madman
Like I said before, EVERYTHING changed after USS Cole was attacked. I retired in Nov after 24 years, and was a snipe (engineroom watchstander). Even our roving watches carried weapons.

My son was formerly on the USS Dwight D Eisenhower. We were fortunate to be able to join him for the Friends and Family cruise. There is an extensive arsenal on that warship, and there are many sailors that are expertly trained in weaponry.
My son was one of them.

I was formally stationed on the USS Kearsarge and it is tragic to hear that kind of news. My heart goes out!

"was shot in the head by her estranged boyfriend"
.
"estranged boyfriend"

someoneme...

...You are right about the courts martial. Since the crime was committed (allegedly) on a US Naval reservation, they have jurisdiction.

And there is no parole from a military conviction. And justice will be fairly swift. Nowhere near as many motions to file.

Sickening. That was no accident. Guns do not fire by accident. He pulled the trigger, the firearm did exactly what it was designed to do.

Stupid sick individual killed a young woman, someone's daughter, sister, friend, all of that. She couldn't even duck, he shot her in the back of the head. A firing squad would be fine for him.

As stated by others not all NAVY personal stand watch and carry guns. Do I think hos story is bogus? Yes for sure! It doesn't matter who should have taught him about guns. He is old enough that I am sure he really did know. Off to court martial he will go.

Weapons training; No weapons training; Whatever! There is always a story behind the story. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. With that said, From “The Eagle Tribune” in North Andover, Massachusetts.
.
“Caitlin Trask, 21, a 2006 North Andover High School graduate, was shot in the head by her estranged boyfriend, Darren Mackie, on Thursday afternoon, police said.”

Who cares if this guy was familiar with guns or not....I am not familiar with guns and I would NEVER point one at someone, loaded or unloaded. This guy meant to kill her or he wouldn't have done it. Another loser who didn't want to want someone to leave him.

Excuse me...I meant deck DEPARTMENT, not division.

texas2star...

Not all sailors stand deck watch. In general, deck watch is stood by sailors in the deck division...that's the deck seamen, bosuns mates and gunners mate on most ships. And not everyone is armed...normally only the boatswains mate of the watch is armed.

And they should never be taking a break or getting chow while on watch. Watches are set so that watchstanders eat either before or after duty.

You are absolutely correct about the loading and unloading of weapons on the quarterdeck, tho.

And yes, I know whereof I speak...many hours of standing watch 30 years ago.

i don't think the real message is that children should not play with firearms because that is a given and these two were not children they were young adults and he should of known better if it really was an accident. i just can't buy that a service man would just place a gun to his girlfriends head and pull the trigger just as a friendly joke. no one does that. more likely a heated argument meant to scare her but i was not there so i don't really know the truth and maybe no one ever will

Sorry, Texas2star, but as a former sailor I can attest that I never stood watch with a loaded firearm. Perhaps this has changed since my service. I really don't want to belabor the point, the only reason I brought it up was to contrast the Navy with the other branches. Yes it's sad what happened! And one might assume that any member of the military should know better than to mess around with firearms. But the real take-away message here is that parents should make sure their children understand that firearms are not toys.

Seems unbelieveable, doesn't it?

Sorry, I don't buy the Story!

janesvillean,
Or you could just use the four weapon safety rules that are drilled into anyone's head when they join the military. The rules are essentially the same.
Treat every weapon as if it were loaded.
Never point your weapon at anything you do not intend to shoot.
Keep your weapon on safe until you are ready to fire.
Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you intend to fire.

SuperDave

All sailors, when in port, stand watch with a loaded firearm. At each watch turnover (even if it's just for a chow break), the weapon is unloaded, turned over, then reloaded. All sailors are familiar with handling weapons, therefore this kid was either an idiot or a killer, but most likely both.

what a horrible preventable accident, i am sorry for both families and all people involved

Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety
1. All guns are always loaded
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target
4. Be sure of your target
http://www.recguns.com/Sources/XIIIA4.ht...

jviers77: I think we can agree that all children need to know basic firearm safety, starting with small children being taught "Don't touch! Tell an adult!".
But as I said, sailors receive minimal training. To my knowledge, there is no standard firearm course taught in the USN. (Contrast that with the other three major branches of the military). But you're right, regarding the things you were taught in the Reserve. At any rate this is a tragic story.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families.

Don't military personnel know to not lift a firearm unless you're going to kill?

What a tragedy.

SuperDave...Although they have minimal training, the first thing taught in any firearm course is to always treat a gun as if it's loaded. There is no excuse for what happened, whether really an accident or not. I served in the Army Reserve, and we were taught right away, before even being issued ammunition, to NEVER point a weapon at somebody unless you intend to kill them. We were also taught to treat the weapon as if it's loaded at all times.
*
I agree with the posts that kids should be taught gun safety whether you own one or not. I've always believed education far outways the combination of ignorance and curiosity.

Sailors typically have minimal training with firearms. I would have to agree with JasonTh. Parents should teach their children - this is very basic information that everyone should know. As a hunter, I would never point a firearm (whether I think it's loaded or unloaded) at anything or anyone unless I intended to kill. Sad story.

You would think, of all people, military personnel would know better than to play with firearms. They're trained to treat them as if they are ALWAYS loaded. What a horrible story.

The words "Playing" and "Gun" should never fall in the same sentence.

Parents - no matter how you feel about guns, even if you will never own one - teach your kids gun safety. A Hunters' Safety course will not turn your kids into NRA extremist republicans - it will teach them how dangerous firearms are and how to handle them safely.