Quoted: You wouldn't happen to be in the National Guard, would you? As a former Marine Corps armorer, I cringed at the weapons maintenance practices described to me by my friend in the NG. They were issued rifles, and handed random bolts/bolt carriers from a box. Rifles were never headspaced, function checked, LTI'd etc. I was just waiting to hear about a KB.
Semper Fi
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The national guard did required storage or transportation of weapons without the bolts, I do not believe it is still a requirement. Bolts were reqired to be tagged, marked, or stored in such a way as to not mix the bolts up. A tool roll type bag was issued for bolt storage.
Checking headspace or LTI is not unit level maintenance, and would never be done at the unit. If he was not the armorer, he would probably never know whether it was done. If he never function checked his rifle, he was a shitty soldier. He should not blame the unit for his failure to do his job.
I must resist the urge to defend the guard's honor from what might seem to be a veiled attack. Half of out troops deployed overseas right now (or close to it) are NG. Having been to Iraq with a National Guard unit, I am qualified to have an opinion on thier mission capablility.
The NG generally have far more experience than active duty units, most people having had multiple MOSs, often from other branches of service, and experience in the civilian world as well. Most are older, and more mature. The NG in Iraq was more capable, easier to work with, and got the job done faster than active duty units. Most people just can't get past appearances.
~Doug