N/A Troops Need You N/A

Terry

Terry

Line Up and Wait
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Display name:
Terry
Fellow pilots, your opinion and thoughts please.

My wife received a letter asking for money for our Troops.

"We are in frequent firefights and the men are having to cover for each other because the magazines we have are from the 1980's and they jam a lot. If we could get new ones, we would feel a lot more comfortable during firefights."

I find this letter almost unbelievable. 1st of all, I would think the 1980's magazines wouldn't even work in the weapons today.

I would think a Non Profit Organization would have trouble getting magazines and bullets to our soldiers overseas. Wouldn't that be solely the responsibility of the U.S. Armed Forces?

They are also asking for money to buy, " supplies ranging from Green Beans, Coffee, sewing kits, and microfiber cloths to GPS units, Kevlar body armor, advanced optics, and even surveillance equipment."

Are these legitimate needs of our armed forces in Afghanistan ?

Thanks,

Terry
 
It sounds a bit hokie to me Does this organization have a name?
 
Next time I get of of the teenagers selling magazine's door to door, I'll refer him your way.


Terry, I think this is a bit of a scam going on here. You might check with the neighbors to see if they got similar letters.
 
Google 'Troops Need You'. Their registration status is not complete, but it does not seem to be an absolute scam. :dunno:

-Skip
 
There is an existing organization that takes care of military members in need. It's called the USO. It took care of my father, then me, that's who you need to support
 
Lol! Their magazines aren't from the 1980s. Most are new. M-4s jam either because of dirt / grime or the spring in the magazine is weak from holding 30 rounds and not being fired.

They don't need coffee. It's everywhere. Either chow hall, PX or the endless USO boxes laying around have it. MRE also if you're that desperate.

Everyone is issued body armor, sewing kits, and all that other crap listed.
 
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its a scam that has been on CNN lately. The CEO's of these non profits pay themselves around 350k a year.
 
I've already paid for these dumb ass wars out of my paychecks, and with all the other stupid taxes, inflation, and price gouging we enjoy here, not to mention the damage done to our constitution by the fear mongering/fund raising. No thank you.

No one made these guys sign up for this crap.

When I was low on cash as a low time CPL, I didn't send flyers out asking for money, because that was the patch I choose!

Free will is a double edged sword.
 
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James331 said:
I've already paid for these dumb ass wars out of my paychecks, and with all the other stupid taxes, inflation, and price gouging we enjoy here, not to mention to damage done to our constitution the fear mongering/fund raising has caused. No thank you.

No one made these guys sign up for this crap.

When I was low on cash as a low time CPL, I didn't send flyers out asking for money, because that was the patch I choose!

Free will is a double edged sword.
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:rolleyes2:
 
Another big scam ,taking advantage of the veterans,and those that want to support them.
 
BG305 said:
its a scam that has been on CNN lately. The CEO's of these non profits pay themselves around 350k a year.
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Actually, I pulled the financials of TNY and they're small potatoes. It's apparently a one man show (a retired intelligence officer and his wife). The entire salary for the guy and his wife are tiny. The fundraising costs seem in line(about 10% in 2013). About the only thing odd is that they spend about a third of their budge in postage, but I guess if they're shipping these "care packages" to the troops, it's to be expected.

The group is highly faith based however if that makes any difference to you.
 
Don't fall for it. I had dozens of 30rd mags still in the wrapper issued to me along with body armor and more gear than i ever needed or wanted. Send candy, letters or anything you please but don't fall for these bottom feeders.
 
Hell if you think they need mags, cut out the middle man and order some nice ones from Magpul.

Then challenge the guy to give you the APO/FPO address of one of these "needy" soldiers.

And then mail it yourself.

Yeah. It's a crock of...

The only people I know hurting for 30 rounders live here, with the ban and all.

You know. The one where the New York Billionaire, Bloomberg who thinks Colorado Springs doesn't have paved roads... paid $3.5M to save the children from plastic boxes owned by law-abiding folk.

You could start an airlift to leave them randomly scattered on airport ramps. I'm sure they'd get found and used.
 
Did you also give your bank routing information to the thrice removed second prince of Nigeria who needed a safe place to store his wealth? And the poor boy in mongolia with 1 leg and no arms who is collecting donations for a new goat?
 
I say scam...having been deployed to Iraq several times myself, I can say from experience that these are definitely legitimate needs of our soldiers and Marines, or at least they were when I was there, which was before anything was really established. However, magazines are not something that would be able to be freely sent over there. Pretty much any weapon is going to be caught in transit and confiscated, to include accessories like magazines. You could probably get a knife or an optic through but not firearms accessories like a magazine or any type of ammunition. This is obviously all supplied. I was in from 98-2006. Theres NO CHANCE that the magazines that we were using were leftovers from the 80's in my opinion. The aluminum milspec magazines are pretty crappy, but work fine unless they are damaged, in which case there are plenty of new replacements available there already,but I believe most are not using those anymore. Most are using polymer type mags like Magpul and such and having no problems...I have many of those myself that function flawlessly, and, I'm pretty sure that at least for the forward deployed troops, these are pretty much standard issue now. If not, they are getting to be that way. Food is something that could be sent over but it would in no way be cost effective to send things like canned goods and such....these are things that are readily available over there now anyways. General self-care items, stateside tobacco products, snacks and thing of the sort that would break the cycle of MRE and T-RATS are what is more needed than anything weapon related. I haven't looked at the site for the people asking for money, but to say that they need money to purchase combat related equipment does not sound legit to me. Care items, sure, but firearm accessories and ammunition, Kevlar, NO WAY! Just my opinion....


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James331 said:
I've already paid for these dumb ass wars out of my paychecks, and with all the other stupid taxes, inflation, and price gouging we enjoy here, not to mention the damage done to our constitution by the fear mongering/fund raising. No thank you.

No one made these guys sign up for this crap.

When I was low on cash as a low time CPL, I didn't send flyers out asking for money, because that was the patch I choose!

Free will is a double edged sword.
Click to expand...


I really hope that you enjoy your life and enjoy what you do for a living. Your hatred for the troops and American politics are astonishing.
 
I think hating the politics and hating the troops are two totally different things. The troops are in many cases being used for political purposes. That isn't the troops fault. That would be like hating the police for arresting you because you don't like the law you broke, as if that police officer was responsible for writing the law.
 
SPAJC said:
I say scam...having been deployed to Iraq several times myself, I can say from experience that these are definitely legitimate needs of our soldiers and Marines, or at least they were when I was there, which was before anything was really established. However, magazines are not something that would be able to be freely sent over there. Pretty much any weapon is going to be caught in transit and confiscated, to include accessories like magazines. You could probably get a knife or an optic through but not firearms accessories like a magazine or any type of ammunition. This is obviously all supplied. I was in from 98-2006. Theres NO CHANCE that the magazines that we were using were leftovers from the 80's in my opinion. The aluminum milspec magazines are pretty crappy, but work fine unless they are damaged, in which case there are plenty of new replacements available there already,but I believe most are not using those anymore. Most are using polymer type mags like Magpul and such and having no problems...I have many of those myself that function flawlessly, and, I'm pretty sure that at least for the forward deployed troops, these are pretty much standard issue now. If not, they are getting to be that way. Food is something that could be sent over but it would in no way be cost effective to send things like canned goods and such....these are things that are readily available over there now anyways. General self-care items, stateside tobacco products, snacks and thing of the sort that would break the cycle of MRE and T-RATS are what is more needed than anything weapon related. I haven't looked at the site for the people asking for money, but to say that they need money to purchase combat related equipment does not sound legit to me. Care items, sure, but firearm accessories and ammunition, Kevlar, NO WAY! Just my opinion....


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Click to expand...

I remember in the early 1970s (yeah, I'm old. Or so claim my kids) we were told to only put 18 rounds in a 20 round magazine for the M-16 as fully loading them had the potential to deform the lips of the magazine and cause failures. Obviously that is not a problem for a Magpul magazine today. Dirt, on the other hand, did not play well with an M-16 back in the day, nor an M4 today. Keep them clean (good luck in the sand).
 
Maybe if the troops run out of ammo, they would be forced to come home. That's probably best for everyone. :yes:
 
Ghery said:
I remember in the early 1970s (yeah, I'm old. Or so claim my kids) we were told to only put 18 rounds in a 20 round magazine for the M-16 as fully loading them had the potential to deform the lips of the magazine and cause failures. Obviously that is not a problem for a Magpul magazine today. Dirt, on the other hand, did not play well with an M-16 back in the day, nor an M4 today. Keep them clean (good luck in the sand).
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Yeah, got my butt chewed by an instructor in the Marines when my M-16 was jammed on the range. Horrible rain, not enough CLP and a muddy range. Had no idea just a bit of dirt would jam that thing so bad. That's when I truly learned the importance of keeping my weapon clean. Of course if we had AK-47s we wouldn't have that problem.
 
Velocity173 said:
Lol! Their magazines aren't from the 1980s. Most are new. M-4s jam either because of dirt / grime or the spring in the magazine is weak from holding 30 rounds and not being fired.
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I hate to be that guy, but that's not how springs work. They wear from being cycled... they don't care if they stay compressed. You'll wear a magazine spring by unloading it, not by leaving it loaded.
 
mkosmo said:
I hate to be that guy, but that's not how springs work. They wear from being cycled... they don't care if they stay compressed. You'll wear a magazine spring by unloading it, not by leaving it loaded.
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Not referring to the spring. Referring to the weight of 30 rounds sitting in a magazine and the crud that's in there. I couldn't believe all the dirt and grime inside my M-9 & M-4 mags just over a couple months in the desert. That's why periodically we removed the rounds and cleaned them on guidance from the armorers. Some suggested stretching the spring but I never did.

So, basically I removed the rounds and spring, wiped them all down with a very light coat of oil, and reassembled the mag. Same goes for the weapon itself.
 
You specifically said the spring would become "weak". You weren't talking about dirt inside the mag.

Springs do not become weak from being compressed and held there.

They become weak from cycles of compression and release which eventually wears out and weakens the metal (sometimes until they break...).

Leaving a magazine loaded (no matter the "weight" of the rounds inside) does absolutely nothing to the spring.

Many people also think if they leave a "stiff" magazine loaded that will make it weaken and easier to load.

This is also incorrect. Only repeated compression and uncompression cycles will do that.

So, the best way to loosen up a stiff magazine? Go shooting and use the hell out of it. Load, unload, load, unload.

You could do it by hand, but it's more fun to shoot to unload it than any other method. ;)
 
denverpilot said:
You specifically said the spring would become "weak". You weren't talking about dirt inside the mag.

Springs do not become weak from being compressed and held there.

They become weak from cycles of compression and release which eventually wears out and weakens the metal (sometimes until they break...).

Leaving a magazine loaded (no matter the "weight" of the rounds inside) does absolutely nothing to the spring.

Many people also think if they leave a "stiff" magazine loaded that will make it weaken and easier to load.

This is also incorrect. Only repeated compression and uncompression cycles will do that.

So, the best way to loosen up a stiff magazine? Go shooting and use the hell out of it. Load, unload, load, unload.

You could do it by hand, but it's more fun to shoot to unload it than any other method. ;)
Click to expand...

Sorry, didn't mean to imply that the spring becomes weak from being compressed, only that the spring in an M-4 mag is weak when it comes to pushing 30 rounds through a dirty mag. Leaving a full mag sitting in your closest isn't the same as carrying around a full mag in the desert on patrol and not firing it. Also I've seen old mags jam in the best of conditions.

I will say personally I only had one jam and it was due to dirt and not number of rounds. They did teach us in the Marines not to load 30 in the magazine for possible jams. I don't know if it was because they were old mags or different style of mags than what they use today but that's what we were told.
 
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Velocity173 said:
Sorry, didn't mean to imply that the spring becomes weak from being compressed, only that the spring in an M-4 mag is weak when it comes to pushing 30 rounds through a dirty mag. Leaving a full mag sitting in your closest isn't the same as carrying around a full mag in the desert on patrol and not firing it. Also I've seen old mags jam in the best of conditions.



I will say personally I only had one jam and it was due to dirt and not number of rounds. They did teach us in the Marines not to load 30 in the magazine for possible jams. I don't know if it was because they were old mags or different style of mags than what they use today but that's what we were told.
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Ahh I see. Yeah. Dirt in them makes the spring kinda worthless, eh? ;)

Some of them do act a bit odd if topped off with 30. Put 29 in 'em, they run flawlessly. I think it's a sign the top round is pushing up too hard on the lip and flexing it in poly ones, creating malfunction in extraction. Not sure why some steel ones misbehave.

Saw a photo of an interesting "stove pipe" the other day.

Extractor somehow got ahold of not just the empty shell casing but the round being fed up to the barrel and that round, complete with bullet, ended up standing on end, out of the top of the guy's pistol.

Mechanical stuff does interesting things sometimes.

Thanks for serving.
 
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