I remember SPORTS LOL! That brings back memories. It always seemed strange to me that they never instructed us to (in my case) to stop with the SPORTS once the jam was cleared. For example most (if not all) jams I experienced were when the round lodged diagonally between the bolt and the chamber as it was fed. The tip of the round would jam against the locking grooves of the chamber (if that makes sense) and the bolt as it slid forward would not have enough umph to push it past that. If I slapped the mag that would allow the round to clear the mag and the bolt would slide home and lock. So instead of SPORTS I would OSS observe, slap, squeeze and this worked almost every time. Come to think of it as I describe this the root cause could have been the mag. This was only in training as I was never in combat and weapons were definitely clean. I've also heard that ammo design may have played a part.
Junk may be too strong a word but I do think the AR is over-engineered and tolerances too tight for a general issue troop weapon. Compare that to the cheaply made mass produced AK that doesn't need the same level of training and maintenance to function effectively.
I think a good analogy would be that Ford may have a racing team but you wouldn't use their racing vehicles for your fleet vehicles. As for SHTF? I'd rather have a shotgun for close in zombie eradication and a sniper rifle for more distant interaction.
BTW I currently have none of the weapons mentioned so everything salted please. My locker only contains a Mini14, SKS, 1911, and a Mustang so what the heck do I know LOL!
Remember:
Rule #1 Cardio