Back in July Amn Brayden Lovan was killled in a shooting in the Weapons Storage Area of FE Warren AFB, Wyoming. It is alleged he was shot by another member of his squadron, Amn Marcus White-Allen who was charged with involuntary manslaughter as well as making a false official statement.
This horrific incident also led to a questionable decision by the Commanding General of Air Force Global Strike Command, Gen Thomas Bussiere to remove the weapon from service so that the command’s inventory could be inspected for defects. This only further fed the flames of the false report that the weapon had suffered an “uncommanded discharge” leading to Amn Lovan’s death. The command kept the weapon from service for well over a month despite knowing that the weapon was not to blame. In late August the M18 was reinstated to full service in AFGSC.
Paranoia spread like wildfire throughout the Air Force with multiple units withdrawing the weapons from service. This ended up being picked up by other organizations outside of the Department of War as internet influencers spread rumors and false information. Cooler heads eventually prevailed.
Last Friday sworn testimony in a court martial of two additional Airmen involved in the incident filled in even more blanks since the M18s were returned to service.
The alleged gunman, Amn White-Allen was found dead in his apartment on 8 October. Why he was not in pre-trial confinement remains a mystery but four SF Airmen assigned to the same Missile Wing have died in as many months calling into question the leadership of that unit. Authorities have not released a cause of death for Amn White-Allen. Upon news of his untimely death, the internet was since again awash with wild accusations but the most likely cause is self-harm. The man was facing likely conviction and incarceration for being accused of negligently killing a fellow Airman. Eventually the truth of this final element of the story will also come out and individuals continuing to throw wild accusations will look even more foolish.
Those two unnamed Air Force Security Forces members initially stood by a false assertion that the weapon fired in an uncommanded fashion. Investigation soon revealed that was a lie. Last Friday they both pleaded guilty to making a false official statement and corrected the record.
The sober truth of this entire affair is that firearms are dangerous and must be treated that way. They are not toys. But they also don’t just inadvertently discharge.
What we do know for sure is that while a Modular Handgun System M18 was used to take the life of Amn Lovan, it did not discharge of its own volition as was alleged by so many firearms influencers and parroted by their followers. Based on sworn testimony, Amn White-Allen placed the gun against the chest of Amn Lovan in a “joking manner” and pulled the trigger. The result is two Airmen dead in needless tragedies.
During this affair, we witnessed a social contagion. Some with ill intention toward the MHS program used the event to attempt to force change that was not going to come. Still angry that their preferred brand of handgun wasn’t adopted years ago by the US military, they were sure they could force the DOW to go back and pick their favorite. Many others joined in on the “roasting” of MHS manufacturer SIG SAUER for the fun of it, while others had more sinister agendas including bankrupting the business that made the pistols. Many voices joined together sharing false information, hurling insults at anyone (including this writer) who knew the information they were swearing by was false. They formed an angry mob. Only time and the trickling out of evidence has turned the tide. Even now, some will cling to wild conspiracy theories about the incident rather than admit the truth.
Few of those who claimed that the M18 was to blame for the death have come forward to admit they were wrong. They have done great damage to confidence in the weapon by military, police, and civilian users.
The Modular Handgun System remains safe and reliable. Program managers across the services have reiterated that fact. It’s time to stop spreading false information and accept that this was a needless tragedy wrought by the actions of one man upon another.
No dog in the fight, I hung up my uniform years ago. Gen Bussiere’s decision to pull the weapon pending a full-fleet weapons inspection was not questionable, it was sound in my humble opinion. I was a CATM troop and participated in a few post ND and suicide investigations. It’s about establishing facts and working from the known. The weapons were inspected, proven to be serviceable, and now those results can be pointed to when/if the weapon is called into question again. The M18 is a still a new weapon and if we don’t see any TCTO updates to it within its first several years of use I’d be surprised. The M9 was how old of a design when we had to update the hammer pin due to slide fracture/separation?
It really isn’t that new. The P320 has been around for more than a decade.
100%. Just imagine the lawsuits that would flow if it happened again IF they had NOT done the inspection.
Happened again? Another Airman killing someone with an M18? Why, it DID happen…already.
In August a Security Forces NCO at Offutt AFB facing charges stole an M18 from his squadron and committed suicide in the commissary parking lot.
Once again, the weapon functioned properly, the Airman didn’t. Notice ACC didn’t remove the fleet of M18s from service.
Not really a proper comparison in that the Offutt incident did not have any elements, perceived or otherwise, of an alleged weapon failure/malfunction. The AFGSC incident, at face value, did. True or not that horse had already left the barn and perception is reality. I do not have inside information into the Amn Lovan investigation but having been party to others those AFOSI agents most likely had that picture painted before they even left the incident scene. After all a contact GSW leaves very specific tells. Yes in a perfect world the only initial news would have been an investigation into Amn Lovan’s death with no other information until the results were released. That is not what happened however unfortunately.
Gen Bussiere’s choice to accomplish a full-fleet inspection, while in the short term seemed a knee jerk reaction, was calculated to ensure overall user confidence in the weapon. The AFGSC inspection results will be pointed to as definitive record for the entire service life of the pistol.
No, it didn’t instill overall confidence in the weapon. Everyone heard “the gun did it” and used the AFGSC action to justify their spreading of the story. People still bring it up because the truth never makes it as far as the lie.
When there is a homicide involving a firearm (or any other mechanism of death) you examine the actual device. If any anomalies had arisen during that examination, taking a look at the entire fleet would have made sense. This was a silly reaction by someone who doesn’t understand guns and likely listens to others with the same affliction. Remember, liberals blame guns for deaths and not assailants.
It just AFGSC doin’ the usual AFGSC hyper over-reaction to the smallest hiccup in routine. They’ll hold a safety stand-down if someone trips over a crack in the sidewalk.
Few to NONE stopped Sig detractors from spouting off some pretty stupid shiite regarding the M18. Nobody here better say, to the others, “this is not time to say I told you so” and “let’s move on”, or this [the bs of this incident] is just going to happen again. And I blame the Air Force.
When this happened I warned people not to jump the gun and to let the investigation play out.
That said, this instance turning out to be negligence doesn’t mean the P320 is mechanically sound (design and/or QC). Nor does it mean Sig hasn’t been gaslighting for years.
That’s the spirit! We’ll get ‘em next time, amirite?
Next time? Naw. There are multiple videos showing P320s firing in holsters with nothing interfering, along with various other trustworthy reports without supporting video. I’ve been pretty skeptical of individual reports as it’s an easy out for negligence. But there are numerous reports with eye witnesses who do not have a vested interest.
No, I’m not waiting for a next time. I sold all my Sig firearms, not just the P320s. Sig has handled this with very poor ethics. Same thing they did with the drop safe issue that they never admitted to. Just obfuscation and gaslighting.
You’re going to say “but we don’t know what’s causing it!”. Sure, maybe it’s not one problem. Maybe it’s a few different possible combinations of bad MIM parts and a lack of good QC on top of tolerance stacking and the inherent design. I don’t know and don’t care the specific cause. That’s for their engineers to figure out before they sell their guns. What I care about is whether it happens or not. And it clearly does.
There are videos. You are told what the video depicts. The explanation validates your belief. You have no idea what is actually going on. You don’t ask hard questions.
Person in video sues SIG. Hard questions are asked. Litigant’s expert witnesses admit under oath that they can’t replicate what the litigant claims. Litigant loses case. Time after time.
Your maybes aren’t the cause. If they were, they would have been identified by those experts and brought up in court.
At some point you have to stop blaming the gun and wonder what these few incidents have in common.
I do wonder how much this event was used or is being used in various pending civil litigations matters?
I know the law firm suing SIG in several justifications enlisted the mother of Amn Lovan to undermine confidence in the M18 in the military before she was informed her son was killed by another service member. Other than shameful act, I don’t see how it could be used in a court case considering the weapon functioned properly.
And that is what I was referring to. At one time, I’m guessing the plaintiff attorneys were using this event as proof of defect, but now, they will completely abandon any reference to this. And yet, SIG could possibly use this event, with the facts as they are now understood, in their defense. And it certainly was shameful of the plaintiff attorneys to want to parade the mom in front of a potential jury. And yet why is it relatively easy for people to accept the idea that a mechanical object failed as opposed to the much more likely answer that humans have failed?
Why did Sig pay that million dollar lawsuit and offer P320 trigger upgrades? I get everything mechanical can fail but it seems like they have not handled any of this well.
Why did SIG pay out a settlement? Well, considering the litigant admitted pulling the trigger, you’d have to ask the jury. It defies logic.
The trigger swap had zero to do with “uncommanded” discharges so you might want to do some research before you talk about a subject.
Can mechanical equipment fail? Sure, but after that happens you can invariably replicate the issue. Unfortunately, no one can make one of the pistols which is alleged to have fired all on its own, do it again. People have tried. People who want to make a lot of money off of being able to make it happen have tried. All have failed.
So what’s your point in all of this? Still clinging to the narrative.
It, sadly, doesn’t defy logic. It’s a litigious world and SIG paid out what they are going to charge the government, and the rest of us, next time because it’s cheaper [to SIG] in the long run. That’s why people bringing frivolous lawsuits need a beat-down every time.
SIG didn’t offer that sum up.
Two things can be true at once. There can be an inherent defect in the P320 line of weapon systems and this can also be a case of negligent homicide. Absence of proof isn’t proof of absence in the case of the multiple-reported un-commanded discharges from the civilian sector and law enforcement community.
It’s clearly true in this case that the P320 design was not at fault, but that doesn’t negate the anecdotal evidence being put forth by multiple other sources.
Amen, on absence of proof. Still waiting for someone to demonstrate how these guns are able just go off on their own. Once again, no one has been able to identify an actual cause.
Considering there are millions of P320s on the street you’d think that this was a regular occurrence and yet, it is isolated to less than 20 instances to the best of my knowledge, and those involved are overwhelmingly police officers.