M9 Holster Advice

People cock their weapons, they just don't remove the magazine.

The problem is there is no kept standard for weapons training. Most people have pitiful weapons skills. I was shocked outside the first DFAC I was at where people had to clear their weapons. I would have failed 80 - 90% of them if I had applied my old training standards, that is literally hundreds of people per meal, officers and SNCOs included.
The problem is systematic and no one is interested in fixing it.

I'm morbidly interested in what you saw.
 
It was $1200 fine for us on the first ND with an orderly room and the conviction recorded in the individuals file (NJP? for you guys), second one would get you sent home.
I'm afraid that in the regular army, it's swept under the carpet more often than not. You should be tarred and feathered, or were an "I ND'ed" sandwich board for a month.
 
It was $1200 fine for us on the first ND with an orderly room and the conviction recorded in the individuals file (NJP? for you guys), second one would get you sent home.

That's great unless the first ND of the deployment is done by a major. Kind of sets the tone for the entire deployment...
 

Fined $1200, disgraced and used as an example to the Battalion of the dangers of complacency at all levels.

We were told exactly who it was, what had happened and that he had been charged and fined the same as everyone else would be. It was hammered home to us that if a Major could do it (which confused most of us as we all know birdshit on the shoulders = birdshit in the brain) anyone could do it and to to not be complacent with weapons.

However I think Etype's solution is the best, everyone stay in the action, keep the finger off the titty and be aware of where your muzzle is pointing at all times. Hmm, reminds me of a lesson I had once.
 
Fined $1200, disgraced and used as an example to the Battalion of the dangers of complacency at all levels.

We were told exactly who it was, what had happened and that he had been charged and fined the same as everyone else would be. It was hammered home to us that if a Major could do it (which confused most of us as we all know birdshit on the shoulders = birdshit in the brain) anyone could do it and to to not be complacent with weapons.

However I think Etype's solution is the best, everyone stay in the action, keep the finger off the titty and be aware of where your muzzle is pointing at all times. Hmm, reminds me of a lesson I had once.

Good. I would be very surprised if the same consequences were applied in the US military. I've seen officers and SNCOs do some seriously stupid stuff that got swept under the carpet. The confusing part is that the junior enlisted all knew what had happened, so although the goal was (I think) to not embarass the officer, the effect was to make the junior enlisted believe the officers were immune to punishment.

I hate to quote a movie, but the line "This is my safety" always seemed to ring true with me. The best safety is the one between your ears...
 
That's great unless the first ND of the deployment is done by a major. Kind of sets the tone for the entire deployment...

See that's the problem right there, everyone here knows that if someone with rank does it it will be overlooked. Meaning there is no standard (or an unenforced one).
To be fair though, an Officer misplaced his pistol one day a while back, my whole BDE was called out. The BDE commander had the entire BDE in formation and along with the BDE SGM went to each and every company and personally apologized to the troops for being fucked around due to the offending officer's unprofessional behavior.

Mac's example is the solution, zero tolerance and blind to rank. You do the crime to do the time, period!

I'm morbidly interested in what you saw.

The worst thing I see and I see it almost everytime, is people NEVER look into the chamber when they cock a weapon.
A, you don't see if there is a magazine in the weapon.
B, you don't see if a round is chambered.

We (NZ INF) were taught to ALWAYS look into the chamber when the weapon is cocked, whether to confirm it's clear or to ensure that a round was properly loaded before firing.

While we are on the subject, I fucking HATE to see troops holding their weapons with one hand, by the pistol grip with the rifle trailing along. Makes my blood boil every time, just slovenly and unprofessional, looks like a third world guerrilla from west africa. :mad:
 
One of the reasons we have so many NDs is because we spend so little time on weapons-related tasks. Even in combat arms units, weapons training takes a back seat to a lot of other things. This is an Army-wide institutionalized phenomenon.

Take a look at the policy letters for a unit. Any unit. We're raised in the military to "put the bottom line up front," so therefore the things that are most important to the commander should be reflected in the first couple of policy letters, right? So what are the first ones, usually? Open door policy, prevention of sexual harrassment, equal opportunity, and consideration of others are usually the very first ones listed. Those are all important things for a unit, but what about the reason the unit is constituted in the first place? If you have a unit that gets around to anything training- or mission-related in the top ten policy letters, you're doing pretty good.
 
One additional issue I have seen is where people become so complacent on looking for no brass in the barrel and yet do not "see" a round that has been chambered when they drop the magazine with an open slide. Ineffect, the lack of attention to detail is tricking them into seeing the lack of brass from a magazine as a lack of brass throughout the weapon.
 
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