The Most Talked About Stories This Week on Military.com

Here are the stories generating the most comments this week on Military.com, along with a sampling of responses edited for clarity:

Marines Move Closer to Making IAR New Infantry Service Rifle

• I'll say it again because it bears repeating. A great glove doesn't make a great player, however, a great player can make a glove great. -- RTColorado
• I think the infantry rifle is a pretty important part of the infantry! Get them the best. Same goes for the rest of there gear and equipment. I think we should be committed to full support with the money and whatever it takes. -- LD

Group Seeks Removal of Religious Posters at Air Force Base

• As an Air Force Veteran of the Vietnam war I take offense at the request to remove those posters. Like it or not we are a country founded on Christian Principles and that will not change because someone is "offended." If you're going to be a member of our proud military, you had better respect its traditions. -- tjmorgan1944
• It seems the opposite. Putting up religious displays of one religion only or of religion and nothing for those who are not religious, would be more divisive. Unit cohesion would be destroyed. -- tatoo

Trump Eyes 'Big Order' of New F/A-18XT Super Hornets

• The terrible drawback to the F-35, besides cost, is that it's a single engine aircraft. Pilot's, particularly carrier pilots, don't want to fly something with only one engine. Add that to the fact that this 'hulk' can't get off the runway or carrier deck in certain weather conditions, needs it's fuel heated or cooled to certain temperatures, is terribly expensive, overweight, not very maneuverable, and outclassed and outperformed by its Russian and even Chinese versions and guess what… you've got a loser. -- Doni609
• To me I still think the F-14 is the best attack fighter ever made and it could of been better fighter if they up-graded it like the F-18. Yes my understanding the F-14 had it problem. but if it had it up-grades it could of been a better fighter plane. Yes maybe we still need the F-35 and for what it can do, but the F-35 is not a fighter Jet. -- David William Carr

Mattis Not Ready to Recommend Ground Combat Troops for Syria, Iraq

• I really have no desire to see our troops on the ground in Syria or Iraq but I DO think the idea of 'safe zones' is a good one. It would cut down the number of refugees fleeing the country from ISIS (not to mention their own government) -- Shipfixr
• So Trump and Mattis are on the same page as President Obama when it comes to putting full scaled combat boots on the ground in Iraq and Syria. Now who would have imagined that. -- DrillSgt8689

E-2C Hawkeye Oil Change Error Costs Navy Millions

• All services spend millions of dollars every year maintaining and updating tech orders but it is money down the toilet if the techs don't use them. I was an enlisted crewmember for many years on a variety of prop and jet aircraft and never once did I fly without completely doing the checklist, pre flight, flight and post flight. -- louisrstennes@yahoo.com
• Heads are going to roll? Why? Stuff like this happens on a semi-routine basis in NAVAIR. Pilots make mistakes and ground crews make mistakes.......if heads rolled every time something got broken, there wouldn't be anyone left to fly or fix airplanes. -- Tough Man, Tender Chicken

A Year In, No Female SEAL Applicants, Few for SpecOps

• As long as they can pass the same standards no problem - How you intergrate them into the units - big problem. Anyone who thinks having a female on an a team for example would not be a problem is delusional. These guys work in close tight knit groups - no chance for a soap opera there? -- spartanrmd1
• So long as the standards remain the same, no deviation even for Demi Moore, then I have no problem with it. The 1st phase is to get the badge. The second phase is to learn how to kill a 6'6", 220 lb guy silently. Pass phase two, then I say go for it, BUT if the gal gets killed instead, I say she failed. -- USMarine64

-- Justin Sloan can be reached at Justin.Sloan@Monster.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinMSloan.