Lethality of 5.56mm

Being a military armorer, I get a lot of discussion about what round is better than the next.  The 9mm vs .45 debate comes up a lot.  I also hear a lot of misconceptions around military ammo, specifically the 5.56x45mm.  My thought process is the best round is the one that you have, that works.  I'm issued a variety of calibers, and have a lot of experience with unusual (for regular troops) military ammo.  In this post I want to go over some of the 5.56mm options and lethality, and what is being done to close those gaps.

Act of Valor

Ok...so I'm going to spill some beans.  My team was involved in shooting some of the scenes for Act of Valor.  I was an NSW Armorer for SBT-22 at the times of filming.  So there is no confusion, I am not a SWCC or SEAL, I am an Armorer.  I was not in any scenes, I was on the side-lines doing ordinance and maintenance tasks and checking out the weapons Bandito Bro's weapons guys brought down.  Our guys had a blast working with the Bandito Bro's team, and I'm a little disappointed they didn't get more face-time.  They got included in some making-of stuff it seems and of course they got face-time as a unit.  I want to share some stuff about my experiences regarding filming.