I apologize for not getting this out any sooner. I have been busy, but more to the truth is that I've been completely unmotivated to review the show and take notes and write a summary. Also, I have bad news: my tape of the Combat Missions finale was either taped over or damaged, because I can't find it. So this "summary" is "tape-unseen"

But that's not too critical, because the show was so LAME that I can summarize it fairly easily.

There was a lot of flashbacks to previous people and episodes. If MB can do it, so can I:

You can re-read this Summary Of Eps 3 & 4 here.
You can re-read this Summary Of Eps 5 & 6 here.
You can re-read this Summary Of Eps 7 & 8 here.

(Getting the idea? It was even worse on the show.)

You can re-read this Summary Of Eps 9 & 10 right here.
Click here for the Summary Of Eps 11 & 12.
Lasat, but certainly not least, the Summary Of Ep 13 is here.

Most of the finale was discussed in this thread.

And, in the words of shakestheclown in his BB2 summary: "IT SVCKED!"(footnote 1).

I only have one further thing to really talk about: The weapon malfunction on the shooting-and-running course. I've handled, shot, cleaned, disassembled, reassembled, used and abused and otherwise know someting about the M16A1 rifle, the M16A2 rifle, and their civilian equivalents. I've seen weapon malfunctions, too. The Old Man's explanation isn't a very good one. He said the bolt was damaged by shaving copper off the cartridge because the magazine wasn't seated properly. I have two rebuttals:
1) The magazine isn't going to go FURTHER into the slot than "proper" would be. At least I've never seen it do that... if someone with that experience can tell me about it, I'll hear it gladly.
2) When the first cartridge is loaded, what does the bolt do? It slides over the second cartridge! So I'm not keen on the Old Man's explanation.

My theory is that one of three things happened:
1) Some dirt, grit or a small pebble got into the action and damaged it, and
2) A cartridge shell split or splintered when it was fired, causing one or more fragments to get into the action and damage it. A fragment (or the casing) might have stuck in the chamber, preventing the bolt from going forward with another cartridge (and it looked like he was trying to make the bolt go forward).
3) This is a bit outlandish, but possible: Partly in association with No. 2, a bullet was lodged in the barrel, but near the end. When another bullet was fired, both bullets exited, so there wasn't an explosion, but there WAS enough pressure to ram back the bolt and damage it.

Last, but not least, the Old Man said beating the weapon on the ground damaged it further. I disagree. The damage was done already.

As we know, Dexter Fletcher outlasted Kain in the silly paintball contest. Geez, MB, why not just have them arm wrestle!

Apologies for getting this out late, and I WOULD apologize for it being so crummy... BUT the ending was so bad it just deserves whatever slime of a summary I choose to empty upon it.

footnote 1: shakestheclown, BB2 summary.

*** Contradictions don't exist. If you are faced with a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong. -- Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged