“In fact, he demanded any and all around him with weapons, stand so the barrels were 180° degrees opposite of him in a room. The same if he was passing by.”
Not a bad policy. I have had more than a few experiences with Iraq vets having some VERY loose weapon handling and dangerous muzzle awareness at the range and in a gun store.
When someone corrects them you get some variation of “I know what I’m doing”, or that moronic scene from Blackhawk Down where the actor playing a Delta guy says his finger is his safety.
Everyone though that was so cool.
Haven’t heard to much about Odierno that indicated high skill levels, but he is right to tell people not to cover him with a muzzle.
I don’t disagree with the “moron factor”, but have also worked around roughly 30 general officers over the years, and never met anyone like Odierno when it came to arms.
Off subject, but I am still 6’3”, and Odierno was a big guy, and “generally” pretty easy to be around. Just had to leave whatever you were carrying at the door.