U.S. Army looking for a new rifle...

[gejohnston]

33. depends on how you define caliber,

which is sometimes used interchangeably as cartridge. We are both right in that regard.
Former infantryman doesn't mean an expert on ballistics or firearms, in general, any more than a policeman is. It does mean that you have formal training of using and caring for issue weapons. BTW, before I went to the USAF, I was a 13B, does that make me an expert on artillery? I also grew up with guns in the sticks, come from a family cops who hunt.

The second paragraph is historically correct, but that isn't why politicians and activists use "high powered". They use it to scare people, like "assault weapon" and "military grade", which have real definition. For example, the AR used at Sandy Hook was not an "assault weapon" under CT law or the now-expired federal law. However, under the New York SAFE Act, target pistols used in the Olympics and ISSF competitions like the Walther GSP, are "assault weapons".