Hey, what good is proposing a new medal for “Courageous Restraint” if you don’t mandate an opportunity for the troops to win one?

From Human Events:

Commanders have ordered a U.S. military unit in Afghanistan to patrol with unloaded weapons, according to a source in Afghanistan.

American soldiers in at least one unit have been ordered to conduct patrols without a round chambered in their weapons, an anonymous source stationed at a forward operating base in Afghanistan said in an interview. The source was unsure where the order originated or how many other units were affected.

When a weapon has a loaded magazine, but the safety is on and no round is chambered, the military refers to this condition as “amber status.” Weapons on “red status” are ready to fire—they have a round in the chamber and the safety is off.

Zip, who’s on top of military issues, adds this about Rules of Engagement:

I’ve had email exchanges with several troops serving in Afghanistan and they all say the same thing, the overly-strict ROE are worse than what we’ve been told…

For a related story in a parallel universe, let’s go back in time just a bit: President Obama nominates Phil Donahue as Secretary of Peace