Having fired the M4, and all the earlier variants, I can say that there is really no problem with the weapon system. All weapon systems fail when subjected to uncontrolled fire and they were using uncontrolled fire. The worse thing a defending soldier can do is start off on full auto. It is a waste of ammo and abuses the weapon.
Yes SF has it's own weapon now, much to the chagrin of many in SF. The SCAR has it's own problems and cleaning it is a worse nightmare than the M4. It has a reciprocating bolt handle that hangs on your battle kit adn knocks it out of battery or smacks your knuckles. The stock is weak a**ed plastic and your face slides down off the stock. It was a political purchase of the worse kind.
The compound on which I work, fires thousands of rounds a day through the M4. We have our share of breakdowns, but it is never due to design failure.
The biggest problem with M4 is that it is a direct gas impingement system that will dirty the bolt faster than a gas piston. Fire it on full auto when you really don't need to and you will dirty it faster than you would using fire control and discipline. Shoot in semi and aim the weapon. If you must go full auto then do it only in the final defensive fires.
My 2 cents.
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