Biting the Bullet

Another effect of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is beginning to show itself. Across the nation, police departments are dealing with ammunition shortages caused by the 1 billion or so bullets fired by troops training and fighting in the war. Many departments are dealing with delays as long as a year for both handgun and rifle ammunition, and prices as much as double what they were paying just a year ago.

The shortages are causing cutbacks in weapons training in many police departments, a critical problem for officers who need to be ready and familiar with their weapons if the time comes to fire them on the job. In Oklahoma City, for example, the police department had to cancel qualification courses for several guns due to the ammunition shortage.

The military is in no danger of running out, because the majority of its ammunition comes from its own plant outside Kansas City. The police, however, must use commercial manufacturers. At least one department is looking at using alternative ammunition for practice, such as paint ball guns.

Police say that the .223-caliber rifle round is usually the hardest to find. Although rounds used by the police are not exactly the same as those used by the military, they are made from the same metals and often using the same equipment.

Comments posted online on articles related to this subject express some doubt as to the validity of the shortage stories, as many private consumers have not had a problem going to their local Wal-Marts and purchasing ammo. However, the story originated from a review of dozens of police and sheriff's departments around the country by the Associated Press.

It Holds Your Books and Blocks Bullets, Too

Two fathers from the Boston area have designed a new backpack that has recently become available to buy. It's called My Child's Pack; it looks like a regular backpack, but it has an additional feature: a thin layer of bulletproof material lies within.

The two men were spurred to action by the Columbine shootings, which motiviated them to look for new ways to keep their children safe in this era of school shootings. The packs sell for $175, and weigh about the same as a regular pack. The additional material only weighs about as much as an average sized bottle of water.

The creators note that children nearly always have their backpacks with them, and in the event of an emergency, "they can pick it up, the straps act as a handle and it becomes a shield."

Certainly it's a sad sign of the times that such a product has hit the market. But is it really a worthwhile investment or is it, as some have argued, just a means of making money by feeding off paranoia? An MIT associate professor noted that a large textbook could serve much the same function as the bulletproof material, as it could block bullets and knife thrusts in many instances, depending on the force of the projectile.

Either way, creators Joe Curran and Mike Pelonzi are likely to realize a healthy profit from their invention, and it is one more option for parents to consider in the struggle to protect their children.

Monkeys On A Plane

Ever seen the movie Snakes on a Plane? In the film, Samuel L. Jackson does battle with some agent of evil who is smuggling a great number of poisonous snakes on a commercial flight. The snakes get loose, and quite naturally, havoc ensues (along with some questionable computer animation).

Recently, a man from Peru managed to get a marmoset monkey onto a flight to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and then onto another flight to New York's LaGuardia airport. It was during the Florida to New York flight that the furry creature made its presence known to other passengers, climbing out from under the hat in which it was smuggled, and enjoying a bit of fresh air on the man's ponytail. No harm seems to have come from the incident. However, although the monkey was much less dangerous than a crate of poisonous snakes, it still raised concerns both real and hypothetical.

The real concern arose from the fact that this was a wild, exotic animal. There was the possibility that it was carrying bacteria of some kind that could be transmitted to humans. The Center for Disease Control became involved, and the marmoset was taken for examination and analysis.

The hypothetical concerns were even greater; if this wild, live, wriggling animal could be introduced undetected onto a commercial flight, what else could people manage to get onboard? In today's world, we are all too aware that innumerable people are looking for just this kind of gap in airport security, with much darker and more malicious intent than bringing exotic creatures in their carry-ons. Hopefully, this relatively harmless incident will serve to raise awareness among airport security workers and airline passengers that threats are still ever present, and we must all remain vigilant.

A Shock For Your Life

We usually think of a defibrillator as a standard piece of equipment for an ambulance, not a police car. However, when John Schanning collapsed in his Waterford, Wisconsin home several years ago, it was his good fortune that an officer was nearby with a set of the paddles in his car.

Schanning, who is a police officer himself, was seen by his wife as he collapsed, and she quickly called 911. A deputy from Racine County, WI was patrolling nearby with a defibrillator in his car acquired just the week before. The officer gave Schanning two shocks with the defibrillator, enough to get his heart beating again until he reached the emergency room, where the paddles had to be used four more times on him.

This piece of equipment, which costs around $1500, may seem like it would be used by medical professionals only, but it is becoming more and more common in police cars, as well as schools and public buildings. Supporters of having the device in squad cars note that the police are often the first to arrive at an emergency scene, before the fire department and ambulance. They require some training to operate, but are not too complicated; the instructions are printed on the machine, and the device will register if the patient has a heartbeat, and advise the operator not to use the machine.