btq96r

  Good idea about adding a flag.  I'll do the same.   ;)

  In war, every Soldier and leader has to look into themselves and find that line that allows them to come home and still look at themselves in the mirror.  I have one incident from Iraq that makes me wish I had done more, but luckily no physical harm came to others from it, so I'm thankful I don't have that on my conscience. 

  Sorry for the hijack, but West's reputation that took him to Congress and made him a conservative talking head is based on his military service to a large extent.  Even on his own webpage, he has "Steadfast and Loyal," the 4th Infantry Division motto, as his own.  So, I think what he did in that service is relevant.   He's also off topic as far as the flag goes.  Removing it won't solve any of the problems in the black community, but that's not the point.  The point is that government use of racist, and rebellious symbology is wrong and shouldn't be.

  The sworn statements and official report contradict that, with some parts saying he gave nothing, some parts saying he gave false info, and some saying he talked.  It's a little hard to read, but the redacted names are easy enough to guess for West and Hamoody. https://www.aclu.org/files/projects/foiasearch/pdf/DODDOACID000105.pdf

  No, not expecting outrage, just want people to know the kind of things the man is capable of.  He doesn't deserve to be celebrated for the honor of the service he stained, IMO.   It's also not undoubtable he saved lives.  By all accounts, the guy he sanctioned a beat down of, and held a mock execution for wasn't involved in the insurgency, or at least not in the plot against West.  And it was a plot against West specifically, not a general threat against his battalion this incident was in response to.  So, getting no info from someone because they don't have info to give doesn't save lives. http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/allen-west-abuse-of-iraqi-prisoner-highlighted-in-bestselling-book-6470995   If you think it takes balls to stand by while a number of your subordinates beat a guy and then you fire a pistol at his head while he's being held in place, we have a difference of opinion on what having balls means.

  Fair points.

  West stained that service, and compromised his personal honor, by the actions that lead to his leaving the military.  http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/12/12/sprj.nirq.west.ruling/index.html?_s=PM:US   I'm not saying that the Iraqi's should have been treated with kid gloves, but supervising a beat down and conducting a mock execution is crossing the line, especially for a field grade officer.  It's expressly forbidden under the laws of war, and both things we prepare our high risk of capture troops (pilots and special operations) for as part of SERE training because we think the "bad guys" would do it.  Even with the ambiguity of how we were supposed to treat detainees because of their unique legal status, what West allowed and did is inexcusable.   If it wasn't for then Major General Odierno, who's 4th Infantry Division had more than their fair share of incidents like this during their tour in 2003, West might have had a different outcome.  A different General may have put West in front of a court marshal for what he did.   I will give him credit for standing up and taking responsibility for his actions like a man should.  That's an element that is missing in society and even in the upper ranks of the military.

  The fact that Roof tried to get a gun though the normal channels, despite having a record shows he didn't avail himself of the opportunity to buy one off the record and makes me think he didn't have it available in the first place.  This guy seemed like the kind of window licker who didn't have many friends or connections, so I'm not so sure he would have been able to get one as easily as the process you lay out suggests.  If I was doing a private sale, based on the look of the kid from his social media posts my spidey senses would have been tingeing big time.   Regardless of how either side of the issue is spinning it, the bottom line is that there was a failure due to human error, a systematic error, or some combination of the both.  The feds should be looking into how it happened and taking steps to correct it.    Bi-lateral agreements with state or even county agencies to share information via computer records should be standard in 2015.  A federal reviewer should be able to log into and query a name or SSN in any of the 50 states.  Roof should have been a no-go for his gun purchase.  That's the one indisputable fact in all this.

The way I had it explained to me, is mil-spec calls for a harder material on the buffer tube because you're taught to you use the butt of your rifle to control your fall at the end of a 3-5 second rush during contact drills.  It wasn't a big a deal with the large buttstock of an M16, but with the M4, you need to make sure that part is sturdy.   Unless you're in a very intensive shooting course, 6061 should be more than fine for civilian use.

The military needs a quality pistol.  While the M9 has its flaws, it works when you take care of it properly and is a very low maintenance pistol in a field environment, which is a big deal with Army equipment.  There would be a guy I served with who might not have survived this day had it been otherwise.  Wheelgunner can confirm this or fill in any gaps since it's been almost 10 years.  He was at the same base if memory serves.     25 December 2005 SPC Steven Clark (B/2BSTB) was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor for actions in combat. After Christmas lunch, SPC Clark, a member of THT 590, was approached by an Iraqi National hired as an interpreter at the FOB. The interpreter asked SPC Clark if a weapons permit was available for him. SPC Clark told him that he would check and the two walked to the THT building.  SPC Clark told the interpreter to wait outside but after unlocking the door the interpreter pointed a 9mm handgun into SPC Clark’s back and told him to enter the building.   After entering, the interpreter demanded the names of captured personnel and the names of informants. SPC Clark pointed to a laptop computer behind the gunman and said what he wanted was on the computer. The gunman turned his back to SPC Clark. At this point, SPC Clark pulled an M9 concealed in his back belt line. At the same time, the gunman wheeled around and both men opened fire. SPC Clark was struck once in the left chest and dropped to one knee. The insurgent was shot multiple times in the chest and abdomen but was killed by two well placed headshots. SPC Clark’s life was saved by following Army Regulations and Doctrine by keeping his Ft Campbell Blue Book and Military Intelligence Badge in his left breast pocket. The 9mm round that struck SPC Clark was slowed by his Blue Book and stopped by his brass badge in its leather case. (btq's note:  the "blue book" didn't slow a damn thing, it was all his badge (Clark was a CI agent) that's just the Army being the Army in propaganda...the rest is true)

Ben Franklin said it on the internet, so it has to be true.

  Staged military actor BS.  That kid isn't using his issue weapon, made sure he isn't showing any USMC emblems on his uniform or kit (because it's against regs), and was spouting what Surefire paid him to say.   Combat and combat support troops in conventional units don't get side mounted backup sights.  I can't even remember seeing any on SOF weapons, though my experience there is admittedly limited.  So, the inability to fire from the prone with that magazine still stands.  I'll eat my hat if any of these 100rd mags are inside the magwell of an M4 carried by a conventional infantryman outside the wire in Afghanistan.

  No rifleman in the Army uses 100rd magazines in their M4's.  Shooting from the prone position with that behemoth would be a nightmare.

Those labels were about as effective as any other warning label ever was.

I just identify people by what they wish to be called/identified by as long as they have a proper lineage to back it up.   That said, in this debate, black is a color and a describing feature more than a cultural identity.  African American denotes where their ancestors originally came from, just not as specific as Irish, Italian, Mexican because the records on their ancestors dealt more with price than anything else.

Randomly shooting into the air...what are we in Iraq now?  That was their favorite holiday activity, most notably Saddam's birthday and the highlight days during Ramadan.  Sad to see some Tennesseans are no more evolved.   It should be a crime to discharge a firearm without a target, backstop, or enough empty land for the bullet to fall without hitting someone.  Firing into the air is an act of shear stupidity.  What goes up, must come down, and it will come down with enough force to cause injuries or worse.

  There are more Republican candidates out there making statements that just scream to be fact checked, Trump especially.  Hillary by comparison is keeping her mouth shut since she know show much of a liability it is for her.  They also go by what people submit, so that's probably hit or miss for partiality if it was measured as a 50/50 division.   As for the President, you can search for him under people and see what they have, but they called him out for one thing we all knew was rubbish from the time it hit the airwaves. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/jun/22/barack-obama/barack-obama-correct-mass-killings-dont-happen-oth/

The police statement said he was released to his company commander and provost marshal at Fort Bragg.   This guy's chain of command is soft.  My old unit made it expressly clear, that if anybody was arrested on a weekend, they wouldn't be sprung from jail until the next duty day and would be sitting there until then unless they had their own bail money.

I did it for 2 1/2 years.  My job took me to Kuwait, and I had to get a residency visa to live there that long.  Uncle Sam still got a cut since even Americans living overseas have to file tax returns.  I also have a feeling the people answering the survey don't understand how tax laws work overseas.  Just because you're an American residing overseas doesn't exempt you from taxes owed to the country you're living in.  If you think American taxes are high, enjoy Europe.   Expatriating is one thing, renouncing citizenship is another.  Let's see how many people are willing to do that and live without a US passport.

Congrats indeed. 

  While I don't dispute your underlining logic, I think in this case it was the intestinal fortitude of a man like deCaro that was the major factor in how he was able to endure.

For me carrying is a part risk management, and the risk is from people I don't know or have any information on that have access to come and go the same places I do.  In that analysis, being out in public is far different than at someones home in terms of the risk.  Carrying a concealed gun into a home for a 4th of July Party implies you're ready for a threat.  Do you think one exists in that environment?   The only time I've ever brought a carry gun into someone's home in recent memory is when I was staying the night, and felt it was more secure inside the home with me than in the car.  I was sure to ask the owner if it was okay out of courtesy.  Her reply was "do you think I care," but I wasn't about to assume that.  Since we were all getting fairly lubricated that night, I took the gun, unloaded it and left it in the bedroom before having drinks.

  Ehh, I've been in plenty of "happy" countries overseas where soccer is a big deal.  It's just the sport that took root overseas.  With distances between countries being small, regional competition isn't that big a deal logistics wise, time zones aren't a major factor, and there is too much money to be made putting on the games.

I remember during the World Cup in 2010, I was living in Kuwait and a buddy was coming out of Iraq to go on leave and crashing at my apartment.  We went out to eat and our waiter made conversation by saying that the US team had a great game that day, and we were like "huh?"  After he told us it was World Cup and looked at us like we were the weird ones, we just shrugged and said "that's how we know we're American's," even in a foreign country we couldn't give a crap about soccer.

It feels too soon for us to care about soccer again.  The women's tourney is on a different schedule than the men's I assume?