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June 25, 2002

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- Readers Comment on U.S. Army Weapons
- Generation Gap Among Veterans
- Cutting Excess Layers May Be Good
- Why Has the U.S. Military Become Weak?

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Readers Comment on U.S. Army Weapons

The Beretta Lacks Stopping Power

Like many other shooting enthusiasts, I will never understand the U.S. military's decision to unload the 1911A1 .45 caliber automatic in favor of the Beretta 9-mm ("SITREPS from Afghanistan," DefenseWatch, June 12, 2002). Several police agencies across the country have gone to the 9-mm. only to be very disappointed. Two years ago, the FBI wised up and gave Springfield Armory the largest pistol contract ever for the .45 ACP. It was a smart move on the FBI's part.

Why was the 1911A1 .45 ACP developed and implemented? It can be said in two words: stopping power.

Let's do a little history here since many of our government and military officials suffer from CRS disease. At the end of the 19th century, the U.S. Army was using the 32/20 Long and it was as bad as the 9-mm. when it came to stopping power. John Moses Browning spent several years developing the .45 ACP, first with his 1905 prototype, and later with the 1911A1.

His innovative manufacturing and design made the 1911A1 the most copied pistol in history bar none. Yes, there were jams but with computer-controlled machine works in later years, the jamming rate went way down.

There are those who contend that the .45 ACP is not accurate. An acquaintance recently made that statement at the range at my home. I picked up a Colt 1991A1 (no modifications whatsoever) and I was able to put eight rounds into a four-inch grouping at 20 yards in less than ten seconds. I am no marksman, and needless to say, my friend was convinced he had been wrong.

I wonder who in the Pentagon got a cushy post government job to switch the Army to the 9-mm. It's a piece of crap.

Granted, some complain that the .45 ACP has too much kick and maybe a person who has small hands might have a problem with it. If that's the case, it makes me wonder if that person needs a gun for the job whether or not he or she is in the right position.

Let's look at the 9-mm. Two police agencies, one in Maryland and one in Virginia, went to the 9-mm. only to be disappointed. A policeman in Maryland told me that they were originally using high velocity 9-mm. and found that the rounds bounced off car windshields, especially ones with very little slope. That's not a good thing if you're trying to keep from being run over. He told me they switched to low velocity and while the low velocity went through the windshield there wasn't much energy left to nail the perpetrator.

Later, I was talking to a trooper in the Virginia State Police one day and asked what they were using. They had switched to 9-mm. But were disappointed with the performance and went to a heavier round, in this case the .40-cal. Smith & Wesson.

Let's look at the laws of physics for a moment. If a person is shot, that person's body absorbs all the energy of the bullet if and only if the bullet does not exit the body. If the bullet does exit, the body absorbs only what the bullet does not take with it when it passes through.

The 9-mm. parabellum is smaller, lighter and with its sharper nose than a .45 ACP round it will not impart as much energy. The 9-mm also has a higher tendency to go clean through the target's body.

The 9-mm. is a great target round. It absolutely sucks as a combat round.

--Thomas L. Carney

Our Soldiers Need Effective Weapons

The M-16 was a piece of crap when it was deployed in the 1960s. It was still a piece of crap when I briefly served in the 1980s, and here we are in 2002 and the U.S. military still has that puny little 5.56-mm. round ("SITREPS from Afghanistan," DefenseWatch, June 12, 2002).

What's equally bad, the service decided to get rid of the 1911 .45-cal. Automatic and replaced it with the M-9 9-mm. Beretta because the 1911 was too wide for women to hold and too powerful for them to shoot.

So for the sake of political correctness over combat effectiveness, we got the M9 and because of the inability to admit a mistake and/or a payoff or two (the 5.56mm round was too small and ineffective from day one), the lives of our Marines and our soldiers remain at risk to this day

The military needs to bring back the 1911 .45-cal. Automatic. Nothing stops at close range like a .45. And the Pentagon needs to get something that can fire the .30-06 round (like the old M-1 Garand) or the 7.62-mm. bullet - maybe in an FN FAL configuration or even a modern version of the Armalite AR-10, which looks and feels like an M-16 but shoots the 7.62-mm. round.

Anything would be better than what we currently have. I can't believe Colt or someone like them can't do this. I feat that the current situation stems from the fat contracts and payoffs to politicians.

I'd love to be able to donate a new 1911 .45-cal. automatic, a couple of magazines, and some ammunition to the guys in Afghanistan. Maybe we can get something going here, embarrass a congressman and a general or two with the disclosure that our soldiers are being supplied adequate weapons through private donations.

--Michael Guyer

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Generation Gap Among Veterans

Younger Vet Explains Why He Left the VFW

I would like to respond to Andrea West's article on younger veterans needing to be seen ("A Call for the Newest Generation of Veterans to Step Up," DefenseWatch, June 12, 2002).

I am a veteran of Korean DMZ service, Operation Just Cause and Operation Desert Storm, who enlisted and later received a commission. After being retired for eight years, I finally joined the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post where I live out of a desire to have that camaraderie with fellow veterans. I stayed in the VFW for two years, serving as senior vice commander and later as post adjutant.

But after two years, I gave up.

While we raised money for some worthwhile projects, the majority of our funds went to paying the liquor license/liquor tax. If we wanted to change anything, the elders' response was "Our daddies (WWI) built this VFW and … " - you can guess the rest. The day I joined, a young black Persian Gulf Navy Veteran joined too. He didn't last long, having heard the N***** word once too often.

So I wear my Persian Gulf veteran t-shirt or my 2d Infantry Division ballcap with pride. I have joined the Association of the U.S. Army and Retired Officers Association. I appreciate the World War II generation fighting the big one, but I choose not to be a part of the "WWII White Guys' Drinking Club."

--Richard Cheek, Maj. USA (Ret.)

Younger Veterans Have a Reason for Apathy

In response to Andrea West's article urging younger veterans to become involved in the veterans community and organizations ("A Call for the Newest Generation of Veterans to Step Up," DefenseWatch, June 12, 2002), perhaps one reason the younger generation may not be that interested is, after the promises from recruiters comes the reality of benefits.

One example is in central Florida, with one of the highest concentrations of vets in the country. The Department of Veterans Affairs has been closing VA facilities - especially medical facilities - for years, even as calls have increased for more care and facilities.

Meanwhile, our far-removed and clueless politicians brag and take credit for opening an occasional storefront clinic (with a six-month waiting list). And in Washington, D.C., each new administration comes in with a new VA director who recites the party line but quickly moves to reduce the budget.

I believe that most of these veterans from recent conflicts are bright enough to read, and see what is going on with politicians who have stabbed them in the back.

--J. Hudson

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Cutting Excess Layers May Be Good

Although I share Paul Connors' concern with the fluid situation in today's military, ("Rumsfeld Plan Would Decimate the U.S. Army," DefenseWatch, June 5, 2002), I think it's important to stress a few details. Mr. Rumsfeld wants to reduce the number of active divisions from ten to about eight, according to his article. Does this mean an actual reduction in the number of troops, or does this mean that we will actually have eight fully-staffed and ready divisions instead of the ten skeleton-crews we have now?

As it stands, the Army plays so many games with numbers in a desperate attempt to keep as many command slots as possible, that nobody sees the missing troops down at the ground level. In an infantry company, for example, a roster reporting between 70-80 percent of authorized soldiers is common practice. Even then, how many of those soldiers are on leave, in college, detailed out to someone else or just plain broke (permanently injured)? In any case, I've never seen full squads in any company.

The point I'm trying to make is that if Rumsfeld wants to make things lean and mean by getting rid of some of the layers upon layers of staff jobs and officer sinecures, then so be it. There's way too much self-enrichment going on across the board and I welcome anyone with the guts to take a hard look at the ticket punchers and the perfumed princes.

Take a look at what's actually going to get cut. You may see there's a lot of fluff we could do without.

--Mark Gadbois, Staff Sgt. USARNG

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Why Has the U.S. Military Become Weak?

I'm currently awaiting the beginning of my senior year in high school. I'm seriously considering a military career, but after reading Col. David Hackworth's article, "The March of the Porcelain Soldiers," (sftt.us), I am disgusted that the future of our country is in jeopardy because of those two awful words - political correctness.

How can we defend our country with an Army that can't fight? I also wonder if the same thing is happening with the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. A weak army helped lead to the demise of many an empire. How can we remain free with half of our troops incompetent? I hope we toughen up soon.

I do not want to die in battle because the politicians think that the Dis in Basic Training should be nice to me rather than turning me into a tough soldier. What group of military people still has that warrior spirit? Have communities like the Special Forces and Navy SEALs become softer too?

All of this frightens me because I believe that it may threaten our way of life. I hope the government wakes up and realizes this as well.

--Chris D.