OK, I got my tinfoil hat on...
TRUE.
But also, the flavor of war does seem to have changed to more of a 'bad-breath-distance' instead of the longer ranges like in WWII.
That is, of course, except for the 2+ mile shots in A-Stan, etc. But your average grunt isn't going to need the extra range. I think this is all about the Army realizing they were dealing with ballistically superior BoOlitS coming at them, and answering with lead pills that just weren't as damaging as X39 - especially in urban settings where most of the buildings were overdeveloped mud huts and underdeveloped castles.
Foil hats OFF!
90% of my engagements in Afghanistan were within 100 meters. Probably 30% of those were what we consider near ambushes. At least they were initiated as near ambushes and other elements would be farther off within that 100m zone. Almost all of them were complex ambushes using multiple firing positions or combinations of SAF and IED threat. I’d say 65-75% of those always utilized RPGs. I couldn’t have gave a shit less about 6.8 from my point of view.
The farthest shots my snipers took were probably 500m.
I received the M855A1 enhanced round about a third of the way through my deployment. It was a significant difference on the ground. It would penetrate mud huts like a SOB and was leaving much nicer exit wounds for a fact. It would blow the backside out of guys like I had never seen a 62gr penetrator do.
some of my other squad leader peers were a bit concerned with collateral in regards to the M855A1 just blazing through multiple mud walls or both sides of a hut. A few opted to move back to the 62gr green tip for their boys. I gladly took all of their m855A1 and distributed it my squad. It was a better performer.
example. Night ops, gunfight outside of mosque on a movement to contact. 35-50m engagement distance. Stitched up a dude squirting from the inside of mosque to outside. One round entered his gut just under sternum, zipped down and exited out his lower back/ass cheek left about a dip can sized hole. Anchored his ass right there.