with friendlier labor environments, except for boutique manufacturers with a "premium" product.

[Skip]

Suppressors won't drop in price. People already pay the price and they'll get a $200 discount from the government.

If they become as common as say a shoulder thing that goes up, I think the price would go down. The Class 2 SOT isn't much but it has had a way of limiting competition.