Can somebody in the military bring home a legal captured weapon?

[Forklift352]

One of the best reasons(for me) to go into battle WOULD
be the opratunaty to collect all the guns I could..LOL
Be it a pistol or a full auto.I would be willing to reg.,pay the
BS tax, and shipping.

But we can't do it ,so I just won't enlist......sorry suckers

 

[Grunt Medic TXARNG]

Actually forklift, if you don't feel the desire to enlist just to serve, then we don't want you. We 'suckers' will just have to do the best we can on our own...

You can find the 'opratunaty' to own whatever firearms you like by working and saving up your pennies just like the rest of us do - even those of us who have the privilege of wearing the uniform.

 

[Shadow 7D]

PLEASE
forklift

STAY AWAY from anything that requires 'service'
you need a few years and a new attitude.

 

[Rembrandt]

Though for all you know, it may have been built last week at a Khyber Pass factory.....I would highly suspect that any "old" rifle like that from Afghanistan is, in fact a fake.......they're often manufactured from materials such as melted down railroad rails and spikes, or any other scrap metal they can get their hands on.

It's been authenticated, no fake.

 

[leadcounsel]

What everyone should realize is that the modern military is a large entity that is prolifically paranoid and mistrustful of its Soldiers and is strongly anti-gun, and is wholely risk averse. Combine all of these and it's no surprise that Soldiers cannot have 'bring backs.'

While I strongly disagree with the policy of 'no bringbacks', there is SOME legitimacy in the policy. Imagine if Soldiers were allowed to bring these back, there could be serious issues with looting, alleged looting, and even Soldiers getting injured or killed out on 'hunting missions' for their war trophy. The enemy could seize on this mentality and booby trap arms... Again, I don't fully buy into this, but there is some legitimacy to be made from it. We need Soldiers focused on the mission, not their war trophy...

 

[Java51]

I sent a Chinese SKS home in a big box of books from Can Tho, RVN in 1972.
I remember getting the MACV War Trophy documents from the MP's, getting our CO's signature, and off it went. My father picked it up from the Seneca Army Depot in Ovid, NY. a few weeks later. My Father told me that my high-school aged brother (a gun nut like me) went with him and couldn't wait to get his hands on it. Believe me when I tell you that SKS's were a very, very rare item in those days and my brother took it to many of our gun friends for a show and tell. When I finally arrived home in 1973, I bought a box of 7.62 x 39 from the old Creekside Gunshop in Holcomb, NY. It was in a non-descript white box marked with the caliber and made by Lapua, IIRC.
DC

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

Above is an example of why the policy allowing captured enemy weapons to be brought home by G.I.'s has legitimacy. Here, Java51 did the paper, brought it home, all legit, no problems, no crimes. What is wrong with that? If there were provisions for doing it, honest soldiers would follow them. They don't alow it now because it just bothers some people in positions of authority, not for any new valid reasons.

 

[EddieNFL]

They don't alow it now because it just bothers some people in positions of authority, not for any new valid reasons.

Sad, but true.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

Short answer is, not anymore. There's no legal path to get a captured weapon back home anymore. That is sadly a thing of the past. I'm not sure who we have to thank for that, either.

Just a hunch, but I would bet Jimmy Carter. A buddy of mine "liberated" an SKS from one of the soldiers he came face to face with in Vietnam. He was able to bring it home. I have a Luger that was "Captured Enemy Equipment" and the original certificate for it from WWII.

 

[Dreamcast270mhz]

Whatever the reason, it is dumb. But I wouldn't serve in our military either, because of the corruption of this nation and the neglect of our soldiers, one such neglect is evident on some MREs: Not suitable for prison use is stamped on them. Before I hijack my own thread, lets cut the whole serving arguement short.

If they ever enact the draft and I get drafted hell i'll do whatever I see fit (within reason) over in another country, because my right to say no has been taken from me.

 

[Ignition Override]

leadcounsel:

A guy who runs often at Shelby Farms saw two guys using a semi-auto AK when they saw a deer. This area is laced with trails, roads and suburbs. Check it on Googlearth.

The main problem is that they were only 100-200-300 yards from multiple dirt jogging/biking trails, which parallel and go to the Wolf River.

This guy Tom said he told them "Cease fire! cease fire!" when he heard multiple shots. They ran to their truck which had "Marines" stickers and scooted away in reverse on the levee. Any deputy might have confiscated their rifle and truck.
Tom had the impression that they had recently served in combat in "the Sandbox" and might have felt very gung-ho and fearless after being in dangerous operations.

I would have thanked the young guys very much for their service, but pointed out that lots of people were at risk from a stray bullet.

 

[HorseSoldier]

Soldiers fighting wars should be allowed to bring home captured guns be they full auto or not. They deserve that much at least.

To preface: I've got 17 years in uniform between the active and reserve side of things, so when I talk about what troops should or shouldn't be able to do I'm also talking about what applies to me, not just armchairing this.

That said -- there are some of the finest people you'll ever meet in the military and also some of the worst scumbags imaginable. People do deserve credit and praise for going in harms way even if they're utter scumbags (and I've served with some scumbags I want with me kicking in a door, even if I don't trust them around my car stereo and dread their test results on a unit UA). That doesn't mean they aren't coming back from a deployment and getting out (or staying in) and setting up meth labs (seen those in barracks -- kind of an awkward power point slide for the Zeros to float by a battalion commander at weekly training meetings . . .) or otherwise going off the rails wholesale. One of my problem children racked up seventeen felony charges in one ridiculously ill considered evening -- give that guy a bring back AKM to play with too? Are you high?

When we're giving out waivers for gang tats and all sorts of wonky criminal backgrounds it would be insane to say you can enlist for a few years and then roll back onto the block with the AK and PK MG they hauled back from downrange.

Now, if the government wanted to look at some sort of program where 20 years of creditable service and an honorable discharge making you eligible for a take home M4 or M16, I could maybe get behind that. Sticking with the job for two decades and not going off the rails would at least greatly decrease the odds of you busting back out your Crips/Bloods/Latin Kings/blah blah blah colors and getting back into slinging drugs on the corner or jumping on your Harley and going all 1% Outlaw Biker. But even that's a pipe dream (and even if they let it happen, someone would manage to screw it up pretty quickly I'm betting).

 

[7thCavScout]

No dice when I was in the sand box. We couldn't even bring home captured night vision devices.

 

[Mike OTDP]

Part of the problem is GCA '68, IIRC. Up until then, it was pretty easy to bring back small arms. Almost customary, even. If you really wanted to be a stickler, you could file formal paperwork.

I understand that nobody asked questions for the rest of the Vietnam War...but by the time that the Gulf War rolled around, bringbacks were out of the question. Although I have heard a lot of rumors...and know for a fact that some of our pilots were carrying personal sidearms.

My own opinion? Go back to the old system, allow everybody to bring back ONE non-NFA firearm. Better honest war trophies than smuggling.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

HorseSoldier, if the military can't clean their own house of felony offenders (druggies, etc), they have no right to complain or deny a soldier who legitimately applies for returning with an otherwise legal weapon. Even if they decided to allow AK's and other full autos to those who qualify NFA background checks, etc, that should be possible and could legitimately be done with an exemption for those serving in the military. In other words, if it ultimately legal to own any given weapon here, why not let those who qualify bring them back? Any soldier who would qualify after an NFA background check should be able to bring back a full auto weapon. If full autos were illegal, there wouldn't BE a National Fireams registry.

 

[gym]

Nothing says you can't send it with a phoney name to an address like a business. The liklihood of getting caught is low. Besides you can't control what someone sends you, only what you send.

 

[Rocketmedic]

Actually, a lot of it ties into safety. The vast majority of the weapons in the nations we're currently fighting in are not safe to shoot, nor are they of quality. Those that are are mostly owned by the local government or legitimate owners, and allowing bringbacks would quickly result in a lot of theft (believe me, I was tempted when I was left alone in a roomful of Iraqi Glocks) but I really believe we should leave the bringback policy in the dust.

That being said, I really hope that when M4 and M16 are replaced, they go to CMP.

 

[Birdmang]

Once a machine gun, always a machine gun. I don't think that they will go CMP.

 

[HorseSoldier]

HorseSoldier, if the military can't clean their own house of felony offenders (druggies, etc), they have no right to complain or deny a soldier who legitimately applies for returning with an otherwise legal weapon.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not opposed to guys being allowed to bring back stuff like Maks, bolt guns, or other stuff that's legal under US law and with some sort of rational system in place to allow it. I'm just very much aware that allowing guys to bring back AKs will result in a portion of those AKs being used for criminal enterprises.

Even if they decided to allow AK's and other full autos to those who qualify NFA background checks, etc, that should be possible and could legitimately be done with an exemption for those serving in the military.

Again, I can get behind the idea of allowing trophy machineguns to come in if someone wanted to go the NFA route (or a modified one, I suppose, since it would mean a new MG getting added to the mix) and treated as such.

My bone of contention was the premise that just because a guy deployed he should be allowed to bring back. That's bad business practice. A guy who deploys and goes through some sort of vetting process more stringent than the sometimes boggling and seemingly non-existent process to get into uniform is a different thing than just saying "here's your combat patch now go pick out an AK from the stack over there."

 

[finz50]

We had a SNCO get caught when he tried to bring one back for the snack bar.....still got an Article 15/NJP from the two star general...

 

[razorback2003]

I had relatives that brought weapons back from WWII. They were treated like heroes instead of like children from what they told me.

It is sad that most guys in the military can't bring back weapons from the sand boxes because we might hurt the other side's 'feelings'. I think the higher ups worry more about taking care of the other side than putting our people first and that's not just our military service members who are treated like children.

War is horrible. I wish it on no one. Our military guys should never have to go through the disgrace of customs or X rays or any of that crap. If they find a pistol or knife overseas while fighting, then so be it. They are heroes and should be treated like it. When we fail to honor those who protect us and treat them like children, where will we end up?

 

[mgmorden]

Personally, I see the policy against it as a good thing.

I have no issue with the buying and owning of guns in this country - of any type. IMHO I would completely repeal the laws against full-auto ownership etc.

That said, it sends the wrong message. You go to a country to fight to either defend this country or one of it's allies. We're not going over there to slaughter people for prizes or trinkets.

War is an ugly thing, but is often necessary. We should maintain an army of professional soldiers - not a bunch of mercenaries and thugs out to bring back "trophies".

Just my personal opinion. Naturally anyone is free to hold their own opinion on the situation but the current powers that be seem to be in agreement over the issue.

Other the other hand, if they wish to legitimately BUY weapons while they're over there, I wouldn't subject them to any hassle bringing those weapons back into the country.

 

[EddieNFL]

Naturally anyone is free to hold their own opinion on the situation but the current powers that be seem to be in agreement over the issue.

These same "powers" require GIs to register personal firearms and in some cases are prohibited from keeping them in on-base quarters (housing, not barracks). If the "powers" decided GIs should not own firearms, you would be okay with that?

Bringing back a souvenir, firearm or not, does not make one a thug or mercenary. I have non-firearm souvenirs; my grandfather and two uncles have/had firearm souvenirs from WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Your terminology is insulting...even more so as these souvenirs were taken while defending your right to have such opinions.

 

[essayons21]

Because stealing stuff is wrong - even if you are a US soldier and the other guy was shooting at you.

Last I checked, killing people, blowing up buildings, and generally causing mayhem and destruction are considered to be wrong in polite society, but those are necessary aspects of war.

War essentially inverts the contemporary Judeo-Christian moral code. Necessity makes right and wrong. Weapons are not left on the battlefield. They are "stolen" from the enemy, and for the past 3000 years or so of warfare have been kept as trophies. Now we spend resources to destroy them.

 

[Nushif]

Another interesting standpoint is that when you recover weapons from the battlefield they aren't yours. They belong to the Army.
As someone above pointed out most acts during an average firefight are quite "wrong" in civilized society and the only reason one is allowed to do them is because it happens under the umbrella of a socially legitimized (in a variety of ways) organization.
Thus any "loot" that happens from this doesn't belong to the individual, but rather the organization. In theory none of the equipment a soldier carries is theirs. Much like the weapons they bring back after a mission.

Just thought I'd bring that up.

Short Answer:

No, currently no war trophies can be brought back legally. As there is no such thing.