To state that the 7.62x39 round is not a high intensity round would be a mistake it surely is. To state it isn't the ballistic equal of the 7.62 nato would be quiet accurate. The bore dia. for a .308 win. is .30 cal. The grove dia, to the bottom of rifleing cuts is .308 therefore the bullet dia. is .308. You could load a .308 dia bullet into a 7.62x39 case, but you can't load a .311 bullet into a nato round your pressure would go thru the roof. It might be easier on you to not try too hard to prove your sargent wrong ,at least not in front of other people.They tend to remember things like that!