Losey to Hunter: “weapons carousel” was a break in the system
Last week we talked about the system which forced elite SEAL warriors to swap out their weapons as they transitioned into and out of the battle. Fox News reports that California Congressman and Iraq War veteran Duncan Hunter interceded on behalf of the SEALs;
Hunter, a former Marine who served three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he spoke late last week with Rear Adm. Brian Losey, the top officer at the Naval Special Warfare Command in San Diego. Hunter said he is satisfied with the steps taken by Losey.
[…]
Hunter said what Losey described during their call wasn’t a weapons shortage but a “break in the system” that affected only the SEAL teams assigned to Naval Special Warfare Group One in San Diego. Weapons that service members had used in training and planned to go into combat with were effectively being impounded for cosmetic flaws and other minor issues, according to Hunter.
Essentially, a by-the-book approach was trumping common sense. “That does not meet commander’s intent,” Hunter said. “Commander’s intent is, ‘Who cares if there is a scratch on the butt stock.’ We’re not talking about the action, or the bolt or the barrel.”
Something is wrong with a system that forces soldiers to report deficiencies to their congressional representative in order to get an answer to their supply questions.
Thanks to Tom L. for the link.
Category: Big Pentagon, Military issues
Ouch, that explanation is just fucking stupid.
Guys were training and adjusting their weapons to be able to drive nails with them and a scratch in the stock or a chip off a guard were resulting in the weapon being taken away?
Just for admitting that’s what was going on, everyone involved in taking the weapons away should be sacked for being so fucking stupid as to boggle the mind at the depth of their abject fucking stupidity. When we create an environment so risk averse that people would take a combat weapon from a soldier to avoid a negative ramification to their career for sending them into battle with a scratch, chip, or cosmetic issue of minor or zero concern we’re doing something wrong at every level.
Make sure the LGBT crowd has the right number of appropriate bathroom options and medical coverage but take a SEALs combat training weapon away just before combat…talk about fucked up priorities.
Vinshit, I agree only with all of the unnecessary “fuckings”.
Make that “without” all of the….
Jonn, an edit option would be nice to have for those of us too quick to pull the trigger and not worth a darn at initial proof reading.
If Jonn provided an edit option, then all of the pearls of wisdom spouted by Psaul over the last three years would have disappeared. No edit option is a small price to pay in order to ensure that future generations will be aware of the Genius Of Psaul.
Much to do about nothing. Lets see if I can get my panties in a bind over this…ahhhh…nope.
Maybe its my experience in the Corps, we never use anything that isn’t already scratched, dented, chipped or leaking hydraulic fluid.
Just a distraction from the real deep shit issues our military is going through and for some politic9sns to be gung ho about doing something. It is indeed stupid.
When I was assigned my M60 in 1994 I was told that it was used in Vietnam. It was scratched, dented, chipped and generally beat to hell, but it still worked like a charm. I still miss that gun.
Scratched stocks? Aren’t those wood, or something? No one ever heard of those scratch coverup crayons?
I don’t think I ever saw Navy equipment that wasn’t dented, dinged or scratched. What’s the big deal?
When it stops leaking fluid, it’s out of fluid.
Marine_7002 were you a CH 46 crew chief or mech ? Joe
No, but I was in one CH-46 and two CH-53 squadrons (Ops), and I spent enough time riding around in them during those and other tours to know that well. 🙂
Bingo! It’s when it’s not leaking fluid that you have a problem
RMDL Losey a thin skinned vengeful douchebag ? Looks like a second star could be tough sledding.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/02/05/key-senators-urge-navy-to-block-promotion-for-admiral-in-charge-of-special-operations/
This is what I see he kept telling his support staff just do it and the support are not operational green side people probably on shore duty assigned staff NSW. He probably had a by the books Fleet S-4 SUPPO and the suppo had the same with the Chiefs under him. They probably were substandard as in not doing NSW PT and didn’t know how to find the way out of a tin can. They probably went to him and tried to get him to understand they have to do this shitty 3 -M thing I know we had the same thing in NECC it sucks. Bottom line is 3-M will bring him down and we were told that this program could get people fired and in jail. We had a Master Chief well he dropped is papers, but he voiced his concerns about brining this shit to the green side of the Navy.
The program sucks so bad we have to do R-1 checks on battery charged drills. For a Seabee to have to do that every time is almost the same with having a SEAL do R-1 on a SACR or M4 they use them all the time. So why the hell do they have to have a paper that says they cleaned and op checked their weapon WTF… I KNOW ….
Could have been the Gun Humpers in the Armory getting all twisted that THEIR weapons were getting ruined.
Then the “I signed for that shit” guy goes overboard.
No Senior, Don’t know when you got out but we have a maintenance system called 3-M and the green side went to it in 2007 NSW and NECC and it sucks because you still have to do what is called R checks down range. It looks like one team was not adhering to the Command 3-M program and it is a big deal to the Navy people get kicked out and do time for fucking the program up.
Same Track, 3M-306 qualed. Those GM’s idea of a SAT R check vs you and I differ greatly. So someone say that the checks are not being done properly or not at all and the guy who is in charge of the material goods,(as you said the S4) dick can be put on the block and puts the WTF brakes on. That is what I meant.
Also started Fleet Side so 3M is second nature.
I wonder if somebody was prepping for an IG of TO&E. Saw some pretty dumb crap done over that issue back in the day.
Yes, be sure to turn your canteen pouches inside out and remove all of the Irish pennants. The Marine Corps wasted billions of man hours preparing for IG inspections. We must have done at least three PFTs in order to prepare for the IG monitored PFT.
I doubt that this had to turn in a Congressional. This is probably due to a commander (by the way, SEALS are commanded by SEALS), who did not understand the maintenance system very well and/or didn’t plan very well.mmThis probably could have been handled at a much lower level- sounds to me like there are other issues in ST-1.
SOF guys in general are not known for their love or knowledge of the rules of the system, which is fine because they don’t usually play by them. Compared to what the typical line unit it has to deal with, these guys have it easy.
This sounds like routine maintenance that was either deferred or improperly scheduled by the Commander, who then failed to tell the boss he needed help. SEAL teams have all sorts of dedicated support, and I am sure they could have gotten their priority bumped or even found some overtime money for the civilians that so their maintenance.
the problem isn’t with the NSW commander, it’s at the FG/LT level- The platoon commander is an O3 with a Junior officer and a couple of Chiefs to help run a group of 16 Special,Operators. they should have been able to solve this problem without embarrassing the Navy
I said this before as I worked around theme and we have the same supply system. I knew something wasn’t correct and it was one team. We worked with both West Coast and East coast and we have teams that go down range and support them called CSST’s IN 2012 in AFG I was working on an ODA camp and a Team was coming in with some CSST guy’s and I knew the Chief Seabee Like me he had a fucking SCAR and we had M4′ so there was no problem with them having weapons. I think it was a fleet assigned to NSW S-4 officer and probably a Fleet Chief that was in charge of the 3-M program Maintenance and yeas the green side of the Navy has to comply and we have a hard time doing it because of operational needs. You can put off the Maintenance and put it down as field maintenance OPERATOR LEVEL. You are supposed to do this all they time and sign the card that it is being done. Now we have a hard time because we are out in the field not on all the FOBs like every thinks we are and we have a hard time doing the 3 M checks so you no the Teams have an extremely hard time doing the checks and that is probably the problem. You would be correct they probably had a 3M inspection and that is done by big Navy NOT NSW. They may send a NECC 3M team to do it but it doesn’t matter you have to do the paper work. I can understand because we have a hard time doing it and it sucks but we are all still in the Navy Know matter NSW or NECC. I would say yes it is the NSW commanders problem because it is his 3M program that he needs to follow regardless of being so called special or not.The CO and his staff are suppose to do spot checks every week and every month it sucks because being a Chief I had to do… Read more »
Could this be a case where someone in the CofC said something to the effect of, “Fuck me? No, fuck YOU!”
Not that I’m familiar with how SEALs roll, but it is an effective way of getting a commander’s attention.
Sounds to me like a case of con artists posing as military leaders have infested a particular chain of command.
Imo, everyone involved, and that includes everyone that should have jumped into fix this shit but didn’t, needs to receive a dose of the headsman’s axe.
If the “leadership” has gotten that petty, malicious and incompetent as to play that game with the weaps, then there’s a hella lot more shitbaggery going on that we’re not hearing about yet.
Much maintenance is now done by civilian contract, with a number of contractors doing the jobs. This is not unit level wrenching, but by company, battalion, and brigade (or whatever you squids call them).
I shit you not, these contractors have large vans filled to the brim with weapons parts. The civilian workers are ORDERED to swap out ANY part that looks like it was used in any way, shape, or form. Finish slightly worn on a flashider? Deadline. Replace. Tiny, tiny ding on a barrel? Deadline. Replace. The slightest of discolor, or the smallest of scratches on the buttstock? Deadline. Replace. Brass dings on the deflector? Deadline. Replace the upper. Any amount of wear on the bolt, carrier, recoil spring, buffer? Deadline. Replace them all.
Millions of dollars at stake, with the lowest level of give-a-shit from the contractors. They don’t get paid to repair weapons, like I did for my career. They get large dollars to make all weapons look new again.
Even if it means deadlining the whole pile, and forcing SEALs to swap out weapons for deployment.
YA, That is part of what the Navy calls 3-M Maintenance Program anything higher then Level 2 would be contactor type repair or Maint and means schedule down time no matter what. That is why you have to input everything in the computer and if they show up and its in SKID that you haven’t been doing R-1’s or R-2’s checks then they will dead line your shit with out replacement. They give you the times and have your inventory list and will tell you when they are coming and you need to plan for them they will not plan for you…