Posted on 11/05/2004 10:37:53 PM PST by B4Ranch
Hand over rifles, Manatee JROTC told
Bradenton Herald | November 5, 2004 MICHAEL BARBER
MANATEE, FLORIDA- Johnny, go get your gun - if there is one.
Manatee County's high school Junior ROTC programs are struggling to cope with a reduction in training rifles, caused by a dwindling national supply and increasing demand.
High schools use the rifles for honor guard duty as well as drill team practices and competitions. The rifles are incapable of being fired.
"We got a message from our brigade command that we must turn in all of our excess rifles over 45," said LTC Carl Lane, the Senior Army Instructor at Southeast. "JROTC across the United States has become so popular that new programs are popping up all the time. There just aren't enough weapons to go around."
With the number of rifles at each school limited to 45, there are only 225 rifles available to be shared by more than 900 high school students involved in JROTC at Manatee County's five traditional high schools.
Lane used to have 84 rifles at Southeast, but he sent 39 of those weapons to Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga., for dispersal to JROTC programs that have fewer than 45.
Now, when the 70 members of Southeast's JROTC competitive drill teams practice after school, they get less accomplished because they have to take turns using the rifles available.
Oliver Freeman, a senior at Southeast, who has been in JROTC for four years, said the reduction in rifles has reduced the drill team's ability to work with younger cadets in refining their drill skills.
"It's hurt us bad because we can't help develop them like we need to," Freeman said. "We don't have the ability to work with them one-on-one like we used to."
It takes about a year of dedicated practice to get really good at the twirls, throws and snatches that are a part of precision drill competitions, according to Chris Clemons, another senior JROTC member at Southeast. Clemons said the rifle shortage cuts down on the number of cadets capable of competing at the highest levels.
"We need alternates to take someone's place if somebody gets hurt," Clemons said. "We can't bring new people in because they don't have enough experience with the rifles."
While half of Southeast's drill team practices after school with rifles, the other half must work on drills without weapons.
"It's like the football team being out there practicing with only one football," Lane said.
The M-1903 Springfield 30 caliber rifles used by JROTC programs are relics from World War I, Lane said. The rifles are sturdy, but they take a beating. Lane said he's had to fix or replace parts on all of the 84 rifles he's had at Southeast.
Because the rifles are vintage, their supply is limited, according to Col. Larry Burnette, a JROTC instructor at Bayshore.
"There's no more available in the depots," Burnette said. "ROTC across the nation is very popular and schools are standing in line to get weapons, so they are pulling in weapons from everywhere."
Some of the rifles collected from existing programs could wind up at Braden River High High, scheduled to open in East Manatee in August. The new school is expected to have a JROTC program, according to Lane and Burnette.
New replacement rifles - which are similar in style but were never real rifles - are available, but they cost more than $200 apiece. JROTC drill teams, like many other extracurricular activities, have to hold fund-raisers to get the money to buy additional equipment.
"The girls and they guys need rifles so we can practice," said Stephanie Wildes, a sophomore at Manatee. "It (the reduction in rifles) has affected us, but we will adjust."
Ok i know im not an expert in the military or anything but umm i'm thinking if there is a shortage of rifles becasue the program is so popular maybe instead of taking away the rifles over 45 for each school you let them keep them.Then you ORDER MORE RIFLES for the other programs.Does that sound about right ?
Ok...... So break out the millions of WWII leftover M1A's.
They don't need functional rifles. This is just drilling. A block of wood in the shape of a rifle is often used to practice with.
The problem is that the M1903A3's are way obsolete, and there are not that many of them left.
Most of those that are have had their original stocks replaced many times, and plastic stocks just don't jhave the right sound when slapped around in drills.
altogether, though... this kind of problem is a kind of great news.
I wasnt talking about the world war one era rifles. I meant the new replacement rifles mentioned near the bottom of the article that cost 200 dollars a pop. I'm sure the parents of the jrotc kids would not mind paying the costs of the rifles if it means thier sons and daughters get trained properly.
I love your tag line by the way its pure brilliance :-)
Most JROTC units use deactiveated M1's that were used in WW2, kind of hard to resupply those.
I would have to agree. I'd cheerfully pay $200 for my kid to participate in JROTC.
Have you seen what band instruments and sports equipment goes for nowadays?
Thanks. :)
My thoughts exactly. We should be blessed with this kind of "problem" more often. This is a problem I would be happy to pay taxes to fix. This is the kind of problem our useless politicians in Washington should be forced to address and resolve before they are permitted to handle anything else.
A fine problem indeed.
Not true. MOST JROTC units use WWI M1903A3's with leaded barrels and removed firing pins.
There are still millions of WWII M1A's in government warehouses; they could be deactivated and used.
A "good news", "bad news" thread. I was worried by the title that it was going to be all bad news.
According to him, many of the chapters have more than they will ever use. They used them in parades, funerals, etc. Just reporting what he says; says he has seen the cache at several of the local chapters.
Maybe that would be a place for the schools to start, at least. Incidently, there are also a lot of them in Europe. There were some import restrictions, but maybe the assault weapons ban expiration has lifted some of those? Obviously those were "real" weapons; and any of them that qualify as collector grade(& unusual parts) should be saved...but the rest could be used by the students.
Oops my bad, my JROTC CC told me they were WW2 M1's when I was in it last year.
If this program is anything like the JROTC programs around here, the kids involved are not rich kids whose parents can afford the $200.
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