Navy SEALs claim they have to share their personally-fitted combat weapons with each other because they don’t have enough to go around
Team members say they have to hand over rifles after deployment
But the telescopic weapons are fine-tuned to fit individual specifications
Former Marine Rep Duncan Hunter calls on lawmakers to tackle the issue
MIA DE GRAAF
DAILYMAIL.COM
7 March 2016
Navy SEALs claim they don’t have enough combat rifles to go around despite their increasingly prominent role in counter-terrorism operations.
After returning from a deployment, their rifles are given to other commandos who are shipping out, according to team members who confided in former Marine Rep. Duncan Hunter, 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.
Calling on lawmakers to confront the issue, Hunter (R-Calif.) emphasized that 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.
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.
‘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.
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