# Reasons for infantry rifle change

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-for-infantry-rifle-change/777394>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 17, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-for-infantry-rifle-change/777394 "2017-01-17T15:57:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-for-infantry-rifle-change/777394/62 "2017-01-20T21:04:30Z")

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> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> I recently read an in-depth article (lost the cite) about the last air combat with piston fighters. F4U Corsairs vs. P-51 Mustangs. In 1969. The F-14 & F-15 first flew only a couple years later.
> 
> Cast-offs indeed.

[This story, perhaps.](http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/last-piston-engine-dogfights-180956250/)

Man. [The Football War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_War). Everything about that conflict was just weird. Like, the opening blow of the war was the Salvadoran Air Force bombing Tegucigalpa’s airport. With a C-47, not a bomber. Apparently pushing the bombs out the back.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-for-infantry-rifle-change/777394/63 "2017-01-20T21:57:37Z")

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That article was it exactly. Good find.

As we see in Aleppo today, barrel bombs are still a thing. Teguc was also an FAH airbase (still is). So not such an unexpected target.

During my time in theater there were several “frozen conflicts” like this one which we, as reps of the US government, had to carefully tiptoe around and turn various blind eyes to. Things got a bit tense one time when our deployment route to one country got too close to the disputed airspace of the other side.

One thing we didn’t talk about at my level with any country was what we’d done with any other country. At the level of national newspapers it was widely publicized that USAF / USN / USA visited everybody in Latin America, had lots of joint multinational exercises where everyone was invited, and we were friends to one and all. Out where the rubber met the ramp you could create a lot of needless hostility by mentioning your last visit to Those People Across the River.

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