Why don’t you tell us what you really think about MPs? 
Anyway, what makes you think MPs have friends?
When I was in, I recall an ragging to me how he could easily drive drunk because the guys at the front gate would never bust a fellow MP. I doubt they can get away with that many places anymore, because now most US installations actually have civilian federally contracted security guards manning the gates…
We’ve gone for this cheap solution in various government areas, but I don’t know that the private guards are invested with the necessary powers of those in real uniforms as distinct from the bullshit wannabe cop uniforms they wear. Generally I doubt that they have any more power than other wannabe fat-gutted, moustachioed, mirror sunglass, shave headed, door bitch type who is at best a gatekeeper. They’d need to take the oath etc to be military. And they sure as hell ain’t military, the dumb fat pricks.
I dunno, but their Glock 9mm’s seem powerful enough. I think they’re meant to be a “trip wire” in a real incident where they’ll call the MPs or local police…
You mean you arm those pricks?
We may be stupid, but we’re not suicidal.
Our civilian fat controllers aren’t armed.
Why would they be? We don’t even arm our soldiers on the gates, and with very good reason.
If your caught driving an army vehicle drunk, would you be suspended or kicked out or would your driving license be suspended when you come back to America and your insurance rates go up?Or would the army just say don’t do it again and thats that?
The simple answer is–“9/11”…
Most of the guards are military vets and there’s usually a whole gaggle of them. But I think times are again changing and some US military installations are “open”(ing up) again, which means little security during the day…
I imagine one would be courts martialed and jailed for being drunk, let alone driving drunk, while on duty. I was talking after duty hours…
I doubt it. Many MPs, especially those in the Far East, were issued the Springfield 1903 since they were deemed less likely to face frontline combat, and the Springfield was actually still very effective and numbers were produced well into the War since most of their opponents would also have had bolt action rifles. I doubt anyone thought them important enough on occupation duty to reequip with M-1 Garands. But it is perhaps possible that some also felt that MPs would be more judicious and less potentially trigger-happy around large crowds with a bolt-action rifles if some incident did take place…
Remember that there were about 1 million '03A3s manufactured by Remington Arms and Smith-Corona from 1942 to 1944. They were considered “substitute-standard issue” to the “standard issue” M1 Garand service rifle. M1 Garand production was just barely meeting minimum demand and target production of that rifle was not met until after the war. Most of the '03-A3s never left the US, but some did. After the war they were used to stock National Guard armories just as the M1 Garands later did during the '60s and early '70s. As for the photo, these guys have fixed bayonets and look as if they are being used for crowd control or personal security for the emperor.
Numbers of 03’s did see front line service with the Marines early on, especially on Guadalcanal, where marines would often salivate when they saw numbers Army-National Guardsmen armed with Garands…
Roger that. The Battle of Guadalcanal was the first big Pacific War battle/campaign and the Marines did arrive with “earlier” '03s. My father was a Lebanese-born American citizen who had his Army recruit training next to a British camp in Palestine. The American recruits (all foreign born) trained with early '03 Springfields. My dad spoke highly of the '03 though he eventually carried a .30 carbine and a beautifully finished .38-200 Smith & Wesson (Lend-Lease) service revolver during the North African campaign and until the end of the war which included Italy, Austria and a couple of convoys to the Soviet-Persian border via Trans-Jordan and western Iraq and Iran. I remember the revolver when I was a boy back in the 60s. He carried it with him when he made bank deposits from his businesses. I guess that can be another thread though.