Actually, the forward assist was a command requirement. Being that McNamara fielded the weapon system with the wrong powder, and magazines were built out of light aluminum, its no wonder the early rifles had excessive carbon buildup and misfeeds.
So, somebody yet unnamed came up with the forward assist. All it can do is force the bolt forward and either finish chambering the round or jam it in worse. With the forced change back to cleaner ammo, plus the use of quality magazines, and the proper use of LOTS OF LUBRICATION, AR's don't have the problem, and don't need a forward assist.
The G3 doesn't have a forward assist or bolt handle to force the bolt home. Nobody complains about them. They don't have problems.
If the weapon has a stoppage, the military uses a technique to eject the round first. If letting the bolt chamber a cartridge fails again, of course combat forces the user to attempt to chamber a round for self protection. Somebody must have figured the odds of muscling whatever obstruction was in the way as more successful to get another round down range. BUT - the flip side is just as true, in whatever lesser percentage, the weapon is jammed, and potentially even more so.
From my point of view, it's better to dump the mag and insert a fresh one rather than force a round into the chamber. The act of removing the magazine will allow gravity to dump the obstruction, too. A new mag will have less contamination and a better shot at letting the bolt slam home.
Note that most expensive built precision AR's, and those for hunting, delete the forward assist completely.
Don't take a command climate decision on a combat rifle as your best choice for every circumstance. Stoner didn't put the forward assist on, and we've worked all the way back to what he had in mind to begin with.
