Help for a hero / treated unfairly by complete A55holes

mental by then thats this country... and that twok back from jordan ffs.................... signed
 
Sorry not signed,
I am ex military, he should have handed it in, he knows he should have handed it in.
We all scream and shout about firearms on our streets, I am not saying he would ever have used it criminally, but reading the transcript this was found in his locker with a bag load of ammo, how would you all feel had it been nicked and then used to commit a crime or even murder.
Sorry but I think he got what he deserved.
it may be out of whack with other sentencing in this country, but that just means we are getting the others wrong.

Just my opinion.
 
Innocent people and their families should not have to face the costs of having to prove their innocence!

Afraid I have to add another ex-military voice. Innocent - no.

It is drummed into you from a very early stage in the military just how serious the retention/possession of firearms and ammunition and the consequences are.

After every live ammunition exercise, individuals have to declare that they have no weapons or live ammunition in their possession. A declaration usually made to the Training Officer!

When I came back from the first Iraq war, this declaration was made to the military police who still checked my bags.

Any military personnel who end up with weapons and ammunition in their possession have not done so through oversight or poor administration.

As to the length of sentence, I would have expected longer.

Not wishing to cause disagreement, just stating the realities of being in the military. Remember, our military is a volunteer force. No one forces them to accept the rules - or the consequences.
 
Seb.F said:
Nosa said:
Sorry not signed,
etc.

And what about the mental issues he has had? No sympathy there?

He had no mental issues when given the gun, he knew the rules and ignored them,
so no, no sympathy there either
 
From what I gathered he was given it while away, it was all sent back and packed away (not by himself) while he had come back to two funerals and he didn't know it was there.

That's how it was explained to me anyway.
 
Read the transcript, he was given a gun as a gift, and was not sent back home immediatly afterwards, he had it for some time before going home, as a sergeant he would have been the first to shout and scream at someone for not handing in an unauthorised weapon, he had plenty of time to hand it in but didn't. his excuse was he was too busy, even though he walked past amnesty bins on a daily basis, even though he would have visited the armoury on an almost daily basis, but apparently was too busy to hand it in.
He knew the rules and CHOSE to ignore them, My sympathies lie with his wife and children, it's just a shame his obviously didn't.
 
From BBC News

SAS man Danny Nightingale has gun sentence suspended

The pistol was given to Nightingale as a present, his supporters say
An SAS soldier detained for 18 months for illegally possessing a pistol and ammunition has won his freedom at the Court of Appeal.

Sgt Danny Nightingale, 37, from Crewe, admitted possessing the 9mm Glock pistol and 338 rounds of ammunition at a court martial earlier this month.

Judges at the Court of Appeal reduced Nightingale's sentence to 12 months.

However, they suspended the sentence and said he could be released immediately.

They weapons and ammunition were recovered by police from Nightingale's Army accommodation near Hereford
 
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Maxsam said:
From BBC News

SAS man Danny Nightingale has gun sentence suspended

The pistol was given to Nightingale as a present, his supporters say
An SAS soldier detained for 18 months for illegally possessing a pistol and ammunition has won his freedom at the Court of Appeal.

Sgt Danny Nightingale, 37, from Crewe, admitted possessing the 9mm Glock pistol and 338 rounds of ammunition at a court martial earlier this month.

Judges at the Court of Appeal reduced Nightingale's sentence to 12 months.

However, they suspended the sentence and said he could be released immediately.

They weapons and ammunition were recovered by police from Nightingale's Army accommodation near Hereford

Some sense at last & am sure a mighty relief he wasn't tried by ex military personnel who appear to want him lynched or shot at dawn !
can just imagine heading into a war with those fellows to back me up :| think id rather be alone :thumbsdown:
 
mr wilks said:
Some sense at last & am sure a mighty relief he wasn't tried by ex military personnel who appear to want him lynched or shot at dawn !
can just imagine heading into a war with those fellows to back me up :| think id rather be alone :thumbsdown:

Gave me quite an amusing image in my head there.
 
his wife is a good fighter too

well done to her and everybody else who fought for his release
 
Perhaps you are all right, maybe our military justice is too harsh, maybe they should start sentencing like the civilian courts, so that in times of war when a soldier is told to go into combat he can tell his commanding officer to f**k off knowing he will get off with it, that'll work just nicely won't it.
Having a go at ex military who in my opinion have offered you an insight to military justice is BANG out of order, as for any of you couch generals who talk about going into combat, get over yourselves or go out and try it, it's not fun. this guy knowingly broke military law KNOWING what the consequences would be. when I was in the military I also broke military law, knowing full well what the consequences would be (not if but when I was caught) and I was caught and punished in accordance with Military law. I felt no need to gripe and moan about it, I was man enough to take it.
 
I signed this - i'd hate to think of an innocent and a decent man going to jail.

i do have a nagging questions about what the police were looking for that they took his house to bits - they tend not to do that for nothing, i appreciate they were looking for something connected a house guest, I wonder what the back story really is.

but before im deluged for being not caring - innocent and decent folk shouldnt go to jail, at all, period. And his army record suggests him to be a decent human so I do wish him the best
 
Hey Nosa. I think most signed for two main reasons (I did anyway)

1) There is complete inequality between the sentence of someone who put his life on the line for his country and that of some teenage tearaway with a gun who just gets a slap on the wrist, and the general public has had enough.
2) There's a lot of doubt about his mental state when he carried it back into the country, exacerbating point 1

That said, you make good points and I take my hat off to you as someone who's been there and done that.
 
Stuart Truman said:
Hey Nosa. I think most signed for two main reasons (I did anyway)

1) There is complete inequality between the sentence of someone who put his life on the line for his country and that of some teenage tearaway with a gun who just gets a slap on the wrist, and the general public has had enough.
2) There's a lot of doubt about his mental state when he carried it back into the country, exacerbating point 1

That said, you make good points and I take my hat off to you as someone who's been there and done that.


Ty Stuart, maybe a point for people to think on, during the Falklands conflict a mate of mine got his hands on an Argentian officers Pistol, he took it home, it was never made safe and it was never kept in a secure environment, about 10 years later he was burgled. Yup, where is it now?????? cos I know for a fact it was not listed on his insurance claim.
This is why the sentencing for this is harsh, it was reckoned that over 150 firearms came back from the Falkand in soldiers kit bags, ALL of them are now out there and god knows what crimes have been caused by them.

I found Mr Wilks comment insulting and a very cheap shot at those who have stood and fought for their country and watched friends die.



Rant over.
 
Nosa said:
Stuart Truman said:
Hey Nosa. I think most signed for two main reasons (I did anyway)

1) There is complete inequality between the sentence of someone who put his life on the line for his country and that of some teenage tearaway with a gun who just gets a slap on the wrist, and the general public has had enough.
2) There's a lot of doubt about his mental state when he carried it back into the country, exacerbating point 1

That said, you make good points and I take my hat off to you as someone who's been there and done that.


Ty Stuart, maybe a point for people to think on, during the Falklands conflict a mate of mine got his hands on an Argentian officers Pistol, he took it home, it was never made safe and it was never kept in a secure environment, about 10 years later he was burgled. Yup, where is it now?????? cos I know for a fact it was not listed on his insurance claim.
This is why the sentencing for this is harsh, it was reckoned that over 150 firearms came back from the Falkand in soldiers kit bags, ALL of them are now out there and god knows what crimes have been caused by them.

I found Mr Wilks comment insulting and a very cheap shot at those who have stood and fought for their country and watched friends die.



Rant over.
How was it a cheap shot ? it was merely a civilians point of view on the situation . you chose to jump in & offer your inside opinion yet seem offended should anyone offer a retort ?
i didn,t set out to discuss the law,firearms or rules of the armed forces . merely to highlight what i & apparently 100,000 other misguided folks felt was harsh & unjust treatment of someone who had more than served their country
i left school & chose the building trade where i like to think i could trust those around me not to be judge & jury should i make a mistake .
not point the finger at me the minute i slip up & say " you knew the rules , now take it on the chin mate "
you just seemed to offer a rather bitter & unsympathetic response to the guy's situation based on your own experiences .
however if you were offended i apologise for that as it was certainly not intended . please feel free to PM if you would like to discuss further
 
I dont want to get involved in any spat on here, but i hear and interview with his commanding officer, his wife and his legal representative.

as I understand the facts of the case are (and i stand to be corrected)

1. on active service training Iraqi troops a few years back he was give a pistol as a gift (quite a common thing they said)

2. this wen in to his "operational box" what ever that is and was locked away. he had the intention of giving to he regiment as a trophy.

3. time passed, but a colleague was shot dead in an operation and he was flow home to accompany the comrades body along with his CO.

4. his comrades packed away his kit and the kit was then put in to a bonded store. The point to understand here is that his military comrades packed up all his gear including the pistol.

5. eventually the operational box followed him back to base, and once again was placed in to a bonded store. several years passed and for what ever reason he did not access or remove the box from the bonded store.

6. time passed and the bonded store was disbanded. the operational box was then (still padlocked from the point where his army chums had pack HIS gear up. We are now talking several years since this Operational box was accessed by the Stg Nightingale.

7 eventually he was told to remove the operational box from the QM area and take it to his ON BASE accommodation. These troops had on base house / accommodation for when they took a break between operation instead of going home.

8. the Locked operations locker is now still on base! BUT a significant number of years has passed.

9. the police raided the house looking for drugs ( i think this might have something to do with a comrade) the police opened the box and discovered the pistol.

through the many years that passed through this period (the Iraq war was some time ago) he also suffered a brain injury when he collapsed during a jungle marathon and lapsed in to a coma. Physicians have agreed that some memory loss took place through this episode.

10. fortunately he got better.

11. he was advised to plead guilt by the military advisor as this was the easiest cause of action and would enable him to be home
for xmas with his family. he was advised that he would not get a custodial sentence if he did this!

12. it all went TITS UP from this point on.

facts are.

1.The operational box should have been forcibly opened and searched by either the MP's of the QM staff on repatriation. It WAS NOT!

2. he lost his memory! (christ i have been given staff in the past and forgotten about it until i found it.

3. he was advised badly and lied to.

4. it is likely that he was used as an EXAMPLE to other soldiers not to bring home weapons (apparently a great deal of weapons in the UK now have come from eastern Europe and sometimes by serving soldiers.

Dario
 
Mr Wilks,

Maybe we are being harsh because we know the boundaries that are clearly defined within our working environment.
I spent many a night destroying ak47 rifles from the Iraq war by driving over them with challenger tanks.

Some of these were chrome plated shirt versions worth an absolute fortune as they would have come from the elite guard units.
Did I take one? - No
Did I hide one in my operational box? - no
Did I ask to bring one back for my unit as a trophy? - no

Why not?
Because as a member if the armed forces ( army/navy/airforce/ special forces)
You would know the only weapons your allowed are the ones your trained on and have signed for In line with the task at hand.
There are also strict rules regarding 'war Trophys' and believe me no one other than Maj Gen Farquhar gets to bring a officially deactivated weapon for the officers mess in larkhill etc.

To say that he forgot about it- smacks of a Naivety to those that know better.
If his box was sent home without him as he was sent home prior, the normal action by his mates would be to quickly search his box, remove any offending articles ( had to this after an individual was killed and we didn't really want his next of kin reciving a box half full of porn etc).

I know I'm rambling a little here, but it winds up every service person whe you hear the same excuses rolled out after Nobby soldier drops a clanger. And starts sprouting civi excuses, memory loss etc etc.

You show me a soldier without some kind of 'effect' of front line service, and ill show you a liar..
 
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