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Comparing military needs to civilians needs isn't realistic. The odds of me ever needing 300 plus rounds of rifle ammo is remote to say the least.
All the other stuff you listed were high on my list and the reason the 223 was my choice for so many years. Things are changing now however. I'm not as mobile as a decade ago despite switching to the lightest rifle out there and removing some of my load weight.
As I try to imagine what types of threats I may face, threats like riots, looters (live in hurricane Florida), and gang attacks (gang activity increasing daily in my area), a few things keep popping up. I'm not going to need 300 plus rounds of ammo and I might need to penetrate vehicles and/or building material to eliminate a threat that has taken cover.
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It certainly has given up some effectiveness in exchange for increased firepower. I don't even think military brass will argue that they are sacrificing caliber effectiveness for firepower even thought the net effectiveness may remain the same or increase under military style maneuvers due to the increased firepower. For someone unlikely to face a large group of attackers, like me, the trade off is less appealing. Especially in the urban environment were cover is everywhere.
One thing is certain if all these militaries could find a way to eliminate the difference in the volume of ammo each soldier could carry the 223 would find itself in trouble. With its only advantage then being controllability.
I own several AR's in 223. I love them dearly. I just think that I may have prioritized the wrong areas. I can picture rioters shooting from behind vehicles or other urban cover. Areas better suited for a hit from a heavier caliber. I can't imagine being bum rushed by 5 guys heck bent on getting me...........a scenario that favors the 223 and its lighting fast followups. If I am bum rushed by 5 guys the 308 can get it done albeit slower. I question whether the same can be said of the 223 trying to penetrate urban cover.
Thats my conundrum.
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threegun (or should I say Walter Smitty),
If you want to buy a friggin .308 in an AR type platform, just do it. Stop making up ridiculous scenarios to justify your purchase.
You live in Tampa (in an urban setting from your posts) for crying out loud. What are the chances you will really NEED a .308 to defend yourself? You are talking about shooting through cover and what not.
For your threats, you mentioned riots, looters, and gang attacks. When is the last time Tampa had a riot? Do you actually live close to the bad parts of town where riots typically occur? If so, saving your money and moving to a better area would be a much better option. As for the looters, are you really that much of a target? Looting normally occurs in grocery stores where people need essentials and then moves to non-essesntials when civil unrest sets in. I went through hurrican Andrew and I helped out during the recover efforts. I saw all that stuff first hand. Looters rarely go into residential neighrborhoods since that is not where the goods are concentrated. As for your gang attack scenario, have you done something to **** off some gang members? Are you the leader of a rival gang? What do you think your actual chances of being target by a gang attack are?
Like I said, buy whatever the heck you want to buy but don't make up ridiculous scenarios for it. If some antis stumbled across they post, it would read like most people here are gun nuts hell bent on shooting people. There is a difference between self defense and murder. Some of your scenarios blur the lines quite a bit.