From: "Kevin Brooks"
Date: 6/18/04 8:22 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Message-id:

There was talk of providing the old M-21's down to the unit level for use by
"designated marksmen", IIRC, as they were replaced in the sniper role by the
M-24; I can remember a time when the standard weapons package for our MSCA-CD
(Military Support to Civil Authorities--Civil Disturbance) mission included a
couple of M-21's (along with a few 12 ga pump shotguns) in a similar role. That
may explain where you saw them--then again, are you sure you were not seeing a
SEAL or two (ISTR they sometimes carry the M-14 in desert operations), and not
Army folks?
Brooks

The guy in the pic was definitely Army. It was one of a series of pics showing
an Army unit's response to a convoy ambush. The guy in possesion was prone on
the side of a ditch covering any enemy advance from a field next to the road
where the convoy was ambushed. Couldn't tell you if the rifle was an M-14,
M-21, or M-24 though as I am not that familiar with the differences, but it had
that basic design of the M-14 (box mag semi-auto) and was equiped with a
telescopic sight and bipod.
Dave