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Military guys and guns.

Bassbob

Emissary
This observation of mine is likely just a perception based on my own little corner of the world here, but an inordinate amount of my ex- military buddies have very little actual knowledge, other than operational, about the guns they carried in the service and the guns we carry and shoot now. That includes one of my best friends who is a marine corps combat veteran ( Desert Storm) and was an armorer in the corps. To be fair, he is a cheap bastard and has a penchant for cheap guns and his time in the service ( 12 years) ended a couple decades ago, but I have pretty much donated parts and tinkered with his BCA A2 until it now runs great and he can actually, you know, hit stuff with it. I have worked on several of his crappy pistols and shotguns too.

Then I have a kid on my truck ( kind of like my laborer on a 2 man truck) who is an Army combat vet ( Afghanistan) who I am currently completely re-doing his extremely basic Diamondback A4 style carbine which he bought when he got out in 2016. It literally has nothing at all on it except for some FDE MBUIS ( the rifle is black). He was clueless as to what kind of furniture, optic, etc. to put on it or where to get it or how to put it on. In the 6 plus years since he bought it he probably has a couple hundred rounds through it. He has very little knowledge of how to maintain it or strip it down. Since he has the FDE flip ups, we decided to put some B5 and Magpul FDE stuff on it, some QD mounts, a Haley strategic D3 and top it off with a Romeo 5.

Anyway, I have a bunch of other military and ex military buddies who DO know a lot more than me and who train circles around me, but it just surprises me that some guys with 6 and 12 years in the service are having me work on their guns. I suppose regular grunts in the service aren't really allowed to change much on their weapons though. The kid on my truck told me they moved them to some other base and sent them out in choppers armed with "off the rack" M4s. So they weren't even necessarily shooting weapons they had zero'ed for themselves. I know some of the guys I train with sometimes who were higher up on the food chain, were allowed to outfit themselves with P mags and furniture of their choosing. It seems wrong that only Seals and spec ops guys should be able to have weapons of their own that they configured to their own liking. It also seems wrong that a guy who didn't own an AR until the scamdemic ( namely me) should know more about them than guys who carried them in combat for years. Because frankly I don't know :poop:. I pester @10mmLife about 14 times a day with dumbass questions.
 
Someone has to keep @10mmLife in line.........or awake...................or whatever else you can think of! As a minimum the ex or current military peeps should at least be able to strip and clean knowledge of their weapon. Knowing parts description and function should be useful also.
I would think so. I mean getting the BCG out and taking it (mostly) apart for cleaning and lubing is something you can figure out on your own pretty quickly, but certainly after being shown one time you should have it. I would think being able to replace triggers, other lower parts, buffer springs, etc. seems pretty important too as any of that stuff could fail catastrophically at the exact wrong time.
 
I would think so. I mean getting the BCG out and taking it (mostly) apart for cleaning and lubing is something you can figure out on your own pretty quickly, but certainly after being shown one time you should have it. I would think being able to replace triggers, other lower parts, buffer springs, etc. seems pretty important too as any of that stuff could fail catastrophically at the exact wrong time.
If something were to fail and could do a field fix would be important other than just having an armorist do it.
 
They probably weren't infantry, if you aren't in the infantry it's possible to never touch a weapon beyond basic training in the modern military.

Though you'd think a box kicker would still want to know what they're supplying.
The kid on my truck and a few other guys I know were "Box kickers" and it's apparently more common than you think to touch a weapon daily and still know almost nothing about it.
 
My jarhead friends have rifles that they didn't spec or build. They just grabbed "off the shelf" Their position is, the core ruined guns for me. My army grunt friend built all his own. From milling out the 80% lowers to stoning the trigger and sear for the "just right" let-off. He really lives building, tuning and refining. I'd put his against any custom shop. Lastly, my go to local gun store. Owner is a jarhead who still loves guns. Builds, sells, mods, does the cerakoting and everything else you can imagine. Very knowledgeable.
I guess it just depends on the person.
 
This observation of mine is likely just a perception based on my own little corner of the world here, but an inordinate amount of my ex- military buddies have very little actual knowledge, other than operational, about the guns they carried in the service and the guns we carry and shoot now. That includes one of my best friends who is a marine corps combat veteran ( Desert Storm) and was an armorer in the corps. To be fair, he is a cheap bastard and has a penchant for cheap guns and his time in the service ( 12 years) ended a couple decades ago, but I have pretty much donated parts and tinkered with his BCA A2 until it now runs great and he can actually, you know, hit stuff with it. I have worked on several of his crappy pistols and shotguns too.

Then I have a kid on my truck ( kind of like my laborer on a 2 man truck) who is an Army combat vet ( Afghanistan) who I am currently completely re-doing his extremely basic Diamondback A4 style carbine which he bought when he got out in 2016. It literally has nothing at all on it except for some FDE MBUIS ( the rifle is black). He was clueless as to what kind of furniture, optic, etc. to put on it or where to get it or how to put it on. In the 6 plus years since he bought it he probably has a couple hundred rounds through it. He has very little knowledge of how to maintain it or strip it down. Since he has the FDE flip ups, we decided to put some B5 and Magpul FDE stuff on it, some QD mounts, a Haley strategic D3 and top it off with a Romeo 5.

Anyway, I have a bunch of other military and ex military buddies who DO know a lot more than me and who train circles around me, but it just surprises me that some guys with 6 and 12 years in the service are having me work on their guns. I suppose regular grunts in the service aren't really allowed to change much on their weapons though. The kid on my truck told me they moved them to some other base and sent them out in choppers armed with "off the rack" M4s. So they weren't even necessarily shooting weapons they had zero'ed for themselves. I know some of the guys I train with sometimes who were higher up on the food chain, were allowed to outfit themselves with P mags and furniture of their choosing. It seems wrong that only Seals and spec ops guys should be able to have weapons of their own that they configured to their own liking. It also seems wrong that a guy who didn't own an AR until the scamdemic ( namely me) should know more about them than guys who carried them in combat for years. Because frankly I don't know :poop:. I pester @10mmLife about 14 times a day with dumbass questions.
Well, having been in the Navy myself, I can tell you that not everybody who goes into the military has an interest, passion, or knowledge of firearms. Nor are they required to. There are thousands of different ratings (job fields) in the military. Most having nothing to do with weapons, and don't require you to know about or even carry a weapon. I've known some Gunners Mates that had no interest beyond their job requirements with firearms. I would hazard a guess as to say that those who serve actual combat only know enough or need to know enough to keep their issued weapons running, as their lives depend on them. Special Forces/OPS are different, as they specialize in the use of firearms for various missions. Most of them will have an intimate knowledge of their particular firearms, as their lives depend on them.

People, understandably, equate the Military with firearms. The ones who operate Drones probably have very little knowledge of firearms, as their specialty is in the technology of operating that Drone. Even the ones who maintain those Drones probably have very little knowledge of firearms on the armed Drones, as they may not be required to have specific knowledge of whatever armament the Drone is capable of carrying. My Brother -in-law is a Naval Aviator. He started out flying the Seahawk, and was excellent at it. While he operated different ones with different mission specific capabilities and arms, he didn't have the knowledge to work on or maintain those armaments. He has the knowledge of what they do, how they function, and how to utilize them. But that is all he is required to know. He moved on to fly the C130s. He is now the XO of his flight squadron, and in about another 6 months to a year, will be the Commanding Officer of his Squadron. He does have an interest in, and knowledge of firearms, as his father was and brother is into guns. Now, as to whether or not he is capable of working on, repairing and modifying firearms, I don't think he has that interest. I am sure he can do so, if he wants to. He is more of a family man now, and more of a computer geek, as he has his computer built for his flight sims.

In short, not everybody who goes into the military knows about, carries, operates or works on firearms. I got bitten by the bug later in life. My younger days of chasing skirts, modifying cars/trucks, and constantly moving kind of kept me from guns. Moving from state to state, unfortunately, is a hassle when you have guns that go with you. The riots of 2020, and a more stable life have changed that. I now have family I have to look out for, as well as my own life. And, since I love working on/ modifying anything from riding mowers, to cars, to computers, to grills/smokers, firearms are just a natural fit for me. A little late in life, but here I are.
 
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A large number of folks in the military are in support roles and not at the pointy end. Guys in Special Warfare and "first in" outfits are highly trained and knowledgeable of their weapons. There are various arming categories of career fields that get more weapons training than others. An MP will get a lot more training than a mechanic. From my experience, since 9/11 everybody gets more training in weapons before deploying to the war zone than had been the case pre-9/11. I believe it is in general orders that nobody deploys without it. They do "just in time" combat prep training before deploying, which adds to the time away from home on top of deployment training. But you are right, a lot of folks in the military have little interest in firearms. As an aside, the savagery of our enemies has inspired our military to move toward dual arming, where everybody gets their primary weapon and a pistol in a war zone.
 
This observation of mine is likely just a perception based on my own little corner of the world here, but an inordinate amount of my ex- military buddies have very little actual knowledge, other than operational, about the guns they carried in the service and the guns we carry and shoot now. That includes one of my best friends who is a marine corps combat veteran ( Desert Storm) and was an armorer in the corps. To be fair, he is a cheap bastard and has a penchant for cheap guns and his time in the service ( 12 years) ended a couple decades ago, but I have pretty much donated parts and tinkered with his BCA A2 until it now runs great and he can actually, you know, hit stuff with it. I have worked on several of his crappy pistols and shotguns too.

Then I have a kid on my truck ( kind of like my laborer on a 2 man truck) who is an Army combat vet ( Afghanistan) who I am currently completely re-doing his extremely basic Diamondback A4 style carbine which he bought when he got out in 2016. It literally has nothing at all on it except for some FDE MBUIS ( the rifle is black). He was clueless as to what kind of furniture, optic, etc. to put on it or where to get it or how to put it on. In the 6 plus years since he bought it he probably has a couple hundred rounds through it. He has very little knowledge of how to maintain it or strip it down. Since he has the FDE flip ups, we decided to put some B5 and Magpul FDE stuff on it, some QD mounts, a Haley strategic D3 and top it off with a Romeo 5.

Anyway, I have a bunch of other military and ex military buddies who DO know a lot more than me and who train circles around me, but it just surprises me that some guys with 6 and 12 years in the service are having me work on their guns. I suppose regular grunts in the service aren't really allowed to change much on their weapons though. The kid on my truck told me they moved them to some other base and sent them out in choppers armed with "off the rack" M4s. So they weren't even necessarily shooting weapons they had zero'ed for themselves. I know some of the guys I train with sometimes who were higher up on the food chain, were allowed to outfit themselves with P mags and furniture of their choosing. It seems wrong that only Seals and spec ops guys should be able to have weapons of their own that they configured to their own liking. It also seems wrong that a guy who didn't own an AR until the scamdemic ( namely me) should know more about them than guys who carried them in combat for years. Because frankly I don't know :poop:. I pester @10mmLife about 14 times a day with dumbass questions.
It was always a NoNo to alter the standard configuration of your assigned weapon. No explanation given, just follow orders. That was probably to prevent private snuffy from disassembling his rifle losing springs etc. rendering it inoperable.

For some vets, guns are tools they used while on active duty that are no longer relevant to daily life. Others use guns for sport or collect them as a hobby, while some are passionate about all things guns. Kind of like automobiles, everyone can drive one, but few know how they operate or can repair one.
 
My jarhead friends have rifles that they didn't spec or build. They just grabbed "off the shelf" Their position is, the core ruined guns for me. My army grunt friend built all his own. From milling out the 80% lowers to stoning the trigger and sear for the "just right" let-off. He really lives building, tuning and refining. I'd put his against any custom shop. Lastly, my go to local gun store. Owner is a jarhead who still loves guns. Builds, sells, mods, does the cerakoting and everything else you can imagine. Very knowledgeable.
I guess it just depends on the person.
I'm a former Jarhead('76-'79). I knew my M16-A1 and Colt 1911 pretty well. Some of my fellow Marines weren't as zealous as I was. After I got out of the Corps I did armed security work, even became a licensed bodyguard in the state of Texas for awhile. I've owned several nice handguns and rifles over the years and one of favorite rifles is a Mossberg MVP 223 with red dot. It was set up and owned by a fellow Marine.

I owned and carried 1911s for many years but they became too heavy after my motorcycle accident and neck micro-fracture surgery. 12 titanium screws...lucky me..:) The medical rehab people told me many times during my 3 weeks in the hospital that they wished all their patients pushed themselves in rehab like I did. I'm a Marine and I will ALWAYS push myself to be better(at shooting, at Martial Arts, at being a better brother, etc, etc. It's who I am and I make no excuses for being that way....:))

I focused more on martial arts training after I got out of the Marine Corps and trained very hard for many years and still train pretty hard. I've had martial arts students from other branches of the military including a former Army Ranger Captain I trained for a few years who was as tough as nails. I also trained an Army First Sargent and even had a student served in the Coast Guard.

In my experience some former Marines don't care much about firearms or gungho-ness some Marines like me still have even after all these years. I have a cousin who's a former Marine and he'll give me "Hoo-rah" once in awhile, especially after he's had a few beers...:)

But one thing that I have noticed about most veterans is that they have a passion for something. It might not be firearms but the passion is usually there. And they are also some of the most loyal friends and martial arts students I have had the honor of knowing and training.

The Army Ranger Captain used to wear an ARMY t-shirt underneath his karate gi because he said Marines like me needed help with our ABCs. And that I needed to start with a simple word like Army. And he always wondered why I used him to demonstrate groin kicks on...:)
 
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