Well I'm not one to quote myself, but, this evening coincidentally I stumbled upon the following in the latest issue of "American Rifleman."
The title is "A Vietnam Vet's Perspective on the NGSW Program."
The article "Return of The Rifleman: The Next Generation Squad Weapons Program" (February 2023, p. 44) absolutely stunned me. In June 1965, I landed in Vietnam as an 18-year-old Marine ammo humper with three rocket rounds on a pack board and an M14 rifle (Golf Co. 2/4 1965-66). I turned it in when I rotated out in November 1966. A month later, my previous infantry battalion spent a month on Okinawa refitting. Their M14s were replaced by M16s. I have been bitter to this day about the many casualties sustained while attempting to fight with that weapon. A puny rifle with a pipsqueak cartridge, the wrong powder, an un-plated chamber, direct-impingement, and too many precision fits to make a lousy dirt gun. After more than a half century of Mickey Mouse tweaks—bolt assist, anyone?—and vain attempts to make an inadequate system work, it appears to be finally ending. A genuine, full-power battle rifle and squad automatic weapon replacement are only about 50 years overdue. Robert McNamara and the generals who covered their rears after adopting the Mouse Gun are finally all gone, and fresh, new thinking has arrived. My infantry brethren can now again head out with adequate firepower.
Signed "-Jeffrey S. Howard"
(emphases added by openbook)
The "pipsqueak cartridge" won't be an issue with the AR-10, but the rest of Howard's criticisms seem to go straight to the question.