Author Topic: October 23, 1983 (Read 3725 times)

Grandpa Shooter · « **on:** November 12, 2009, 12:41:45 AM »

Do any off you folks remember the day of October, 23, 1983 without having to look it up? It is a day I can't forget. It is high on my list of "anniversaries" otherwise known as dates I wish I could forget.

cassandra and sara's daddy · « **Reply #1 on:** November 12, 2009, 12:43:32 AM »

only because i had a helper who was in the building.

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #2 on:** November 12, 2009, 12:52:13 AM »

Was it in Beirut?

I would have been seven then, so I can be forgiven if I guess wrong.

RadioFreeSeaLab · « **Reply #3 on:** November 12, 2009, 12:52:27 AM »

Beirut, right?

Balog · « **Reply #4 on:** November 12, 2009, 12:54:42 AM »

I was just thinking of that day, after the most recent bout of .mil who were forced to be unarmed getting killed. I was 4 months old at the time so no first hand memories, but the lessons from that day should never be forgotten.

HankB · « **Reply #5 on:** November 12, 2009, 08:53:17 AM »

My Dad - a WWII vet - was still here when that happened. He was wondering how the heck a truck could get through the guard post - a GUARD post! - without getting completely riddled with gunfire, and how the heck one bomb could get SO many men.

Then we saw 1) a Marine survivor being interviewd was telling about how his buddies were desparately trying to load weapons, since regulations required them to be unloaded; and 2) the building the troops were concentrated in was the only one with air conditioning.

Dad's response was vehement, detailed, and unprintable in this forum.

Hawkmoon · « **Reply #6 on:** November 12, 2009, 06:48:52 PM »

So here we are, just shy of twenty years later, and we STILL have military installations (even overseas) and ships on which the guard is either unarmed, or is "armed" with an empty weapon. Sometimes they have ammunition in a separate magazine, sometimes they don't even get to carry a loaded magazine.

And, as we now know all too well, Stateside they don't even get to carry weapons.

RevDisk · « **Reply #7 on:** November 12, 2009, 08:35:46 PM »

Quote from: Hawkmoon on November 12, 2009, 06:48:52 PM

So here we are, just shy of twenty years later, and we STILL have military installations (even overseas) and ships on which the guard is either unarmed, or is "armed" with an empty weapon. Sometimes they have ammunition in a separate magazine, sometimes they don't even get to carry a loaded magazine.

And, as we now know all too well, Stateside they don't even get to carry weapons.

My unit was tasked to guard a nuke plant for a bit. The ROE? "Horribly gut-wrenching bad" would sum it up neatly. Airport ROE? Same. I can honestly state, you would not want to know how bad, it'd keep you up at nights.

RaspberrySurprise · « **Reply #8 on:** November 12, 2009, 10:02:33 PM »

Quote from: RevDisk on November 12, 2009, 08:35:46 PM

My unit was tasked to guard a nuke plant for a bit. The ROE? "Horribly gut-wrenching bad" would sum it up neatly. Airport ROE? Same. I can honestly state, you would not want to know how bad, it'd keep you up at nights.

Now I really really want to know.

Nick1911 · « **Reply #9 on:** November 12, 2009, 10:06:04 PM »

Quote from: RaspberrySurprise on November 12, 2009, 10:02:33 PM

Now I really really want to know.

Yea, me too. Come on Rev, let's hear it.

RaspberrySurprise · « **Reply #10 on:** November 12, 2009, 10:09:36 PM »

See I was one of those boys that really wanted to stick the fork into the toaster to see what happened, luckily I was smart enough never to do it, I just took science classes to teach me what would happen... and how to stick the fork in without getting electrocuted.

RevDisk · « **Reply #11 on:** November 12, 2009, 10:15:03 PM »

Quote from: RaspberrySurprise on November 12, 2009, 10:02:33 PM

Now I really really want to know.

Can't. They are/were classified. I asked my command if they were classified to prevent folks from being outraged and pissed, or because it was so stupid they never wanted it to see daylight.

Nick1911 · « **Reply #12 on:** November 12, 2009, 10:19:01 PM »

Quote from: RevDisk on November 12, 2009, 10:15:03 PM

Can't. They are/were classified. I asked my command if they were classified to prevent folks from being outraged and pissed, or because it was so stupid they never wanted it to see daylight.

Aww, National Security is such a buzzkill!

stevelyn · « **Reply #13 on:** November 12, 2009, 10:29:19 PM »

I was a fresh skeeter-winged private in the Army about three months in on my first duty assignment at the time. I remember sitting in the dayroom of our site between guard rotations when the first news reports of the Beirut attack came in. We all pretty much sat looking at each other wondering what it meant for us.

Unfortunately it meant nothing and those Marines died in vain. Our lack of decisive action in response to the bombing and the people behind it eventually led to the situation we are in now.

Grandpa Shooter · « **Reply #14 on:** November 12, 2009, 11:57:26 PM »

I remember it because it jarred my memory of events in Vietnam I thought were long in the past. Turns out, the things that many of us experienced never become the events of the past, they just rattle around in the back of our minds. When we least expect it they pop up and bite us. The shootings at Fort Hood lead me to think of many things, and Oct. 23, 1983 was just one of them.

gunsmith · « **Reply #15 on:** November 13, 2009, 01:22:25 AM »

Now that they are sure how easy it is, we can probably expect some kind of Mumbai type
of organized attack on 2 or 3 bases at once.

RaspberrySurprise · « **Reply #16 on:** November 13, 2009, 02:57:22 AM »

Quote from: RevDisk on November 12, 2009, 10:15:03 PM

Can't. They are/were classified. I asked my command if they were classified to prevent folks from being outraged and pissed, or because it was so stupid they never wanted it to see daylight.

Which leads me to believe you either were allowed to shoot people on sight, or more likely couldn't shoot at anyone unless they were making off with live nuclear warheads and only after you had nicely asked them to stop several times.

Regolith · « **Reply #17 on:** November 13, 2009, 03:50:44 AM »

Quote from: RaspberrySurprise on November 13, 2009, 02:57:22 AM

...or more likely couldn't shoot at anyone unless they were making off with live nuclear warheads and only after you had nicely asked them to stop several times.

After retrieving the single issued round of ammunition from the nearest ammunition locker...

Jamisjockey · « **Reply #18 on:** November 13, 2009, 07:52:21 AM »

Certain things are part of family lore and unforgettable. My dad lost a friend in Beiruit. I was 9 years old.....

coppertales · « **Reply #19 on:** November 13, 2009, 11:01:25 AM »

I have an extensive background in airport security so I know what Revdisk is talking about. That is exactly why I did not try for a position in homeland security. Another government dept run by idiot politicians....chris3

roo_ster · « **Reply #20 on:** November 13, 2009, 11:35:16 AM »

Quote from: Regolith on November 13, 2009, 03:50:44 AM

After retrieving the single issued round of ammunition from Barney Fife...

Hawkmoon · « **Reply #21 on:** November 13, 2009, 11:47:49 AM »

Quote from: RaspberrySurprise on November 13, 2009, 02:57:22 AM

Which leads me to believe you either were allowed to shoot people on sight, or more likely couldn't shoot at anyone unless they were making off with live nuclear warheads and only after you had nicely asked them to stop several times.

Dunno about Rev's ROE but I do know that post-9/11 the NG troops patrolling the international airport near me were carrying empty M16s. It was all show or, as someone aptly called it, "security theater."

News:

Author Topic: October 23, 1983 (Read 3725 times)