TMF

  There are a lot of Muslims that feel the same way about extremist Muslims.  They don't consider them to be true Muslims.    I consider myself to be a pretty tolerant person, but I also have decent enough common sense to recognize when there is a problem.  9/11 was pretty good evidence that many in the Muslim world don't like us.  I realize that the 1 billion or so Muslims in the world were not all conspiring with UBL, but the sentiment across the Muslim world was that America deserved it.  So, from that pool there are plenty of military aged males who would be more than willing to fight us.  We found that out when we invaded Iraq and fighters were showing up from Jordan, Syria, Saudi, Yemen, Kuwait and several other countries.  This leads me to believe that the enemy we face is going to be Muslims.  Doesn't mean ALL Muslims are going to fight us, but all the people we're going to fight are going to be Muslims.    For those of you that were in the Army and Marines, you can recall those plastic pop up targets on the maneuver ranges which wore the helmets and had AK47s were called "Crazy Ivans".  This was due to the cold war.  The targets were meant to depict Soviet Soldiers.  Maybe someday we'll have "Crazy Chin" targets if we get into it with China.  Or if Canada bombs the Baldwins again we might have "Crazy Canuck" targets, where the guy has a hockey stick and a RCMP hat on.  I don't see how any of that would be offensive.  If that is the type of enemy we fight, that is the type of enemy we train to fight.    Political correctness is stupid and is designed to make people feel guilty for acknowledging things that are self evident.  It might not be polite to suggest someone has crabs, but if they can't stop diggin in their crotch, being polite won't change the fact they need to address the problem before it'll get fixed.

  Eh, I made E-7 in 7 years and I never broke the law, beat my wife or drunk drove into a cop car.  In regards to the early retirement, that is a tactic they have used before to reduce the size of the military, which is going on right now and is going to get worse.  However, those reductions will likely not touch the special operations field, so those offers of early retirement and such won't be available to folks in SF or SEALs.  In fact, the SEAL community is so very small, the last thing they would offer would be an early out incentive.  There is enough turnover in that community due to young folks they take into the program that will do one or two enlistments before separating.    As far as involuntary separation, when I went through ACAP I was absolutely shocked at the number of people getting booted.  I never realized the Army was so jacked up.  I also didn't realize that those little sh**bags that had spent the last few years on the Army Welfare Program were going to continue to steal from taxpayers once they were separated.  I didn't feel like I deserved anything on the way out the door, but damn, I sure deserved more than those bastards.

    I don't know where you get that information.  I served 11 years, discharged honorably and no one gets squat, unless they are chaptered.  The only folks that do are people who have the option of early retirement.  There have been certain MOSs that had the option of retiring early for lump sum and whatnot, but that is not available to everyone.  And no, you don't get Tricare, Humana or ANY OTHER HEALTH CARE when you separate unless you are chaptered out or medically retired.  The VA is what you're talking about in regard to 5 years of coverage, but that does not include your family.  The health care you pay into is not available to folks who just ETS.  Your information is absolutely false.

  I never said the Secret Service had the power to override any orders from the President.  I don't see how him being in charge of the military or the executive branch has any bearing on how the Secret Service conducts themselves or develop their SOPs.  I mean, Obama is in charge of the Postal Service too, but he doesn't deliver my Netflix every week.   Point is, the Secret Service are the ones who came up with that policy.  I'm willing to bet that the President wasn't even aware that their bolts were removed at the time.  He may or may not know now, but I doubt it.  He has far more important matters to ignore.   And, ya know, if I was one of those Marines I would probably have the same attitude.  I would probably be like "What the hell?  Doesn't he trust us?"  But if I was in the Secret Service and in charge of that detail, I would absolutely adopt the same policy to disarm those Marines.  However, if I was the President I'd probably be like "What the hell, don't we trust them?"   Besides, they did this same stuff when Bush went downrange and was around troops.  This isn't an Obama thing.  There are plenty of good reasons to think Obama is a crappy President without making up reasons that don't exist.

For some reason I can't use the quote button on my ipad, but to the above poster there is no "severance package" for medical. I got out after 11 years and got squat. The 5 year medical you speak of is from the VA and only applies to you, not your family. In order for me to go to the doctor I'd better have broken bones or a temp of 110 degrees and be on death's door. When you have kids it is different. When I got out I was on the Tricare family plan that you can pay into for 18 months, which costs $2,200 quarterly. That is not cheap at all. I'm not complaining or anything, getting out was my choice, but don't mistake the VA benefits to mean anything for the family if a separating Servicemember. Plus, it takes a little more than the separation briefings and resume writing classes to land a good job. I ACAP'd several years ago. The stuff they prepare you for is for entry level stuff, not the professional world. It seems like it is all geared to lower enlisted, not folks who have those certain skill sets like the gentleman in question. Edit: just to add, there is NO severance package of any kind for honorably discharged service members who leave before retirement. Ironically, the folks who receive severance pay and medical benefits past their separation date are people who have been booted out. Funny how that works.

It is not typical for enlisted SEALs to go into the conventional Navy. There are, however, many jobs within the SEAL community in the Navy that would take you off the line. At any rate, it was his choice to get out, not the Navy's so they have no responsibility to give him anything he isn't owed. The one thing he is owed is some sort of protection program, since his own government told the enemy who killed the leader of their organization. Once his name leaks out, which it will, he and his family will have a target on their back for the rest of their life.

I drank some tequila that had a similiar gimmick as this.  There is absolutely nothing fun about it. 

  Ha, well then you are free to proceed!  I certainly wouldn't trade what I have to have all the toys I'd have if I was a bachelor, but man, I wish the two worlds could coexist just a little bit. 

He has never been near a combat zone. Any PTSD he may have would be related to getting sunburnt while tanning in Bahrain. I still don't believe his original story regarding why he was fired. I don't see how anyone could believe the word of a murderer. That does not seem the least bit reasonable. He didn't just kill cops, he killed a cop's unarmed innocent daughter.

Rev, as someone who has had several dozen Muslim Arabs try to kill me, I can tell you that all my targets will be wearing turbans and sporting AKs. I'm sorry that makes you think I'm racist or intolerant, but like I said, that is your problem. The Muslims that I know who were right there with me getting shot at would have zero issues with these targets, because they would understand that those targets are depicting the bad guys, not very Muslim man ever born. I'll never understand folks that will go out of their way to get offended.

Yeah, totally normal, yet still don't like it when it's done. Just sends a bad message. Of course, the President has about ZERO to do with the decision to disarm guys or render their firearms innop.

Haha, you're just being anti-social. If you went to an airport in India your head would effing explode.

Nice. I could have several million sitting in the bank and I still couldn't get away with buying stuff like this and devoting the time to shooting and reloading. My wife would have my azz. Maybe when the kids get older and go to college.... I hope.

I know that this is going to sound harsh, but the guy in question is not so naive to expect that he would get out and have an awesome job waiting for him. He only had a few years left until retirement and he got out for some reason. Perhaps the reasons made sense, such as wanting to spend more time at home or do something not so dangerous, but Dev group is an all volunteer unit. Leaving that unit doesn't mean the end of your career in the Navy or even the SEAL community. Getting out was a choice he made for himself and that choice comes with risks and consequences that he owns. His situation is not unique, just the guy he got to kill. I'm just making an assumption here, but I'd figure a guy like that who'd spent that much time in Dev group would have acquired enough clout to work himself into an instructor gig somewhere in the SEAL pipeline if he needed a break. That would have gotten him off the line for the remainder of his career and netted him his retirement benefits which include pay and family medical for life through Tricare. Beside that, due to his former job he is qualified for a whole boatload of jobs which pay very well and don't involve carrying a weapon. I don't think he's whining about it or anything, I think it is just the perspective that the author is trying to wrap the story around, but he seriously needs to get with his SEAL contacts in the civilian sector and he'll have a job in a matter of weeks. I do agree with the stuff regarding initiatives with companies to hire guys with such skill sets. I don't think many US companies realize the potential value of a person who has had a successful special ops career, and many of the military transitional programs focus on entry level employment, not professional level. Essentially folks like this have already been vetted in terms of being loyal, ethical, moral, dedicated and hard working. They've endured several gates which few make passage and many are weeded out. If employers were aware of that stuff I'd think they'd competing to head hunt these guys.

Yeah, I have a feeling if the younger officer wasn't there the other two officers probably would have handled it better. The younger guy was a little amped up. But it all worked out. The duckweed with the camera got a rise out of some police and he will go home and flog himself in fantasy of what a champion he is of the 2nd Amendment, and the cops will go have lunch at Denny's and talk about what a low life schmuck this idiot was.

How is a target with a guy in Arab garb derogatory? When I was in the Army nearly all our targets were like that. Role players and OPFOR were always dressed as Arabs. Dogs were specifically trained to target folks wearing Arab style clothing. Like I said, whether you like it or not, for more than a decade now we've been at war with folks from a certain part of the world. That is a fact. That can't be refuted. I don't believe that condemns every last Arab or Muslim. The problem you have Rev, is you seem to think that the targets are meant to signify all Arabs/Muslims. It is simply meant to signify the ones who we are fighting. The fact that you and others interpret the way you do is your problem, not ours.

For all of its faults, at least Michigan has some pretty good carry laws. With the amount of Detroit citizens that have defended themselves with firearms in the past year I would be surprised if they were able to ban handgun carry any time soon. Which is good because more and more thugs are getting shot in Detroit as the economy continues to spiral and their police force is gutted. The most effective tool to lower crime is citizens fighting back against it.

"I thought that Arabs wore Keffiyehs (SP?) anyway." For some reason the quote button doesn't work, but to answer your question, yeah that is the style, especially for formal dress in the Arab world. Even then it isn't common for them to wear them except for maybe the rich folk in the Gulf states. In Iraq, Jordan and Syria folks didn't seem to wear them much unless they were super rich or laborers/outdoor professions who wore them to soak up sweat, block the sun or wrap around their face to block dust. Most folks just dressed pretty normal. Never do you see folks wear a turban unless they were religious hierarchy. The Shias were into it a lot, but I suppose since many of the leaders trace their lineage back to Muhammed, they are trying to look the part. Apparently the turban was a big thing for Arabs over the previous few thousand years, but I guess that has died out some in the past few centuries? In Muhammad's day it was a must for anyone of note.

I'm just pleased as punch that I have lived in Tennessee for 10 years and have never been pulled over by an LEO here.

There is nothing anti-Islamic about having a target with a cloth on his head. Turbans aren't even uniquely Muslim. There is nothing dictating the wear of turbans in Islam any way. It's just that Muhammed wore one all the time because he was an Arab, and that's what Arabs wore. Same with sandals and stuff. Muslims tend to want to emulate things that Muhammed did, so turban wear is common in some Muslim countries, but most do not wear turbans. You're more likely to see one wearing a kufiya or shemagh type deal in most of the western Islamic countries. But anyway, the point is having someone dressed as a Muslim or Arab is not racist or whatever. We are at war with Muslim extremists, so they're the big bad enemy. No, not all Muslims are extremists, but damn near all extremists are Muslim. The problem is with drawing similarity between Christain extremists and Muslim extremists is that terrorist actions carried out by Christian extremists are not condoned in the mainstream. Christian mainstream rejects acts of violence, such as the abortion clinic bombings. Islamic mainstream does not, at least not in the Muslim world. American Muslims (at least the ones I know) also reject extremism, but that doesn't change what all their brethren outside the US believe, and that is why we have the situation we do. Unfortunately American Muslims that embrace the freedoms and our way of life have to deal with that negative image, but that is life. They may take offense to targets that have Muslims on them, but those are the types if folks we are at war with whether we like to admit it or not. 100% of the folks that American troops have been killing and capturing for the past decade have been Muslim. There's no way around it. Maybe when Mormons declare war on the US and detonate some Schwinn borne IEDs all around DC then we'll have targets with well dressed white folks wearing bicycle helmets. Until then, expect dudes dressed in jihad action gear. If that offends some folks I 100% support their right to be offended.

He sure scored one for the 2nd Amendment, didnt he. I can't believe that people like this exist. The cops shouldn't have even taken the bait and given this guy the satisfaction. If they would have just left when this guy started squawking about various amendments he would have the wind taken out of his sails.

  I do keep reading about how cops have been targeting smurfs a lot lately.  Makes sense now.

  I wouldn't accept anything, period.  I would want a lawsuit to reflect the gross negligence of the officers and see those officers thrown in jail.  We don't know the circumstances yet, but I can't think of any circumstances where it would be appropriate to shoot two women who are unarmed from behind.  I really can't.  The officers that pulled the trigger need to be in prison, same as if you or I had indiscriminately shot at a person.

Kinda like how FBI targets are blue now instead of black.  Apparently having black targets encouraged them to shoot black people.  No word on whether the new targets will affect members of Blue Man Group.

Ironically if he were carrying an AR pistol instead he would have been fine to have it locked and loaded.  Of course, it would still probably draw the attention of police and have him temporarily sequestered.