I have seen in several movies that memebers of the military are taught there weapon is there life and must take it with them everywhere including sleeping with it, etc. It is also known that a soldier knows his weapon inside and out, and I have also seen in movies someone buying a scope for it with there own money. Is something like that allowed? When a soldier rotates back to the States and then back into the field is he given is own weapon back or a different one? And what is the military police on using weapons you find off enemy combatants?
My answer will only be based upon my own experience. Leadership does try to keep the same weapon with a Soldier for as long as the Soldier is in the assigned unit. Weapon immersion is becoming part of Advanced Individual Training (where a soldier learns his/her job). Weapons immersion means the Soldier keeps the assigned weapon with him/her 24/7. When a Soldier leaves AIT, generally the same type of weapon will be issued. So the Soldier is familiar with the rifle, even if it does not have the same serial number. On deployments, I have seen Soldiers, with command permission buying lasers for sidearms, but I do not believe that this is policy. If you buy it from your own money, you can do with it what you wish stateside, but may not be allowed to keep the modifications to your weapon. If you make an illegal modification (such as turning a semi-automatic weapon to fully automatic) you may be prosecuted.
A rule of thumb is not to use weapons seized from the enemy. You may complete a weapons familiarization with the weapon used by enemy combatants, and to some extent this my CYA, but as a practical purpose, unless you have no other choice to defend your life, don’t do it.
YMMV
SSG Schwartz
Yeah, for one thing leaving a booby trapped weapon behind is not difficult at all.
You’re not talking “spoils of war” type stuff, are you? 'Cause that’s simply illegal, as I understand it.
I’ve had several weapons assigned to me throughout my career. They’ve all be M16s (though some were modified a little). When you’re deployed, that weapon goes everywhere with you, including to bed. It’s not like you’re sleeping cuddled up with it, usually it’s tucked between the bed and the wall. When you take a shower, you let a buddy know and he watches it for that 20 minutes or whatever.
Weapons ARE your life, but they’re mass-produced, so I also happen to know my buddy’s rifle inside and out too. Of course, I memorize my serial # so I know it at all times.
Soldier’s aren’t taught to spray-n-pray when it comes to weapons. It’s always “one shot, one kill”. For this reason, we’ve got to zero our weapons (adjust the sights to match our eyes) and some infantry guys memorize their adjustments so they can convert anyone’s weapon to theirs in a pinch. So it’s totally impractical to pick up an AK-47, for instance, because it’s hard to hit anything with it, let alone get ammo for it.
Right. Captured enemy equipment is property of the US government, all of it. It’s up to the unit commander how far to go in enforcing that rule.
“My” weapon seems to change everytime I get issued it (National Guard). Doesn’t really matter. I know that when I deploy I will get one for the entire time and be able to zero it before I qualify or use it for real.
I got the scope thing from a deleted scene from Black Hawk Down, So bassicly they try to give you your weapon back with the same serial number back but sometimes you get a differnt one? Even if two M-16s are mass produced arent they still a little differnt? Just like all the breaks on a car are differnt?
I generally put it under my matress, cross-wise, and use the resulting bulge as a pillow.
If the commanding officer isn’t enforcing that law, then he’s likely to add to the statistic of relieved commanding officers. As mentioned above, it’s not that hard to leave a booby-trapped weapon behind. Another thing to be aware of is that the equipment used by the enemy is valuable intelligence data.
I’ve been told soldiers may keep guns they find that are manufactured pre-1898, as they’re regarded as antiques. I’m not in the armed forces so I’m not 100% on that one, though, but I’ve been told it by several US soldiers that I’ve spoken to.
A captured mess kit is “enemy equipment” but I doubt that many CO’s would confiscate one that was taken as a souvenir.
Not necessarily. I have a bayonette sitting at home that was captured from an enemy sniper. It’s totally legal…I have the paperwork to prove it. That’s the biggest thing you’re allowed to take though. Rifles and such are a no-go.
I’m thinking a cartoon where a GI pulls up in a tank to the checkpoint. The guard begins looking through the vehicle for contraband while he explains the regs to the driver. Finally, the guard jumps down announcing, “Well, you’re clean. No contraband here.” So the guy drives away, thinking, “You mean, ‘other than the tank.’” And you see for the first time that it’s an Iraqi T-72.
Yes and no. Souvenir handguns were not uncommon in the ETO in WWII. Supposedly they all had the firing pin removed. I had an encounter with a souvenier pistol one night when I was the OD.
I was in the Orderly Room playing cards, cribbage I think, with the Sergeant of the Guard when we heard a shot from the squadron area. The Sergeant went looking for who did it and came back with a sheepish GI and a little pearl gripped pistol, probably a 6 mm or so.
After making sure it was unloaded I ask what happened. Three guesses on what he said. Yes, he claimed to have been cleaning it, and with a round in the chamber yet.
Anyway I pointed out to him that the war was over, we had all survived and what a stupid thing it would be to accidently shoot himself or someone else. I confiscated the gun and wrote up a report for the Squadron Commander.
Next day an announcement over the PA system requested all personnel to turn in all souvenier guns and MP’s from Group Headquarters went through all living areas to make sure the order was followed.
I was not particularly popular for a while after the incident.
In VN, during the war, enemy paraphernalia was fairly common, including weapons. Lots of guys sold them, probably figuring it was too risky to try to bring them home. I’m sure I was aware of the regs. at the time, but I’ve long forgotten them. I recall seeing lots of this stuff, flags, first aid kits, AKs, even ears. I was once offered a pistol, a Makarov if I remember correctly. The guy wanted way too much for it. Getting souvenirs home wasn’t too difficult. Many units shipped gear back in steel Conex boxes and quite often room was made for personal “cruise boxes” (handmade footlockers). These cruise boxes were inspected by a junior officer or a senior NCO before being put into the Conex box, but I cannot recall ever seeing one inspected back in the states, either by customs, or the military.
Issued weapons were retained as long as you were w/ a unit. You knew the serial number, in case of loss. I recall one funny story. During my 2nd tour, I shared a hootch w/ our chief corpsman and we were pretty good friends. I carried a .45 all the time and would often clean it in the evenings. Doc was fond of kidding me about this. He kept his in a sealed plastic pouch in his locker, figuring it was protected and didn’t need cleaning. At the end of our tour, he opened the bag, to turn in his pistol, only to find it was rusted beyond use.