Oh dear, will they never learn?
 

Torygraph report

What's the saying, as smart as a bag of rocks? Seems apt.

Tango
Whiskey
Alpha
Tango

That is all.

Surely this goes back to the very basics of weapon training?

Yes, the bloke was an idiot. But weapon discipline should have been hammered home long before he ever deployed.

Sounds like somebody playing with a Glock!

It almost certainly was but the hammer wasn´t heavy enough.

Couldn't agree more. Some people just can't learn though. With the benefit of hindsight, this man should never have been accepted into the armed forces, or at least he should have been discharged earlier. He's not the only one who needs to learn, I suspect others made mistakes too in this case.

Despite his horrific injuries, Johnson was initially reluctant to report the incident fearing Army colleagues would ridicule the RAF.

He believed the cock-up would make the RAF look like "t***s" because, in his own words, "The Army would love to hear we shot one of our own lads.

I have to agree with Beagle, the bloke is a chump - it was as a 'shiney' new Glock - they have 3 safe actions to prevent most of the previous posts from happening - you can, IAW the rules, demonstrate squeezing the trigger from the sides without depressing one of the safe actions. Glock's lack a traditional on-off safety but this means that the weapon will always fire when a round is chambered and the trigger is depressed normally.

I wouldn't have wanted to serve with this idiot... I'm glad that he has been Jailed for three years and discharged from the service.

A pity his victim is still undergoing Medical Treatment and has a colostomy bag to contend with and indeed may have to leave the RAF. :confused:

What an utter twunt.

My deepest sympathies to the injured oppo. Bloody good job he spoke out or it would have been a manslaughter charge.....

Guns - lesson one. If you don't want to kill it don't point at it.

Hope they throw the book at this chiselling f@@@wit

Here is hoping the RAF can look after this poor guy with a crap handbag ( literally), must be something he can do?

The whole Service cannot, and should not, be blamed for the stupidity and negligence of one of its men. If you can't respect a weapon then you shouldn't be in control of it. I wouldn't even give this idiot a super soaker.

As a one time Regiment officer I was appalled by this. Frankly this idiot can thank his lucky stars he has got away with 3 years. An inch or two one way or another and he'd have been looking at a life sentence.

Definitely NOT typical, thank goodness.

Lack of supervision runs deep with the RAF and personal weapons.
 

Where were his corporals, sergeants and officers? Supervisors must supervise.
But there will always be guns and wankers placed with them, unfortunately.
And while I'm putting the boot in, what ever happened to the entire duty guard's stash of weapons, in the RAF EAW's iso container at Basra COB, spring of 2008? That impressive little haul was stolen right under the (sleeping) noses of the RAF. Their very own personal weapons-gone. Very dodgy. Those that were there will remember.

I hope SAC Johnson will eventually have his intestinal damage reconnected.
Unfortunately, I believe that it can take some time for the peristaltic (Sp?) waves to get going again.

In the meantime, I hope my nearby Army contact hasn't heard the story.
I've already had:
Jammed RAF Browning - "You have to clean them, y'know!"
RAF survival training - "That's a curious place to go looking for a 5 star hotel!"

Unbelievable behaviour from a Rock!
I can honestly say I never saw anyone from any other trade arsing around with weapons during my service. They were treated with the respect they deserved.
A case of familiarity breeding complacency?

I seem to recall, way back before I joined up and was in the CCF aged 12, that we were taught on day one - Never point a weapon at another person, even in jest.

Actually, I don't think this has anything to do with his knowledge of weapon training or weapon discipline.

If questioned, I expect him to be able to quote chapter and verse on weapon safety, demonstrate correct handling drills, everything he should know all about. I expect he would be able to state correctly the do's and don'ts of weapon handling (e.g. never point at anything unless you intend to destroy it, unload before entering buildings etc). He was, after all, trained to do just that in his primary role of airfield defence, and would have spent months and years doing that (and not much else!)

What I think happened here is that the guy was larking about and didn't have the wit to apply the rules he was all too well aware of to the situation at hand. If he'd been larking about with a broom handle or a bucket of water, no big deal. But a weapon, loaded or not, is a different kettle of fish. It's the "familiarity breeds contempt" situation. That, and a massive overdose of stupidity.

That he only got three years for this is surprising to me. If ever there was an example to be made, this was it. If he'd been a civvy, just having possession of the weapon would have got him 5 years - without it even being pointed at anyone (an offence), fired (an offence), shooting someone (an offence) causing GBH (an offence). There was no military purpose to what he did, so why didn't he get the 5 years as a starting point, add on the aggravating factors, and then a multiplier for the fact that he damned well DID know better. And a bill for the round, the medical treatment of the victim, and the cost of his prosecution and imprisonment.

****, indeed.

It seems the Brown Jobs on the ARRSE website are truly having a field day.....

Not the first time. We had a pair playing quick draw with 9 millies in the gatehouse in Northern Ireland back in the late 70s. One ended up with a bullet in the head. He survived, but with life changing injuries. Can't remember what happened to the other guy. :ugh: