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| Army issues Axehandles |
| 2003-05-24 |
| As the Pentagon deploys more Stinger missiles around its perimeter to guard against new al-Qaida threats, an Army fort out West plans to issue axes to beef up security. Actually, axes isn't quite accurate. Some sentries at Fort Huachuca in Arizona will only get the wooden part of the ax — sans blade. "No firearms for sentry duty. They get ax handles!" said a U.S. official, who finds the plan ridiculous. Indeed, a post-wide memo, "Operations Order for Force Protection Delta Procedures," advises: "Soldiers ... will be issued a flashlight, batteries and an ax handle to be used in case of an emergency." The March 6 memo obtained by WorldNetDaily adds: "Any detained personnel will be controlled by the mere threat of being struck by a wooden ax handle." Another memo, distributed March 17 under the subject line, "FP Con Delta Reactive Procedures," details equipment for guards at the fort. "Guards: Battle Dress Uniform (BDU), sleeves down, Kevlar, LBE [load-bearing equipment], weather appropriate over garment, and axe handle club," it states. A spokesman at Fort Belvoir here, where all guards are issued firearms, chuckled at the axe-handle contingency at Fort Huachuca. "I've never heard of such a thing," Don Carr said. A spokeswoman at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, also was amused, saying guards there always carry loaded weapons. A spokesman at the Department of Army was equally incredulous. "I'm not aware of any policy regarding ax handles, and I have no idea why any post would have such a policy," said Army Maj. Chris Conway. He notes that fort security is the responsibility of each fort commander. "It's not a cookie- cutter thing," Conway said. Fort Huachuca, home to a U.S. Army Intelligence Center unit, will not issue the ax handles unless there is a major event of stateside terrorism, which would trigger the security upgrade to Delta, the highest warning level. The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, however, has raised its warning recommendation for all military facilities to Delta, after al-Qaida leaders this week issued threats against U.S. military installations. "We have not changed our plans," said Fort Huachuca spokeswoman Tanja Linton. "We're at Bravo-plus." In response to terror warnings, commanders can raise force-protection levels at their bases at Alpha, Bravo, Charlie or Delta. The Pentagon is at Charlie. Fred - this probably needs to be snipped, but I'm not very good at that. Before the rest of you laugh, there are a few things to understand about Fort Huachuca. First, it's not too far from the Mexican border, and in an area where lots of Mexicans cross, routinely. Secondly, there's a lot of really SPOOKY things going on in the area - like, long-range recon training, counter-intelligence, escape and evasion kind of stuff, and just plain old spook-training. It's not nice to kill the guys you're trying to train because you mis-identify them. There's one more thing - an axehandle, in the hands of a trained opponent, is a very deadly weapon. It'll kill a wild boar instantly if you hit him right. Secondly, if you're having problems with someone trying to run, a good swing in the right place stops that cold, without doing any 'structural damage'. If you come up on someone who has a knife, it doesn't matter whether it s a 2.5-in pocketknife or a 3-foot machete - you're more heavily armed. The key, as with any weapon, is training. Good training can overcome anything but a firearm. And in case anyone's wondering, yeah, an axehandle is what I use for personal protection in MY home. Hard for kiddies or other idiots to do much accidental damage, while the bad guys get a lick right across the neck. And I'm a very light sleeper. |
| Posted by:Old Patriot |
| #2 Personally, I use a tee-ball bat with a wrist strap at home. I'll yield to your .45, but anyone with a knife or less will find that I have a mean swing with the hardwood. |
| Posted by: Tom 2003-05-24 15:37:45 |
| #1 There's one more thing - an axehandle, in the hands of a trained opponent, is a very deadly weapon. That sounds like CQB. Personally, I'll take my .45 and plug you twice in the brick at 25 feet. Plus I can engage your buddy as well. With an axehandle I'll have to wait until your inside my personal perimeter. |
| Posted by: Douglas De Bono 2003-05-24 13:45:37 |