Police and military forces have always taken action across the nation in the event of an emergency. Whether it be from a revolt, raid, school shooting or other act of terror, they often aren’t afraid to bring out the big guns. However, sometimes it goes just a little too far.

According to ABC News, the Pentagon’s stimulus program, which has supplied numerous police departments with military equipment over the years, has decided to go a different route. The ongoing attempts to equip school districts over the past few years have led to the decision of at least 26 school districts to join in the revelry.

Yes, that’s right. At least 26 school districts have opted to receive military-grade equipment and weaponry. But this isn’t just your standard handgun or rifle. No, the list of transmitted items includes mine resistant armored vehicles such as those used in Afghanistan and Iraq, M16 assault rifles and even grenade launchers.

While I can understand the need of a school’s police department to equip higher-grade weapons in the case of an emergency, I cannot possibly fathom why a school would have need of a grenade launcher. I don’t think that a principal would be too happy with a grenade going off inside the school, especially if students were in proximity to the blast radius.

However, I do understand that the main purpose of this decision is preventative action. In this case, I can agree that being over-prepared is better than being underprepared, regardless of how ridiculous it may seem for schools to possess grenade launchers. Yet this sort of high-intensity, high-impact machinery should be reserved for the big boys: those officers specially trained in military operations and trusted to control them.

Even though schools may be going overboard with the weaponry, it does seem somewhat appropriate for protection from shootings or other threats so long as the weapons are handled by military-trained professionals. I don’t know if I’d trust the regulation-trained officer from my high school with an assault rifle. Or a grenade launcher for that matter.

Though I still don’t know why a school should ever need a grenade launcher.