Despite adoption of polymer magazines by USSOCOM, the Marine Corps, and even the Air Force, the US Army has yet to join them. To make matters worse, the Army has evaluated polymer rifle magazines several times, and seems to have ignored their own results. In fact, the Air Force is said to have based their decision on the last Army test report. Granted, the Army has authorized use of the Magpul GEN M3 PMAG, but unlike the others, they haven’t made it their primary magazine.
While there’s been lots of online conjecture as to why the Army hasn’t adopted a polymer magazine, the true answer may well lie in this slide from a briefing presented by LTC Steve Power, PM Individal Weapons at PEO Soldier’s PM Small Arms, during NDIA’s 2017 Armament Systems Forum, this past May.
The Army is going to conduct yet another polymer magazine evaluation under the Soldier Enhancement Program. Direct your attention to the sub bullet on the slide below, which states, “Assess legal and contractual issues that could arise of pursued.” Most fail to understand the significance of that statement. Turns out, what’s holding the Army back is something bigger than any of us; procurement set asides.
To begin to understand why it’s so important, you need to know that AbilityOne has a government-only sales website sponsored by three organizations, National Industries for the Blind, SourceAmerica (formerly NISH), and the US AbilityOne Commission, the operating name for The Committee for Purchase From People Who are Blind or Severely Disabled. They are all involved in providing goods to the US Government, based on the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act or “JWOD Act” authorized under 41 U.S.C. 8501-8506c. These nonprofit agencies manufacture a variety of commodities throughout the United States, and employ people who are blind or have other severe disabilities. It’s a public/private success story.
Not only is the program Congressionally mandated, the AbilityOne Program employs more than 47,000 Americans. As you can imagine, this gives it a lot of clout. Essentially, once a commodity is provided via a directed source, it always will be. That’s why the legal review was mentioned as a factor, perhaps as important as, if not more than, how well the magazines work.
By now, you’ve said to yourself, “Well the other services have transitioned to the PMAG, why can’t the Army?” The answer lies in the numbers. The Army’s buying power is massive when it comes to small arms amd accessories. It buys more than the other three services combined, and that’s even if you add SOCOM into the equation. For the Army to drop a directed source is a very big deal and they will assuredly face Congressional pressure over such a move.
While it’s certainly frustrating to see the Army move so slowly toward the the wholesale adoption of a polymer magazine, we understand that there’s a bit more to it. That’s why we are publishing this information. You need to understand it as well. The Army needs to get its ducks in a row in order to make the business case for transition. But now that all of the cards are on the table regarding what’s at stake, there’s no excuse to keep kicking the can down the road. While performance must trump set asides, the question is, how much does performance need to improve for the Army to upset the rice bowl?
