25 Mar 04

In reaction to the virus affair of a week ago, DTI Quips has now been upgraded. As you know, all my quips are sent as e-mail text, never as attachments. Now, the system will not accept attachments to begin with, so, if a message gets through the cracks with an attachment, it will no longer be forwarded.

If you ever get a message, purporting to be from DTI Quips, with an attachment, delete it without opening it. It is a fraud and did not originate with me.

I regret all this is necessary, but I think we now have it fixed.

/John

21 Mar 04

From an "invite Only" event last week for Feds and others:

"I got the opportunity to fire the new 6.8 x 43mm ammo that Remington is now loading for the military. Barrett supplied two uppers for M4s. The 6.8x43mm is a 115 grain, 270 bullet on a modified, 30 Remington case. Both M4s worked fine. Easy hits out to 400m. 1200 rounds of this ammo was fired while I was there. Great reviews from all operators. Ammo was dirty, but I am told that is being addressed. There is a big lobby within the military to immediately replace existing 223 rifles and LMGs with ones in this chambering. They were surely vociferous with their enthusiasm!

In addition, there was no shortage of grumbles with regard to numerous failures of the existing 223 cartridge in Iraq and Afghanistan. Cited over and over were its lack of range, legendary inability to penetrate anything, and its inconsistent ability put bad guys down and keep them down. Same as in Vietnam. Curiously, even forty years later, no one seems to want to say anything unkind about then Sec McNamara and his gaggle of arrogant, Ivy League punks by calling this round the miserable failure that it is.

There is another lobby pushing for a return to the 308. Remington had a copy of their LTR .308 rifle there. This lightweight tactical rifle was constantly knocking down steel plates at 600m. The rifle has a twenty-inch barrel and only weighs 7.5 pounds. Sage International had a copy of their one piece, folding stock for the M-14, same one you described at the SHOT Show. This stock provides the opportunity to carry a real, 308 rifle in compact form."

Comment: Between the two, it is my recommendation to return to the 308. We have rifles and LMGs in that caliber that work, and we know they work. The 6.8mm is probably a good round too, but we won't know for sure for another fifty years. We already know all that about the 308!

It is interesting to me that Audey Murphy, so lavishly decorated during the European Campaign in WWII, never in his entire life weighed more than 120lbs, even in his later years when he became an actor. Yet, this skinny kid (and many like him) carried a Garand in 30-06 caliber all over Europe and thought nothing of it. Today, carrying a rifle that big and powerful is apparently unthinkable for the current generation of granola-chewing, yogurt-fed American youth.

In my opinion, the M-14, FAL, AK-47, and RA-96 represent the zenith of military rifle development. We've gone backward ever since!

/John

25 Mar 04

Pistol Training with the USMC:

Vicki and I just concluded our second pistol training program with Marines this year, this one in San Diego at the MCAS at Miramar. We had twenty-four , enthusiastic students, who were there by invitation only. One colonel, seve ral other field-grade officers, as well as warrant officers, senior NCOs, and company-grade officers. All except two used the issue M9 pistol (Beretta 92 F). We had two M12s (SIG P228). Berettas and SIGs all functioned well with the hardball ammunition we used.

As was the case in Yuma, AZ, we ran a hot range, much to the raised eyebrows of the local range staff, but much to the delight of our students. We did a number of live fire, tactical drills, involving movement, cover, and team coordination. These were, as always, the most popular portion of the course . I found out later that we were being observed. In fact, several of our (armed ) students were cornered in the range restroom by members of the local instruc tor cadre, who looked at them accusingly and said, "You have a magazine in that pistol, Marine. It's not loaded, is it?" They replied boldly that it was loaded and that that was the way the instructor wanted it. "Who is doing th is unauthorized training?", they bellowed. My students then made a hasty exit saying that they didn't want to miss anything!

Our students came to us as good shooters, but with little knowledge of how pistols are routinely used, carried, and employed in tactical drills. Howev er, their exceptional enthusiasm made for a fast moving class, and everyone was able to pass the DTI Test at the end. Assisting Vicki and me us were Steve Camp, Steve VanMol, Tom Burris from the LAPD and several of my local Marine students and colleagues who organized the program.

Once again, "this new kind of training" was the talk of the base the next day, and it looks as if we're going to have to opportunity to expose more Ma rines to it shortly. Training and influencing enthusiastic, young warriors is the greatest source of joy that can be imagined. It is our great privilege and honor to be able to do so.

Now, contrast the foregoing with this note I just received from a friend and student in the 101st Abn Div:

"I conducted an M9 qualification yesterday for senior leaders of our brigade . Not surprisingly, gun handling was appallingly unsafe and incompetent. Mos t kept their fingers on the trigger continuously, any time the gun was in thei r hand. Most didn't use the decocking lever and tried instead to manually lower the hammer (even after being shown how to use the decocking lever). N one had a clue about drawing from a holster, stance, grip, moving with a loaded weapon, reloading procedures, or stoppage reduction. I offered to do remedia l training once people were done shooting. I was told "none of that is import ant."

These are people whom I had been with in Iraq, who surely know the importanc e of competent gun skills. Yet, now that we are all home, 'range train ing' has, once again, become a 'check the block' item. Some things never chan ge."

Comment: Well, we're making changes within the USMC! Resistance to advancement in any form is always to be expected, but there is no resistance at the student level. Our students couldn't have been more eager to abandon the ol d way and learn truly competent skills. Onward and upward!

/John

25 Mar 04

Latest from a friend with the NJSP:

"Rifles! Believe it or not, we now have them in our system, or at least a few. Our rifle 'training program' is, of course, a joke. A memorab le quotation from live fire orientation, 'There is absolutely no reason for any k ind of movement. I want you guys to stand in one place and stop moving right now!'

I raised the question of how the rifles should be carried in the patrol vehicle, and after deployment. You guessed it...none of the 'instru ctors' knew! Nothing in the lesson plan about carry modes/conditions. Nothing about sigh t settings. Nothing about maintenance. Once again, we're on our own.

Last week, another trooper made a snide remark to me as I put my personal AR-15 into my beat car. I replied, 'Todd, I have had this rifle wit h me for seven years now. Every day, every shift. I don't ask permission, and I don 't bury my head in a twelve-inch-thick book of SOPs to determine if I am allowe d to have it. I take it with me. I just do it. It's mine, and I know how it works; I know where it shoots. I maintain it. Nobody else ever touches it. When I need it, it will be there. The only time I will ever touch the state's rifle is when I transport it to and from the closet.'

Comment: Timing, cleverness, even genius are all overrated! What is most important for victorious living is boldness, audacity, and icy determination . My friend is a hero who is obviously ahead of his time.

/John

25 Mar 04

Casualty in the Green Zone:

During our training with the Marines here in Miramar, I was made aware of a recent incident in the "Green Zone" in Baghdad. A US Army soldier, walking between offices in the Green Zone, was attacked by a knife-wielding Iraqi local. The soldier was severely injured with multiple cuts and stab wounds. He nearly died.

It was further revealed that, at the time of the attack, the soldier was unarmed, as was (and still is!) The local "policy." He was told, "In the green zone you're perfectly safe. There are no hostiles here." Unfortunately, he apparently believed it.

Comment: I am continually astounded at the Army's continuing, abject fear of guns. They obviously don't trust their own people and have little regard for their safety.

Any time someone tells you, "Don't worry. You're safe here," reach for your pistol!

/John