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Interest in the M4 carbine was accelerated after the Battle of Mogadishu (1993), in which Rangers complained that their M16 rifles were "unwieldy", whereas members of Delta Force in the same battle, equipped with the CAR-15, had no such complaints.[21] The M4 carbine first saw action in the hands of U.S. troops deployed to Kosovo in 1999 in support of the NATO-led Kosovo Force.[22] It would subsequently be used heavily by U.S. forces during the war on terror, including in Operation Enduring Freedom and the Iraq War.[22] In the Army, the M4 had largely replaced M16A2s as the primary weapon of forward deployed personnel by 2005.[23] The M4 carbine also replaced most submachine guns and selected handguns in U.S. military service,[23] as it fires more effective rifle ammunition that offers superior stopping power and is better able to penetrate modern body armor.[22]
A 10th Special Forces Group soldier with an M4 carbine during an exercise in July 1995.
A U.S. Army 82nd Airborne soldier holds an M4 carbine in Vitina, Kosovo in January 2000 during the NATO-led KFOR mission, the first operational use of the M4 by U.S. troops.
In 2007, the USMC ordered its officers (up to the rank of lieutenant colonel) and staff non-commissioned officers to carry the M4 carbine instead of the M9 handgun.[24] This is in keeping with the Marine Corps doctrine, "Every Marine a rifleman." The Marine Corps, however, chose the full-sized M16A4 over the M4 as its standard infantry rifle. United States Navy corpsmen E5 and below are also issued M4s instead of the M9.[25] While ordinary riflemen in the Marine Corps were armed with M16A4s, M4s were fielded by troops in positions where a full-length rifle would be too bulky, including vehicle operators, fireteam and squad leaders. As of 2013, the U.S. Marine Corps had 80,000 M4 carbines in their inventory.[26][27]
By July 2015, major Marine Corps commands were endorsing switching to the M4 over the M16A4 as the standard infantry rifle, just as the Army had done. This is because of the carbine's lighter weight, compact length, and ability to address modern combat situations that happen mostly within close quarters; if a squad needs to engage at longer ranges, the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle can be used as a designated marksman rifle. Approval of the change would move the M16 to support personnel, while armories already had the 17,000 M4s in the inventory needed to outfit all infantrymen who needed one.[28] In October 2015, Commandant Robert Neller formally approved of making the M4 carbine the primary weapon for all infantry battalions, security forces, and supporting schools in the USMC. The switch was to be completed by September 2016.[29] In December 2017, the Marine Corps revealed a decision to equip every Marine in an infantry squad with the M27, replacing the M4 in that part of the service.[30] MARSOC will retain the M4, as its shorter barrel is more suited to how they operate in confined spaces.[31]
