In specifically small arms, I’m not so sure. I’d bet that the American public buys enough firearms every year to arm every American soldier two or three times over. Ruger and PSA aren’t competing with Raytheon and L3Harris.
Americans buy a shit ton of guns every year. In just one day 200,000 background checks were submitted. If that’s at least one firearm per check (which I think you can put 4-8 per check) which is enough to arm the marine core.
If that’s at least one firearm per check (which I think you can put 4-8 per check) which is enough to arm the marine core.
Most military members don’t even have a gun…
I shot like 3 shotgun shells and maybe 5 rounds out of a Beretta at boot camp, and didn’t touch another gun in uniform for four years.
I even did a few months as security at a pretty secure base, they didn’t even give me a whistle. Just told me to scream and duck so the people trained to use guns would use them.
I think that reality gets lost when people talk about how large the US military is.
Right. I guess I should have clarified that it works be enough for each service member to be issued at least one firearm at the same time. From what I’ve gathered everything is shared, and those deployed overseas supplied their own magazines in some cases.
Yeah, “gun lobby” isn’t the same as “military industrial complex”…
They have two very different objectives and surprisingly little overlap.
Most of the small arms the military buys, they buy so much it eats up the whole product line, and is based on contracts that go decades between reissue.
In specifically small arms, I’m not so sure. I’d bet that the American public buys enough firearms every year to arm every American soldier two or three times over. Ruger and PSA aren’t competing with Raytheon and L3Harris.
Americans buy a shit ton of guns every year. In just one day 200,000 background checks were submitted. If that’s at least one firearm per check (which I think you can put 4-8 per check) which is enough to arm the marine core.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/11/25/black-friday-posts-new-single-day-record-gun-checks-more-than-200-000/894706001/
Most military members don’t even have a gun…
I shot like 3 shotgun shells and maybe 5 rounds out of a Beretta at boot camp, and didn’t touch another gun in uniform for four years.
I even did a few months as security at a pretty secure base, they didn’t even give me a whistle. Just told me to scream and duck so the people trained to use guns would use them.
I think that reality gets lost when people talk about how large the US military is.
Right. I guess I should have clarified that it works be enough for each service member to be issued at least one firearm at the same time. From what I’ve gathered everything is shared, and those deployed overseas supplied their own magazines in some cases.
It all depends.
Infantry in a war zone have their own gun and it’s their gun, with them 24/7.
Armed guards doing patrols with a rifle or sitting at a desk with a handgun likely just got handed one off a rack they turn in at the end of watch.
If you want to know why US troops (specifically Marines) have to buy their own accessories, Alexander Skarsgard explains it waaaay better than I can:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlZZnZG0cyI
Yeah, “gun lobby” isn’t the same as “military industrial complex”…
They have two very different objectives and surprisingly little overlap.
Most of the small arms the military buys, they buy so much it eats up the whole product line, and is based on contracts that go decades between reissue.