Via Codrea, we learn a lot about Michael Diamond from his confession.
Most Americans would be surprised, for example, at how little time military personnel in particular spend with their weapons over the course of a career. Apart from firing on highly structured firing ranges or routine maintenance, access to your weapon on base is rare. Military Police provide security, so soldiers move about the base unarmed. There’s a reason for this: In the military, anything that reduces accidents, homicides or suicides isn’t put up for a vote. It’s a requirement.
The military’s strict rules on weapon and ammunition access can apply to wartime as well, as my own experience demonstrates. In 1991, I was a military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army Reserve. My unit was mobilized and sent to Fort Bragg, N.C. Shortly before boarding a plane to Saudi Arabia I was issued my M16 along with several magazines of live ammunition.
Although I had fired countless live rounds over the years on various military weapons ranges, it’s a different feeling when you’re issued live ammunition before heading to a combat zone. This time it was real.
After a 16-hour trip — most of which I spent sitting on the hood of a truck with my back against the windshield trying to stay warm — we emerged into the intense desert heat. Because of the ear-splitting noise of departing jets we quickly inserted hearing protection, and then surrendered our ammunition.
That’s right. Once we arrived in an operational war zone, one of the first things the U.S. Army did was take our ammunition away.
Eventually, my unit moved north toward Kuwait, where we were re-issued ammunition just before the start of the ground war. Several weeks later, after successfully completing our mission in Kuwait City, we were re-routed to northern Iraq to address the Kurdish refugee crisis. On arrival, we once again surrendered our ammunition.
These military safety requirements are a stark contrast to civilian U.S. gun laws. Where the military requires background checks before a service member is allowed anywhere near a live weapon, the majority of U.S. states allow private gun sales without a background check. Where military personnel are trained to take a weapon away from a soldier who poses an extreme risk to himself or others, most states do not have laws enabling law enforcement or loved ones to do the same.
Compared to the weapons training that military and law enforcement personnel undergo, the training required of civilian gun owners is a joke — if it exists at all.
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And where military and law enforcement undergo extensive training on how to make the right shooting decision quickly while under extreme stress, civilians receive no such training, contributing to avoidable deaths arising from poor decisions and petty disputes. In this context, the National Rifle Association’s favorite slogan about good guys with guns defeating bad guys with guns is more naive myth than solution.
It’s crucial that veterans now bring our voice and experience to the national conversation about reasonable gun reform. As a group, we understand guns and appreciate that responsible gun ownership is an important part of American life — but we also understand that a safe environment is achieved through training and regulation.
There’s a whole lot he isn’t telling you. First of all, one of the main reasons crime is so low on military installations is that it is extremely hard now to get on board a federal reservation. I saw this beginning when Daniel was in the Marine Corps, and while highly difficult at first, it was nearly impossible towards the end of his time in the Corps to get on board at Camp Lejeune. They guard their borders, unlike some countries I know. Do you understand what I’m saying? They guard their borders. No one gets in who doesn’t belong there.
Second, he isn’t dumb. He’s a highly intelligent man, and what he knows and isn’t saying is that his recommended trust in the police (he says “Military Police provide security, so soldiers move about the base unarmed”) is completely misplaced. Warren v. D.C. and Castle Rock v. Gonzalez is all the evidence you need to rightly conclude that there is no legal obligation of protection by any police, whether civilian or military.
Third, we shouldn’t have to suffer the claptrap from someone like Diamond when one of the most storied gun battles ever fought by the NYPD involved discharging 84 rounds at a single shooter, and missing with 83 of them. Folks, I don’t know any cops named Doug Koenig. Like all collectivists, Diamond turns LEOs into superhuman heroes.
Fourth, we shouldn’t have to listen to the know-it-all attitude from Diamond anyway. I sent this article to my former Marine, Daniel, and he responded rather harshly. “He’s openly admitting that he’s a POG and has absolutely no experience in weapons handling or shooting, much less actual combat. He’s a dipshit. He has it all wrong about who and what is dysfunctional [he could point the finger of blame at homes being wrecked by government agencies that contribute to the breakdown of home life, but doesn’t]. Furthermore, the guy is a coward.”
I thought about that some, and concluded that my son is right. Diamond is a coward. He’s recommending that I rely less on weapons for personal security, but refusing to provide that personal security by standing as armed guard in my home. Also recall what I’ve said about men who write cantankerous prose without giving you a chance to weigh in with comments and email directly back to them.
Whatever you think of me and my writing, you can always send me nasty emails. I won’t ignore them. Sometimes I’ll even highlight them and publish them on the web site. You can also disagree with my remarks in your own comments. You won’t hurt my feelings. Diamond gives you no such option, and doesn’t relinquish his email address.
What we do learn about him, other than being a coward, is that he is a traitor. He took an oath to uphold the constitution, and now refuses to do just that. He never believed in his oath to begin with. He is of the same class as Stanley McChrystal and David Petraeus, both gun controllers. Nothing he says can be trusted, nothing he does can be relied upon.
Avoid being around such men. Turn your back on them. Excommunicate them from your fellowship, not just because you have a disagreement with them, but because they are liars, one and all.
