Fort Riley soldier's idea keeps weapons working

The Witicha Eagle ^ | Apr. 05, 2003 | TIM POTTER

[B4Ranch]

	Posted on Sat, Apr. 05, 2003
	Fort Riley soldier's idea keeps weapons working An oil-based lubricant for guns is like a magnet for dust and sand in the desert. One soldier found a synthetic substitute. BY TIM POTTER The Wichita Eagle FORT RILEY - As they head to war in Iraq, the soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 13th Armor, carry 1-ounce bottles of orange liquid that could save their lives. They contain a synthetic lubricant that keeps pistols, rifles and machine guns working in the desert sand and dust, which can coat, clog and wear any mechanism. The tank battalion, part of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, kept hearing reports of weapons malfunctioning in desert training. The problem, said battalion commander Lt. Col. Frank Sherman, is that the oil-based lubricant the Army usually uses seems to attract dust and sand in desert conditions. Sherman credited Staff Sgt. Julian Tobin for taking the initiative to solve the problem for their battalion. Tobin tried to downplay his involvement, saying he was only following up on officers' good ideas. He searched the Internet and found a product called Militec-1, advertised as a "synthetic-based metal conditioner." Some other units already in Iraq have started using it, he said. Although the synthetic lubricant is moist when applied, it dries as it bonds with metal, which prevents it from drawing as much dust and sand as the oil-based lubricant. The change, Tobin said, could determine whether a bullet casing fully ejects or a round properly engages in a firing mechanism. More than half the approximately 500 soldiers in Sherman's tank unit work in support of the tanks. They are logistics experts, mechanics and clerks, working without armored plating to shield them. Their lives, Sherman said, could depend on whether their M-16s fire dependably.

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© 2003 The Wichita Eagle and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.kansas.com

[B4Ranch]

I hadn't noticed that myself, just found it. Maybe the webmaster needs to use a bold font to get the message out louder. LOL

[tophat9000]

would have my doubts a combat grunt is going to do something that stupid

Yea but that "grunt" in the pic is Al Gore....

[river rat]

I suspect that those around algore, knew he was such a freaking clutz --- that they never issued him any ammo..

REMEMBER --- algore was a REMF who banged a typewriter...while PROTECTED by TWO ASSIGNED BODYGUARDS.

Semper Fi

[Flyer]

*PING*

[varon]

Al Gore invented synthetic lubricants in his spare time, but he's too modest to take credit.

He kept it in his "LOCK BOX" ;-)

[B4Ranch]

Was he issued a weapon larger than a microphone? I doubt it, gunnery sgts are stupid.

[AmericanVictory]

This is precisely the kind of thing that helped us win in WWII.

[FreedomPoster]

>>Unsafe? I doubt it.

RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY

Does it really look like he'd *just* cleared the weapon in preparation for weapon maintenance?

The Rules

[B4Ranch]

You know, some of this is ridiculous. He may have cleaned the rifle the previous night or that morning and had not put a magazine into it for three days. Calm down, the guy doesn't look like someone who handles a rifle during the two weeks of hunting season only which is the standard for most American "hunter's".

[gitmo]

Actually it is very common for a round to be in the chamber even after a mag has been taken out ...

Not if the weapon has never had a round in it. Gore obviously knew the weapon was safe.

[farmfriend]

Bump. I'm amazed. You posted an article. I didn't know you posted articles.

[FreedomPoster]

You are an ND waiting to happen, if that's your attitude towards how weapons can be handled.

[B4Ranch]

Here you go acting like Christ making life and death decisions on what you see in a still picture. How do you know that the man didn't clear the rifle 30 seconds before the picture was taken?

[sd-joe]

> "the guy doesn't look like someone who handles a rifle during the two weeks of hunting season"

Yes, but it is Al Gore!!, who lives in a delusional fantasy land.

[Grampa Dave]

They found out your secret. Good for our guys!

[sd-joe]

> "Gore obviously knew the weapon was safe."

Assuming what Gore knows or doesn't know is a dangerous assumption, based on his own statements in the past.

[LibKill]

CHECK THE CHAMBER, CHECK THE CHAMBER CHECK THE CHAMBER,

Now it's safe.

When I was a youngster one of my friends found his granny's .45 auto. He was showing it to me. He worked the slide, dropped the magazine and then pointed it at a wall, obviously about to pull the trigger. I yelled at him to stop.

"It's empty," he said, looking puzzled.

"Pull the slide back!".

He did. The large .45 cartridge fell to the floor making a sound like the trump of doom. His eyes durn near fell out of their sockets.

[Grampa Dave]

The Goron, also, invented Global Warming, Hanging Chads and "No Controlling Legal Authority".

[gitmo]

You missed the sarcasm. If the weapon was still a virgin, having never been loaded, he would assume it was safe.

[B4Ranch]

Maggie, I generally post two to four articles a week. I don't try to keep up with you and do 14 or more a day.