Posted: 4/15/2003 11:49:58 PM EDT
| Are any weapons i.e. firearms allowed to be brought back from Iraq or was this practice outlawed under Clinton?????[devil] |
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I doubt that things have changed this time around. I was in Desert Storm and all I made off with was a couple gas masks, an Iraqi flag and some small stuff. No weapons or parts of weapons were allowed PERIOD! I read a post recently that US forces this time are NOT allowed to bring back anything. Don't know if it's true or not. Anyone else know? |
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I know there were a bunch of guys burned for bringing weapons back in '91. Mostly jarheads and sailors since it's fairly easy to hide it aboard ship. Read an article in Newsweek about eight or nine years ago talking about it. Seems some senior enlisted jarhead was getting a divorce and his old lady decided to turn him in. NIS/NCIS put the bite on him to give up some of his buddies in exchange for reduced charges and he gave up two friends who gave up two friends, who gave up two friends and so on. Despite any ban or policy, I'll bet some items make it back anyway. |
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i dont think clinton is responsable for this.it has never been o.k. wink wink to bring back war booty.of course it probably wasent really strickly enforced in wars past. At one time, it was perfectly legal to bring back a "war trophy." There was even a form for this. |
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While I was in Germany, there was an E-8 who went back stateside. Somehow during GW1, he acquired some Iraqi AK-type rifles, and kept them in the arms room. When he DEROSd, he didn't take them with him. The SPC arms room MFIC, had a visit from CID, and ended up getting burned for possession of these rifles. Sad, really. -Zmeja |
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Quoted: While I was in Germany, there was an E-8 who went back stateside. Somehow during GW1, he acquired some Iraqi AK-type rifles, and kept them in the arms room. When he DEROSd, he didn't take them with him. The SPC arms room MFIC, had a visit from CID, and ended up getting burned for possession of these rifles. Sad, really. -Zmeja Wow....as much as arms rooms are inspected I'm surprised the AK's wern't discovered sooner! The 1st AD brought back weapons, but individuals were not allowed to. They threatend us, saying if one weapon or piece of contraband was found, that whole unit would be put at the end of the list for rotation back to Germany! We were provided with an amnesty box, and MP's searched our bags before departing. Your E-8 friend had some big balls, I would have hated to have been caught trying to smuggle something out.....can't imagine having a whole CAV squadron pissed at you cause they can't leave country! |
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What I don't get is various individuals think because THEY couldn't get away with anything, that no one got away with anything. Wherever there're rules, someone will break them. The more seniority someone has, the greater the stroke they have to get around things. I knew a guy in the Navy who was on a gator in GW1. When they went pierside to pick up their Marines, the jarheads had weapons stacked on the pier awaiting disposal/destruction. The story he tells is some of the jarheads swapping or selling odds and ends to the sailors as well as sneaking things back aboard for themselves. If the quarterdeck watch is lax, it's pretty easy to sneak things back on board in pieces, parts, and in supplies and shitcans coming back on board. Hell, it's easy to do that even when they're paying attention. If you've ever been on a Navy ship, you'll see that there are beaucoup "hidey holes" within workspaces. These areas are generally left alone during health & comfort inspections. Guess where contraband items are hidden? This same guy told me he swapped a Marine for a pistol that he later gave to his dad. The way he described it, and he was not a gun nut, it may have been something like a CZ52. And yes, there were some guys who were burned for the bring backs on board his ship. Some were caught in transit to the U.S. and some were caught later on off of the ship in base housing and other places. |
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Quoted: What I don't get is various individuals think because THEY couldn't get away with anything, that no one got away with anything. I never said no one ever got away with it. I personally didn't try and neither did anyone I served with. The risk was just too high. To us, going home was more important. Rainbow6 asked "Are any weapons i.e. firearms allowed to be brought back from Iraq..." The answer is no. If someone took the chance and got away with it, good for them! |
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I never said no one ever got away with it. I personally didn't try and neither did anyone I served with. The risk was just too high. To us, going home was more important. Rainbow6 asked "Are any weapons i.e. firearms allowed to be brought back from Iraq..." The answer is no. If someone took the chance and got away with it, good for them! There have been similar threads in the past and there are always certain individuals who invariably post something to the effect of "It's illegal, you can't get away with it, I couldn't get away with it, it's all BS, etc." Well, BULLSHIT. Where there's a will, there's a way. Some guys are willing to run the risks and some aren't. This time around, just as in the past, there will be some things make it back that aren't "supposed to," if you get my meaning. Pretty good article in SAR a couple of months ago about an Air Farce FAC who sneaked a Swedish K back in when he "wasn't supposed to" during Vietnam. He wound up amnesty registering it in 1968. Of course THAT will NEVER happen today, but it just gives you an idea that people will take their chances if they think they can get away with it. |
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Quoted: I never said no one ever got away with it. I personally didn't try and neither did anyone I served with. The risk was just too high. To us, going home was more important. Rainbow6 asked "Are any weapons i.e. firearms allowed to be brought back from Iraq..." The answer is no. If someone took the chance and got away with it, good for them! There have been similar threads in the past and there are always certain individuals who invariably post something to the effect of "It's illegal, you can't get away with it, I couldn't get away with it, it's all BS, etc." Well, BULLSHIT. Where there's a will, there's a way. Some guys are willing to run the risks and some aren't. This time around, just as in the past, there will be some things make it back that aren't "supposed to," if you get my meaning. Pretty good article in SAR a couple of months ago about an Air Farce FAC who sneaked a Swedish K back in when he "wasn't supposed to" during Vietnam. He wound up amnesty registering it in 1968. Of course THAT will NEVER happen today, but it just gives you an idea that people will take their chances if they think they can get away with it. Yes Sir, you are correct, there are always those willing to take that chance! |
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When we rotated home from GW1, we were warned that the MPs would have us dump our duffel bags, etc. Well, we went through the "inspection" at about 2 AM and all they checked was to see if the soles of our boots had soil on them... no bag dumps, no nothing. I'm SURE stuff came back on that trip. Alex |
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Quoted: When we rotated home from GW1, we were warned that the MPs would have us dump our duffel bags, etc. Well, we went through the "inspection" at about 2 AM and all they checked was to see if the soles of our boots had soil on them... no bag dumps, no nothing. I'm SURE stuff came back on that trip. Alex Guess you lucked out! We did exactly as you explained above except ALL our stuff was layed out, almost basic training/barracks inspection style. My whole Troop, A and B bags plus ruck, every thing dumped out for inspection. Before they started an announcement was made that there was an amnesty box out front of the building and we were given time to dispose of items ourselves before the inspection began. The amnesty box sort of resembled a Salvation Army drop box, and it was fairly full from the sound made when I threw away the AK parts I salvaged. No parts of weapons were allowed to be brought back. I did keep two gas masks I found, one brand new still in the wrap, with a NIW filter, but the filter from the used one had to be disposed of. I was told it could be contaminated. This was all done under the observation of the MP's along side was the CO and Plt. Ldr., so for us it was impossible to bring anything back in our bags. After the bags were inspected they were repacked under observation of a MP and that's the last we saw of them till we got back to Germany, so sneakin something back into a bag was impossible. What we did find amusing was getting on a commercial airliner in Germany with M16's, 60's and bayonets. But for the flight home we had to put the bayonets in our bags! Like I'm going to do something stupid NOW to keep from going home! LOL!!! Here's the NIW mask and flag I brought back. [img]http://www.gunsnet.net/album/data/500/6201iraqimask-med.jpg[/img] |
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Pretty cool, Quib! :) Yeah, we were pretty surprised that we didn't have to dump.. there were some very relieved people getting on the airliner. I have a feeling that there are some folding stock AKs floating around Texas right now that aren't exactly kosher... I remember the guys carrying them during the war but I don't remember them in the dumpster outside our rooms in Khobar, or in or near the amnesty box. Alex |
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The amnesty box sort of resembled a Salvation Army drop box, and it was fairly full from the sound made when I threw away the AK parts I salvaged. No parts of weapons were allowed to be brought back. ++++++++++++++++++++++++ After reading the various responses on this thread its amazing that going back to civilian life (after having fought for you country)you are no longer trusted by your government with weapons or even parts of weapons.[devil] |
| I was in Bosnia in 2000 and Kosovo in 2001 as EOD and we were responsible for cleaning out the Amnesty boxes. It was like Christmas! All the goodies that everybody tossed! Of course I "NEVER" brought anything back, CID didn't even want to touch our bags! Scardie-Cats! Seriously though, I have heard the same poop that 'Delta_3_63' mentioned about not letting anyone bring back anything from Iraq for fear of perceived LOOTING. Of course, that was the same party line for GW1. I have personally demilled & inerted weapons (& provided documentation in official memorandum format) before for units so that an ORGANIZATION (not individuals) can bring back UNIT HONOR AWARDS, "trophies" to be put in display cases back at unit HQ. I have also assisted CID with busting IDIOTS trying to bring back grenades and explosives FULL UP! Morons! |
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My stepgrandfather in law (retired E-8 Marine) alledgedly brought back a Thompson in WWII. He started with China Marines in '35 and retired in '65. I don't doubt that he had one. I got to visit both Christchurch and Guadalcanl in '78 and while we were talking we determined I visited some of the same opubs in Christchurch. a few years later he told me that if he had known that he would have had somebody in the family that would have sppreciated it he would have hung on to it. My wife has since told me I am the only one he ever talked about the Pacific battles with. Whie we stopped at Guadalcanal, we found out that many of the local taxi tours also stopped at a EOD dump equivalent. One of the returnees luckily(?) showed am intact mortar round to the Quarterdeck Watch. After that everybody got searched and then we passed the word for everybody that had souvenirs bring them up for inspection. We let the fragments go, but after getting underway must have dumped about a hundred pounds of intact mortar and 3" projectiles over the side. A buddy of mine decided he didn't want to continue in Navy ROTC in 1972. Well he borrowed a 5" practice projectile and packed it in his seabag leaving Pearl Harbor. Took two guys to lug it in to the airport. The clerk almost dislocated his shoulder grabbing it. He figured he made it until we told him the FBI routinely X-Rayed all military luggage and seabags coming back from Hawaii to detect contraband. He literally sweated the entire flight home. and almost didn't pick up his bag at baggage claim until we pointed out it had his name and baggage check on it. |