Gun laws a minefield for military

The Orange County Register ^ | Sunday, February 9, 2003 | GORDON DILLOW

[Riley]

I was just checking the records. You signed out for TWO nukes.

Can you sign them out from MWR? :-)

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

I've handled nukes, I work with a knife everyday at work and I raise children.

[Eagle Eye]

Do any have prohibitions against someone bringing something in inside checked luggage?

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

I've noticed some of the guys in my unit showing up with their own Trijjicon ACOG sights, especially the guys who've been called up already.

(supply geek to sarge) Hey sarge. I see alot of stuff around here that doesn't have a stock number on the side of it. What gives? Is that stuff authorized? (sarge to supply geek) Here's a stack of forms. Go have fun for a few hours.

[stumpy]

Back during the "Nam", everyone in my squad had "something special", for the last minutes, and we all carried (and shaved with) straight razors.

[stumpy]

Back during the "Nam", everyone in my squad had "something special", for the last minutes, and we all carried (and shaved with) straight razors.

[KrisKrinkle]

"Can we just kick California out of the Union?"
__________________________________________________________

No. We fought Mexico and won that land. As I recall, out of the goodness of our hearts we even paid Mexico something for it. So it's ours.

Now if you want to disestablish the State government, reestablish a territory, and let them work their way back to statehood (maybe more than one), that might be different.

[USMC_tangocharlie]

Having lived in Kalifornia twice (29 Palms and El Toro), let me just say that the best things about that state are the things the state gooberment cannot control....i.e. Marine bases and the weather

[sneakypete]

I don't buy it. No military unit I have ever been in would allow a non gov issued firearm. I am not saying it can't happen but color me skeptical.

This may vary from service to service,but GENERALLY SPEAKING,people in Special Operations units carry whatever the hell they want to carry. The only SF guys I knew in VN who carried personal weapons they bought themselves were the guys who were magnum revolver freaks. Other than stuff like that,we could get pretty much anything we wanted by walking in the supply room and saying "gimme". I carried a Model 10 S&W loaded with tracers as backup. I also sometimes carried a M3 Greasegun with a silencer on it,or a Swedish K submachine gun. I even know a few guys who carried silenced Beretta handguns,and a couple who carried Luger's. LOTS of guys carried sawed-off M-79's with a cannister shot round in the chamber. We never signed for any of that stuff,either. We didn't even sign for our M-16's or CAR-15's.

From what I understand of how it works today,privately-owned weapons are frowned on,even in SF. Some guys most likely carry them,but they keep it quiet. I know that if I were still on AD and being deployed today,I'd have a Para-Ordinance with the 15 shot mag stuck in my belt.

[Jack Black]

Well given the dismal state of civilian rights re carry guns in many states I would say that, yes, that is just one more step to a police state.

[sneakypete]

You can carry in your luggage if you declare the firearm at check-in.

The problem with that is that there will be some officious SOB there who will confiscate it from you if you declare it,and threaten you with courtmartial if you are found with a undeclared privately-owned weapon. They take their jobs seriously too,since they make a LOT of money reselling the guns turned in. I remember a big sign before the entrance desk at Camn Rah Bay that said "all soldiers found with a non-issue weapons will be charged under Article whatever",and a big box there they called the "no questions asked box". We were all told to drop any illegal or unauthorized weapons in there and we would not be charged with ever possessing them. When the MP at the entrance desk asked me if I had any privately owned weapons,I said,"You bet. I have my K-Bar,and I have a Buck folder". He then said,"I'm gonna have to take them from you",and my response was,"You got THAT shit right!". Nothing more was said about them,and I was waved past the desk. Like I said,those guys made a LOT of money selling that stuff on the blackmarket.

[Kadric]

It is due to unfair commercial advantage for off base businesses (at least that was the story when I was in). The base stores for the most part were required to maintain their prices on par with those off base (the package store was not required to). I do not see how this would hold for items that would not be available off base. They could require that the restricted items remain on base. I remember having to log my rifles and shotguns into the base arsenal when I was living on base.

[SAMWolf]

That sounds like a better plan, I'm open to better ideas

[Britton J Wingfield]

Well, I think that Iraq has a policy against Americans carrying guns. That might cause some trouble.

Seriously, I don't want to declare anything. It's got to be sneaky, indigenous, or nothing.

[tortoise]

I don't buy it. No military unit I have ever been in would allow a non gov issued firearm. I am not saying it can't happen but color me skeptical.

Officially, you are not supposed to. Unofficially, it is tolerated, particularly in line units. If you are a rear echelon or support unit, don't bother. If you are a combat unit in a forward position it is well-known that many people carry backup pistols, since pistols are not generally issued to many line units, and the selection given when they are available often doesn't really suit the intended purpose.

So yeah, we had a number of guys packing their own pistols, and almost everyone brought a little 5.56 for the interim time until they got their GI ammo. You kept it mostly out of sight when senior brass from who-knows-where was poking around, but it was one of those many things in the military that were officially looked down upon to keep up appearances but unofficially tolerated and almost encouraged if you were a groundpounder. I don't know too many guys who spent any amount of time in the light infantry units who didn't have a lot of non-standard gear in their field rig. Naturally, you kept a rig in a locker that was pure GI for when some REMF came around for an inspection, but you went out to the field with your own customized version of a combat load.

[Squantos]

Long Cut I will go off subject for just a minute and ask have you ever "used & abused" one of the spec-plus knives ? I know your active duty and respect your experience but over my 26 years of knife 101 in EOD work I came to a simple conclusion. Kabars and anything made by Ontario Knife company break, rust and when exposed to the Mk 1 Mod 0 user have limited reliability.

A GI fixed bladed knife is more than a knife. It has to be a prybar and digging tool, wet rope cutter, filet and skinning knife, a whittling tool to kill the 25 years ,11 months , and 28 days of boredom in my career and a last ditch fighting tool. .....and have the ability to cut those nasty little metal bands off ammo and explosive crates.

After breaking more knives than Ben Johnson has horses I came to 3 different knives that served me very well during my career. A Randall #14 , also a Victorinox old style "Champion" (not the big assed "champ") and when they came out with em .....the Leatherman tool with the cap crimper modification (thanks to a couple of Demolition troops assigned to the rangers). With those 3 tools/knives I did everything from render safe of IED's and UXO to general demolition work and repairs in the field of engines and electronics, haircuts and personal hygene /first aid.

Not to throw down on "your choice" of a cutting tool that suits your needs. I just wanted to tell you of my experience with such blades and my relation to them in service. And what worked and still works for me in retirement........

Stay Safe !!

[Squantos]

They say Kali is the same size as Iraq. A live fire rehearsal prior to deployment might be a good idea......:o)

Stay Safe !

[HiTech RedNeck]

The question then would be what do they do with it once ready to return to their California home. (Sell it to another soldier?)

[Squantos]

So ya'll are the ones who left paw prints all over the XXXXX (censored for those with no need to know)......:o) I have some people that want to talk to you two !

Stay Safe !

[Travis McGee]

What a joke.