[LoadMasterC141]

One small hole in the plane that may or may not cause the plane to slowly decompress (No it will not rapid decompress, in a larger plane) is a small price to pay to thwart a person that intends to blow you and your plane up and/or fly you and your plane into a large building.

As a C-141 crewmember, different situations warranted who would be armed on the crew. Generally though, one Loadmaster and the Copilot were armed anytime we flew into hostile fire zones, and when the mission warranted. Additionally, we carried enough weapons to outfit the whole crew in a gun box hidden in the crew loft. I actually did not care for it. That dang gun pointing into your armpit, “Concealed” under your flight suit was a tad bit nerveracking for me(Like no one notices the huge bulge). I used to cheat at the base ops clearing barrel and go through the round chambering motions before I loaded the clip hehe. Then, every base you went to, you had to make an extra trip to the armory and drop the guns off before you could go party err rest.

When we carried the presidents “limo service”, the Secret Service guys were armed to the teeth. I never knew you could hide that many guns on your person.