It never occurred to me, Kryten, but, yes, SERE training would definitely would definitely screw up any attempt at Psych assistance. Flashbacks are a bitch and even when you get beyond them the you worry about them starting again. It takes a very good partner to put up with them. Yeah, I don’t remember the recruiter talking about that
]]>I qualified on several weapons and weapons systems. From small arms to stingers, including weapons used by enemy combatants, like the AK-47. Also assorted knives, bows, Shaken (arsenal of small bladed weapons), anything!
I used the IWS-2000 to take out a Hind (Mil Mi-24). Supposedly unstoppable! Has titanium and tungsten armor, 7 a hardened plexiglass that was near missile proof! But, every chopper has a specific vulnerability, especially to a good sniper with a good weapon! We called it “The Jesus Nut” It’s the special part just below the main rotor, hit that and the rotor flies off on it’s merry way… And that chopper flies like a lead brick! Not even a flying tank can survive that! There’s also the tail rotor, but that’s not as… satisfying! 😉 😀
It made personal relationships very difficult. I’d relive some of those events in my dreams, without knowing. I found out a couple years after I returned. I spent the night with a lady & a noise awoke me, my reflexes were still hair-trigger. I heard a noise & put the light on. She was sitting in the corner of the room, knees drawn up & arms crossed… sobbing. I went to get up & she tried to crawl away & told me to stay away! Eventually she told me of the dream that seemed very real, and it was. And I was flailing & pushed her out of the bed. We gradually stopped seeing each other. That happened a few more times, so I stopped dating altogether. I started seeing a shrink & tried hypnotherapy, but that was a waste of time. I’d been trained in the advanced SERE course to resist that & certain drugs etc. But it lessened over time.
They don’t tell you about that @ intake or training. 🙄
That’s a story I haven’t told for a very long time. It no longer matters. *shrug*
]]>Try telling anyone with an infantry rating that once a year is enough time on the range. I got together with two other guys to hand load ammo because commercial boxed ammo was so expensive. We went through 6 pounds of smokeless powder a year staying proficient with .357, .38, 9 mm .380 [In my case, that’s a S&W Model 19, a Colt Detective, a Walther P-38, and a Walther PPK] You had to qualify with every weapon you might carry or the department’s insurance and lawyer wouldn’t cover you if you used it in a shooting.
Everybody who has hunted is familiar with “buck fever”, a first time hunter freezes with a deer in his/her sights. Taking that shot, taking life is not easy. I have told people who wanted a recommendation for a weapon for self-defense that they shouldn’t buy a gun unless they are prepared to use it. You are just putting another gun on the street, after you get shot with it, if you don’t use it.
You were on the offense, Kryten, while my use of firearms in the military was to protect a pouch of classified material, survival if we went down. My offensive side was marking maps which resulted in a very bad time for anyone or anything near those marks. Not as personal as what you did, and certainly not as limited in the damages and deaths that resulted. You have to believe that it was the right thing to do to continue doing it. Every time there was a screw up, you took it personally because you started the process.
We both know in our bones that it isn’t easy and there is a price you pay. Politicians have no right to ask teachers to pay it.
I have a better idea, NTodd, since he is so gung ho send Cadet Bone Spurs to sniper school and then he can be a first responder at the next school shooting.
]]>Harper’s Bazaar asked Emma González to write an article in her own words for them She did great! She is smart & knows the score. She’s Cuban, so knows how to fight! She will help drive change, or die trying.
Parkland Student Emma González Opens Up About Her Fight for Gun Control
I love her subtitle: “Adults are behaving like children.”
Never a truer word was spoken… or typed! 😆
]]>If you’re going to send teachers to the police academy, issue them body armor and service weapons, and put them on the payroll of the Sheriff’s Department as school security officers, well okay. But the notion of putting a gun in the hands of totally untrained 77 year old Mrs. Marple whose hands shake more than one of James Bond’s martinis and who jumps in surprise every time she manages to pull the trigger… that’s just nutz.
]]>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF-PkMGBlVA
Easy peasy.
]]>You know I trained as a Sniper. That takes Months of extra training, much of that is psychological & a candidate is chosen only after an intense Psych Eval. A sniper almost always shoots to kill & it’s one-on-one (there are occasions when we might be tasked to wound as a warning or for a specific reason). The other exception is shooting at targets such as fuel/ammo dumps, choppers, APC’s, Radar towers etc. where we don’t typically see a human. “One shot. One kill!” isn’t the motto for fun.
Arming teachers is complete & utter bullshit & just a way for the NRA to sell more guns! They are paying a price now, and it will get worse! One of the Parkland Students, Emma González (in that Ellen vid) in two weeks has over 1 million followers on twitter. The NRA, on Twitter for a few years or more, has less than half that! The other new Activist Students are catching up with her also. Even Amazon is considering cancelling the NRAtv program they produce & host for the NRA after the Students called for their millions of followers to boycott Amazon if the don’t! Many other companies got the message fast, see if Amazon does! They’ve also called for a boycott of FedEx, the only shipping company that hasn’t yet dumped the NRA as a client.
They have the power! 😉 😀
Florida shooting survivor tops NRA on Twitter
I was quite fond of Buffalo Springfield & remember that song well! 😀
]]>I think the Broward Sheriff has the answer: trained deputies with AR-15s and I would add ballistic body armor. Give the teachers a break and let them teach.
As for “There’s a man with a gun over there”: Atrios yesterday. I didn’t need him “telling me I got to beware” [lyrics For What It’s Worth Buffalo Springfield]
]]>Say the trained shooter doesn’t confront the Grendel, choosing to hunker down with “his” kids instead. How will he be judged by the Rambo-esque of society (who tend to be the biggest mouths among us). Worse yet, how will he judge himself, knowing he could have stopped the Grendel. It will haunt him with guilt for the rest of his life.
You’re quite right: we do not have the right to ask it of them. It is shameful to even consider it. President Bone Spurs should really consider the Aussie Option.
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