XPost: ba.politics, dc.media, soc.penpals   
   XPost: alt.burningman   
   From: kenyan@lameduck.com   
      
   Border Patrol officials have pulled thousands of rifles from   
   field agents in a large-scale effort to refurbish the weaponry,   
   prompting the rank-and-file to complain that they've been left   
   with the dangerous options of sharing guns or being disarmed   
   altogether.   
      
   Nearly one-third of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's   
   16,300 M4 carbine rifles were tested by the agency's office of   
   training and development, which determined that more than 2,000   
   had the potential for malfunction. The rate of nearly 40 percent   
   was "more than we are comfortable with,” said CBP Deputy Chief   
   Ron Vitiello.   
      
   "Our top priority is to make sure our agents are safe,” said   
   Vitiello, adding that the agency intends to eventually cycle   
   through all of the rifles to ensure that those in need of repair   
   are fixed. “They will be like new when they are refurbished.”   
      
   But in the meantime, Border Patrol agents are dubious about the   
   department's claims, given that the guns' manufacturer, Colt,   
   has not issued a recall. And they are vehemently opposed to   
   "pool guns" -- weapons shared by two or more agents.   
      
   "They are basically disarmed.”   
   - Jeff Prather, operator of the Warrior School   
      
   “We’d like to know why the rifles were recalled and when they   
   will be returned,” Shawn Moran, spokesman for National Border   
   Patrol Council, the union which represents agents, told   
   FoxNews.com. “Our agency is trying to figure out why they were   
   pulled."   
      
   The M4 carbine is one of several rifles derived from the M16. It   
   is shorter and lighter than the M16, is powered by a gas   
   impingement system and can fire 5.56×45mm ammunition in three-   
   round bursts. Already heavily used by the U.S. military, the M4   
   will eventually replace the M16. Although Colt was the original   
   manufacturer, versions are now made by such gunmakers as   
   Bushmaster and Remington.   
      
   Moran said there is potential danger for agents relying on   
   rifles shared with others, noting the importance of   
   personalizing settings and having a general familiarity with a   
   personal weapon.   
      
   “You don’t want a weapon that is zeroed in to someone else,” he   
   said. “You don’t share guns and you don’t share needles because   
   both could end with people dying.   
      
   “We work in areas and situations where having these rifles could   
   be a matter of life or death,” he added.   
      
   Customs and Border Protection officials said the scrutiny of the   
   M4 carbines throughout the nation's Border Patrol sectors will   
   continue until all have been inspected and, if necessary,   
   repaired or replaced. He defended the use of pool guns to ensure   
   each sector's armory was stocked.   
      
   But the agents' concerns are valid, one law enforcement expert   
   told FoxNews.com.   
      
   “They are losing 40 to 50 percent of their M4s," said Jeff   
   Prather, a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent who now   
   runs the Warrior School, an independent law-enforcement training   
   facility in Tucson. "They are basically disarmed.”   
      
   Agents already risk being outgunned on the border, where   
   powerful cartels are entrenched and armed to the teeth, said   
   Prather, adding that agents have privately expressed their   
   concerns to him.   
      
   “If they are less prepared, they are going to be less inclined   
   to engage,” Prather said. “It’s a real concern, especially if   
   they are telling me about it.”   
      
   Prather, who used the M4 throughout his law-enforcement career,   
   said the weapon is “very robust” and that any issues found in   
   the Border Patrol inspections are likely simple fixes.   
      
   “All you need to do is pull out the old firing pin and put in   
   the new one and the rifle is ready to go,” he said.   
      
   Vitiello said that may be the case, but the work must be done by   
   a specialist.   
      
   “It may be easy to replace a firing pin, but these are things   
   that should be done by a professional,” he said.   
      
   http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/11/12/border-patrol-agents-say-   
   agencys-gun-recall-puts-them-in-danger/   
      
       
      
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