why carry a sidearm? just dont get shot down!
Caveman, great American...Because, if you're trying to get your confirmed kill in a CH-46 as a left seater, you're going to need something you can stick out the window. - Good old Caveman story
The trigger action makes it a POS...firstly, because the first shot is inconsistent with the rest. Secondly, because you have no resistance until the last millimeter or so when the gun will actually shoot (except the first shot).
Gun sucks.
Lets take that one step further.....why put yourself in a position to get shot down, join the chair force and fly UAV's!
On a related note, I wouldn't be surprised to hear if they still spend training money on sending their UAV guys to SERE.....
You've got to be kidding me? Really? SERE?
Their UAV guys are all rated pilots anyway. UAV would be a billet, not their only aircraft. Fine to make fun of the Air Force, but do it with your facts in order.
Just this week I met a USAF pilot who figured he saw the writing on the wall for a UAV draft... he gladly jumped on early rotation to training command as an instructor pilot because that would guarantee staying in the cockpit for at least the next few years.
So yeah, I think the chance is out there. Probably a few paths and possibilities to do a tour as a UAV operator.
Anecdote #2, a good friend of mine a few years back had been a UAV det OIC in the mid 1990s. That happened after a successful sea tour as a Navy helo pilot and he returned to the cockpit after the UAV tour.
We had M9s in the P-3 world.
Just to clear the air: there are no small arms quals at OCS. The only thing you'll learn re: firearms is how to play with a non-functional rifle.
So if you don't qual at OCS, then when do you qual and get issued your gun?![]()
You'll get your gun right before plane-side brief![]()