U.S. Navy 1948-1970
Cold War 1948-1970
Korean War 1951-1952
Vietnam War 1967-1968, 1969-1970
Tribute:
Doc Riojas was born in 1931 in Dolores, Texas. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on September 29, 1948, and completed basic training at NTC San Diego, California, in January 1949. Riojas next attended U.S. Naval Hospital Corpsman School at the U.S. Naval Hospital in San Diego from January to April 1949, followed by service as a Hospital Corpsman at the U.S. Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland, from April 1949 to June 1950.
Petty Officer Riojas served at Naval Air Station Anacostia in Washington, D.C., from June 1950 to August 1951, and then received Field Medical Corpsman Training for service with the Marine Corps Fleet Marine Force at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, from September to October 1951.
His next assignment was as a Hospital Corpsman with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division in Korea from November 1951 to March 1952, and then with the 1st Medical Battalion of the 1st Marine Division in Korea from March to December 1952.
Petty Officer Riojas next served with Headquarters & Service Company, 3rd Marine Battalion of the 3rd Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California, from January to August 1953, followed by service at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, from August 1953 to January 1955.
He attended the Navy Deep Sea Diving School at the U.S. Naval Gun Factory in Washington, D.C., from February to September 1955, and then served as a Medical Deep Sea Diving Technician attached to the Submarine Escape Training Tank as an instructor at U.S. Naval Submarine Base Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, from November 1955 to June 1956.
His next assignment was as a Hospital Corpsman aboard the submarine rescue ship USS Coucal (ASR-8) from June 1956 to June 1958, followed by service as a Hospital Corpsman at the U.S. Naval Hospital at Corpus Christi from January 1958 to June 1959. Petty Officer Riojas attended the Hospital Administration Technician C School at the U.S. Naval Hospital at Portsmouth, Virginia, from June 1959 to April 1960, and then served at the U.S. Naval Weapons Plant in Washington, D.C., from April to August 1960.
He next attended Divers Refresher training at the Deep Sea Divers School in Washington, D.C., from August to September 1960, followed by service aboard the submarine rescue ship USS Skylark (ASR-20) from September to October 1960. He served aboard the submarine tender USS Fulton (AS-11) from October 1960 to April 1961, and then aboard the submarine tender USS Proteus (AS-19) from April to June 1961. Chief Petty Officer Riojas returned to the USS Skylark from June 1961 to December 1963, and then served as an instructor with the Submarine Escape Training Tank at the U.S. Naval Submarine Base in New London, Connecticut, from December 1963 to July 1965.
His next assignment was as an instructor aboard the submarine tender USS Simon Lake (AS-33) from July to August 1965, followed by service as an instructor at the U.S. Naval Underwater Swimmers School at Key West, Florida, from September 1965 to March 1967. Chief Petty Officer Riojas’ final assignment was with SEAL Team TWO at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia, from March 1967 until his retirement from the Navy on November 13, 1970. During this time he deployed to Southeast Asia with SEAL Team TWO from October 1967 to April 1968, and with Naval Special Warfare Group Vietnam from October 1969 to October 1970.
His 2nd Bronze Star Medal w/Valor Citation reads:
For heroic achievement while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in armed conflict against the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong communist aggressors int he Republic of Vietnam. On 24 November 1969, Chief Petty Officer RIOJAS was serving as corpsman with a United States Navy SEAL Platoon which was conducting operations in the Rung Sat Special Zone.
He was patrolling near the point element through dense undergrowth and shallow water in an area of recent heavy enemy activity when he patrol observed a camouflaged sampan in a small canal. As the patrol was cautiously proceeding toward the sampan, the point man detected two armed Viet Cong outside a bunker.
During the ensuring fire fighter, the point man and his machine gunner were seriously wounded. With complete disregard for his won personal safety, Chief Petty Officer RIOJAS rushed to the aid of the wounded point man where, while administering first aid, he was wounded in the leg.
Disregarding his painful wound and the intense enemy fire, he pulled the wounded man back to safety and continued to administer first aid. After being relieved by another SEAL, Chief Petty Officer RIOJAS courageously made his way back to the front of the patrol to assist in the treatment of the gravely wounded machine gunner.
His initiative, sense of responsibility and courage under fire were directly responsible for saving a shipmates life and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
This adorable little rascal is the inland taipan, the most venomous snake in the world. A single bite packs enough venom to kill 100 grown men. What the heck? Photo by XLerate/Wikipedia
I don’t care much for venomous snakes. I have written about that particular phobia on several occasions in this very venue. I get that God put everything here for a reason.
However, in quiet moments, I have to wonder if He didn’t just let Satan whip up a handful of things during the Creation week just to keep the old serpent placated. I’m thinking maybe mosquitoes, water moccasins, politicians and trial attorneys.
I have waged an ongoing existential fight for survival against the water moccasins that call my backyard lake home. In the last two decades, I have killed 64 of them. I wander about a good deal after dark and have little interest in stepping on one unexpectedly.
While I dislike venomous snakes, I’m not petrified by them. I’m not struck immobile at the sight of one. I just don’t want them around me.
I like to think I’m fairly comfortable around snakes, even the objectionable sort. Here a young buddy and I are field stripping a sizable North American copperhead.
Origins
I grew up in the hinterlands of the Mississippi Delta. In my neighborhood, there were only two varieties — water moccasins and copperheads. I never saw a rattlesnake when I was a kid, and I’m fairly certain that coral snakes are not actually real. Distinguishing the good snakes from the bad was not terribly difficult.
In addition to some unique markings and coloration, pit vipers all have a distinctive triangular-shaped head and vertical pupils. Spend enough time in the woods, and you can tell at a glance. And then Uncle Sam sent me to Australia.
Way Down Under
Things are just different in Australia. Back in 1997, I was in a little town called Rockhampton in Queensland on the northeast coast as part of Operation Tandem Thrust.
This vast multinational military operation was designed to allow the militaries of various Allied nations to operate jointly to vanquish evil or some such. For me, an unwashed redneck who had grown up in the Mississippi backwoods, it was just an excuse to meet some interesting people and expand my horizons a bit.
One fine day, I spotted a modest snake in the motor pool and pointed it out to one of my Aussie buddies. This cute little guy had a skinny head and pretty benign-looking features.
Back in Mississippi, he would have been a racer or a grass snake of some flavor. My Digger pal leapt back like a cockroach on a hot stovetop. I forget the specific species, but he said that was one we needed to give a wide berth.
It turned out this was some kind of hyper-deadly compact little monster that could purportedly kill you with a glance. I forget the name, this was quite some while ago, but my Australian friend was clearly impressed. When next I had a few minutes, I found a book and did a little research.
Variety is the Spice of Life…
It turns out that Australia has the nastiest snakes literally in the entire universe. Additionally, the rules about vertical pupils and triangular heads don’t apply over there. Some of the deadliest sort in Australia would seem completely benign over here. Just thinking about it gives me the willies.
The common death adder is fairly self-explanatory. You don’t earn a name like “common death adder” by being extra cuddly and good around kids. This diabolical monster runs about three feet in length and looks like Satan’s psychotic nephew.
The eastern brown snake seems pretty unremarkable, except that it employs the second-most potent snake venom on the planet and grows to be seven freaking feet long. It is also notoriously grouchy and ill-tempered.
Were I an early explorer, I don’t think it would matter had Australia stood calf-deep in diamonds. As soon as I realized these seven-foot-long malevolent death machines populated the place, I would have packed it in and gone home.
The lowlands copperhead looks nothing like the North American copperhead. This lightweight tops out at a paltry five feet but still employs a postsynaptic neurotoxin that kills you by shutting your nervous system down so you can’t breathe.
What makes the lowlands copperhead so remarkable is its resistance to cold. Unlike regular reptiles, these guys are still active above the snow line. The normal rules about where snakes can live don’t seem to apply. When Elon Musk finally sets foot on Mars, he will probably be messily devoured by a huge herd of spacefaring Australian lowlands copperheads.
And then there is the inland Taipan, literally the deadliest snake in the world. This thing is proof positive that mother nature does not think overkill is a real thing. This ghastly monster, though purportedly shy, grows to more than eight feet long. The venom in a single bite is adequate to kill 100 grown men. Seriously, what is up with that?
Ruminations
While on a night patrol Down Under, one of our grunts ran afoul of some gigantic spider that purportedly eats birds. I personally prefer my spiders to be small enough to stomp on. This massive example latched onto this poor slob’s face and bit him in the forehead. After I heard about that, I opted to stay inside a lot.
I had a great time in Australia, and I obviously didn’t die. If you were paying taxes back in the late 1990s, thanks for that, by the way. That experience did indeed expand my horizons. I just now got a Gun Crank column out of it.
Fun fact: Lots of people actually live in Australia without being eaten by snakes, spiders, crocodiles or sharks. The Land Down Under is indeed a most amazing place. Someday, I would love to visit there again, this time with my bride in tow. However, I think I’ll make a point to stick to the more civilized spaces. Aggressive eight-foot hyper-venomous snakes and bird-eating spiders that bite you in the face might take the shine off of a recreational stroll through the jungle.
When the Army picked the SIG MCX Spear as its Next Generation Squad Weapon, the reaction in a lot of gun circles was mixed.
On paper, the 6.8×51 cartridge promised better armor-penetration and range than 5.56. In the real world, the original M7 Spear carbine came off as heavy, gassy, and hard to control for the average soldier.
What SIG brought out for this recent range session is what the original gun probably should have been from the beginning: an 11-inch, trimmed-down variant that feels a lot more like a fighting rifle and less like a science project.
Garand Thumb and his crew spent time on the range with what they’re calling the M7A1, a prototype the Army hasn’t officially named yet, but clearly represents the next evolution of the program.
From M7 Spear to “M7A1” – What Changed
Side by side with the earlier M7 Spear, the changes are obvious even before you shoot it.
Barrel and profile
Original M7 Spear barrel length was around 13 inches
The new variant runs an 11-inch barrel
Barrel profile has been redesigned specifically around 6.8×51’s high pressures.
The 6.8×51 hybrid case runs around 80,000 psi. The original gun used a fairly overbuilt profile to survive that pressure and unknowns in the early testing cycle.
With more data, SIG has moved to a refined profile that keeps life in the same ballpark while dropping weight. Barrel life is still roughly around the 10,000-round mark for military 277 ammo, which is about what you’d expect at those pressures.
Upper receiver and weight
The upper itself went on a diet. SIG shaved roughly a pound off the system by combining the lighter barrel and trimmed upper.
More important than the raw number is where the weight disappeared from. With mass pulled off the front half of the rifle, the M7A1 feels noticeably handier than the original Spear. It mounts faster, transitions easier, and doesn’t feel like you’re steering a fence post through a doorway.
Handguard and lockup
The handguard is new as well
More functional M-LOK real estate
Easier access to the gas adjustment
Beefed-up attachment with larger screws and improved clamping
Early Spears had visible barrel and rail flex under pressure at the front of the gun. The new lockup stiffens that interface. Pushing on the rail now produces far less visible deflection, and it returns to zero better than previous versions. For a gun that’s going to wear lasers and be used for night work, that matters.
Gas plug and suppressor
The gas plug has been redesigned and is easier to actuate thanks to the new handguard. The suppressor is entirely different in concept from what most shooters are used to on 5.56 guns.
Flow-through design
Prioritizes flash reduction and gas management, not sound
Built to reduce gas to the shooter’s face and long-term health risk
The point here is simple: this is a frontline combat rifle, not a clandestine gun. The designers cared more about flash signature and keeping troops from sucking carcinogenic gas all day than squeezing out a few more decibels of suppression.
You still get flash, and the can heats up fast because 277 burns a lot more powder than 5.56. There’s no way around that. The heat shield helps with handling, but you still do not want that can touching bare skin or clothing.
6.8×51 Out of an 11-Inch Barrel – The Numbers
The big question with cutting the barrel down from 13 to 11 inches is whether you cripple the cartridge.
Garand Thumb ran reduced-range training ammunition through a chrono from the 11-inch barrel. That ammo is designed to limit downrange danger, but it’s loaded to give the same velocity and recoil profile as the full-range combat load.
The five-shot string averaged about 2,943 feet per second with a 113-grain projectile and a standard deviation of around 14 fps.
Put that in context
A 20-inch M16 with 55-grain 5.56 is usually around 3,100 fps
This 11-inch 6.8×51 is pushing more than double the bullet weight only about 150 fps slower
That is serious energy out of a very short package. Even with reduced-range ammo, drop at distance was minimal enough that the shooter could see how flat the round flies. With ball ammo, the performance only gets more unforgiving for whatever is on the receiving end.
The tradeoff is barrel wear. High pressure and high velocity eat steel. Nobody should be shocked that you are not getting 30,000 rounds out of a barrel at 80k psi.
Recoil and Controllability – Better Than the Original Spear
Compared to the original M7 Spear, the M7A1 feels like a different gun on the shoulder.
On full auto, both experienced shooters and the camera crew ran mags at CQB distances and kept rounds in the A-zone. The key points
Noticeably more controllable than early M7 examples
Recoil impulse feels softer and more linear
Still more recoil than an M4, but not unmanageable
The lighter front end and tuned gas system help here. The original Spear, especially with early ammo, had shooters climbing all over the target in bursts. The new gun stays much flatter, assuming the shooter does their part and drives the gun aggressively.
Gas blowback is higher than a suppressed 5.56, as expected, but not in the “unshootable” range. Right-handed shooters will tolerate it fine. Left-handed shooters are going to get more gas thanks to where the ejection port lives and the volume of powder being burned. That is not unique to this rifle.
Controls and Ergonomics – Familiar, with Some Army Nonsense
One of the big wins of the M7 program is that it keeps most AR-style controls. That matters for a force that has lived on the M4 platform for decades.
Ambidextrous controls
Ambi safety that can be run with the firing hand thumb
Bolt release on both sides
Ambi magazine release
The safety, in particular, is a real improvement over older service rifles. It feels like a proper modern carbine control layout.
Dual charging handles
Then there’s the charging setup.
The Army required both a traditional rear charging handle and a side-charging handle. That adds complexity and a little weight. It also introduces some quirks.
If the bolt is locked to the rear and the side charger is still pulled back, dropping the bolt can smash your thumb
You now have two systems to teach, two ways for troops to half-learn instead of one way to master
There are niche cases where a side charger helps, especially in deep prone with a ruck or barricade in the way. Whether that justifies the cost and complexity is another question. That’s not on SIG that’s on the requirement writers.
Stock and rear end
Soldier feedback killed the folding stock. The M7A1 runs a fixed stock on a 1913 rail rear end using a compact Magpul stock.
Simpler
Less to break
Still allows different 1913 stocks to be mounted if needed
Sling mounting is straightforward QD at the rear and various points along the handguard. No nonsense there.
Magazines, Ammunition Load, and Squad-Level Reality
The rifle uses NGSW-pattern magazines made by SIG. These are designed around the specific feed angle needed for the steel-tipped armor-defeating projectiles in the service load. That’s the same reason you saw Enhanced Performance Magazines for M855A1 in 5.56.
A key point from the Rangers who have worked with the Spear in testing the ammo load penalty is real.
A squad equipped entirely with 6.8×51 carries roughly 60 percent of the round count they would with 5.56
Every magazine is heavier
Belt-fed guns and DMRs add even more weight on top of that
That matters for fire superiority. Thirty rounds of low-recoiling 5.56 that troops can shoot quickly and accurately still count for a lot in any fight.
This is where the role of the M7A1 starts to make more sense. Several experienced voices in the video argue that this should not outright replace the M4. Instead, it makes more sense as a special weapon in the platoon.
Think of it more like
A heavy hitter for punching through armor and light cover
A gun for the guy anchoring a sector at distance
A weapon for specific roles rather than a one-for-one replacement for every rifleman
That aligns with where a lot of people already assumed the program would end up even if the official messaging hasn’t fully caught up.
Armor and Near-Peer Threats
The whole reason this program exists is armor. Potential near-peer adversaries like Russia and China are fielding increasingly effective plates and soft armor.
The idea behind 6.8×51 and the M7 is to keep the U.S. infantry rifle ahead of that curve.
Higher velocity
Harder projectiles
Better performance through modern armor and intermediate barriers
At the same time, armor is a moving target. Plates get better every year. Coverage can increase. There is also the simple fact that armor does not cover the entire body. Bursts of 5.56 into the pelvis, lower abdomen, and thighs still ruin people in a hurry.
Designed for a fight that may or may not happen
Tuned for near-peer engagements at distance
Overkill for many of the low-intensity fights the U.S. has actually been in for the last two decades.
That doesn’t make it a bad weapon. It just means everyone needs to be honest about the tradeoffs. You gain reach and armor defeat. You lose ammo capacity and some of the effortless controllability of 5.56.
Where the M7A1 Actually Fits
After several hundred rounds in the video, the verdict is pretty straightforward: the M7A1 is a clear improvement over the original M7 Spear.
Strengths
Real battle rifle energy from an 11-inch barrel
Better weight balance and about a pound lighter than the earlier gun
Much improved controllability in both semi and full auto
Stiffer handguard and better barrel lockup for laser-equipped guns
Optics and controls that feel familiar to anyone raised on the AR platform
Weak points and open questions
Ammunition load and weight remain a major concern at the squad level
Barrel life and logistics at 80k psi are going to demand careful management
Dual charging handle requirement adds complexity for marginal gain
Left-handed shooters will still get a face full of gas compared to 5.56 guns
This is not the right rifle for every soldier in every mission
We are watching the U.S. try to leap ahead of the armor curve with a high-pressure hybrid cartridge and a new generation of carbines built around it. The first version of that rifle had real problems. The M7A1 shows that SIG and the Army are actually listening to user feedback and iterating toward something that feels like a real fighting rifle.
If this pattern holds, the final issue gun that lands in infantry units may look a lot closer to this 11-inch, trimmed-down M7A1 than the original heavy Spear.
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