PIONEER

First, with all deference to the generally great employees of the USPS, I use this as a generic term to represent day traders etc. that go ballistic and start shooting coworkers and customers.

The question is, how long will it be, if ever, before one of the National Guard types develops a brain tumor or just a bad attitude, and starts shooting??? What precautions are being taken?

Do they really need those automatic weapons? Unless they're expecting an armed brigade storming Security, wouldn't pistols allow them to cope with most any contingency?

I sure hope that I'm worried about nothing, but this happens often enough in the outside world that I hope that somebody has at least considered the possibility in Airports.

AS Flyer

I think this is a silly worry. You could say the same about any Police Officer or anyone else in a similar position that is legally armed.

Savvy Traveler

i agree... they could do just about as much damage with a 9mm beretta as with their M-16s.

and please don't say "M-16's are automatic and fire more bullets". the rate of fire on an automatic rifle is so high that you might actually get less casualties than with a handgun. this is because the bullet dispersement range would be narrow, whereas with a sidearm you can more easily fire in a variety of directions.

ClueByFour

Uhh, I'd content that one can do a lot more damage with an M-16 than a 9mm 92F. Rate of fire and accuracy come to mind, here.

Which might explain why they are carrying the M-16s in some places to begin with.

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Saving the world, one clue at a time.

Doppy

At one point someone on here said that the guns aren't even loaded. Not sure if that's true.

Go to a German airport. There are ten times as many military type guards carrying loaded weapons there. How many of them shoot up the airport for no reason?

d

YVR Cockroach

Be aware that the 55 grain 5.56 mm full metal jacket rounds the M-16s fire are very high velocity and tend to ricochet (off walls, bones, and other hard surfaces ) a lot. I think the M-16s these days fire 2-3 round bursts instead full automatic. That'd cause more casualties than the slow 9mm rounds the Berattas (or the typical sub machine guns such as the Heckler & Kochs).

YVR Cockroach

There's a built-in safe guard of sorts right there. There are others who will (or should) stop the potential shooter by lethal meansif necessary.

LemonThrower

I have a friend in the natl guard who is a lawyer who got called up for airport duty. Its very scary to think of this guy with a gun. Anyway, his unit was issued M-16's and ammunition but they must keep the ammo in a belt pocket--not allowed to load their weapons until needed.

Dudster

That's complete BS. I've been through German airports 12 times since 9/11 (including two airports yesterday) and the level of armed personnel is much higher now in most US airports than it is in German airports (at least FRA and MUC, the two largest).

Gaucho100K

I agree with Dudster. Other examples where elite troops are displayed with full "battle gear" that come to mind are HKG and SIN. In both airports they are walking around with automatic weapons.

[This message has been edited by Gaucho100K (edited 02-18-2002).]

Gaucho100K

(duplicate post)

[This message has been edited by Gaucho100K (edited 02-18-2002).]

NoStressHere

But you all are missing something here. If you have watched any movies you should know that those weapons will not hit the good guys. You now the movies, 30 guys with automatic weapons can not hit the good guy. He pulls out a saturday night special and picks them off one by one.

See, there is a plan!

ranles

Nat Guard does not normally train with pistols, so this is not a short term option. M-16's tend to fire up rather than across unless done professionally. The risk of killing a bystander is quite low, especially when compared with a hijacker crashing a plane into a building. Probably better things to worry about.

ClueByFour

For what it's worth, the M9/92Fs I've seen on the National Guard in various airports seem to be loaded (at least in the sense that there appears from a cursory glance to be a round in the chamber causing the indicatior "bump" to be "bumped up."

Disclaimer: my 92 is a 92G Elite-II, so the stainless slide allows easier viewing of the loaded chamber bump.

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Saving the world, one clue at a time.

UA*AA

The NG personnel at ORD do not carry M-16s, they only have a sidearm.