I am surprised to see that nothing about DARPA’s William Godel and his impeccable role in the development of M16 has not been mentioned here. Taken from Wikipe

I am surprised to see that nothing about DARPA’s William Godel and his impeccable role in the development of M16 has not been mentioned here. Taken from Wikipedia - >>In October 1961, William Godel, a senior man at the Advanced Research Projects Agency, sent 10 AR-15s to South Vietnam. The reception was enthusiastic, and in 1962 another 1,000 AR-15s were sent.[60] United States Army Special Forces personnel filed battlefield reports lavishly praising the AR-15 and the stopping-power of the 5.56 mm cartridge, and pressed for its adoption. For those who are interested more in Mr Godel’s role, please refer to The Imagineers of War by Sharon Weinberger.