Iraqi soldiers swap AK-47 for M-16

BAGHDAD, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Iraqi army units received upgrades to their standard-issue equipment, swapping out the prolifically copied AK-47 for the more uniform M-16.

Iraqi soldiers adopted the same weapons as their American counterparts in order to resemble Western defense forces and because the AK-47 series lack uniformity, making it unreliable in many ways.

The AK-47 is the most available weapon in the world. It is easy to operate and requires much less maintenance relative to the M-16. The U.S. military opted for the M-16 because it is more reliable and more accurate than its counterpart.

The distribution of the M-16, the U.S. military says, boosts the morale of the Iraqi army because that means they look more like U.S. soldiers, the American Forces Press Service said Wednesday.

"There's a couple of motivations" for the change, said U.S. military trainer Capt. Alejandro Quinn. "(Iraqi soldiers) want the status and the uniformity with the Americans, but they also need a uniform weapon."

Quinn said the training by the U.S. military and security contractors is also increasing the capability and morale of Iraqi soldiers.

"I first picked up the M-16 in 1990," he said. "And the level of training I received probably wasn't half as good as what they're getting now."

The U.S. military tracks the weapons by digitally storing biometric information of Iraqi soldiers with the serial number of the M-16.