unloaded guns

[fiddlin1]

Hello-
My Daughter just got back from Bagdad, Iraq-
U. S. Navy-
she carried a 9mm pistol-
It was unloaded-
What is going on in our Military leaders heads-
This is crazy-
We carry loaded guns here in America-
Our Military in Iraq has unloaded guns-
The Guards on the USS Cole had unloaded guns
makes no sense-
Mark

[VegasGeorge]

I'm no expert, but I've always thought that the Navy believes it's ships are secure areas, and that armed sailors are just not necessary. That's why they have weapons lockers, right?

[Ford Truck]

I didn't serve in a combat zone when I was in the U.S. Army. I spent almost 2 years at Giebelstadt Flugplatz in West Germany. We'd stand guard with an unloaded M14, right next to a member of the Civil Wacche who was armed with a loaded Walther .32. I thought it was male bovine excrement then and I still do.

[jayspapa2002]

Fiddling 1..Please thank your daughter, for me , for puting her life on the line so I might sleep safe and warm at night. On a more sour note , it sounds as if the military commanders are all from illinois, observing the 6 second rule...you know.. fanny packing..LOL... No, it really isn't funny. it is B S to have troops in a possible hot zone with unloaded weapons .

[tuna]

Don't forget, it depends on the job that the individual is doing (saying this not having a clue what your daughter does in the Navy, but glad she is home safe).
When I was in the mideast in 2003, if I had to travel from one base to another, I was armed, once I got back to my base, I turned the M9 back in - I'm in the Air Force and work behind a desk. I guess the rationale is that it is safer to trust the Army and SPs keeping the bad guys out, than to give everyone a firearm.
Not everyone in the military is a "gun person", same as cops. WE here on this forum are, but in the case of my unit, most are barely capable to load and holster a sidearm without hurting themselves.
I even eventually quit arguing with the "advice" everyone gave me to carry the pistol empty, with the safety on. (Not to say I ever took the advice, I just stopped arguing about it)

[DMorrison]

It is actually standard procedure across Iraq to lock and clear when you get back on the FOB, you carry your weapon around purely for accountability. That includes the infantry the only exceptions are the Military Police and tower/gate gaurds. The depending on where you are at it may be required/recommended to carry a mag, but that's pretty much to justify totting the shit around all day. The security of bases is pretty tight, and a direct attack on any major base is pretty much unlikely. And there aren't any carry weapons that are going to do much good against mortars or rockets, lol. In all honesty, I there are times in Iraq I felt safer then in a lot of places in Iraq.

On the other hand, I spent six months at an OP that where the only time my weapon was unloaded was when I was cleaning it, and then my 12 gauge was loaded and close by. But for the vast majority of our troops that isn't neccassary, at the time it was but the only thing standing between us and Iraq was the mudwall of bombed out house, and a couple of strands of barbed wire. So don't worry to much about your daughter, if her weapon wasn't loaded she was probably less likely to have to use it, then you would use yours at Wally world.

[pioneer461]

It has been SOP forever, for military personnel who are not actively engaged in combat, to clear their weapons. The reason I believe, comes from too many careless discharge shootings among the troops.

I grew up as an Army Brat, living on Army posts most of my childhood, and recall noticing that the MPs and other guards had empty 1911's. As an armorer in the Navy during the Vietnam War, we had strict orders against loaded firearms on base. Navy ships have well stocked armories, and on some of the larger ships, Sea Going Marines to keep the sailors in line. Where and when they are locked and loaded is up to the skipper, but SOP being what it is....