Maybe someone who actually went to a military academy could tell me, how realistic was Taps' portrayal of weapons?
Obviously, military schools keep some bolt actions, semiauto rifles around but was the students access to automatic rifles, machine guns, grenades, mortars accurate?
well i mean i doubt its very easy to get to the weapons. but in the case of the movie, once the admin is rounded up, and keys and what not confiscated, it might be "easier" to get to it. but im sure there are codes and things surrounding a munitions area.
sharePay attention to the dialogue. It's said that the academy was also used as an armory for the National Guard - hence the storage onsite of all of "the goodies".
shareWouldn't the National Guard have their own armory to store weapons? But at least they gave an explanation.
shareWhen I went to the Citadel, we had a small armory, but this was for small-arms. We never had grenades or light machine-guns. If we needed to train with those weapons, we went to Fort Jackson, SC, and we did live fire exercises.
shareBut you were in college, and ROTC. I big difference between that and high school/middle school JrROTC.
shareGenerally speaking...
Military academies carry "obsolete" weapons, I.E., weapons not used by the front lines of the armed forces. 1903 Springfields, M1 Garands and the like, for drills and marksmanship training. They "might" have some M-16's. But .30 cal. machine guns, M1919's? And "Ma Deuce"'s, (the .50 Cal M2 machine gun)? That I highly doubt. I'm not saying it's impossible, just highly unlikely. Ditto on the hand grenades or the M60 "pigs". That's MAJOR hardware that the govt. wouldn't necessicarily want minors, albeit disciplined ones to have access to. Remember, machine guns have been tightly controlled since the 1934 NFA (national firearms act). The same is true with "destructive devices" (the batfe's phrase) like grenades. They wouldn't just be handing those things out like candy.
But then, Hollywood doesn't care too much about facts or the truth when it comes to movies, only what seems interesting and will make a buck.
Just to chip in...
Valley Forge Military Academy in PA where this movie was filmed has an armory with M16s and M249s, so its not unrealistic that 25 years ago they could have had as much, if not more firepower at a military academy. But then, as was before mentioned, it is supposed to be a National Guard armory. So problem solved.
I spent 4 years at VFMA, and no such armory exists nor has it ever. We used old rebuilt Springfield 1903s, with the firing pins removed.
shareAlong with shalin and cadet1lt, I spent 4 yrs at VF in E Battery (CDT CSG, BSM, CPT Retired; 03-05C). Valley Forge was the first of its type way back in the day. My uncle went there when it was a true "military" academy. During the early days of the school, cadets would go to the nearby Valley Forge Nat'l Park and conduct field exercises. To my knowledge, at this time they had Springfield 1903s and some of the old M1 water cooled machine guns. Naturally they fired blanks, but they still learned military tactics. The obstacle course that the school built early in it's history served as the inspiration for the US Army's O Course during the same era (at the time they did not have one). Currently, the infantry units at VF (A, B, C, and the former F) all carry the M1A1 Garand for D&C, tours, and parade. Because of renovations that have been going on in the past few years, units such as D Troop (now in Martin Hall) use the Garand for the various activities requiring them. E Battery, because they do not carry weapons on a regular basis still uses the Springfield 1903s when needed.
sharei dont really care about the weapons. its a good movie!!!!!
sharewow... of all the things to argue about... If you paid any attention to the dialogue while the people are in the arms room doing inventory, they said the general wanted to keep an arsenal of weapons to be protected and security.. so thats how they have access to all that.. and well he walked into the big warehouse that was holding it all.. Not very secure at all.. normally it would be in an arms room with a huge thick metal door but oh well.. ITS A MOVIE!!
shareEven if the events took place in a National Guard Armory, there would not be ammo on hand. When a guard units goes to a range to shoot: it draws ammo based on the number of shooters, it fires the ammo, it turns in what it didn't shoot including brass from spent ammo. As far grenades, most guardsmen only throw a grenade in basic training and never see one again unless they go off to war.
The guard units I've been in used to have some ammo on hand at the armory, but it was almost all shotgun ammo for the six or seven roit shotguns kept for civil distrubance missions.
I loved that they had 81mm mortars, lol. How exactly do you "present arms" with a mortar tube?
"C'mon Bart! The Coast Guard's covering the Doobs!"
The heavy weapons there weren't there for the cadets to use - in fact, none of the weapons were there for the sole use of the cadets. That stockpile was the property of the National Guard and they gave the Institute the OK for the cadets to use the smaller weapons for drill.
shareIn reality, the rifles would be for routines only and would most likely not have live ammo. They would be demilitarized. Unless, of course, they actually had a firing team, which I don't remember it in the movie. It is entirely possible since it is a military school.
Bow chicka bow wow!
As the tank drive in the movie, I had the biggest gun. As a point of interest one of those cadets in the portrayal as red berets actually went on to command a cavalry troop and later acted as an operations officer in a armored cavalry task force in Bosnia. The tank commander who fires on the window is now deceased but can be seen in Ghostbusters and Muppets take Manhatten although for only a moment. The weapons were supplied by the former 2nd Battalion 111th Infantry of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard now deactivated in the early ninties.
shareA guard armory isnt that big usualy,although that was a neat scene it looked almost like a big hangar on a big base somwhere.An actual armory is usualy a vault like affair with racks of m16's and mg's locked in with a rod going through the triggerguard.I havent ever seen crated ammo along side them.
share
Folks, weather or not the storage area was a Guard Armory doesn't mean a thing in the movie. Listen to what the Administor says while they are taking inventory before the Cadets rebel. He says he can't beleive Bache stockpiled such a cache of weapons, or something like that. Weather or not there is an Amory at VF is meaningless. The film makers needed to put the weapons there for the movie. It's that simple.
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