TGO David

The Staff is already aware of this, so I don't mind sharing here. Our company started making cuts this week. Unfortunately they are bent on seeing if they can successfully outsource IT to a company that has come highly recommended to them. One of the caveats is that they want this company to hire me so that they can contract me back here. Sort of a win-win, if it works out. As of right now, my last day on the job as an employee of this company will be January 15th, 2009. I do not have anything guaranteed beyond that but I am getting a small severance that I hope will tide us over until I can find another job. So if any of you know of a company who is hiring network administrators / network engineers around the Nashville area... let me know. I want to land on my feet if I can. Lots of Microsoft certifications, 15 years in the industry and prior experience managing IT groups and working as a consultant. I've pretty much been there, done that, seen it all, and made money for my employers in the process.

You know, I haven't let a Marine kiss my ass lately. You're first in line.

Here's an interesting article dated February of 2008 describing the rapid adoption of the M&P series by law enforcement agencies. http://www.gunsholstersandgear.com/2008/02/01/smith-and-wesson-mp-pistols-adopted-by-276-police-departments-thousands-of-mp9-mp357-mp40-and-mp45-ordered-by-atlanta-police-colorado-state-police-and-other-departments/

The rule of thumb seems to be to check early and check often.

You need to keep it in perspective and realize that Glock's platform has been available since the 1980s and that the M&P platform has been available since 2005. The Glock aftermarket has had 25 years or so to proliferate. The M&P aftermarket will catch up.

Try calling around to the Game Stop stores.

Back to the issue at hand... I had problems with my M&P 9C. Sent it back to them twice. They made it right, paid for shipping both ways and the service work was completed in under a week each time. I had a problem with my first M&P 40's mag release. Called them, talked to them, they mailed me a revised mag catch and that fixed the problem. I had that part in my hand in under a week and it was free of charge. I've called to order common parts (grip panels, mags, etc.) and every time they were super helpful, super friendly and the parts arrived quickly. To be short, I have never had a problem with them and I too have used Smith & Wesson's customer service anecdotaly as an example of what good customer service is like. If they have drawn the line at not selling the individual sear block, there must be a reason. As ToddG mused over on MP-Pistol.com, the reason is probably because they don't want you dicking around with the sear, producing an unreliable and/or unsafe weapon. They do sell those parts to gunsmiths and I think you might even be able to find them through Brownells. Pissing and moaning about it on at least two different forums that I'm aware of now comes across as nothing more than just a grown man throwing a temper tantrum. Grow up.

The original poster is getting about as much sympathy over on the MP-Pistol forum also. http://mp-pistol.com/boards/index.php?showtopic=17882&hl=

Yep... can't see them anymore.

It happened way before digital cameras. If he has a picture, he drew it.

That's a MEGA build. MEGA props!

Learn how to start a thread, then try again.

One of my prouder moments.

Like your SBR?

Arguably the most ergonomic Glock ever made.

You posed the question as to whether or not Blackwater employees are consummate professionals, as I described the Navy SEALS as being. I merely presented evidence that suggests that they are.

Oh boo fricking hoo. The reverse is way more often the case around here. Moderators aren't supposed to have opinions because voicing them might stifle the creativity of someone else with a counter opinion. Unless a moderator is abusing his power, there's no reason to point out that a person involved in the conversation IS a moderator. Get over it.

See above regarding the DOD's own involvement in approving Blackwater contractors. Also, you seem to be suggesting (even if hypothetically) that Blackwater doesn't screen their people very well. I have no evidence of this. Do you?

It's going to suck trying to conceal a shovel for your trip to Wal-Mart.

I don't think they operate like that. Those guys tend to be consummate professionals.

I don't advocate killing civilians, but there is a metric ass-load of both concrete documented proof and anecdotal evidence that the line between innocent civilian and insurgent is insanely blurred on the battlefield these days. I think one of the most telling scenarios that I have read about recently was in the book Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell. Luttrell's SEAL team might still be alive today had they chosen to kill two civilian "non-combatants" who stumbled upon them while they were staking out an Al Qaeda hideout in Afghanistan. Luttrell examines the situation in his book and discusses the fact that he was conflicted with what he knew needed to be done to preserve operational security versus what the UCMJ would allow him to do as a soldier. They chose to let the civilians go. When they did, the civilians immediately retreated to the village and alerted the Al Qaeda operatives of their presence. In the subsequent firefight, all of the SEALS save for Luttrell were killed by the enemy and Luttrell went through hell to survive and did that just barely. So yeah, I think sometimes people who end up in the wrong place at the wrong time just need to end up being an unfortunate but necessary casualty of war. War isn't fair. It isn't pretty. It isn't clean. And it doesn't jive well with what those of us sitting warm and safe behind our keyboards talking about it on the Internet feel is acceptable behavior becoming of a soldier or security contractor. Which is why I think we should STFU and let them do their jobs.

First off, you picked the wrong week to be a smart ass with me. I'm not about to put up with it and I'm not going to engage in a tit-for-tat exchange with you to prove who has the smallest penis but the largest ego. Rather, if you want to be a douche you can do it somewhere else and I can make the decision [easier] for you. Now that that is out of the way... You said: It seems clear that you are judging them and that you are doing it strictly based on what you have heard from the mainstream media. I, being the knower of all things, try to base my opinions on information from sources that aren't biased toward any particular agenda. Most of those sources are guys who have worked with or around Blackwater and other contractors and most of them agree that these guys are getting the shaft and being used as scapegoats. Let's clarify: What you think is shady, I think is a necessary evil in times of war. Collateral damage is nothing new. It's been an unfortunate byproduct of war since wars started being fought. What is new is the recent advent of lawyers hounding combatants on the battlefield. That sort of **** wouldn't have been put up with 60 years ago. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I agree with what you quoted above... mostly. The people doing the job could probably do it a lot better if people who weren't doing the job kept their noses out of the job being done. Suffice it to say that in war, I think sometimes the end should justify the means. But I'm pretty politically incorrect like that.

I'm not saying they were right. I just think that the whole thing of forcing soldiers / contractors to second guess themselves under fire is counterproductive to the task they are faced with. It is only a semi-workable situation when the other side is observing the rules also, but jihadists and insurgents aren't and won't. Look at history. The American colonists won their war against a superior fighting force by disregarding the "rules of war" and using guerrilla tactics against the British.

It would be nice if people would post the contents or at least a snippet of whatever they are linking to, and use sensible thread titles. Thread title changed.

Referring to the 1988 Anti-Drug Abuse Act that requires 30-year prison terms for using machine guns to commit violent crimes... charging these men with crimes under that Act is just utterly ****ing nauseating and shows how far some attorneys are willing to go to make an example of these men. I shudder to think what our enlisted soldiers would be up against were they ever to be made fair game for these same ravenous wolves.