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After undergoing some modifications, the AR-15 was adopted as the 'Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16'. As part of these modifications, the Army pushed for the inclusion of a forward assist, to allow a soldier to push the bolt into battery in the event that a cartridge failed to properly seat into the chamber. The Air Force, Colt, and even Eugene Stoner all believed that the addition of a forward assist was an unjustified expense, and would result in soldiers forcing a round into the chamber and jamming up the gun. In the end, the Army got its wish, and a forward assist lever was included on Army variants of the M16.
In 1964, the M16 formally entered American military service, and the following year was deployed for jungle warfare operations in Vietnam. Almost immediately, reports began to surface of issues with the rifle in the field. Despite all the modifications made prior to adoption, the M16 still did not feature a chrome-plated chamber, which resulted in issues with corrosion and stuck casings. The ammunition being provided with the M16 featured a new high-performance propellant, which had the side effect of producing more powder fouling. This might not have been as much of an issue if Colt had bothered to ship the rifles with cleaning kits (Colt had claimed marketed the M16 to be as a 'self-cleaning rifle', a claim with no basis in reality). This led to the M16 gaining a reputation among soldiers as a jam machine and a plastic toy.
In early 1967, a number of improvements were made to the M16 to address these issues, including finally switching to a chrome-plated chamber. The modified version of the M16 would be designated as the 'M16A1'. In addition to the modified rifle, cleaning kits and instructions on servicing the rifle were issued to troops, and a new powder was introduced that reduced carbon fouling. Following these changes, the number of reliability problems greatly diminished and the M16A1 rifle finally achieved widespread acceptance by U.S. troops in Vietnam. By 1969, the M16A1 had officially replaced the M14 as the standard infantry rifle of the US Army.
One of the most distinctive design features of the M16A1 is the large carry handle located on the top of the rifle. In the earlier AR-10, this carry handle was designed to protect the charging handle, however the charging handle was moved to the rear of the receiver on the M16. This large carry handle does make it difficult to put a scope onto the rifle, however. Modern versions of the M16 feature detachable carry handles and full-length Picatinny rails to allow easier mounting of optics. Other notable features of the A1 variant include the triangular black polymer handguard and 'bird cage' style flash hider. The fire selector can be found on the left side of the receiver, and toggles the rifle between semi and fully automatic fire. The magazines provided with the M16 were made of stamped aluminum, and were meant to be a lightweight, disposable item. Originally offered with 20 round magazines, the Army would later switch to larger, curved 30 round magazines. The M16 magazine became the basis of the NATO STANAG pattern magazine, which is used in numerous weapon systems around the world.
Eventually , M16A1 models would be retired from standard infantry service, and was were replaced by the newer M16A2 variant by 1980. Retired surplus units would be sold to both domestic firearm enthusiasts and exported to foreign markets. Many other nations would also go on to use M16A1 rifles as their standard service rifle. Currently, the M16 is in use by 15 NATO countries and more than 80 countries worldwide. Together, numerous companies in the United States, Canada, and China have produced more than 8,000,000 rifles of all variants. Despite its early reputation as a cheap plastic toy, the M16 M16A1 has become a mainstay of US Military operations, and one of the most ubiquitous firearms in history.
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[[File:AR-TEAM.jpg|right|thumb|AR Team Introduction]]
M16A1 is designed by the same artist as most of the AR Squadron, UmiNeko (海猫络合物), who . UmiNeko is also illustrated responsible for illustrating {{doll name|M4A1|AR|4}},{{doll name|M4 SOPMOD II|AR|4}} and {{doll name|RO635|SMG|5}}. M16's unique side bang colour is orange. M16 is depicted as the oldest out of all the AR team members, with her deeper and more mature voice, the way she looks out for her younger sisters, and the way she acts.
As a core character, a certain degree of lore and character settings were put into her designs, which the artist UmiNeko shared on in the official artbook of Girls ' Frontline:
''A siscon. In tight of the period when the original design was completed and saw use, I found suitably down-to-earth (or perhaps drab) elements and put them together.''
