"Indiana enlists NRA to train National Guard on firearms" [View all]

[DonP]

I got tired of irrelevant "cut and pastes", so there's this in today's Tribune to liven things up.

This one is just about Basic Pistol and CCW training, no politics involved. Too bad our current resident NRA hater has most of us on ignore, ain't it?.

"The National Rifle Association has been instructing Indiana's National Guard members on how to use concealed weapons after Republican Gov. Mike Pence directed the state's military bases and training centers to beef up security in response to recent attacks in Tennessee.

According to a survey by The Associated Press, Indiana is the only state to enlist the NRA's help in the training, which the gun-rights group says it will conduct free of charge for any guardsman who wants to carry a concealed handgun.

Although National Guard members traditionally have not been allowed to carry weapons while conducting most stateside duties, Pence is one of 14 governors who decided to arm them in the wake of a gunman's attacks last month on two U.S. military sites in Chattanooga that left four Marines dead. In order to be armed, a guardsman must have a valid conceal-carry permit and undergo training. Van Bree declined to say how many members have been approved to be armed.

Guy Relford, an NRA instructor who recently trained about 65 Indiana guardsmen at an armory in Franklin, said his "basic pistol" course delves into safety scenarios on when and when not to shoot."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-indiana-nra-firearms-training-20150821-story.html

Amazingly, the same groups that say only the police and "militia" should be armed are really upset about this. You'd almost think that whole "cops and militia" thing was bullshit and they really don't want anyone armed.

Worth noting that the NRA also developed the Squad Designated Marksman program for the US Army as well and trains most state and many municipal police forces on safety and marksmanship.