Mask, Gun: Check. Bullets: ....Not So Fast

St. Petersburg Times | March 13, 2003 | Wes Allison

[longtermmemmory]

What stops a soldier from carrying an extra bullet (aquired with his own money) or two for self protection "just in case"?

[razorback-bert]

a private was reprimanded for using her gun barrel as a pry bar

Leads me to believe they are afraid to issue bayonets also.

[razorback-bert]

On futther thought, why are they issuing cooks weapons?

[Boundless]

> Unfortunately, soldiers sometimes confuse the steps,
> and insert the magazine before they check the trigger...

This is what results from a populace unfamiliar with
firearms. A remarkable number of people think that
inserting a magazine in a semi-auto makes it ready to
fire (pull the trigger, get a bang). Whereas, in fact,
nothing happens until a round is chambered (moved from
the mag).

Conversely, even if the bolt/slide is operated, and a
round chambered and ready, these same people think the
weapon is safe as long as the magazine is removed - and
unless the weapon has a magazine safety, the next event
usually winds up in the newspapers.

These sorts of accidents are astonishing in the military,
but they apparently do happen, and have been happening
since 1911 or so. I recall a story that at on point during
the Vietnam war, all the M1911 .45 autos were confiscated
from the troops, because they were having way too many
"cleaning" casualties and other accidents resulting from
auto-ignorance.

[Conspiracy Guy]

My kids were safer than this when they were pre-teens. Is it we have generation of soldiers who never saw a weapon before basic training? I was hoping this post was a joke. If a soldier is issued a weapon they should be trained and drilled and trained and drilled in it's proper use. Who is running the military? Is this carry over from Clinton's cut back and slash the military for 8 years? SAD :(

[razorback-bert]

Go ahead - correct my typos I'll make more!

[HairOfTheDog]

They have a self-fullfilling prophecy going on here. If the guns aren't loaded, they don't have to treat them like loaded guns.

[SLB]

Posted earlier here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/864571/posts

[BlackbirdSST]

Nothing, unless you consider the UCMJ! Blackbird.

[Bob]

They have a self-fullfilling prophecy going on here. If the guns aren't loaded, they don't have to treat them like loaded guns.

BINGO! I think we have a winner! Good catch, HotD. I think you've nailed it.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Good point I taught my kids that the gun is always loaded. Even when the slide is back the clip is out and a cleaning rod is in the barrel with the brush in the chamber don't
point at anything you don't plan to shoot.

[harpseal]

On futther thought, why are they issuing cooks weapons

So they can have their pictures taken in the dessert with their weapons. Come on you knew that one.

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, people don't do unnecessary things just to have good habits. My gun is *always* loaded, so it is always treated like like a weapon. But if I had to carry it unloaded everywhere I went for months, when the gun is just pretend, I would fear for my own loss of good habits.

[Robert_Paulson2]

good point...
it's not a gun... it's a crowbar, a shoulder prop... a toy...

[ninenot]

Hell, I was a MECHANIC and had an M-16.

You issue the rifle to ALL the troops. Believe it or not, self-defense rights extend to all military personnel in combat zones.

[razorback-bert]

Al Gore's gun safety comes to mind now.

Nothing new here.

[ninenot]

#2 banana in the Milwaukee FBI office shot himself while cleaining his Glock only last year. Thigh wound, no big--but it's a warning to the wise.

[harpseal]

Hey a good cook can make a combat tour a whole lot more friendly. So they need souveniers to send home too. The other reason is sappers inside the wire.

[ninenot]

You are correct. Most of these city kids have NEVER seen a rifle, shotgun, or pistol before BCT started, and obviously didn't learn too much during BCT, either.

I can't say there were NO accidents while I was in the Army--but there were damn few, if any. DI's and range officers were absolutely GONZO on the safety question.