07-17-2008, 01:25 AM
Maybe it was just the soldiers' preference. The segmentata was lighter. Give any soldier a choice between a llighter piece of equipment or a heavier one, and he'll opt for the lighter just about every time. I was in the US Army when it was changing over from the M14 to the M16. In many ways the M14 was a superior weapon, but the M16 weighed about half as much and soldiers rejoiced upon turning in the old logs for the Mattel toy. They knew they might never be in a real firefight, but they would have to carry a rifle all day long, and they preferred the lighter one. It may have been the same with the segmentata.
Pecunia non olet