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The Colt Commando was not initially part of the CAR-15 Military Weapons System, but was added in 1966 in response to the US military's desire for a shorter M16 and without the ''Model 607'' SMG's inadequacies. Colt engineer Rob Roy designed a simpler two-position telescoping tubular aluminum buttstock to replace the complicated extending triangular version. The fragile and ad hoc triangular handguards were replaced by reinforced round handguards. Each half of the round handguard is identical, simplifying logistics by not requiring a top/bottom or left/right pair. The ''Model 609'' Commando has a forward assist, while the ''Model 610'' Commando does not. A ''Model 610B'' with a four-position selector was available, but not used by the U.S. military. All versions are equipped with the {{convert|4.25|in|adj=on}} long moderator.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Moderator Flash Hiders - CAR-15 / XM177E1 / XM177E2 / Colt Commando (1963-1974) |url=https://retrorifles.com/moderator-flash-hiders-car-15-xm177e1-xm177e2-colt-commando-1963-1974/ |access-date=2023-08-14 |website=Retro Rifles |language=en}}</ref>
The XM177 uses a unique flash suppressor sometimes called a flash or sound moderator for its {{convert|10|in|adj=on}} barrel. This device is {{convert|4.2|in}} long and was designed primarily as a counterbalance measure as the shorter barrel makes the weapon unwieldy.<ref>{{cite book
The ''Model 610'' was classified as the ''XM177''<ref name="Ezell1">Ezell, 1988. p. 401</ref> but adopted by the Air Force as the ''GAU-5/A'' Submachine Gun (GA denoting an automatic gun and U a complete unit rather than a parts kit: the popular "gun aircraft unit" and "gun automatic unit" explanations are [[backronym]]s<ref>''The M16'', Gordon L. Rottman, Osprey Publishing, p. 17</ref>). The Army purchased 2,815 ''Model 609'' CAR-15 Commandos on June 28, 1966, which were officially designated Submachine Gun, 5.56 mm, ''XM177E1''.<ref name="Ezell1"/> As part of the contract, Colt was supposed to supply each XM177E1s with seven 30-round magazines, but Colt was unable to build a reliable 30-round curved magazine that would fit in the M16 magazine well, so most XM177E1s were shipped with 20-round magazines. The exception was [[5th Special Forces Group]], who received a total of four early 30-round magazines. Colt completed delivery of the purchased XM177E1s in March 1967.
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