Khe Sanh68 Posted April 22, 2015 Share #1 Posted April 22, 2015 I was wondering what color green tape did the soldiers apply to the m16 during the Vietnam War? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Too Much WW1 Militaria Posted April 22, 2015 Share #2 Posted April 22, 2015 I can't speak for anyone else, but I never did that, and I was in a recon platoon. It was tough enough maintaining that over engineered POS in the field! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted April 22, 2015 Share #3 Posted April 22, 2015 Originally they used the tape to hold the assembled cleaning rod on the bottom of the handguard, it didn't take long before it found other uses to include a rudimentary camouflage job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFMike Posted April 22, 2015 Share #4 Posted April 22, 2015 GIs have found uses for 100 mph tape since it was introduced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandomatic Posted April 22, 2015 Share #5 Posted April 22, 2015 I've never heard of it being used for the cleaning rod. Very interesting. So if they got in a jam (no pun intended), they'd just rip it out and get it cleaned out enough to do the job? I always thought it was to hold beat up handguard halves together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Too Much WW1 Militaria Posted April 22, 2015 Share #6 Posted April 22, 2015 I've never heard of it being used for the cleaning rod. Very interesting. So if they got in a jam (no pun intended), they'd just rip it out and get it cleaned out enough to do the job? I always thought it was to hold beat up handguard halves together. I'll second that. Nobody I knew ever did that with a cleaning rod that I knew of anyway. The M-16 was a nightmare to maintain, and in it's variations continues to be so. Yep it's accurate and effective but just a bear to maintain in normal field/use conditions much less combat. The cleaning rod thing is interesting, I just never saw it done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BROBS Posted April 22, 2015 Share #7 Posted April 22, 2015 what, you don't think it's easy to clean that coffee-straw sized gas tube in the field?? -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted April 22, 2015 Share #8 Posted April 22, 2015 If you study a lot of the pre-'69 pictures, you will see the taped rods quite often (but not as a rule). Sometimes is it just taped under/on the side of the handguards, other times you will see the tape on the buttstock. Here are some links which mention/discuss/illustrate it: https://books.google.com/books?id=eQjfwG3U4KEC&pg=PT278&lpg=PT278&dq=vietnam+taped+on+cleaning+rod&source=bl&ots=FOUyjbBBW8&sig=VqriOkJ7OO7dhKuiu-rT3ZYWIJA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Muw3VducF4q4ogTJ7oHYCw&ved=0CEkQ6AEwCg#v=onepage&q=vietnam%20taped%20on%20cleaning%20rod&f=false "jaysouth March 31, 2013, 09:42 PM In late 66, we carried an assembled cleaning rod taped to the handguard like a ramrod to clear jams. We had multiple jams in every firefight." http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-707472.html http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=3&f=123&t=550448 https://books.google.com/books?id=S7STBPQkiuwC&pg=PA258&lpg=PA258&dq=vietnam+taped+cleaning+rod&source=bl&ots=sk_1CtbMFP&sig=RP4iyLgDGZL2N8EPFsYEzQELErQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=eO43Ve21LOq1sATq-4HQDg&ved=0CDoQ6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q=vietnam%20taped%20cleaning%20rod&f=false "I arrived in Vietnam around 12Dec68, at Tan Son Nhut air base. Two days later, I was at Camp Enari, headed to the 4th Infantry Division 3rd Bde. .... THIS IS WHEN I LEARNED A LESSON, THAT I WAS A NEW BOOT ON THE GROUND. You need to clean your M-16 when you get it out of the Armory…(you better clean it).. IT WILL JAM UP. The round would not eject. Gasoline will work to clean it good and fast. And keep a cleaning rod taped to the stock of that M-16. .. http://www.themightyninth.org/Tour%20of%20Duty-Memories/TourNames/steve_cox_.htm From our own USMF Members: "At the first stop one ground and out of the LZ area it was usually taken apart and put back in the pouch again. In fact on one patrol where I had to carry the M-16, I used green 100mile an hour tape to secure the rod segments to the bottom of the fore-stock...just in case. I actually have a photo somewhere of me firing the M-16 with the rod segments taped to the bottom of the fore-stock." http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/42015-vietnam-m1956-webbing-rig/?p=325146 An a pretty unique 'fix' to the problem: https://books.google.com/books?id=cVQWf4nq1fwC&pg=PA20&lpg=PA20&dq=vietnam+taped+on+cleaning+rod&source=bl&ots=FCv7Y_2AOI&sig=3XbGLC2vNZ_szK9-JFRQxy2o6Gk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Muw3VducF4q4ogTJ7oHYCw&ved=0CEwQ6AEwCw#v=onepage&q=vietnam%20taped%20on%20cleaning%20rod&f=false Pictures are out there and pretty easy to find; just look closely at the taped areas and you will often see the rod sticking out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandomatic Posted April 22, 2015 Share #9 Posted April 22, 2015 It isn't easy to clean that thing the comfort and safety of my own house! I like mine OK, but there's a few reasons why I didn't call myself AR-omatic.... wait... aromatic... Like I was sayin', there's a few reasons why I didn't call myself M-16-omatic on here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Too Much WW1 Militaria Posted April 23, 2015 Share #10 Posted April 23, 2015 If you study a lot of the pre-'69 pictures, you will see the taped rods quite often (but not as a rule). Sometimes is it just taped under/on the side of the handguards, other times you will see the tape on the buttstock. Here are some links which mention/discuss/illustrate it: https://books.google.com/books?id=eQjfwG3U4KEC&pg=PT278&lpg=PT278&dq=vietnam+taped+on+cleaning+rod&source=bl&ots=FOUyjbBBW8&sig=VqriOkJ7OO7dhKuiu-rT3ZYWIJA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Muw3VducF4q4ogTJ7oHYCw&ved=0CEkQ6AEwCg#v=onepage&q=vietnam%20taped%20on%20cleaning%20rod&f=false "jaysouth March 31, 2013, 09:42 PM In late 66, we carried an assembled cleaning rod taped to the handguard like a ramrod to clear jams. We had multiple jams in every firefight." http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-707472.html http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=3&f=123&t=550448 https://books.google.com/books?id=S7STBPQkiuwC&pg=PA258&lpg=PA258&dq=vietnam+taped+cleaning+rod&source=bl&ots=sk_1CtbMFP&sig=RP4iyLgDGZL2N8EPFsYEzQELErQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=eO43Ve21LOq1sATq-4HQDg&ved=0CDoQ6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q=vietnam%20taped%20cleaning%20rod&f=false "I arrived in Vietnam around 12Dec68, at Tan Son Nhut air base. Two days later, I was at Camp Enari, headed to the 4th Infantry Division 3rd Bde. .... THIS IS WHEN I LEARNED A LESSON, THAT I WAS A NEW BOOT ON THE GROUND. You need to clean your M-16 when you get it out of the Armory(you better clean it).. IT WILL JAM UP. The round would not eject. Gasoline will work to clean it good and fast. And keep a cleaning rod taped to the stock of that M-16. .. http://www.themightyninth.org/Tour%20of%20Duty-Memories/TourNames/steve_cox_.htm From our own USMF Members: "At the first stop one ground and out of the LZ area it was usually taken apart and put back in the pouch again. In fact on one patrol where I had to carry the M-16, I used green 100mile an hour tape to secure the rod segments to the bottom of the fore-stock...just in case. I actually have a photo somewhere of me firing the M-16 with the rod segments taped to the bottom of the fore-stock." http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/42015-vietnam-m1956-webbing-rig/?p=325146 An a pretty unique 'fix' to the problem: https://books.google.com/books?id=cVQWf4nq1fwC&pg=PA20&lpg=PA20&dq=vietnam+taped+on+cleaning+rod&source=bl&ots=FCv7Y_2AOI&sig=3XbGLC2vNZ_szK9-JFRQxy2o6Gk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Muw3VducF4q4ogTJ7oHYCw&ved=0CEwQ6AEwCw#v=onepage&q=vietnam%20taped%20on%20cleaning%20rod&f=false Pictures are out there and pretty easy to find; just look closely at the taped areas and you will often see the rod sticking out. You know, that makes perfect sense given the lack of forward assist. And, there were a lot of feeding/clambering jams. After you'd been on a operation/sweep or two, most guys (at least the ones I knew) did a pre-check of each round of ammo. And, the "it's made by Mattel" didn't help either! LOL John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMCRECON Posted May 17, 2015 Share #11 Posted May 17, 2015 I have an old picture somewhere of me early in my tour when I was still carrying the M-16 and I had the cleaning rod taped to the bottom of the forestock. If I can find it, I will post it here. While assembling the cleaning rod and sliding it down between the rucksack and one's back was not uncommon during helicopter inserts, I don't think taping the cleaning rod to the M-16 was a common tactic. As for using tape to camouflage the weapon, we never did that when I was in Nam; early 67 to mid 68 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFMike Posted May 18, 2015 Share #12 Posted May 18, 2015 Yrs truly, 1968. Courtesy call at Distict MACV team after a week in the bush. On the way to camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted May 18, 2015 Share #13 Posted May 18, 2015 Yrs truly, 1968. Courtesy call at Distict MACV team after a week in the bush. On the way to camp. Great photo Mike Thanks for posting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltamc Posted January 10, 2021 Share #14 Posted January 10, 2021 A few years late to this topic but question, was the right handguard ever drilled in back with a hole to hold a cleaning rod? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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