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The Sigma Incident: In yesterday's mailing I mentioned a PDF document
that details a shooting of a user's hand while disassembling an S&W
Sigma. I have discovered that the material has been posted at The Gun Zone.
http://www.thegunzone.com/timm-nd.html
---
Speaking Of SOP 9...: Article presents an interesting account of a
failed attempt at suicide-by-cop in New York City.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/27/nyregion/27threat.html
---
Privacy Laws vs. NICS: Privacy laws in most states reduce the likelihood
that mental-health commitments will make their way into the FBI's NICS
database for firearm purchases. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy and Sen. Charles
Schumer have introduced federal legislation to provide that information
to the FBI.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20051127-122535-3102r.htm
---
Tangentially Related: In the world of defensive-firearms training,
students are often cautioned about the potential for "post-shooting
trauma," a variant of post-traumatic stress disorder. Mental health
experts dealing with military veterans have started looking at
"post-traumatic growth."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10208906/
---
More From Teddy: This commentary is shared primarily for the remarks
about titanium parts.
http://actionsbyt.blogspot.com/2005/11/fact-vs-bs-part-6.html
---
From John Farnam:
20 Nov 05
Confrontation handled well, from one of our students:
"In Atlanta on Thursday, I stopped to fill my car with gas. I had just
begun to dispense fuel into the tank when, as is my habit, I glanced
behind and noticed a man approaching rapidly. I was also talking, via a
Blue tooth, on my cell phone at the same time. I believe that is why I
was selected for victimization. I was perceived as distracted and
self-consumed.
This mugging suspect was smart. He had waited until I was boxed in by
my car, the gas pump, and the fuel hose. He approached with his hands
in his coat pockets. He said, 'Give me some money,' soft enough so as
not to attract attention.
I immediately found my Kel-Tec 380 in my right, front pants pocket. I
replied, "Sorry; can't help you, Bud," as I established solid eye
contact. The guy was experienced and smart. He immediately turned to
the side and said, 'It's cool. Be cool.' Without another word, he
tuned the rest of the way around and hurriedly exited.
When I lost sight of him, I finished fueling, got in my car, and left."
Comment: Situational awareness and a solid, protective posture and
demeanor, once again, prevented a violent crime. Most fights are over
before they start. Some violent criminals are crazy, but most aren't.
They're just opportunists looking for an easy mark. Perpetual
alertness, aggressive deselection and assertive disengagement work
nearly every time, but these critical skills must be constantly
practiced and rehearsed, just as our gun skills are.
Good show, my friend!
/John
21 Nov 05
TSA Story, from a LEO friend in WA:
"Detective ________ and I flew to San Diego last week to pick up a
murder suspect who was caught trying to cross the border into Mexico.
Getting there was no problem, but after picking up our prisoner, we went
to the airport at San Diego and met with TSA people.
We presented our credentials, including badges, letter from the chief,
etc. We were then taken to the 'by-pass' room. The TSA guy found all
our paperwork in order and then said, 'So, will both you officers be
traveling armed?' I explained to him that only I was armed, and that
Detective _______ was not, as he would be sitting next to the
prisoner. 'So, Detective_______ does not have a gun?' was the reply. I
assured him that was correct.
'Is there a problem?' I asked.
The TSA guy replied, 'If he is not armed, he will have to go back
through the inspection line.'
'But, we have all the paperwork here. He is AUTHORIZED to be armed!'
'Yes, but since he is not armed, he has to be inspected for dangerous items.
'But he is AUTHORIZED to carry dangerous items!"
'But, because he's NOT carrying anything dangerous, he has to be inspected.'
I thought about arguing further, but I suddenly remembered that I was
dealing with a federal employee. Detective _______ dutifully went
through the line as I, and the prisoner, waited for him on the other
side.
The prisoner commented, 'This is the stupidest thing I ever heard of!'
I nodded in agreement."
Comment: TSA positively gets off on harassing local cops. But, the
greater harm is this: Stupid "rules," enforced by mindless,
anti-intellectual, arrogant government agents, degrades respect for the
entire body of law and for all government agents. In doing
indefensible, senseless things as described above, TSA performs no good
service.
/John
21 Nov 05
ACOG into the sun:
"I tested a DPMS AR-15 yesterday. Rifle ran fine, but I was shooting
almost directly into the setting sun. Iron sights worked fine.
However, when I mounted an ACOG and attempted to continue, I discovered
light spalling was sufficient to wash out the target. I could see the
sighting pyramid just fine, but nothing else!"
Comment: It's not just the ACOG. All rifle optics have an issue when
shooting at a target with a strong light source close to it. Many have
assured me that iron sights are obsolete. Not yet!
/John
21 Nov 05
Info on rifle optics, from a student and operator:
"Like you, I love Aimpoints, ACOGs, and scout scopes, but there is a
critical weaknesses that is shared by everything with glass, and it must
be acknowledged and dealt with during realistic training. Many of us
carry rifles (car guns) in vehicles. When the outside temperature
drops, these rifles, and their attached optics, get cold. When one must
subsequently retrieve the rifle and then enter a heated building, the
optics will fog instantly, rendering them temporarily useless. Moving
back into the cold will cause the fog to turn to frost.
Training under all foreseeable the environmental conditions will help
eliminate painful, operational surprises!"
Comment: Once again, none of these issues are shared by iron sights.
/John
24 Nov 05
A Thanksgiving Day Story, from a friend and student in Country:
"For the second time since I've been in Country, a first sergeant
approached me today in the Thanksgiving-dinner chow line, put his arm
around my shoulder, and stated, 'I notice there is a magazine in your
pistol, soldier. It's not actually loaded, is it?' I calmly informed
him I'm a CID agent, that my pistol was 'actually' loaded, and 'that's
just the way we do things.'
He backed off, put his palms up, and replied with the customary loser's
self-justification, 'I don't make the rules,' to which I retorted,
'You're part of the problem, top. We're standing in an active combat
zone, and I'm the only one in this entire room with a gun that will
actually shoot!' My reply flew over his head, of course, but it was a
sad reminder of how shamefully emasculated our armed forces have become,
even in an area of active fighting.
I wasn't issued ammunition until eight days after I arrived in theater.
Fortunately, per your advice, I brought my own. There is no excuse for
such casual disregard for the personal safety of troops.
Unfortunately, I'm not holding my breath that our commanders, or our
politicians, will do anything that will push this floundering system in
the right direction."
Comment: We are fighting decades of gun-phobia, which has made its way
into every corner of our civilization, even our "armed" forces, and even
when they are deployed to a combat zone and actively engaged in a war!
/John
25 Nov 05
Comments on military readiness, from a student currently assigned overseas:
"Ain't it the truth! In an hour my shift starts. My unit guards this
base's entire ammunition supply, and we're located in a
not-especially-friendly, foreign country.
I have no guns with me now, nor do any of us where we're not technically
on duty. Shortly, I will be issued a dirty M9 pistol, with two
magazines and twenty rounds of dirty, 9mm hardball. Our orders are to
carry the pistol in a flap holster, with all flaps fully secured, so
drawing with one hand, or quickly even with both hands, is not
possible. The weapon is to be carried with a magazine inserted, an
empty chamber, and the safety 'on' (decocking lever down). As you might
say, we're little more than cannon fodder here!
Clearing barrels litter this facility like horse crap. Those few
weapons that are carried, even by active-duty soldiers, are always
unloaded and universally treated with the utmost cavalierly. I have
never seen firearms so casually thrown about with such contemptuous
disregard to unsafe directions in which they are incessantly pointed.
I so much miss the comradery of your class where real gunmen bear arms
proudly, with true safety, honor, respect, and professionalism. It has
yet to filter down here!"
Comment: I'm disheartened when I receive notes like this. The True Way
has yet to shine forth at this remote outpost, and many like it. The
thing I regret most is that, with all our effort, we have (obviously)
accomplished so little.
/John
26 Nov 05
Counterpoint, from a young lad in Country:
"Mr Farnam, I witnessed a negligent discharge in a mess hall over here.
The culprit was, of course, the mishandling of weapons. It is not
uncommon. Thus, here is the other side of the argument:
My unit deployed to Iraq on short notice, with little additional arms
training. We have eighteen-year-olds walking around with 9mm pistols,
who have only touched them on one previous occasion, and that was a
paltry ten rounds of familiarization firing just prior to departure
from CONUS, and under the tutelage of instructors who knew precious
little more about the weapon than did their students!
Lack of muzzle consciousness is, by far, the biggest problem over here,
and the lamentable affliction makes no distinction with regard to rank
or age! Accordingly, unit commanders will not allow the carrying of
loaded weapons inside camps. The rational is that there is little
reason to carry loaded inside a guarded area."
My reply: Thanks for your note, son, and I understand the hesitancy of
you and your colleagues to be "hot" all the time, even if it were
permitted.
"Guarded area," huh? The fact that you're drawing"combat pay" should be
a hint to both you and your hesitant and naive commanders. When in
Vietnam thirty-seven years ago, OUR "CAMPS," SURROUNDED BY WIRE, JUST
LIKE YOURS, GOT
OVERRUN ALL THE TIME! With any luck, that phenomenon will not become a big
part of your life over there, but it only has to happen once for a lot
of hapless and unarmed men to be wretchedly massacred, because they
cannot shoot.
YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN CAN BE TRAINED TO SAFELY CARRY LOADED PISTOLS ON A
REGULAR BASIS. In our Marine Programs, we teach them to do it in two
days! We've never had an ND, and our students come away as competent
gun handlers, as well as fast and deadly-accurate shooters. They think
of themselves as professional gunmen, and they carry hot, proudly and
confidently.
The problem with the "no-gun" policy, common in CONUS, is that it creeps
into our daily routine, even in areas of active fighting, where you now
find yourself. Shifting gears becomes more and more indecisive and
incomplete. Some are even hesitant about carrying hot OUTSIDE the
wire! When will we stop being afraid of ourselves?
You better understand something about warfare, lad: Active war is going
to be a continuous part of world landscape for the remainder of your
lifetime. On behalf of my generation, I apologize to you and your
colleagues for the hash you've inherited from us. With that said, you
better get used to a pitilessly indifferent world, and YOU BETTER DECIDE
RIGHT NOW TO BE A SERIOUS, DANGEROUS, HARMFUL HEAVY-HITTER, and that
you're going to be in a high state of readiness, all the time, no
matter were you are, regardless of "rules." I pray you make that
decision while you still can!
/John
--
Stephen P. Wenger
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
