[WIGGY]

ROE This sounds all too familiar. During my stint in the gulf, they didn't want us to carry weapons outside of U.S. controled areas. Also the Host Nation defined what our restricted areas were. Sometimes the military is prone to pander to politics. This is why I back the man who says "bring 'em on".

[ReaganCowboy]

I had to literally steal ammunition for my soldiers, in order to be armed and ready, during both Operations Desert Storm (Saudi/Kuwait/Iraq) and Restore Hope (Somalia).

I was in command of a very small detachment that roamed far and wide on the battlefield, and I'd be damned if I or my men and women be left defenseless.

Don't make me the Secretary of the Army; I'd issue every soldier an M16 and 120 rounds the day they completed Advanced Individual Training, and require them to hold on to the weapon as long as they stayed in the Army. Complete 10 years of service, and the weapon is yours for cost. Complete 20 years, and the weapon is yours for free.