Source
r/ukraine•
46davis

The Legion: How Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drew in thousands of international volunteer fighters

News

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-war-russia-putin-fighters-b2286908.html

Malcom Nance, an American Black veteran lays it all on the line for Ukraine. " it’s not my sense of adventurism that drove me, or my impulsivity. It’s my sense of right and wrong”.

Can you believe he's carrying an M-fucking-14? I was issued one exactly 56 years ago.

Posted Feb 26, 2023, 6:12 AM UTC

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Wide_Trick_610•

Malcolm is the kind of guy who puts his money where his mouth is. 10 months ago, he simply ....stayed in Ukraine, while the rest of his reporting team went home. Our next post from Malcolm was him gearing up, and shutting down his hotel room in Kyiv. He said he was volunteering for the UAF, and was on his way to get his basic equipment issue. He said that after seeing what was at stake, he simply had to stay and help.

Proud of him. He is the kind of man who keeps the United States on the right track. Even when we get a bit sideways, men like Malcolm Nance remind us why the job is worth doing.

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dradoyu•

Was this the ex navy dude who was live whilst air strikes were going on telling some reporter who wouldnt stop talking to stand by?

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Wide_Trick_610•

Yes. Ex-Navy Chief Petty Officer.

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Sonofagun57USA•

As horrendous the fact that this war exists, my faith in humanity is boosted a little by the amount of foreign volunteers that joined the fight.

And I have personally coined the M14 the "Cockroach Rifle" because that thing refuses to die. It never was the favorited rifle, but the US military for decades kept coming back to it repeatedly.

The M14 in Vietnam even with its inherent flaws was doomed to fail, but dare I say that Ukrainay may be a place it may be best suited to its strengths. In Vietnam, its bulkiness and wood furniture was a very bad combo to have but over in Ukraine the lack of that humidity level and long sightlines on paper at least give it a more natural fit

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46davisOP•

The M14 in Vietnam even with its inherent flaws was doomed to fail,

The Marines used it much longer than the Army as the 7.62 bullet is much better at penetrating brush and heavy rain than the 5.56. True, on automatic fire is difficult to control as the barrel is mounted above the thrust line, causing it move up and its greater recoil gives it a greater lateral drift than the M-16. It really is a warmed-over M-1, in NATO caliber, full automatic and larger, detachable magazine and some other adjustments, but there were large numbers of them made. This guy is using his on single shot largely as a sniper rifle it looks like.

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Sonofagun57USA•

I was referring to the M14 more at the time of original adoption. The genius powers that existed when the M14 was selected thought it was a good idea to combine the M1 Garand, BAR, and the Thompson or Grease Guns (submachine guns) into one firearm.

However, it has retained a DMR esque niche and I'm sure parts of Ukraine are an environment more tailored to its strengths than tight and humid jungles of Vietnam.

Despite the shortcomings, something is to be said if it's still seeing real action 50+ years past being largely phased out

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46davisOP•

it's still seeing real action 50+ years past being largely phased out

It's still being used by Navy SEALS. It's rugged and not prone to jamming from mud or sand as the M-16 and its derivatives are. When they took up the M-14s and issued M-16s, some of the guys in my infantry unit carried captured AKs because they knew what would happen when you pulled the trigger.

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Sonofagun57USA•

I had heard of SEALs using them, but never knew it was to such a large extent. I'm enthralled learning about stuff used at the individual level.

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lemmerip•

Doesn’t it have the EBR kit or something that changes the wood housing to polymer?

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Sonofagun57USA•

Yeah it does. And after a few years back in the 60s they introduced fiberglass stocks because wood and humidity are a bad pairing. And I think that became more commonplace going forward for their M14s

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