Troopers training to carry submachine guns at Logan (MP-5's)

boston.com (old story, cached on Yahoo) ^ | 5/1/2003 | AP

[Teacher317]

Troopers training to carry submachine guns at Logan
By Associated Press, 5/1/2003 10:04

BOSTON (AP) A specially trained state police unit will begin patrolling Logan International Airport with submachine guns next month, making the airport the first in the country to use such heavy weaponry.

The Massachusetts Port Authority, which oversees Logan, has purchased 30 of the guns for $2,500 each. The MP-5's have 30-round clips and a two-round burst capacity, which allows two shots to be fired automatically with one push of the trigger.

Massport Chief Executive Officer Craig Coy said the new weaponry, which will be deployed in June, will act as a deterrent to terrorism.

''It's part of an overall system, an overall approach, to make sure that we have the resources in place, that we have the training in place, that we have the right people in place, and that we have the right equipment in place,'' Coy said.

Since the Sept. 11 attacks, which were carried out with the help of two planes hijacked from Logan, the airport has prided itself on its aggressive pursuit of security improvements. It was the first in the country to have an in-line baggage screen plan approved by the Transportation Security Administration and the first to use several forms of high-tech security technology.

National Guard officers deployed to American airports after the attacks were armed with submachine guns, but this will be the first time they are used as a permanent part of an airport's security force.

Coy predicted that the presence of the guns, which have long been used at European airports, would bring peace of mind to the traveling public.

''I think there's going to be the sense of comfort knowing that we have well-trained people there with the right equipment,'' Coy said.

Members of the special Anti-Terrorism Unit, which is made up of members of the state police troop stationed at Logan, will receive intensive training to become certified on use of the MP-5's. Training includes live-fire drills, night firing and special tactics.

The MP-5's are outfitted with a noise suppressor units so they'll create less alarm among travelers if they're used. The guns are also designed for accuracy in indoor environments.

[ChefKeith]

If I'm not mistaken, they can fire a three-round burst, not two.

Acctually the MP5 is select-fire:single shot,3 round burst and full auto.

[archy]

They seem to have a great propensity for a big wide genuine grin.

Very much so. You can't ask for a better lot to party with, and if they accept you as a friend, they treat you just like a brother. Since I was born without brothers, I learned what brotherhood was from them. The other side of the coin is that though they don't get angered easily, when they get seriously annoyed, it is indeed a serious matter. And a Viking would be very familiar with the Blutrausch that comes over them during hand-to-hand or CQB during an assault or raid.

I assume you've had experience with them. I can envision that big grin is the last some hapless bad guy sees right before he is eviscerated or his melon cleaved like a green coconut.

Yup.

[archy]

If I'm not mistaken, they can fire a three-round burst, not two.

Acctually the MP5 is select-fire:single shot,3 round burst and full auto.

There's an optional 2-shot burst trigger available for some H&K and other weapons, preferred by sonme operators over the more common 3-round burst units pioneered by the French, a requirement they had for the Ruger Mini-14 rifles they tested in the mid 1970s and on prior to their own adoption of the FA-MAS clarion.

Around 1977 and '78, the Army SF was using the Ingram M10 quite a bit, particularly for *advisors* in El Salvador, who were not authorized to carry rifles for their own protection. One of the developmental tasks I worked on back then was for a 3-shot burst trigger for the Ingram guns, and by using an escapement mechanism working against an advancing plate with holes in a line to allow the sear and disconnector to interact, it was possible to pick the number of shots to be fired by using easily interchanged [by an armorer] engagement plates with a different number of holes in them, usually 2, 3, or 6.

If that sort of tinkering was still lawful now, I'd be working on a similar burst trigger for the Calico M950 or M100 9mm or .22 carbines, which are available with 50 or 100-round magazines. And I might be thinking of 5-shot bursts for the 9mm, and 10-shot bursts for the .22.

[archy]

I can envision that big grin is the last some hapless bad guy sees right before he is eviscerated or his melon cleaved like a green coconut.

In an armed conflict where I needed an ally, if I had to choose between one Nepalese Gurkha foot soldier armed only with a Kukri knife, or five people picked out of the phone book who each had a gun, I think I would pick the Gurkha.

--John Ross

[archy]

Given the ethnicity, and brick work, and clothing...I'm guessing South America....Peru or Colombia.

The weapon is an FAL knockoff I think....don't recognize the patch.

The Weapons's a Galil, common in Nicaragua during Somoza's time, standard in Guatemala until they got freebie M16A2's as foreign aid, and in use by some US DEA-sponsored military and police counternarco teams in Colombia.

I don't recognize the patch either though.

[wardaddy]

Good pick...galil...I should have noticed that....I just didn't think Galil in Latin America as readily.

Your PIC above is I assume somewhere in Colombia(Dept. of Putumayo) sort of a no man's land (unless yer FARC) these days.

I have not spent time in Colombia since 1992 and it had gotten pretty bad by then. Even then the Choco near the Darien Penn. and the Lllanos and of course the SW were all very bad areas.

Now, I hear the both the Cauca and Magdalena valleys are rife with FARC and ELN.....back in my day...they were still out there but M-19 was the big boy. I was in Bogota(old Bogota near the Monserrate tram station) at a friend's apartment marooned when M-19 took over the Justice Ministry a few blockas away.

Spend much time down that way? That fellow in the pic....regular army?...elite battalions? or para?

[Travis McGee]

You are a very, very interesting fellow.

Very.

[Travis McGee]

184 is not even a close call.

[Kevin Curry]

Typical DemonRATS. They pay $2500 for a weapon that they could get anywhere else for $1100 each.

They're not spending their money. What do they care about the cost?

[ExSoldier]

"I'm 48 and feel 102"

In the immortal words of Indiana Jones: "It's not the years....it's the mileage..." I'm 46 TOMORROW and all those miles just keep reminding me that aging is not for wimps.

[Squantos]

LOL.....I'm gonna stick with the It's not the mileage. It's the sudden stops analogy and plenty of Advil for those days that remind me of old injuries .

Stay Safe Soldier !

[Travis McGee]

1957 was a great year!

[wardaddy]

The more I study that graffiti.....I think from the bits I can see....they (FARC I asume) in saying Venceremos de Uraba al Putomayo......"We will be victorious from Urbaba to Putomayo"....sort of like from Maine to Alabama.

[wardaddy]

Oh yes....1957 was as good as it gets!!

[mylife]

Once while travelling through Frankfurt airport hand-carrying some professional video gear on a flight to Nice, I was escorted to a security room by a uniformed German police officer carrying an automatic weapon. I thought it was pretty cool. Not sure what type weapon is was, but all of the security personnel had them.

I an automatic placed in my ear at the Leonardo DaVinci airport in Rome! I didnt notice what type of weapon it was either but the finger on the trigger got my attention!!

[mylife]

I had an automatic

[Blue Jays]

Good Evening All-

Posted by SJSAMPLE: "Typical DemonRATS. They pay $2500 for a weapon that they could get anywhere else for $1100 each."

***************

A Heckler & Koch MP5 in good condition with full-auto capability will run $11,000 to $12,000. The government contract / quantity-purchase discount can't possibly reduce the purchase price by 90%...especially when we're talking about brand-new examples right from the factory.

~ Blue Jays ~

[Thumper1960]

Oh my!

That would be "she who must be obeyed", no doubt!

Hell.....*I* would obey!

[wardaddy]

We had a blast with this thread...check out the links.

[SJSAMPLE]

Sorry. You're talking about the pre-ban ('86 ban) weapons that are still legal for private transfer. Because of their limited availability, the price is considerable (and rising every day). Police and government agencies can buy NEW weapons at a fraction of the cost. These weapons are not transferrable to private individuals, only agencies and Class III dealers.