ian_in_vic said:
I did hear of a reservist spotting an early C-7 at a gun shop in Washington State, which makes me wonder how many evil, life destroying, children corrupting rifles the armed forces lose in a year? Bet they don't keep those numbers handy.
Uhhh....yeah, they do. The theft and/or loss of any CF weapon (let alone component parts) is a very serious business which invariably results in a flurry of investigation and fact-finding that would make your head spin. When you draw your weapon and accessories from stores you sign for them in a register. The extent to which serial numbers are registered and tracked within the military supply system makes the CFC look like the rank amateurs that they are. There are no "work-arounds" nor "short-cuts" when it comes to personal soldier liability WRT CF-issued firearms.
"Lose" it? Depending on the circumstances you are well and truly screwed. Hey, if your C7 falls off your body because you plunged off a single-rope bridge into a raging torrent, then fair ball. We will still drag the river to recover the weapon. At the opposite end of the spectrum, if you leave your weapon lying up a against a tree in a training area and forget to pick it up? All activities will cease and "line abreast" sweeps will ensue until it is found. And then you will do the "happy dance" for quite some time for having been an abject absent-minded idiot. The loss of weapons is NOT tolerated in the CF. The loss of accessories (magazines, bayonets, etc) is treated only slightly less seriously. Until very recently, the loss of a 30-rd C-7 magazine was cause for an automatic Military Police investigation (thanks entirely to our federal gun laws). So many go missing during field training (fall out of pouches, etc) that they finally gave up on that one because the MP's were overwhelmed. But (BUT) that doesn't mean that the loss of a C7/C8 mag is "no big deal". Far to the contrary. It is all a matter of circumstance. Do a garrison training session and one disappears? Investigation for sure. Soldier reports a missing mag at the end of a live-fire run? A search will automatically be conducted. But if it can't be found then a bit of slack is cut.
All of the above to say that we in the CF take the weapons side of accountability VERY seriously indeed. There are no "free rides". As a result, I have a very hard time giving any credence to a "myth" that suggests an Army Reservist was trying to sell his service weapon to a U.S. FFL holder. That is just to inconceivable on so many levels (on both sides of the fence) that it has to be utter fantasy.
CF firearms occasionally get stolen - there was an incident where some bad guys overpowered a local Commissionaire (big challenge!) and raided a Reserve Armoury some years ago. It happens. But "losses" leading to sales? Not a frigging chance. As I said - our weapons accountability procedures and internal measures make such an incident virtually impossible.
And based on all of the above, I must call "bull-crap" to "Ian_in_vic"s post. Sorry, but that is total bumpf. Love to sell you some real-estate in New Orleans though.....
Mark C
