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I returned from Afghanistan last August. Depending on the threat level we would carry either empty or a magazine inserted. Some would chamber a round but this was not the way the guidelines dictated. Some were willing to take the chance that if they had a ND that it was on them to face the consequences.

The problem with not having one chambered is obvious when things go south. I personally worked side by side with the afghan army and police. We had an incident where one of the afghan soldiers decided to turn his weapon on our team of trainers. As luck would have it our team came through without any injuries. The afghan soldier was not so lucky and got to meet Allah. From this point on, once we returned from lock down, the way I carried was what I thought was best for my chances of survival.

Too often policies are put in place to cover the group as a whole. Not all soldiers, sailers, airmen and marines are capable or mature enough to do the right thing or to have their mind in the right place. So the politically correct thing to do is to make it as safe as possible for those handling the weapons. This is a hard decision for the leadership to make but probably the easier one versus explaining to the spouse or parent that their son/ daughter was killed by a ND. For those that carried an m4 or m16 it only takes about a half second to charge a round. It's possible to charge a round while bringing the weapon up to the ready position as well. I know there may be a time where that half second mattered. The 9 mm is a different story. Trying to grasp the slide and chamber a round under stress could cost you much more time.