In the past, I've needed a forward assist. I was very glad it was there. It was my own stupid fault for needing it; I got caught up in the 'it's a desert environment and you don't want a bunch of lube on your gun' that the Army teaches.

Single scariest moment of my life, but I lived.

The moral of that story is that since then I've kept my duty rifle lubed like a son-of-a-gun. Almost disgustingly dripping wet with lube. I haven't needed one since then, but others have had problems with their rifles. In a pinch, we used diesel engine oil with some ATF mixed in there.

Keep it lubed and it will run.