Posted on 10/15/2001 11:37:51 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
While standing guard duty outside my Nasty Guard armory off a major thoroughfare in a skeevy part of town on 14 Sep, our ROE was such that we had to obtain loaded magazines from the SGT of the guard back INSIDE the armory if anything happened.
Our weapons were, of course, unloaded and we had no rounds or magazines on our persons--except for Chookter.
The heck with terrorists, I was concerned that some local 'gangsta' type would do a drive-by on me to try and get an M-16. I was a big stupid target out there.
Fortunately, very early in my military career I had a run-in with a mountain lion while I was carrying a rubber M-16. I swore that I would never be left helpless again in a dangerous situation due to 'Army Regs'. The best I could do was to carry my own personal loaded M-16 mag in my thigh pocket. I would've been busted hard if I had been caught...
When they made the movie, they purposely had him pick up a German Luger because they knew some soldiers would know he was not authorized to carry the .45 and would think the movie inaccurate.
Yet, irony of ironies, there doesn't seem to be any shortage of funding to demill stockpiled weapons.
The clinton "legacy" is apparently like the energizer bunny.
Military are not the only ones that used to be trusted.
IT IS TIME FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO TRUST THE PEOPLE.
He Hits the problem straight on
Words fail me. "Pathetic," imbecillic," and "Asinine" do come to mind, however.
I think this whole thing varied wildly,according to who you were,what unit you were in,and what you were doing. I am guessing the NCO's and officers from combat arms units didn't catch as much grief about this stuff back in the 60's that a PFC finance clerk guarding the empty base bowling alley might.I escorted a crypto van back from the DR,and I was damn sure armed as a lowly E-4. I was also called to the orderly room one day on Okie,handed a loaded M37 Ithaca riot gun,and told to guard a 3/4 ton truck full of prisoners from the stockade while they were on a work detail. I know for a fact that if anybody had tried to rob one of our paymasters or bust into a classified conference/briefing they had just screwed the pooch big-time. Then again,it was ususally the old WW-2 and/or Korean War vets given these jobs,and you would have to be totally out of your mind to think you were going to attack or intimidate a SF SFC,MSG,or SGM back in the 60's and not pay a price. Anybody that stupid NEEDS to be shot. None of today's "touchy-feely" PC crap for these old "brown boot army" guys.
I went to return a .177cal airgun to Wal Mart the other night, (not powerful enough) and the CSM wouldn't even take it out of the box to make sure it was in returnable condition. "I don't touch guns" she said. Nicely brainwashed little teenage girl. Hubby and I just stood there with our eyebrows raised and biting our tongues. Next time I won't hesitate to speak. At *least* I'm going to say "well, they've succeeded in brainwashing *you* haven't they?"
Well,I really don't know what to say to that. As a former career NCO myself,I certainly wouldn't advise another NCO who was not only supposed to be protecting civilian lives and property,but was also responsible for the lives and well-being of the young soldiers under his command,to carry a loaded mag inside his shirt. It just wouldn't be ethical. It's certainly not something *I* would do.
It's true unfortunately. There are those Cpl's and Sgt's who are wise enough to give the faithful "Aye, Aye Sir!" to such stupidity and then command their troops to lock and load once the brass is out of ear shot. Been there, done that. Semper Fi!
My brother is also asking me about which guns to buy first. This is very surprising to me.
Maybe we need to get into a shooting war and clean out these service school wonders and get back to real Combat Commanders.
It really dose'nt matter how well you give a 5 paragragh OP-Order, if you don't have the hair on your a$$ to close with the Enemy and Kill him!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You have GOT to be kidding. THAT was the ROE reason????
This is the same thought process that allowed the same troops to be sucked into ambushes by gangs during the Rodney King riots when the gang members realized the soldiers didn't even have a magazine in their rifles. Maybe this general needs a new career or some time walking a post in a hostile area. This just boggles the mind.
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