Proud uncle of a future MP

[Rupestris]

My niece just came home yesterday from Ft. Lostinthewoods (Leonardwood ) MO. She completed her Army basic and is home for Christmas. She really has her heart set on being a MP/canine unit and AFIK, has begun her training.

She knows I have a fondness for shooting and she was excited to tell me she qualified Marksman with the M16. Not too bad for a teen-aged girl that had never shot a rifle before.

So I asked how she liked shooting the shotgun. Her response kinda bugged me. She was told that "MP’s have no reason to train with shotguns and that they were for prison guards". The M4 is what they’ll be training with along with handguns.

Now, I might be wrong but most civilian police cruisers have a shotgun, correct? I know that some of the local municipalities are now using an AR in place of the old tried-and-true SG but they still have plenty of SG's in rotation.

I guess I'll have to take her shotgunnin' myself.

Does the Army feel the SG is that antiquated?

 

[USMC Tanker]

The military has not benched the shotgun-by any means. It just won't be issued as the primary long arm of an MP, grunt, tanker, etc, etc. MP's are doing the same operations as everyone else is in Iraq...convoy security, route recon, village sweeps, anti-intimidation patrols, etc. Shotguns are issues as excellent secondary weapons, used for breaching doors, close quarters fighting, room clearing, etc. As an MP, she might find herself escorting a convoy and engaging/responding to an engagement in a large open area. The M4 carbine is just a good rifle all-around, for close in work and for med range shooting. In my opinion, the shotgun will remain an awesome secondary weapon except for prison guards as she explained.

 

[scout26]

As a former MP officer let me explain:

Military Police actually do very little law enforcement duty, except in garrison. Bascially, in wartime we are Motorized Infantry. (As we used to say, those aren't crossed pistols on our collars, they're bent rifles.)

When I was on active duty ('87- 91) an MP platoon had the following:
9 - M60 machine guns (at one point I had 3 MK 19's and 6 M60's)
10 - M203 Grenade launchers (attached to M16's)
10 - M16's

The standard Infantry Platoon had:
2 - M60 machine guns
2 - M203 Grenade launchers
28 - M16's

So who had more firepower ??

 

[Jeff White]

Scout 26 said;

When I was on active duty ('87- 91) an MP platoon had the following:
9 - M60 machine guns (at one point I had 3 MK 19's and 6 M60's)
10 - M203 Grenade launchers (attached to M16's)
10 - M16's

The standard Infantry Platoon had:
2 - M60 machine guns
2 - M203 Grenade launchers
28 - M16's

Don't know where you got your Infantry MTOE info from, but a light Infantry platoon has 2 7.62 GPMGs (M240s now, M60s back then)
6 M203s (2 per squad)
6 M249s (2 per squad)
4 Pistols ( each machine gunner and assistant gunner gets one)
18 M16 rifles

Shotguns are currently issued as breeching weapons to blast locks etc. and for other special purpose uses.

Jeff