US Military Standard Issue Aimpoint Mount

[Renegade]

How is it the best military the world has ever seen, that has fielded the best military weapons the world has ever seen, can suddenly be so stupid, and all these small manufactures of 'pretty' items, are so much smarter???.

Using the Aimpoint mount as an example, What was better at the time the contract was awarded?

The war has created a flurry of arms developers making innovative products in record times. Military procurement cycles just cannot keep up with this, and logistics units cannot just throw out stuff because someone came up with a better item this week.

[Iraqgunz]

Hopefully, no one gets their panties in a bunch over this. Instead of complaining about a piece of gear that doesn't seem to work for you why not buy another mount? Yeah, I know all about the "modifying military gear" spiel and honestly after some of the stuff I have seen over here no one is going to care.

When I was in the Army they wouldn't issue bayonets when we went to the field, so I bought my own knife. When I was in the Coast Guard if I didn't get a piece of kit needed before my deployment to the Mid East I bought or "procured" what I needed. I do the same now as a contractor. Whether it be body armor, mags, flashlight, whatever.

[DHC45]

Hopefully, no one gets their panties in a bunch over this. Instead of complaining about a piece of gear that doesn't seem to work for you why not buy another mount? Yeah, I know all about the "modifying military gear" spiel and honestly after some of the stuff I have seen over here no one is going to care.

Many guys do this, and most units, as I stated earlier, let guys buy their own stuff (to a certain degree). Many of the mounts that come on optics are actually superior to most of the commercial variants. The exceptions are (IMHO) LaRue, ADM, and ARMS (all that I have had experience with). The Aimpoint mount is solid and reliable, but it requires a more attention to maintain and is not the best design for combat use with that knob sticking out to snag. But then, that's how items get improved upon... Feedback.

For me personally, it wasn't worth buying a LaRue mount in the middle of my deployment because I wasn't kicking in doors. However, I'd highly recommend a service member do the upgrade if their issued optics didn't come with it if their daily job is on the streets of Iraq or Afghan. One less thing to worry about...

When I was in the Army they wouldn't issue bayonets when we went to the field, so I bought my own knife. When I was in the Coast Guard if I didn't get a piece of kit needed before my deployment to the Mid East I bought or "procured" what I needed. I do the same now as a contractor. Whether it be body armor, mags, flashlight, whatever.

As I also stated earlier, there is a lot of good kit being issued now. Units are buying and issuing good optics and good mounts, good nylon, etc. There will always be those things that the military issues that guys don't like so guys/gals buy their own. Flashlights, knives, etc. fall in that catagory. I spent a lot of dough on things like Surefire batteries, mag springs, a solid knife (or two), spares of critical items (2 is 1, 1 is 0), etc. Personal preference does play a big part in what Soldiers want and need.