Guns!? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Guns!

'NAVY SEALS DON'T HAVE ENOUGH COMBAT RIFLES'
(see Offical 'Associated Press' News Story following the Following 'news' 'BBSN' 'News' break)

Another mindbending, Brains to mush, breaking 'news' story brought to you by your favorite 'News' Station 'BBSN''.

But First, This;

As we all 'know', our eager beaver, eyes like a hawk, ears like an elephant, mind like a steel, some might say like a Rusty trap, world reknowned 'Reporter' BuddyBlack is on a 'learning' sabbatical while stretching his mind, attending a Third Grade level Spelling Seminar in hopes of learning some 'new' words that he can use, we're guessing over, and Over again, in his postings. Sure, we miss him as much as You do, but life, And 'news' goes on With or Without him, and we shall bring you that 'news' no matter what.
As you may have heard, but probably Not, there's a discomforting report coming out of Washington about an apparent lack of Rifles, of all things, that are, or in This case, Are Not, available to our Military service, in This case our 'NAVY SEALS' (not to be confused with those cute little guys at Sea World) members. Well, we have been Hot to trot on This sordid saga of Lack of Arms, and, not to be outdone by Apple, we were able to break that pesky secret 'backdoor phone code' that the FBI and Apple have been playing footsies over, and recorded part of an eye, or Ear, opening conversation between our Secretary of War (SW), and our esteemed President and Commander In Chief of the Moment (CC) as they melded together their collective governmental minds and got to the bottom of this hot swirling toxic topic.
So, Put the children to bed, let the dog out, and pour a glass of Vino, and lets easedrop on their phone chat, and see what transpared between these two brainiacks. 

SW:  Yes Sir Mr President, you heard it correctly. Yes Sir, our NAVY SEALS say they Don't have enough Rifles to fight a war with. Now I just don't understand how they can Say that with a straight face Sir! I distinctly remember that we placed a really big order for Rifles from our BFF trading partner China just last year, And a whole Bunch of Bullets from Pakistan. I think we just have a lot of whiners here!
CC:  Are we talking about Our Navy Seals here? Those snappy guys that go Boo in the night? My God man, every man, woman, and child in the US has their Own Arsenal stashed in their 'bug out' shelters, and more bullets than the Pope has robes, and you tell me that our troops don't have Enough Rifles to fight a proper War with? Don't these guys have their Own private stash? So, if They don't have Rifles, then what are our troops Using for Rifles over in Iran, and those other hot spots?
SW:  Well Sir, they tell me that when at First the troops get there, they would just point their finger at the bad guys and yell, Bang, Bang, you're Dead! And then steal Their guns. Well,That worked for a while until the bad guys discovered that they weren't Really dead. Then, we borrowed some WWII guns from Korea but we pretty quick ran out of bullets for Those things, and so, per your instructions Sir, we gave Those guns to our BFF's the Iraqi Army, what a swell bunch of guys, who cleverly reconditioned them, and are now busy shooting our own troops with them.
CC:  Yeah, heard about that, Bummer, but you know, at First they 'seemed' So trusyworthy and friendly. Do we haver anymore silk stockings and candy bars that we could prime them with? Maybe we just wore out our 'welcome' there.
SW:  Yeah, I'll look into That one Sir. Now, Russia, our Other BFF, we sure have a lot of great 'Friends' Sir, said they would 'loan' us some really good Rifles that they stole while They were getting their butts kicked that time They were playing war in Afganistan, complete with real bullets if we would give them the Blueprints for our newest Drone technology, which sounds like a pretty fair trade, considering, I mean With Bullets! That's Another problem Sir, we have practically ran out of Bullets! I have suggested, and I'm sure with Your approval, that our troops conserve ammo by firing Three Bullets, and then Yelling BANG-BANG ten times. Hey, we're not fighting 'scientists' here you know. Did you know that we have practically shut down or ran out of the country most of our Firearms and bullet makers? You gotta be careful what you ask for these days Sir, you just might get it, or Not, as the current case may be. But we Do need those Rifles though Sir. But you know Mr.President, this Rifle thing is just a drop in the proverbial bottomless money bucket pit, wait 'til I tell you some More hot scoop!
CC:  When you say 'hot scoop' it brings to mind what my Dog leaves on the White House lawn.
SW:  It's Hotter and Worse than That, Sir! You know this big Super Navy we have? You know, the biggest, most Modern one in the whole wide World? You Know, the one where recently we didn't have enough Aircraft Carriers to put in the Persion Gulf? Well, as you might know, not Every person in our Navy is stationed on a Ship, even when we have enough ships to float in the First place. But Now, they are All demanding that they each have their Own Ship! WTH is That all about!? Not enough ships to fight a War with! What??? And Now, there's rumors that all of our Air Force members want their Own Airplanes for crying out loud!! If it ain't Rifles, it's ships, if it ain't ships, it's airplanes! Is This what our 'new' military is coming to!? I tell you, I just don't know which way is Up Sir!
CC:  Hold on fella, hold on! The sky is not falling! Heavy 'rain' maybe, but all in all not 'falling'. As with any other 'alleged' problems, and I'm not ready to concede that this Is a problem, I'll do what any good Commander In Chief would do and turn this over to my trusted and able members of the House Armed Services Committee who I'm sure are aware of this 'problem' and who will 'quickly' remedy this just as they 'almost' always do. But then, it does make one 'wonder', if they 'knew' about it beforehand, why is it Still a 'problem'. Hmmm...oh well, that's their court of play, so to speak, and I'm 'sure' they will take care of it, or at least the Whiners, and it will go away like it never happened. The Public has a Short memory span, here today, gone tomorrow. Just like Me, here today, outta here in a Year.
SW:  Right, as Usual, I'm on it boss!   :/ :/


NAVY SEALS TELL TOP HOUSE LAWMAKER THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH COMBAT RIFLES
Published March 07, 2016·
Associated Press
WASHINGTON – 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 operations and other secretive missions, according to SEALs who have confided in Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.
After SEALs return from a deployment, their rifles are given to other commandos who are shipping 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 information 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 specifications 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 operations forces in the years since the 9/11 attacks, he said. Rifles also are among the least expensive items the military buys, leading Hunter to question the priorities of Naval Special Warfare Command, the Coronado, California, organization that oversees 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.
Hunter wrote last month to the Naval Special Warfare Command's leader, Rear Adm. Brian Losey, about the alleged weapon shortage and also asked him for a full accounting of how the command's budget was spent last year. Losey has told Hunter to expect a reply by Wednesday.
Army Gen. Joseph Votel, the top officer at U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa, Florida, and Losey's superior, told Hunter last week that he is aware of the congressman's concerns. "We're certainly running that down," Votel said during testimony before the House Armed Services Committee.
Votel added that heavily used rifles need to undergo maintenance and that may be contributing to the perception of a shortage. But "we'll certainly take immediate action," Votel said, if it's determined the combat readiness of the SEALs is being degraded.
One of the SEALs who contacted Hunter blamed a slow, penny-pinching bureaucracy that rarely seeks input from the service members who use the gear, according to a brief excerpt of his comments that the congressman's office provided to The Associated Press.
Delays of as long as three to four years paralyze the acquisition system, the SEAL said. Once an item has finally been approved for purchase, new and better gear may be available, triggering the same lengthy screening process to see if it's worth getting instead.
Ammunition also is in short supply for training, the SEAL said, because the bulk of it is being used for combat missions.
Hunter also questioned whether the expense of expanding the size of the special operations forces could have left too little in the budget for weapons.
To meet heavy demand, the number of active-duty troops assigned to Special Operations Command, which includes SEALs, Army Green Berets and Rangers, and Air Force combat controllers, has grown dramatically during the past decade — from more than 33,600 to 56,000. There are 2,710 SEALs.
The budget for Special Operations Command is $10.4 billion and the Obama administration is proposing a $400 million increase over the current total for the coming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
In his Feb. 17 letter to Losey, Hunter also said he's received reports that the command is slow to settle official travel claims due in part to money shortages. This can cause personal and professional problems for SEALs, who hold high-level security clearances, he said.
Service members who hold U.S. government travel charge cards are ultimately responsible for any late fees, interest and accrued balance on the card. So if the government fails to quickly process a voucher, the service member might have to pay out of pocket or face an overdue bill. A lapse in payment could be forwarded to a credit agency, Hunter said, and that could result in a SEAL being declared ineligible to hold a clearance.