found this photo with this caption and it really caught me off guard and intrigued me.
well since I am just a civilian I was wondering if anyone here had any input on this, like how is he able to bring any upper he wants for his rifle?
“U.S. Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Michael Nelson, platoon sergeant, and 1st Lt. Brandon Bowden, platoon leader of the security force element of Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah, pull security during a road assessment mission in Farah province, Afghanistan, May 9.”
IIRC as of early May ADCOR was still in the running to “unseat” the current M4 configuration, making it to round two of the competition. If that is the case you could surmise they would field some of the uppers/weapons in theater. No better way to get some user feedback than put them in the hands of the end users right ?
I believe that this unit is a guard unit from Texas. The same one I saw recently in Kabul. I also noticed in addition to their PMAG’s some of the soldiers appeared to have a various mods to their weapons.
I wonder if this was an authorized change? I am all about doing T&E in a combat zone, but it needs to be controlled and have undergone extensive training in the U.S first.
Does anyone know if ADCOR had been tested here?
I do agree that if he simply bought his own upper and dropped it on there without authorization then he is a dipshit and someone needs to stomp his balls.
Thank God for the NG. They are great Americans serving their country.
I have never seen such crazy BS as I have from the Guard units in my AO. It’s simply amazing:
We have a guard unit here on my FOB and they perform a certain task. It’s not a difficult task, comparable to light office work. They work 1x 6 hour shift every day, and that’s it. 6 hours on, 18 off. They could easily do with half of the Soldiers and work 12 hours at a stretch.
It is simply amazing to me, and not in a good way.
There is also an Army regulation about having a beard …but I do that also. I also do not wear MultiCam or ACUs in Afghanistan.
There are no absolutes that cover all of us in the Army. Some of us do different things then the rest. So just because some can’t do something does not mean that all can’t. Be careful with blanket statements.
Ok, so let me expand on it. Aside from certain military units and personnel (which it should have been obvious I wasn’t talking about) it is generally prohibited.
I don’t think that the guys in the PRT’s rate this, but I have been wrong in the past.
If you are part of the Title 10 Army, then you have to play by the rules. However, YOUR UNIT may have an exception to those rules. The Army post I’m from has an SF unit, so i understand a very small amount about this. I correct them when they are out of line, uniform, whatever. I do it politely and under the table. All I ask is that any leader set the proper example for any subordinate.
I’m fairly certain the guard unit in the picture is part of all us regular folks, and thus should probably play by the normal conduct pertaining to standards and discipline.
DOD is already in the midst of one big ass investigation of this…thats one of the reasons why the IC competition is being driven along for better or for worse.
for example
Sgt. Charles Perales of Fort Bragg, NC had this to say in a letter reprinted by Defense News:
“My unit – B Company, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment – was deployed to Afghanistan from April 2005 to March 2006. While there, we were attached to Special Forces at Camp Tillman on the Afghan border…. I saw first-hand what happens when your weapon jams up because of the harsh environments we have to call home there. An 18B weapons sergeant was shot in the face due directly to his weapon jamming. I just can’t believe that after things like this happen, the Army is still buying more M4s."
I’m not in the place to call Sgt. Perales “full of shit”.
I know many of you have been in theater multiple times, have had M4s save your ass, and work just fine putting those savages down right quick, so take it FWIW.
So that young man with the ADCO upper…who knows, perhaps he signed up to use it " dear brave soldier, you have the ability to test and evaluate a new weapons system on the “forefront” of technology blah blah blah" . Perhaps his CO signed him up?
Perhaps he deserves an Iraqgunz level ball smashing for taking that potential POS into harms way.
The PRT is run by the Texas Army NG. All of the poeple attached there wear the patch. The soldier could be from anywhere…just called a friend about it.
The PRT in my AO is known for this. I see one particular Soldier with a different patch every week! Kinda frustrating to me, but mostly because I’ve been in ‘divisional Army’ for a long time.
I wear the patch that I had on my shoulder when I boarded the plane.
