American troops in Iraq had a lot of problems with the fine sand (often described as like talcum powder) causing their weapons to jam. Combat units, where lots of troops experienced that problem, tended to switch to non-Milspec (military specification) CLP (Cleaning, Lubricating and Preserving) lubricants. In fact, most combat troops find the Milspec CLPs very inferior to Militec lubricant. But Militec has never been able to pass the army's lab test for preservation. This has not stopped Militec from dominating the market for weapons lubricants in outfits like the Coast Guard, FBI and many police departments. Militec's manufacturer considers the Army's lab tests to be flawed and have been feuding with the AMC (Army Materials Command) for over a decade on the subject. AMC went to so far as to block any shipments of Militec to combat units (when the stuff was ordered through official channels). So the troops order the stuff on their own, and pay for it themselves. Non-combat units tend to use the standard CLP, and find that their weapons jam when they several hours exposure to the fine sand of Iraq. This is what happened with the maintenance unit PFC Jessica Lynch belonged to. Marines arriving on the scene of that ambush noted that they could find no 5.56mm brass for US weapons (M-16, M-240), while there was plenty of brass from Iraqi AK-47s that had been fired.