Ok, I have a question.  At least wait to start laughing until after im done.  But can soldiers use equipment that is donated to them by civilians?  By equipment, I mean pistols, rifles tactical gear etc.  I dont pretend to own anything more sophisticated than what uncle Sam has to offer,  but I remember reading somewhere that some soldiers in iraq or afganistan were writing home asking for extra clips for their guns because the army wouldnt supply them with lost ones.  Guys, im not passing judgment on anyone, but after reading that more soldiers could have survided with more adequate chest plating but the big bosses decided that they would rather save a few bucks.....well it makes you wonder.  So if my cousins who are over there aske for stuff, can they actually be allowed to use it? I have been thinking about this for a week now. What do you think?

Many people have donated many things, but I don't recall anyone having donated any firearms. I would wonder about the legal paperwork involved, if that were possible at all.

If you are thinking about it frun down a soldier from your area, and ask them what they need.

We donated 4 large boxes of books to the 10th Mountain. Enough for them to start a library system within the unit. That really makes us feel good, and gives them something constructive to do during the down time, if they have any.

Here is a pic of a Swamp Rat I donated to a Scout that received a citation for going above and beyond. His CSM said he is more than welcome to carry this one daily, but I have never heard whether he does or not.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/TerryNewton1/Terry_Newton_00_e_mail_1.jpg

Man that is really great.  I guess i was wondering, like you say, the legality issues.  I imagine if a soldier was in a fire fight and all he had was a .45 someone gave him then that has to be worth something.  I dont usually ask "what if" questions unless they have something to do with what im thinking about.  Hey that is GREAT what you guys did for our boys, TennesseeRat.  God bless em and the people who help them.

Quoted: Ok, I have a question.  At least wait to start laughing until after im done.  But can soldiers use equipment that is donated to them by civilians?  By equipment, I mean pistols, rifles tactical gear etc.  I dont pretend to own anything more sophisticated than what uncle Sam has to offer,  but I remember reading somewhere that some soldiers in iraq or afganistan were writing home asking for extra clips for their guns because the army wouldnt supply them with lost ones.  Guys, im not passing judgment on anyone, but after reading that more soldiers could have survided with more adequate chest plating but the big bosses decided that they would rather save a few bucks.....well it makes you wonder.  So if my cousins who are over there aske for stuff, can they actually be allowed to use it? I have been thinking about this for a week now. What do you think?

clips? what kind of clips? Do you mean stripper clips or paper clips?

Quoted: Guys, im not passing judgment on anyone, but after reading that more soldiers could have survided with more adequate chest plating but the big bosses decided that they would rather save a few bucks.....well it makes you wonder.

That makes me wonder if you are a troll.

What does this have to do with AR-15s?  Nothing, so stop posting your crap in here.  Either take it to DU or post on topic.

G

come on.  give me break.  I dont know what kind of people you have had problems with here in the past, but im not one of them.  As you can see by my posts, i havent been here that long, but i was asking a legitimate question.  ok, I should have said MAGS.  And as far as the ar thing, it does have to do with it because that is what  we were talking about, donating stuff.  So chill out.  If you read any of my other post, you would have seen that I only asked pertinent questions

That would be a big negative on firearms.  I was able to TAKE my Baretta 9mm to Iraq, but I had to leave it there because I could not bring it back (they check bags coming back, at least for my unit) so I gave it to a buddy and told him to pass it along down the line when he left.  It was worth the money for the piece of mind to have a back up weapon.  As for AR-15 accessories, there should be no problem, just keep in mind that most are issued what they need, usually.  That being said, if you really want to send some optics (ACOG, Aimpoint, EOTech), VFG's, Surefire lights, etc. I'm sure they would be appreciated.  What they really need (and what I loved to receive) was non-war related items.  Baby wipes (dont laugh, they really work to keep you clean), beef jerky, magazines, books, Crunch and Munch......you get the point.  Stuff like that is great.  I've even seen some people send used DVD's.  People like me brought a laptop or portable DVD player and everyone would crowd around to watch the "new" movie.....hey, it was new to us.  Thanks goes out to everyone that has sent anything, no matter how small.  It really does make a difference to us in the field.  hug.gif

Thanks SEABEE.  Thats all I wnted to know.  I thought this forum was to ask questions, to learn, no matter how noobish.  Our business has sent alot of care packages, but they were only personal type items.  That is why i asked.  Thanks for not going off.

No problem.  Always willing to help someone who is willing to help someone else.  (now, say that three times fast)

I just re-read your post and did not realize that this was for your cousins over there.  Maybe I should read things all the way through.  To answer your question with a little more detail......you can send them extra chest plates.  Depending on what they already have, just make sure that what you send will fit in the pockets of that particular vest.  You should be able to send mags as well.  I never saw anyone get some from home, but that doesnt mean anything.  I would not think that it would be a problem as long as they are USGI type mags.  Look into getting them some Wiley-X goggles.  Those are the best for that environment and I dont think I could have lived without mine.  Sand was always getting in my eyes and the Wiley-X's kept me seeing clear even in sand storms.  Good gloves are a must also.  A lot of stuff over there can cut your hands up pretty bad.  Flashlite batteries were pretty hard to come by where I was.  I picked up an LED light at Loes (Home Depot kind of store) that had a white and red light (two buttons).  It saved my butt many times and helped keep my night vision while on watch.  Anything else you need to know, just ask.  I'm happy to help.

 There was a thread a couple of pages back about sending books, magazines, warm socks and caps, and whatever, to a unit in Afghanistan.  I printed out the address and am going to get a care package together to send over.  They also wanted rifle cleaning gear, boresnakes, cleaning rods, brushes, and like that.  I have lots of paperback books and cleaning gear, gonna go find some warm clothing items and hopefully get it out in the next few days.   If our guys need some small stuff that we can send I think it is a small thing that we can do for them to show our support.  They are a long way from home.  Been there, done that, and know what its like.

Cheers,

Phil

I sent my nephew mags and an aimpoint the whole family pitched in and bought because he didnt get issued one.In my city local fedral police officers took up a collection of bullet proof vests that werent being used and sent those over.I was told some were used line the doors of their humvee on the inside for more small arms protection.And dont let the response you got turn you off at this forumSome times team members think they are moderators.There are some people who will intolerably jump on any perceived infraction of not being AR related.Or you used the wrong term and its time to pounce..I think your post was because you mentioned acessories and gear and every one knows our soldiers use the M16.Even if it wasnt related Im sure all of us here could agree that any loosening of going off forum topic for the sake of something veteran related,especially when it benefits a vet over there...I would hardly consider it crap AR related or not.We advocate the freedom of owning the weapons we own how about the freedom of saying something imporatant even if it was not AR related wich it was.Its good to see we are not forgetting about the welfare of the troops.My nephews a marine so his unit lets kim carry any knife within KBAR sized standards.I sent him a SOG Blued governmet type KBAR...he loves it.Mags we sent were fine as long as it was government contract past or present.We sent him 10 Colt mags.I put in the magpull folowers...whos gonna know.

Whos gonna know is right.  Once issued, my mags were never checked.  I also carried a KBar type (non-issued) knife, and no one cared.  

Quoted: clips

Quoted: clips? what kind of clips? Do you mean stripper clips or paper clips?

No - HAIR CLIPS!!!  

Ignorance is Bliss.

AR15.com members and Industry Partners donated a lot of stuff to me when I was in Iraq for OIF II. Mark Larue sent me a 9.0 FF HG, a BUIS and an Aimpoint mount. Bravo COmpany USA sent me a coyote brown, Durocoated pistol grip. I got an Aimpoint from a police officer that is a member here and I converted my M16A2 to an M4 with a Bushmaster upper that I brought with me.

I regret I was not able to use the Larue stuff as I couldn't get my front sight post off to use the FF HG. I would of had to rezero my Aimpoint of I switched the mounts and I already had a BUIS that was zero'd. I did give the FF HG to a SF friend of mine. My 1SG got the BUIS and the Aimpoint mount went to a MI guy doing interogations. All the LaRue parts stayed in country at least for another year.

I know units cracked down on weapon mods starting with OIF III because of some issues with non mil-spec parts causing problems.

If the donated stuff is mil-spec, a soldier has a much better chance of getting to use it.

Seriously, no pun or jokes here, but - is there a resource officer or liasion officer to contact to provide something to somebody?  I haven't been involved or really thought about deployment or TDY for a long time and really feel some kind of acknowledgement would be more than appropriate.

Ditto Seabee's comment on baby wipee-the most priceless commodity in a no running water havin', non pork eatin', fourteen year old boy walkin' on your tablecloth, sittin' on the floor eatin' country.  That and gel type hand sanitizer.  We received free books, toothbrushes (in fact every toiletry imaginable) beef jerky, and Snapple until it was literally becoming a nuisance, but the thing everyone loved was the wipes.
There was a particular brand called Joey Wipes that you could actually take a bath with.  Those were my personal faves. Letters are also nice. We received hundreds on Thanksgiving, and we made sure each one was read. Sometime they come with pics...
Weapons, even in SF, are streng verboten. There are enough there that you can choose whatever you like.  I had a Romanian AKM.  We even found a 1918 Maxim MG  which the unit was allowed to take back as a war trophy.  
The Martini Henrys that guys took back were probably fakes.  It's amazing what folks can hammer out in the back room of a mud hut.
The two cannons I took back were definitely not fakes.  Legal as they were pre 1898 and muzzle loaders. Maybe you can send over some black powder, to set up an FPLF.
So... send EOTechs and other goodis if you like, but no weapons. Personally, I found the M68 to be quite adequate, and went so far as to mount one on my AKM with radiator hose clamps under the gas tube, and a PEQ/2 to boot.  I almost got my ass in a wringer over that, but that's another story...

One of my cousins went over to the sandbox with my Glock and 8 boxes of .45ACP. I told him to check with the SpecialFriends if he needed more ammo and they would probably help him out. I don't think you can ship that sort of thing over there but they can carry it with them.

Wow, nice to jump all over the guy for wanting to do something good. Real high class. And back on topic, americansnipers.org passes on a lot of donations. Pistols, obviously a no go. The Army, (dont know about other branches) is starting to crack down on personal armor. It has been Centcom general order 1 for a while that no one goes into Iraq without the standard armor.