24 May 2010

US Soldiers Patrolling With Unloaded Weapons in Afghanistan

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More “courageous restraint” reported by Chris Carter at Human Events.

Commanders have ordered a U.S. military unit in Afghanistan to patrol with unloaded weapons, according to a source in Afghanistan.

American soldiers in at least one unit have been ordered to conduct patrols without a round chambered in their weapons, an anonymous source stationed at a forward operating base in Afghanistan said in an interview. The source was unsure where the order originated or how many other units were affected.

When a weapon has a loaded magazine, but the safety is on and no round is chambered, the military refers to this condition as “amber status.” Weapons on “red status” are ready to fire—they have a round in the chamber and the safety is off.

The source stated that he had been stationed at the base for only a month, but the amber weapons order was in place since before he arrived. A NATO spokesman could not confirm the information, stating that levels of force are classified.

What this signifies is very troubling. The policy indicates quite clearly that our government values potentially better relations with the general Afghan population above the safety of American military personnel.

Disarming one’s own troops is a policy expressive of a serious lack of self identification with their interests. No administration made up of men who had actually served in the military would be willing to treat US soldiers as expendable pawns in this way, and no America in which the military was representative of the entire population would put up with such a policy.

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4 Feedbacks on "US Soldiers Patrolling With Unloaded Weapons in Afghanistan"

Lucius Quinctius

This is an order I would disobey!



Thalpy

Is this the implementation of “smart power?” What loons they are. Can the Banana Formula and Hushaboom be far behind?



Surellin

I really dislike apologizing for Obama (or casting aspersions at Reagan) but, if I recall correctly, the same thing happened to the Marines in Beirut in 1983. ROE required unloaded weapons and 200-odd Marines got blown up by a truck bomb because the sentries were just that much too slow. One doesn’t have to be a far-left twig-boy to lay insupportable bordens on the troops.



CRAIG

Notifications like this should not be posted on an open source media. We are not the only ones that can see these postings. The old adage “Loose lips sink ships” comes to mind when I see postings like this.
For the sake of OPSEC, and my brethren’s personal safety, I wouldnt post information such as this.
If we can read this, so can the enemy. Why put this out? Posting it wont change the policy. It can do no good, only harm by posting this.



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