Soldier Systems broke the story yesterday about the U.S. Marine Corps authorizing the use of the Magpul PMAG Gen M3 Magazine using funds for use by the Marine combat units. While it is a positive development for Magpul, does it mean that the PMAG is officially adopted for use by the whole Marine Corps?
But first, here is the official message as reported by Soldier Systems:
GENTEXT/RMKS/1. PURPOSE. THIS MESSAGE PROVIDES UPDATED GUIDANCE REGARDING THE USE OF MAGAZINES FOR THE M4/M16 SERIES AND M27 INFANTRY AUTOMATIC RIFLE (IAR). 2. BACKGROUND. MARINE CORPS UNITS WILL NO LONGER RECEIVE THE LEGACY MAGAZINE WHEN ORDERING NATIONAL STOCK NUMBER (NSN) 1005-01-561-7200; THIS NSN WILL DEFAULT TO THE U.S. ARMY ENHANCED PERFORMANCE MAGAZINE (EPM), NSN 1005-01- 630-9508. AUTHORIZATION TO USE THE EPM FOR TRAINING USE ONLY WITH THE M4, M4A1, M16A4, AND M27 REMAINS THE SAME. 3. ACTION 3.A. PM IWS AUTHORIZES UNITS TO USE THE FOLLOWING POLYMER MAGAZINES WITH THE M4, M4A1, M16A4, M27, AND M249: NSN 1005-01-615-5169 (BLACK) AND NSN 1005-01-659-7086 (COYOTE TAN). UNITS ARE AUTHORIZED TO REQUISITION THESE MAGAZINES WITH UNIT FUNDS. 3.B. PM IWS WILL UPDATE SL-3S FOR THE M4, M4A1, M16A4, AND M27 TO LIST THE ABOVE POLYMER MAGAZINE NSNS. NO OTHER POLYMER MAGAZINES ARE AUTHORIZED FOR USE. 4. IOT PROVIDE IMMEDIATE AND SUSTAINING ACCESS TO ALL USERS, A PUBLICATION CONTROL NUMBER (PCN) WILL BE ASSIGNED TO THIS MESSAGE FOR ACCESS VIA THE WEAPONS SYSTEM ID NUMBER SEARCH IN SL-1-2.//
Magpul also released a statement on Facebook about this but it is rather premature to say that the Corps has adopted the magazine which The Firearm Blog observes as rather “a somewhat less well supported statement”:
The Firearm Blog further speculates that the use of the PMAG Gen M3 is an interim replacement for the legacy magazines that are worn out or destroyed. While the U.S. Army’s Enhanced Performance Magazine (EPM) will be used for training to check out if it will work well with the Corps’ M4, M16, and M27 IAR, and if it proves to be very much compatible will be adopted for use by the whole Corps and probably will stop the procurement of the PMAG.
The story continues…
Top photo: Magpul PMAG Gen M3