Posted: 7/14/2011 5:36:54 AM EDT
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All,
So here's the situation. I am traveling out to Ellsworth AFB for work. I carry where ever I go. However since I am traveling during Sturgis Bike Week hotels are limited and I have to stay on base. I can't bring my weapon into base lodging. I've trying to figure out the best way to store the weapon off base so when I leave the base I can quickly grab it. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks! |
| You can store your weapon in the base armory everyday. Go and pick it up when you leave and drop it back off when you go on base. Doesnt cost anything but 10 minutes of your time each way. For god sakes, dont try to sneak a weapon on base. When you arrive at the gate everyday, tell them what is going on, show them documentation, and you can even ask for a police escort to the armory. Hope this helps. |
| You can store your weapon in the base armory everyday. Go and pick it up when you leave and drop it back off when you go on base. Doest cost anything but 10 minutes of your time each way. For god sakes, dont try to sneak a weapon on base. When you arrive at the gate everyday, tell them what is going on, show them documentation, and you can even ask for a police escort to the armory. Hope this helps. |
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The odds are good that with the rally in progress and more people staying on base as guests or in the Inn, that they will increase the number of vehicles selected at the gate for a through search. You definitely do not want to try to sneak a weapon on base.
Unless the number has changed in the last 4 years, the base Law Enforcement Office number is (605) 385-4001 |
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Quoted:
That's nice - but they are not going to care.
I use a GunVault Nanovault and secure it with the included steel cable around a hardpoint in the vehicle trunk. Firearms are not allowed on the installation, with or without a CCW. EAFB won't allow the carrying of any firearms onto the installation including weapons left inside a vehicle. Using a hard case hard mounted in the trunk won't result in anyone being granted an exception, and it woudl be found if the vehicle is randomly selected for a search. As noted above, the best (and pretty much only) possibility would be to arrange for it to be checked into the armory if you are staying with someone on base or at the Pine Tree Inn. |
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Quoted:
Once you get over being confused about that, ask why there have at times been limits in some units on having your weapon in side the wire in the sand box.
hijack alert. haveing two of my family in the service. i have asked them this and neither have a good answer. but why cant service members have a weapon even if it is there issued sidearm on them in base? Stateside I can see some logic in terms of base commanders being overly aware of the potential for some personnel to handle weapons poorly and/or not be all that bright in the first place and/or to be under the influence and create a safety hazard that is magnified by having a firearm available. Plus, if you've ever been through basic training you can appreciate that it's common for troops to come out the back end hard charging but a bit overly aggressive and unstable. They settle down into good troops after a few months in their next unit, but the transition can have some interesting side effects. Then you have things like the recent Ft Hood shooting. The irony here was that a friend of mine was present and had carried every day I knew him prior to his going active duty. He's also a very good tactical shooter. Had be been allowed to carry on base, the odds are good that the shooter would have gone down very quickly. But that highlights the problem - ensuring the right people have weapons while the wrong people don't. Personally, I feel that if military personnel can qualify for a CCW in the state they are currently in (or have one that is accepted in that state) they should be allowed to exercise that right on base when off duty. But the reality is that careers are made and lost over health and safety issues like that and few senior officers in their way up are going to be willing to risk a career advocating that position. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
That's nice - but they are not going to care.
I use a GunVault Nanovault and secure it with the included steel cable around a hardpoint in the vehicle trunk. Firearms are not allowed on the installation, with or without a CCW. EAFB won't allow the carrying of any firearms onto the installation including weapons left inside a vehicle. Using a hard case hard mounted in the trunk won't result in anyone being granted an exception, and it woudl be found if the vehicle is randomly selected for a search. As noted above, the best (and pretty much only) possibility would be to arrange for it to be checked into the armory if you are staying with someone on base or at the Pine Tree Inn. Just to further clarify, I am active Security Forces and have been for 5 years. Do not do this. If you are searched (and with the rally, searches will go up like crazy) they will make you open that locked container. If you are thinking of talking cool with the cop doing the search, remember that the SF members searching your vehicle will be brand new troops- troops that only know how to do what they are told and not color outside the lines... Trust me, it's better that way 
Just turn it into the Armory. Everyone can use it, and they do. Like has been said, declare it at the gate and call it good. Lastly, after you have checked it out of the armory, do not put it on your person or have it accessible to you during the short drive off base. Checks for inbound cars are just as common as checks on outbound cars, and "I was just leaving" is probably not gonna fly. Just pass the demarcation line and arm up there. Hope that helps! |
| I was in the Air Force and I wouldn't suggest using the base armory, i mean you can if you have to, but they always scratch up my guns. They also do car searches so I wouldn't try to sneak it on base either. Best idea that I have would be to park your car in the visitor parking lot, that is technically off base, and leave your weapon in the trunk of your car. |
| I have not been at Ellsworth for 4 years but unless it's changed, the off base visitor parking options are limited. There is parking at the museum just outside the Liberty Gate, but IIRC they will lock that lot after hours so access is limited and after hours parking would not be appreciated nor convenient. And it would be a long walk to the pine tree inn. Unless you have some one on base who can sponsor you on base and pick you up from a location where you could leave your vehicle, your best option is still the arms room. |