Does the U.S. military allow left-handers to parade, carry firearms,
and shoot left-handed?

Dear mccook-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting question.

The answer is yes, absolutely. Left-handed soldiers are permitted to
do everything right-handed soldiers are permitted to do. Occasionally,
a left-handed soldier must train a bit harder to learn do those things
that are typically intended for right-hand dress but left-handed
people are not excluded from the activities you mentioned. In fact,
the military goes the extra mile to accommodate ?left-handers?. The
M16 rifle for example has a right side ejection port that tends to
toss hot, spent cartridges right into the shooter?s face when the
weapon if fired left-handed. To counter this fact the military offers
lefties a specially designed cartridge port deflector that can be
quickly snapped onto a his weapon so he can be just as effective as
right-handed soldiers without the fear of being hurt my these hot
shell casings.

AR15/M16 Cartridge Case Deflector Assembly
http://www.e-gunparts.com/DisplayAd.asp?chrProductSKU=881600A&chrSuperSKU=881600&MC=

So as you can see, not only are ?lefties? permitted and encouraged to
do everything that ?righties? are permitted and encouraged to do, they
are even specially accommodated and trained to meet their needs.

On an interesting note, here are some notable lefties of military fame
who not only served but also excelled as left-handers in the military
far beyond the vast majority of their right-handed colleagues:

Col. Oliver North (Infantry)

Ronald Reagan  (Captain, US Army Air Corps, Pilot)

George H.W. Bush  (Navy Fighter Pilot)

Edwin ?Buzz? Aldrin, Jr. (Astronaut)

Colin Powell (Army General)

H. Norman Schwarzkopf (Army General)

Harry S Truman (US Army Cavalry)


FAMOUS LEFT HANDERS
http://www.indiana.edu/~primate/left.html

FAMOUS LEFTIES
http://home.wxs.nl/~mvdubois/lefthanders_en.html



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LEFT HANDED

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MILITARY

Thanks for the good, swift answer. The comment about lefties having to
parade and salute using their right was also helpful

Just as an addition - they certainly shoot left handed, since that is
how they will be most effective.  However, for drill, parades, etc,
they want uniformity, so left-handers will still carry their weapon on
the right.  They also salute with the right hand.

I have most unusual eyesight: I'm short-sighted in the right; and
long-sighted in the left.

This has always worked very well for me except on the shooting range.
I have never used spectacles and I found that I had to shoot
left-handed to see the target. In my days in the British Army, we
didn't have left-handed weapons.

The big problem was that the discharged cartridges zoomed across in
front of my face.

It was rather scary.

How curious Probono
I have exactly the same eye configuration

Do you have 3D vision?
When I was 16, I discovered from watching a 3D film called 'The
Bubble' that my vision was 2D
Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'seeing things differently'