BAR TO THE CAR, NOT A CAR TO THE BAR

The Browning Automatic Rifle or BAR. Ask a Second World War, Korean War, or Vietnam War veteran how it is pronounced. If you say "bar," they will tell you that is where people go to drink alcohol. The correct pronunciation is, and has always been, "bee-ay-ar" - or simply sounding out each of the letters in the abbreviation of the weapon's name.

The exact same method of pronunciation applies to Colt's CAR-15. It is NOT pronounced "car fifteen" (like an automobile), it is "cee-ay-ar fifteen." I was at a gun show looking a certain dealer's wares. Another person, in their twenties, was at the dealer's table before I arrived. The person was talking to the dealer about modifying this and that on a "car fifteen." I honestly believed the person was referring to something made by Kahr Arms. It was only after I actually started paying attention to the conversation did I realize the person was talking about an AR-15 semi-automatic clone.

The pronunciation of CAR-15 is derived from the pronunciation of, not only the BAR, but the original AR-15, which is pronounced "ay-ar fifteen" (not "ar fifteen"). The CAR-15 has ALWAYS been pronounced "cee-ay-ar fifteen" by Colt and the end user, the United States military. Further, Colt applied the designation CAR-15 to their family of SELECT-FIRE weapons, NOT the semi-automatic ones. Calling a semi-automatic AR-15 (or clone) a "CAR-15" is completely incorrect.

COLT MODEL 723 (RO723)

With the standardization of the RIFLE, 5.56 MILLIMETER, M16A2 (NSN 1005-01-128-9936), on 30 March 1982, Colt Defense LLC (CAGE 13629) set about to produce a carbine version of the M16A2 as they did for the M16A1 rifle. In early 1985, Colt unveiled the "M16A2 Carbine," which essentially was an improved version of the CARBINE, 5.56 MILLIMETER, M16A1 (NSN 1005-01-029-3866; also known as the model RO653 carbine). The weapon was marketed to both military and law enforcement as "...smaller, more compact versions of the M16A2 Rifle, intended for use wherever lightness and speed of action is required."

The M16A2 carbine's "lightweight" 14.5-inch barrel was upgraded from the M16A1 carbine's 1:12 twist rate to a 1:7 twist rate. This was done to improve performance of the barrel with the NATO STANAG 4172 62 grain SS109 5.56 x 45mm cartridge. The SS109 cartridge would later be standardized, on 10 June 1983, by the United States government as the CARTRIDGE, 5.56 MILLIMETER, M855 (NSN 1305-01-155-5458).

In addition to the new barrel, the following re-designed/improved parts were added to the M16A2 carbine:

(1) a new COMPENSATOR (NSN 1005-01-134-3633), Colt Defense LLC part 64502
(2) a new PLUNGER ASSEMBLY (NSN 1005-01-144-1468), Colt Defense LLC part 64541
(3) a new GRIP, RIFLE (NSN 1005-01-148-4805), Colt Defense LLC part 64576
(4) a new BUTTSTOCK ASSEMBLY (NSN 1005-01-371-1805), Colt Defense LLC part 64679

Colt assigned the model number RO723 to the carbine. By late 1985, the carbine was being equipped with the RECEIVER, CARTRIDGE (NSN 1005-01-248-5858; Colt Defense LLC part 64948) with cartridge case deflector (as found on the M16A2 rifle), but retaining the M16A1 "field sight." The RO723 received the nickname "Abu Dhabi carbine," as in 1987, the "sheikdom" of Abu Dhabi (part of the United Arab Emirates or UAE) ordered 20,000 units of the RO723.

With the adoption of the M16A2 rifle by the United States Army, in 1986, special operations units began looking into replacing their inventory of RO653 carbines with RO723 carbines. The RO723 carbines were purchased Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) and not marked "PROPERTY OF U.S. GOVT." (as the M16A2 rifles were). Further, the RO723 was not considered a Limited Procurement Type item (like the RO653 was), so a National Stock Number was not assigned to the carbine.

[ABOVE] The RO723 as illustrated in the 1985 dated OPERATOR'S MANUAL FOR M16A2 CARBINE, COMMANDO & 9mm SMG (Colt Defense LLC part 94892).

[ABOVE] The RO723 as illustrated in the 1985 dated OPERATOR'S MANUAL FOR M16A2 CARBINE, COMMANDO & 9mm SMG (Colt Defense LLC part 94892) illustrating the round forward assist plunger, new upper receiver with cartridge case deflector and M16A1 "field sight."

The RO723 carbine was utilized by special operation forces (mainly with the United States Army) during many American military operations during the late 1980s through the 1990s. The RO723 was seen in use during Operations Just Cause, Desert Shield/Storm, and Restore Hope. Like the RO653, the RO723 was also called a CAR-15 by the grunts.

[ABOVE] Image dated 11 April 1991 and originally captioned "Security personnel, one armed with a 5.56mm M-4 Colt carbine, escort Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, commander-in-chief, U.S. Central Command, as he walks toward Kuwait military headquarters after arriving by UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter to visit Kuwaiti dignitaries in the aftermath of Operation Desert Storm. Schwarzkopf will also be presenting awards to military officials who contributed to coalition efforts during the war." The "security personnel" are actually General Schwarzkopf's Personal Security Detail (PSD) and are all Delta operators. Of course, the weapon has been mis-identified. The weapon (carried by the operator at the right) is actually a RO723 carbine fitted with the new profile "notched" (for the M203's barrel mount) BARREL AND FRONT SIGHT ASSEMBLY (NSN 1005-01-233-8529). The barrel, even though standardized on 4 June 1986, has erroneously become known as the "M4 profile barrel." The carbine is further fitted with a CLIP, CARTRIDGE (the USGI designation for the Johnson Firearms REDI-MAG, NSN 1305-01-493-2955) and is slung using a standard SLING, SMALL ARMS (NSN 1005-00-167-4336) and KIT, ADAPTER, TOP SLING (NSN 1005-00-406-1570). The operator is SGM (retired) Michael Vining.

COLT MODEL 653 (RO653)

CARBINE, 5.56 MILLIMETER
NSN 1005-01-029-3866

The RO653 carbine was first utilized by United States Army Rangers during Operation Urgent Fury (in 1983). The carbine would continue to be utilized by special operation units throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. The RO653 carbine was utilized during Operations Just Cause, Desert Shield/Storm, and Restore Hope. While most of the RO653 carbines were acquired Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS), there was a small amount of the carbine acquired through normal contracting.

On 1 April 1982, 11 carbines are acquired as part of the larger DAAA09-81-G-2026 contract with COLT DEFENSE LLC (which included acquisition of M16A1 rifles, M231 firing port weapons, and a large quantity of spare parts). On 1 March 1986, 256 carbines were acquired as part of the PTHC8Z5312500 contract with COLT DEFENSE LLC. On 1 July 1988, an additional 30 carbines are acquired as part of the N00104-88-T-CZ43 contract with COLT DEFENSE LLC.

[ABOVE: Department of Defense] Image dated 22 January 1986 and originally captioned "Three U.S. Army Rangers participate in a training exercise. The Ranger in the foreground is armed with an M-16A1 carbine." The center Ranger, holding the RO653 carbine, is (at the time of the photograph) Sergeant Vincent John Lombardi Jr. (no relation to the football legend - even though his nickname was "coach"). He was a Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury) veteran, hence the dual Ranger scrolls on his OG-106 uniform. He served in the United States Army for twenty-two years, attaining the rank of Major. He sadly passed on 18 February 2003.

The end-user of the RO653 carbine simply called it the CAR-15. The name was a holdover from the Vietnam War, where the shortened XM177-series of submachine guns were called CAR-15 by grunts. The name originally derived from Colt's marketing of their series of 5.56mm submachine guns, rifles, and machine guns known as the "5.56mm MILITARY WEAPONS SYSTEMS." The term CAR-15 was an attempt by Colt to distance the AR-15 name from Armalite. The name AR-15, originally created by Armalite, stood for ARmalite model 15. The term AR-15 has often been erroneously stated as standing for Armalite Rifle model 15, even though Armalite itself stated it stood for ARmalite model 15. Colt wanted to disassociate Armalite from the AR-15 and thus came up with the CAR designation, standing for Colt Automatic Rifle. Colt's original CAR family consisted of the CAR-15 rifle (designated by the United States military as the M16), CAR-15 carbine, CAR-15 submachine gun, among others. The CAR-15 submachine gun evolved into the CAR-15 Commando or Colt Commando. The United States military utilized the CAR-15 Commando during the Vietnam War (designed by the United States military as the XM177-series of submachine guns). Grunts simply referred to all variations of the Commando and XM177-series as CAR-15. The term continued to be utilized by grunts after the war, applying it to any Colt 5.56mm submachine gun and carbine.