Inaugaral parade secret service agents: what are they packin

[mokin]

Ah, man! I was having a good time reading this thread thinking what we have here is a true example of "them" the "elites", being protected by guys with guns, no doubt lots of them, while at the same time, "we", the people, are left to speculate what sort of nefarious weaponary seperates us from them. Then Shung went and spoiled it.

Good post Shung.

 

[Shung]

anytime..

 

[JDoe]

# What types of weapons do agents carry?

Secret Service agents and officers carry the Sig Sauer P229, 357 caliber pistol. They also are trained on the Remington Model 870 shotgun, the Uzi submachine gun, and the MP5 automatic weapon.

 

[DMW]

It you ever see the video of the assassination attempt and shooting of President Regan, you will see an impressive display of hardware in seconds from the surrounding agents.

 

[ToadPS]

I know of one on White House/Presidential detail that has a P90, magazines mix AP and anti-personnel.

 

[moooose102]

wait a minute, obama HATES guns. those must have been squirt guns you were seeing!

 

[Quoheleth]

It you ever see the video of the assassination attempt and shooting of President Regan, you will see an impressive display of hardware in seconds from the surrounding agents.

Remember, though, that was almost 30 years ago (1981 for all you young whippersnappers). The weapons I most recall seeing were Smith & Wesson revolvers and the Uzi - I think the Secret Service has definitely improved its weapon selection since then.

Q

 

[Kind of Blued]

The weapons I most recall seeing were Smith & Wesson revolvers and the Uzi - I think the Secret Service has definitely improved its weapon selection since then.

Indeed. Two-inch S&W Model 19s if I remember correctly.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Whatever they want.

 

[tasco 74]

i have exactly the same thoughts as mokin and shung........................

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

Why would they use P90s?

It has the qualities they are looking for. Accurate out to 100yds, Armor piercing ability (the ammo we can't get anymore), compact (10.3" barrel which we can't get without permission), full auto (which we can't get 'cause it's made after 1986), and 50rd mags (which i think we can still get thankfully). It lacks punch but you aren't going to get that in a close protection weapon usually.

When I was about a foot shorter the family made a trip to DC and sat in a senate session. I didn't pay attention to what they were saying because i was too enamored with the all-business guy that sat down next to me who had a curly cord going to his ear and a Mac-something I spotted poking out from under his sportcoat when he sat down. I remember wondering about the accuracy to the senate floor at that range and the controllability (don't know if it was .380, 9mm, or 45). That's probably strange thoughts for a kid but I have a feeling I'm in like minded company

 

[Erik]

Yes, their pistols are Sig 229 .357 Sigs configured with DA/SA trigger groups. Yes, they have... more on hand. The usual, and then some.

 

[Impureclient]

What is sad, is to see politicians highly protected by paid professionals in arms, denying the right of the citizens
to defend themselves with the same means.. (because a cop for your own protection is quite expensive, and unconfortable)..

Quote of the year....It is just the beginning of the year but I think this will take it. I never thought to look at it that way. I will use that one a lot.

 

[Matrix187]

P90's have no recoil basically on automatic, they get alot of rounds out per second, 50 round clip, all armor piercing, good handling, accurate. It's a perfect PDW.

 

[RippinSVT]

I can tell you first hand that the black armored vans in Obama's motorcade pack some SERIOUS firepower, as in tripod-mounted machine guns. When he visited my town, his motorcade drove down my street and they had the sliding doors open, and the men inside had a belt-fed machine gun mounted. I didn't get a really good look, but I reckon it was a SAW M249 or something. As for the guys on the ground, P229's are standard, MP5's as well.

 

[Matrix187]

THey can actually mount a minigun in the vans too.

 

[Grey_Mana]

The black minivans actually bothered me quite a lot.
The US has designed the Humvee as the go-to vehicle for security on the street.

But we need a facade of civility, so we blow a billion dollars to get military-grade vehicles that look less intimidating? All the effort to design and manufacture the presidential vehicles is pork.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Are you really objecting to the disguising of protective agents and their gear to look less intimidating? I'd much rather the SS be in suits and driving vans than in camo and HMMWVs. I don't want the President walking around like Caesar with his Praetorians in full armor. The president does really need serious protection. Having our elected officials murdered on our own soil would be disastrous to our global image, not to mention having to get a new leader much more often than 4-8 years. I'm glad they at least try to blend in and make things appear more civil.

I also believe that all manner of weapons, such as SBS/SBRs and full auto should be available to all of us. But tying the Presidents security detail into that issue is kind of a stretch.




*I've always thought it funny that the acronym for Secret Service is SS. Just strikes me in a weird way.

 

[jakemccoy]

I don't want the President walking around like Caesar with his Praetorians in full armor.

If you think about it, that's kind of what happened, except worse. We saw a facade. However, like you, I did take comfort in the fiction.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

I don't agree. Do you think the President requires personal protection? If no, explain why not. And if yes, explain how this can be accomplished in a different manner than currently employed.

 

[jakemccoy]

I don't agree. Do you think the President require personal protection?

Yes, but that's not the point. The point is that our culture is so afraid of the sight of a gun that we have to mask what is really there. The officers in uniform were the only ones allowed to have their guns exposed. Ironically, they had the least amount of firepower.

Perhaps it's a security tactic at some level to have guns hidden and non-threatening vehicles. However, the effect is that the American public gets to pretend that the President is out there walking freely in the street in a gun-free zone.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

You make some good points. But i bet that if he was out walking around with his agents openly carrying M4 and wearing IBAs, there would be A LOT more complaining, especially from people on THR, about the militarization of police and how the President looks like some Soviet or 3rd world dictator with his goons. If they are disguised, people say that it's too much of a false image and a sham. If they are not disguised, people say it's too aggressive and makes us look like a police state. So what should they do?

 

[jakemccoy]

You make some good points. But i bet that if he was out walking around with his agents openly carrying M4 and wearing IBAs, there would be A LOT more complaining, especially from people on THR, about the militarization of police and how the President looks like some Soviet or 3rd world dictator with his goons. If they are disguised, people say that it's too much of a false image and a sham. If they are not disguised, people say it's too aggressive and makes us look like a police state. So what should they do?

I don't know. However, it's fascinating that the firepower under the mask was probably more than any openly armed parade from any other country...smoke and mirrors.

 

[Shung]

There is NO DOUBT that such politicians need protection ! I will be the first to approve it if asked.

What is NOT RIGHT is not allowing the law abiding citizens to use the same means to defend themselves.

You may not be the POTUS, or you may not be very wealthy, but you may HAVE TO frequent places and people that would make your life much more dangerous than theirs, and forced (one must earn a living..) to do it without the propers tools to defend yourselves, if you had to...

You are still lucky to be able to carry in most of the USA, but we, the people of most europe, must live with the fact that our miserables lifes don't justify the same means of protection than our venerable politicians...

sorry, gotta leave to puke..

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

What is NOT RIGHT is not allowing the law abiding citizens to use the same means to defend themselves.

Agreed. But that is a topic for another thread. One can take any thread about automatic weapons and use it as a springboard to start talking about bad laws. But that is best left to their own threads.