Some recent training opened up this question since I see people turn thier nose up to certain tools that they dont like or were told not to like…Likewise, favoring what they love or were told to love.
Does this create some sort of mentality or habituation that could keep someone from using a tool that is available just becuase they have repeatedly embedded the fact that they dont like that particular tool???
Of course the answer is simple but I thought this may be an interesting discussion and may provoke some thought.
Aren’t there a whole lot of Airmen, Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Coast Guard and Police who don’t get a say in what they are issued? They just get on with it.
In my career I’ve been issued different weapon systems and on those occasions if you didn’t already ship your hardware forward (or were restricted/prohibited to the Embassy or host-nation’s hardware) you drew what was there.
This has included the Ruger Security Six, the Smith and Wesson Model 10, the Browning Highpower, the SIG 226, Glock 17, first-generation M16A2 Carbine, the Uzi, the Mini-14, and the AKM. While not M16s, M4s, M1911A1s, or M9s, fighting principles are the same. Your tools don’t make any difference whether or not you know how to use them.
This. I’m sick and tired of hearing people whine about not being able to shoot because of grip angle, polymer vs. metal frame, blah blah blah. I say learn to work with what you got, put your dick beaters on the gun and run it!
Improvise. On my first tour in Iraq, we had the Canvas doors on my Humvee. I Improvised by taking them off so that they would not impede my line of fire. Five months later I was building Steel Armor Plate doors for my beloved Vehicle. I’m still here, so that answers your question.
ETA: I may be a sick F&*k But remember Brothers, I am here if you need me. Don’t forget about the Bleach and Ammonia combo.
There are certain tools I own and practice with not because I particularly like’m, but because they are available on every corner, so to speak. So, if I lost an access to my preferred tools, I’ll still be familiar with what’s commonly available.
Not sure what the point of this whole discussion is. Of course if I needed to use a Model 10 and an 870 to defend my life I would give a good accounting of myself, but there are better tools and I try to keep those handy.
Sure we get wrapped up in the gear but anyone who would refuse to fight because he doesn’t have his pet equipment with him probably wouldn’t do worth a damn even WITH his pet equipment.
AMEN!If you can’t pick up a weapon and use it no matter what it is You Suck:eek: .I have seen Many shooters Have the all" High speed ,Low drag gear" and still when shooting something they don’t like, blame all their crap shots on the weapon.But their shots were no better with all their Uber cool gear.“Man Up”! its what I heard in the Army" if we give you a sling shot you will learn to kill with it and take that son of a bitches weapon and move on" .
Hell a young Marine Did just that in OIF ,He ran dropping weapons as they ran out of Ammo and picking up Insurgents weapons and moved on.
he killed 14 or More and Got the Metal of Honor for His Bravery under Fire and Bravery Beyond the line of duty and that was earned with his ability to Adapt to different Weapon Platforms when it really Mattered
.he said after the Medal was put on .“I was doing My job that I was trained for and was protecting My brothers” Not a direct quote But to that effect
Semper Gumby…always flexible. I’m a diehard AR guy but I know my way around an AK and other various common rifles. Just try and get familiar with all weapons and their operation.
Yet if hand them an AK, FAL, Sig, etc. they would be baffled as to how it should be used. Most soldiers are not taught to be weapons, but merely "this is how you use this one weapon.
Then again this discussion is more akin to my ideals, which could be construed, by some as “jack of all trades, master of none”. Whereas the actual goal/intention is to be familiar with many platforms so that I can pick any up and have it be familiar. It’s just not the goal of the masses.
One of the best jobs on Earth to me would be the 18B. Now that’s a guy that has my envy.
Training and familiarization within the gov’t is not what most would expect. Think about the “professionally” trained ATF agent that was the only person who was in the room, trained to handle the “Glock 40”. [Yes, yes, I know, as do you like minded individuals that Glock has yet to release a Glock 40].
Only those that have an interest in the tools would have a chance at succeeding.
There is a quote from the BOOK Starship Troopers that really epitomizes this point.
I cannot recall the exact text, but I will give it my best shot:
(If there are any Starship Trooper studs out here, fix me if this is wrong please)
All the soon to be Mobile Infantry guys are getting trained up on all sorts of weapons, from blades, to explosive to “solid slug” weapons. One of the candidates bitches about how he will never use any of this stuff given that he rides in a super cool powered armor suit and has nuclear missiles to blow stuff up with. The instructor then drops him a level by stating something along the lines of that
“Weapons are tools; it is the mind that is dangerous”
I’m definitely a gun snob, and there is no question in my mind that there are things I can accomplish with some guns that I cannot accomplish with others. There’s also no question that dedicated practice with a particular platform leads to excellence with that platform which will not translate 100% over to other platforms.
Having said that, your question:
Does this create some sort of mentality or habituation that could keep someone from using a tool that is available just becuase they have repeatedly embedded the fact that they dont like that particular tool???
… seems unimaginable to me. If I woke up tomorrow morning in Bogota and someone handed me a Ruger P85 with the option of carrying that or nothing, I would instantly become the happiest Ruger P85 owner on Earth.
I couldn’t agree more! You should be able to pick up any gun and put some holes in the black. In a SHTF or TEOTWAWKI scenario, you may just have to do that.
