Posted: 6/1/2008 10:51:59 AM EDT
| Hello all! I'm an 11B with the ORARNG and was just assigned as a saw gunner. We are deploying in april of 09 and I had a question about who gets issued M9 pistols when in country? I was told by several other E3's that only sqd ldr's and tm ldr's got them. So whats the real deal? |
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For the AF, it only matters what job you have. We are required to have M9s because we are responsible for securing our weapons/munitions. You should be issued weapons prior to deploying, and have to qualify on them stateside before you deploy. Of the 11Bs I have seen here, if they are a machine-gunner they carry their 249/240s. I have not seen them with M9s. I could be wrong though. Oh yeah, Welcome to the site! |
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In my time in a light unit, and when I was at Campbell, machine gunners were issued them as backups to their machine guns. Also when I was in the 898th, when it still existed, vehicle commanders got them, but then that predated the M4. What MOS? That can have a big difference too. In the mech. IN unit that 161 and I are in, it's only the 5 that he stated. |
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ive seen team leaders with M9s in the TXARNG, guess its different for everyone, these days nothing really suprises me. but as an E3 and a saw gunner i wouldnt bet on it. maybe if your in a turret a lot. but learn to use your SAW, youll be more help to the squad with that, dont worry about looking cool or transitioning, just keep that SAW fed and clean. if you really want an M9 go MP, MEDIC or CA, they all get duel issue |
| my current unit is a cav unit in afghanistan- mtoes don't much matter anymore since the army now creates new mtoes for deploying units that may or may not be similar to "standard" mtoe- in my unit every single troop is assigned a pistol in addition to a long gun of some sort. my previous iraq deployment they issued off mtoe which assigned me only a pistol but they had a bunch of extra rifles and I had the option of carrying an m16a4 in addition which i did for awhile |
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In my MP unit we all had a M9, and frankly you could have had mine if you asked for it. They were all garbage, none of them would fire more than three shots with the magazines we were issued. If I was captured by insurgents, my loaded M9 would still be in the holster, I wouldn't have even thought about using it, except maybe to beat people to death with it. I can not exaggerate how shitty they were/ |
LOL Considering the answer depends upon your MTOE, mission, and your specific unit's situation, I concur. |
If you choose not to go this route, I suggest filming and posting on you tube your CoC's reaction to some faceless, nameless internet dude telling you that you can have a M9 and demanding said M9 
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being a tanker, M9's are always issued to every swinging dick, but i was deployed with an infantry company where only the CO, XO and 1SG were issued one. the medics were attachments from HHC and they got their pistols from there. my platoon got our weapons from our original tank company, so we got to carry them around the outpost instead of having to drag M4's and SAWs everywhere we went. |
I think you meant ORARNG, not ORANG, which is Oregon Air National Guard. If you're an infantry SAW gunner carrying the M249 as an automatic rifle as opposed to carrying it as a Light MG, you're probably not carrying an M9, as the M249 is your PERSONAL issue weapon. If you are using the M249 as a Light MG, which would make it a crew served weapon, you probably will be issued another weapon, most likely an M4, but possibly an M9, as your PERSONAL issue weapon. If you're the Automatic Rifleman in the fire team of a rifle squad, most likely no second weapon, M4 or M9, unless your duties are specifically outlined as requiring a second weapon. That would require the CO to write up a Jutification memorandum which would be submitted thru channels to get the authorization to acquire more weapons that your unit doesn't have. Those memos are signed off on by MINIMUM a Brigadier General at FORSCOM, I think, but it may go all the way to MNCI, since it's their area of responsibility (AOR). |
Actually, there are M249s that are considered crew served. If you look at some MTOEs, you'll see two different LINNOs (line item numbers) that are both M249s, but one is for the M249 as an AR, the other is for the M249 as an LMG. There are two standards for qualification, one for AR on a bipod, the other for LMG, which is crew served and on the tripod. |
Actually, they create a DMD (deployment manning document) and a MEEL (mission essential equipment list) for deploying units that don't deploy straight off the MTOE authorization document. If you're lucky, both documents are at least set in wet concrete when you get the alert. Then, your command should be contacting the unit they're replacing to find out if the two documents are sufficient, and if not (usu when, not if) what changes need be made. |
Waterbury sucks, I wish I could go to the Outer Limits though. 
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while the magazines were definitely the culprit, don't dam the pistol for it. junk 1911 mags don't run a colt well either. I took my mags apart and cleaned daily, and had no problems. Now in Afghanistan and brought my personal beretta mags with me no problems either. |
The issued Checkmate mags were total garbage. The insides were rough enough to literally (yes, I'm using that word correctly here) to file my nails with. Yes, I did try that. Whoever was responsible for creating those things, and selling to the military, as well as whoever approved them should be dropped into someplace extremely hostile with just an M9 and a dozen of those shitty, horrible, pathetic magazines. If you buff the inside smooth, keep them spotless, maybe replace the spring often, and only load them to 9 rounds, you'll have a mag that usually works, ok. |
| When I deployed in 04 our entire unit got them. Pretty useless however...................rounds bounce off hoods and fenders like paintballs. I shot a car with one and the bullet skipped up and into the windshield, almost hitting the driver. After that, I only used it for going into chow halls, so I didnt have to lug my M4 with me all the time. |
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We picked up a lot of extra M9's that were theater property, maybe 25. Battalion staff sponged all of them up. I had one since I was the detainee ops NCO, and the S-2 went to the HHC commander and bitched (using the battalion XO against HHC 6) until he got mine away from me so he could shoulder-holster it to the chow hall. I challenged him to a best of fifty rounds contest to see who got to keep it. He declined and stuck to pulling rank. By MTOE in a rifle company, it's the six machine gunners, the medics (who bring theirs from HHC) and maybe the commander and first sergeant depending on what the unit actually has on hand. |
Thats what i use it for now, too. HEDP works alot better than a 9mill for cars. |