Posted on 05/23/2010 12:13:09 PM PDT by Fight4Freedom1
Commanders have ordered a U.S. military unit in Afghanistan to patrol with unloaded weapons, according to a source in Afghanistan.
American soldiers in at least one unit have been ordered to conduct patrols without a round chambered in their weapons, an anonymous source stationed at a forward operating base in Afghanistan said in an interview. The source was unsure where the order originated or how many other units were affected.
When a weapon has a loaded magazine, but the safety is on and no round is chambered, the military refers to this condition as “amber status.” Weapons on “red status” are ready to fire—they have a round in the chamber and the safety is off.
The source stated that he had been stationed at the base for only a month, but the amber weapons order was in place since before he arrived. A NATO spokesman could not confirm the information, stating that levels of force are classified.
“Our overall aim is to defeat the insurgency which means we must gain and then maintain the support of the Afghan population,” said Lieutenant Commander Iain Baxter, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in a statement to HUMAN EVENTS. “This must be the objective of every action taken by ISAF service members, and it calls for responses that de-escalate situations where the use of deadly force may not be necessary. In doing this, leaders at all levels make enormous efforts to ensure that troops balance their own protection with the protection of the Afghan population.”
If there was a spate of friendly-fire casualties, then perhaps a change in the company's rules would make sense. ISAF keeps no records of negligent discharges, however a search of casualties in Afghanistan showed only three fatalities due to friendly fire since January 2009...
(Excerpt) Read more at humanevents.com ...
That answer is dependant on a few factors.
Then later things turned 180 and went back to 'winning their hearts and minds'. (Like that would ever work on Charlie)
Folks forget Nam was one hell of a long war, over ten years. And US involvement was for over 27 years (the 10,000 day war). It started with Truman aiding the French.
I have an older friend who was in the 1st Cav, he was In Country early on (1965 or 66). He spent most of his time in the Jungle hunting Charlie. His unit was basically a 'hit squad' (It was before LRRPs and/or the first Ranger Regiment (75th) was 'officially' reestablished in Vietnam.
Glad you’re alive; I’ve never been in that situation. But from what I remember of basic training (I agree, a poor substitute for real world experience) it’s important to take time to find a target and aim. The time takes to get into a decent firing position and aim has got to much longer than the time it takes to chamber a round.
I really would be much more worried about the guy behind me just opening up than I would about the amount to time it takes to chamber a round.
Again, I’ll defer to your real world experience.
You wonder what the h@ll they have to be thinking - do they trust the National Guard less than the rioters?
'The world wonders...'
;>)
That's one thing I always wondered about (having never used an M-16 or M-4): with a civilian semi-auto AR-15, the safety will only move to "SAFE" if the hammer is cocked (i.e., the charging handle has been pulled to the rear). Is that true for the M-16 and M-4 as well?
Thanks for any reply...
You are Correct.
There was concern expressed that Charging the Weapon took too long.
There is No option to Reply to the Thread in general.
It just so happened I chose your Reply to Reply to.
I realize that Bolt open with safety on May not be the Safest Practice. It works just fine while on the Range, But We are talking about a Combat situation.
Concern was expressed about the time necessary to Charge the Weapon, I offered an Alterative, Perhaps not the Best Alternative. The Best Alternative is to have a Round Chambered with the Safety on. Orders have eliminated this Option. A Muzzle Strike may produce an Accidental Discharge since the AR firing Pin motion is Not restricted by the Safety. There are other Issues with the AR Fire control group. Function Testing goes a long way to reduce problems from these. A properly fitted Disconnector helps.
Yeah, it’s the same rifle, mechanically, as the M4/16.
Thanks, Sir!
Jeez, you must be a general in the Jag corps or the pubic affairs officer for the Chairman of the JCS to defend a position like that.
It’s no different from what happens in prison. You trap a bunch of young horny men where there are no women, add young gay men and you watch what happens. The straight guys will find ways to justify their behavior that doesn’t identify them as gay - just like occurs in prison. Some will be guilt ridden and kill the gay guys...it’s just a fact. I’m not defending anything, just making an observation. It’s another reason it’s “don’t ask don’t tell”, the generals don’t want sex in the barracks, with all the conflict and distraction it will bring. Forcing the gays to keep their mouths shut allows gays in the military to be workable, as soon as it is obvious they are gay, it’s no longer workable.
It’s only slightly different from having women serve on ships or in combat, the women are vulnerable to rape and it creates conflict, jealousies, and more.
The gays fighting to repeal “don’t ask don’t tell” have no clue what they will create if they succeed - this isn’t the Netherlands.
I was in the Marines quite a while back and I saw all of the above.
Woops, this should have been on another thread. Apologies.
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