Page 5 - iAV Digital Edition #398

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Navy SEALs Don't Have Enough Rifles
By: ichard Lardner, Washington(AP)
The tip of the spear may be losing its edge. Navy SEAL teams don't have enough combat rifles to go around, even as these highly trained forces are relied on more than ever to carry out counterterrorism opera- tions and other secretive missions, according to SEALs who have confid- ed in Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.
After SEALs return from a deployment, their rifles are given to other com- mandos who are ship- ping out, said Hunter, a former Marine who served three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. This weapons carousel undercuts the "train like you fight" ethos of the U.S. special operations forces, they said.
Hunter said he's been contacted by several SEALs, but he declined
to provide further infor- mation about the weapons they use in order to protect their identities.
U.S. military officials said they were looking into
the issue.
Sharing rifles may seem inconsequential. It's not. The weapons, which are outfitted with telescopic targeting sights and laser pointers, are fine-
tuned to individual speci- fications and become intensely personal pieces of gear.
"They want their rifles," Hunter said. "It's their lifeline. So let them keep
their guns until they're assigned desk jobs at the Pentagon."
The problem isn't a lack of money, according to Hunter. Congress has frequently boosted the
budgets of special oper- ations forces in the years since the 9/11 attacks, he said. Rifles also are among the least expen- sive items the military buys, leading Hunter to question the priorities of Naval Special Warfare Command, the Coronado, California, organization that over- sees the SEALs.
"There is so much wasteful spending," he said. "Money is not reaching the people it needs to reach."
Combat rifles can cost up to several thousand dollars depending upon the type of weapon and quality of the sights and other attachments. But the M-4 carbine, the standard combat rifle used by the military branches, cost less than $1,000 each when bought in bulk, according to Defense Department budget documents.
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