M2

Can't open the link (at "work") but if it's what I think it is, Shhhhhhhh! It's my plan to acquire a lot of liberal's guns cheaply and make them feel good about selling them to me! 😇 Seriously, every major city in Texas is Democrat-led, including my beloved San Antonio; so such crap can be expected. Just know no real Texans would sell their firearms to the government. They are the main reason we have them!!

This is how these idiots (Texas Democrats) think... Dem Star Jasmine Crockett Says She Deserved Oversight Committee Top Spot Due to Large Social Media Following Crockett, who reportedly keeps a headshot of herself as her phone lock screen, originally pitched herself to Democrat Maxine Dexter of Oregon in a private meeting where she declared that the Democrats had a problem with communication while insisting that the American people seemed unaware of the fact that Joe Biden was “an old man that gets shit done.” “Crockett highlighted her own emphasis on social media, and the hundreds of thousands of views she had received on a recent YouTube video. ‘The base is thirsty. The base right now is not very happy with us,’ Crockett continued, and if any lawmaker could make them feel heard, ‘it’s me,'” The Atlantic wrote of her pitch. Crockett tried to stop The Atlantic from probing further after she learned the reporter had reached out to several of her Democrat colleagues for statements.

Houston. Nothing else needs to be said. It's a swamp that needs to be drained as much as Washington, DC! But she later apologized, which makes everything OK. Of course, she claims the redistricting is "Trump's attempt to disenfranchise Black and Brown people." To quote Governor Abbott, "If the House Democrats who deserted Texans were serious about delivering results, they would come back to the Texas Capitol and do the job voters elected them to do!" Here's the background... The newly proposed map increases the number of congressional districts that would have voted for Trump by at least 10 percentage points by five. Republicans currently control 25 of the state's 38 Congressional districts. The new map makes some big changes in North Texas. It moves Democrat Rep. Marc Veasey’s district from Tarrant to Dallas County, Democrat Rep. Julie Johnson’s district moves from Dallas and Collin County to more conservative sections of East Texas, and Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s Dallas seat becomes one of just two majority Black districts in the entire state. The Democrats claim the redrawn maps will violate the federal Voting Rights Act, but that may be difficult for them to prove. In Central Texas, Democrats Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett would find their districts vastly different from the current map. The district currently held by Casar would no longer include Travis County, while the district held by Doggett would no longer include a portion of Williamson County. In Houston, the new map reshapes four currently Democrat-held districts. The biggest change to the districts would be in the seat currently held by Rep. Al Green. The new map would shift the district from covering southern Harris County and instead move it to the eastern part of the county. Abbott said he will continue to call for indefinite special sessions until the matter is resolved. He and Attorney General Ken Paxton have also filed lawsuits to vacate seats of absent Democrats.

There is further reporting on this which I am working to get released at this level...

Just Reserves, not Guard.

According to news reports, "Dozens gathered to support Democratic lawmakers who fled the state to block the redistricting vote" https://www.yahoo.com/news/videos/protesters-rally-outside-texas-redistricting-031500792.html Out of a state with over 18M registered voters and a voting age population of 22.9M (as of 2024). According to L2 Data, a leading voter analytics firm, 8,133,683 are estimated to be Democrats (46.52%), and 6,601,189 Republican (37.75%) with another 2,750,830 unaffiliated (15.73%). https://ivn.us/posts/are-there-more-democrats-texas-republicans-2025-08-08 Texas is an open partisan primary state, which means citizens do not have to register voters by party affiliation. When voters go to the polls in the primary, they can freely choose between a Republican and a Democratic ballot. I am pretty sure the illegals bump up the Democrat votes! Texas has removed over 1.1M ineligible voters from its voter rolls since 2021!

The shit show with Texas Democrats fleeing the state to block a controversial redistricting bill—House Bill 4—proposed by Republicans that aimed to redraw congressional districts mid-decade couldn't be more embarrassing, especially the support it gets from the liberals down here. The walkout was coordinated with national Democratic leaders. Governors from Illinois, New York, and California offered safe haven and political support. Democrats framed the move as a stand against what they called a “modern-day stagecoach heist” of voter rights. Governor Greg Abbott and other GOP leaders responded with threats of fines, arrest warrants and even removal from office. They also accused Democrats of stalling other critical legislation, including disaster relief for flood victims. The supreme assclown Beto O'Rourke's political organization, Powered by People, was the top financial backer of the quorum break. The group had a $3.5 million war chest and covered major expenses proving it was a planned event. They offered private air transport to Illinois, lodging and meals, logistical support and covered the daily fines of $500 per lawmaker for missing the special session. Abbott and other Republicans accused O’Rourke’s group of potentially violating state bribery laws, arguing that fines cannot be paid using political contributions. The Texas Attorney General launched an investigation into the legality of the fundraising. This wasn’t O’Rourke’s first time supporting a quorum break. In 2021, he helped fund a similar effort when Democrats fled to Washington, D.C., to block election law changes, raising $600,000 at the time. Texas Democrats tried the same tactic in 2003 after Republicans, having gained control of both chambers, pushed through a mid-decade redistricting to replace a court-drawn map. They did the same in 2021. Texas Democrats have supported redistricting when they controlled the process such as in 1990, often using it to their advantage. That effort was ultimately labeled as a “masterpiece of gerrymandering.” It helped Democrats maintain power despite growing Republican strength in the state. However, in the modern era, Texas Democrats have become vocal opponents of Republican-led redistricting, especially mid-decade efforts, which they argue are designed to entrench GOP power and suppress minority representation.

🫡🫡🫡 to our USCG brothers!! ‘A Nightmare’: The Coast Guard’s Harrowing Flight to Camp Mystic I participated in a SAREX to certify crews in Texas in April, and was hoisted into a MH-65E Dolphin off a small island on Lake Houston just north of the McKay Bridge. Little did we know at the time that the Guadalupe floods in Ingram and Hunt three months would put these same crews to the test, and they (and others) rose to the challenge! God bless each and every one of them!

Legends!!

"The International Defensive Pistol Association, Inc. (IDPA), in response to numerous reports and videos, is immediately prohibiting the use of the SIG Sauer P320 in all of it’s variants from any competition or event under the name of IDPA. All other SIG Sauer models may be used in the division appropriate for their configuration. The goal of IDPA is safety first for our members, competitors, staff and spectators and all others associated with any IDPA event. While we have no direct knowledge of the potential technical defect of the weapon system, the volume of ranges, organizations and military units declaring a problem has made it too visible to deny. We will re-evaluate this decision in the future if new credible information emerges. We are aware that this decision will affect a limited number of competitors at the National Championship. Please understand that safety for all in the sport is paramount. For those affected, please contact he**@id**.com . Division changes for those affected will be allowed until August 8. “IDPA is committed to maintaining a fair, competitive, and inclusive environment for all shooters,” said IDPA President Joyce Wilson. “Banning a particular firearm is the last thing we ever want to do as an organization, but the safety of our members and potential spectators has to come first."

Technically no firearm is inherently safe, it's simply that some are "safer" than others based on their design, safety features and how they are handled. The most critical safety factor is the person handling the weapon. The Four Rules of Gun Safety dramatically reduce the risk but don't completely mitigate it. The circumstances of this uncommanded discharge in the CCIR were different from what is being shared in the press. It may be the initial reporting was wrong, or other factors are in play. It's posted on the BaseOps SIPRNET page (just search for 'BaseOps' on Intellipedia to find it). Details are CUI so do NOT post them here! Whether the P320/M17/M18 is faulty or not has yet to be determined, but at this point anyone who owns one should treat it exceptionally carefully until such time as the investigation is completed. Hopefully no more injuries or deaths will occur before that happens!

ADMIN NOTE: All posts concerning the SIG P320/M17/M18 have been moved to the Gun Talk thread as there was already an ongoing discussion there.

In their report, the Washington commission cited six incidents since 2021 with “uncommanded” discharges involving the M17 and M18. The M18 incidents were: In 2023, a Japanese security guard at Camp Foster, Okinawa, “rested their right hand lightly on the rotating cover of a weapon holster” when their M18 discharged. Also in 2023, at Camp Pendleton, California, an officer in the armory stopped at a clearing barrel to empty their M18. The officer pulled the pistol out of the holster while it was on safe and removed the magazine. A round discharged from the M18 into the clearing barrel. The officer was “sure that they never touched the trigger of the M18,” and had “ample weapons handling training,” according to the report. In 2022, a service member was preparing for his shift at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, when his M18 discharged at his home. He was taken to the hospital for a penetrating gunshot wound with the bullet still “lodged in his knee,” according to the incident report. With the M17, previous incidents included: A military police soldier at Fort Eustis, Virginia, in 2023 injured his foot after his pistol “inadvertently discharged” after making contact with another officer’s gun holster. The gun of an Army civilian attending a law enforcement course in 2020 at Leesville Police Range in Louisiana discharged while he drew the pistol from his holster. A service member attempting to holster his pistol in 2021 fired a round through his foot at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

Army, Marine Corps, Navy have no plan to stop using M18, M17 pistols The Army, Navy and Marine Corps are not planning to pause use of the M18 pistol as a primary, daily service sidearm for their troops, the services told Task & Purpose, even as units in the Air Force pull the weapon from service after an airman was killed when his M18 discharged last week. The Air Force owns close to 75% of the military’s inventory of roughly 165,000 M18 pistols, according to data provided by the Army, Marine Corps, Air Force and procurement documents from the Navy. Exact numbers of M17s currently in use were not immediately available. The Army and Marine Corps indicated in testing and evaluation documents that they intended to buy several hundred thousand of the handguns. A January 2017 contract announcement included a $580 million contract with Sig Sauer to replace the Army’s M9 by 2027. Officials from the Army, Navy and Marine Corps told Task & Purpose that those services have no plans to pause use of the weapons... Discharge issue discovered during Army testing The Department of Defense discovered unexpected discharge issues with the Sig Sauer handgun when the Army began operational testing for the M18 almost a decade ago. The service found that during drop testing with an empty primed cartridge inserted, the gun’s striker struck the round’s primer and caused a discharge. Army officials directed the company to correct the problem by implementing lightweight components in the trigger mechanism, according to a fiscal year 2017 operational test and evaluation report. Follow-on testing “validated” that the change “corrected the deficiency and the pistol no longer fired when dropped,” the report stated, adding that the new version with the changes was submitted for production. Sig Sauer conceded the early issues with the Army pistol, noting that testing “above and beyond” national, state, global military and law enforcement standards found that “after multiple drops, at certain angles and conditions, a potential discharge of the firearm may result when dropped.”

Ted Cruz looks to force changes to military flights near airports, after deadly airline crash Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz said Tuesday that he will introduce a bill that would force changes to the way the military uses helicopters around congested airports, including prohibiting the Army from turning off location-transmitting technologies such as the one under investigation as part of an inquiry into the January midair collision near Washington that killed 67 people. The technology Cruz’s bill seeks to mandate, known as ADS-B Out, was not transmitting on the helicopter involved in the disaster. The NTSB is still investigating whether the crew had switched off the technology — which allows air traffic controllers to see an aircraft’s speed, altitude and location — or if it was simply not operational. Its final report on the disaster’s causes isn’t expected until next year. “We should not tolerate special exceptions for military training flights operating in congested airspace, no matter the circumstances. Any aircraft flying near commercial traffic must fully adhere to safety standards,” Cruz said during a press conference debuting the bill. Cruz was accompanied by some of the family of those who died in the crash as well as officials investigating the catastrophe, including NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy. The Army’s propensity to operate without the technology enabled for flights in the Washington area has drawn sharp scrutiny from Congress since the crash. At the time of the accident, the Army’s policy was to keep its helicopter transponders off during sensitive or classified missions with commander approval, according to Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman, who testified at a March Senate hearing on the crash...

Kinda pointless article, other than the NTSB will start hearings on January's crash today... NTSB hearings will focus on fatal Army helicopter-passenger jet crash. Here’s what to know The National Transportation Safety Board will hold three days of hearings starting Wednesday on January’s midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter over the nation’s capital that killed 67 people. The goal: Pinpoint exactly what went wrong and what can be done to avoid similar midair crashes between passenger planes and military aircraft. The accident was the nation’s deadliest plane crash since November 2001. The hearings in Washington will involve NTSB board members, investigators and witnesses. Panels will focus on military helicopter routes in the Washington area, collision avoidance technology and training for air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan National Airport, among other subjects...

"Some analysts suggest the pilot may have been avoiding birds that crossed the flight path, which could explain the sudden maneuver..." 🙃🙃 https://www.twz.com/air/spanish-f-a-18-hornet-seen-nearly-crashing-into-surf-during-beach-airshow Considering this Spanish Eurofighter incident last month, it's entirely possible!

I just read in the DAF A3 Daily Ops Update there was another negligent discharge involving a M18, but allegedly this one was due to user error. I will post a link on the BaseOps Intellipedia page on SIPRNET...

Sadly true. I love that area, and always said it would be the most likely place we'd live if we ever left Texas (which won't happen); but during my last TDYs there it became quite apparent the place was quickly turning blue...

Corrected. Same goes with Californians moving to Texas!

Air Force says B-52 crew wasn’t told of passenger jet before near-miss The crew of a B-52H Stratofortress that had a near-miss with a civilian airliner near Minot International Airport last Friday told air traffic control they were nearby, but were not informed a passenger jet was in the area, the Air Force said. The passenger jet, flight 3788 from SkyWest Airlines, was on approach to land at the Minot airport the evening of July 18 when it had to veer sharply to avoid the B-52. Both planes ultimately landed safely. A passenger took video of the pilot’s explanation of what happened afterwards, which was widely shared online...

The Army may want to rethink this, this article was released four days prior... Army’s Sig P320 Derived Pistols Will Remain Unchanged After Concerning FBI Report The U.S. Army is not taking any actions regarding its Sig Sauer M17 and M18 pistols based on the findings of a recently disclosed FBI report that has raised new concerns about the design’s ability to fire without the trigger being pulled. Sig has also refuted the results of the FBI’s initial evaluation, which it says the bureau was subsequently unable to reproduce using a mutually agreed-upon testing protocol. The new details from the FBI’s report have already sent a shockwave through the civilian firearms community in the United States, where confidence in P320-series pistols, a family that includes the M17 and M18, is already severely strained...

The DAF CCIR overview from the 21 Jul 25 A3 Daily Ops Update is on the BaseOps Intellipedia page on SIPRNET.