Why don't US Navy SEALs have enough rifles?
United States Navy Sea, Air and Land Teams (SEALs) may not have enough rifles to go around, according to a California congressman who says several of the elite servicemen have contacted him about the issue.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Republican from San Diego County in California and a former Marine, says that SEALs who have discussed the issue with him say their personalized weapons are reissued to other soldiers after they return from deployment, creating a 鈥渨eapons carousel,鈥� according to the Associated Press.
鈥�,鈥� Representative Hunter told the Associated Press. 鈥淚t's their lifeline. So let them keep their guns until they're assigned desk jobs at the Pentagon.鈥�
As each SEAL operative鈥檚 rifle usually ends up heavily customized by its user, reclaiming them before a soldier鈥檚 service ends goes against the 鈥渢rain like you fight鈥� mentality followed by the Navy commandos. Hunter declined to give further information on the specifics of the guns to protect SEALs鈥� identities.
While the SEALs are hoping more can be spent to assure them access to the rifles they say they need, Hunter says funding is not the problem. Combat rifles are among the least costly items on the Navy鈥檚 budget, costing as little as $1,000 each if bought in bulk in the case of the commonly used M4 carbine, but can run up to several thousands of dollars depending on the model and modifications. Even so, special forces spending has generally increased following raises from Congress in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and providing individual weapons for SEALs should be possible without much oversight.
鈥淭here is so much wasteful spending,鈥� Hunter said of the US Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Command, the oversight unit whose mission is 鈥淭o ,鈥� including the SEALs.
鈥淢oney is not reaching the people it needs to reach,鈥� Hunter added.
鈥淲e're certainly running that down,鈥� Army Gen. Joseph Votel said of the reported rifle shortage in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, adding that 鈥渨e'll certainly take immediate action,鈥� if a shortage is officially discovered to be affecting SEAL combat readiness.
Hunter also expressed concerns over the amount of ammunition provided to SEALs for training and with the settlement of servicemen's travel claims in a letter to NSW chief Rear Adm. Brian Losey.
鈥淭here are obviously some trade-offs being made, but they鈥檙e and their firepower,鈥� Hunter鈥檚 chief of staff Joe Kasper told Navy Times regarding the Navy budgeting system. 鈥淸T]hose are the absolute worst trade-offs to make.鈥�
The lack of rifles reported by the operatives could be due to the dramatic rise in Special Operations Command (SOCOM) troop levels in the past years; there were 33,600 about a decade ago and 56,000 today including , according to the force鈥檚 website.
The SOCOM budget for the 2016 fiscal year is $10.4 billion, and President Obama suggested a $400 million increase for the coming fiscal year in his latest budget proposal. The Navy also recently this year for 鈥渦nfunded priorities鈥� including jets and a destroyer, according to Reuters.
