Can the US Military use their own guns or rifles?

Armoredman, only 5 personally owned guns out of a whole ships crew?! What was the exact policy? My friend claimed they got to shoot a personally owned AK smei auto cone while out at sea.

Come on, now!

Patton had his pearly/ivory handled pistols on his hip...

straightShot said:

Come on, now!

Patton had his pearly/ivory handled pistols on his hip...

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It was ivory, didn't you ever watch the movie? pealy grips were for pimps, or something like that

Moonclip,
The policy in the Navy in the early 1990s was that personal weapons were allowed to be stored in the ship's armory at the CO's discretion. I brought several personal weapons with me on deployment in 1993 and 1995 because I didn't want to leave them unattended in a vacant apartment in a bad part of town. Your friend's story about shooting the semi-AK on the ship could well be true - I fired my weapons during those cruises. During that timeframe, personal weapons could (and often were) carried by ship's crew during boarding operations because the issued World War Two-era 1911s (and more specifically, their magazines) were pretty tired and beat up. The caveat was that only government-issued ammunition could be used in them. Since the ship carried 45ACP, 9mm (for the embarked USCG detachment), and 38 Special ammo (the helo pilots still carried 38 revolvers), a wide variety of personally-owned weapons were brought along. However, in the Navy at least, those days are officially long gone.

So based on what you folks say, and on what someone did sometime somewhere in some war, anyone going into the military TODAY can bring along and carry any weapon and ammo he or she wants. And everyone violates weapons regulations, international law, and DoD policy with no problems. Sounds like fun. Or gun shop BS.

Jim

"Private! Would you like to use a weapon of your own choosing?"

"Yes Gunny!"

"Private! You choose this weapon!

"Yes Gunny!"

"Outstanding!"

Ive never served in The USA. Ive served in Internal Troops of Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, What you guys call spetnaz. My whole family has served, Some with The US Marine corp and some over in the russian armed forces.
Yes it makes sense logistically. And it makes sense. My age by the way is 31.

As Ive seen it, the military of this country is alot more organized. The armed forces In the USA Are less corrupt and not rife with disagreements. Soldiers serving in the armed forces over in russia often brung thier own weapons, usually personalized pistols as back-up weapons.

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How many times do you have to wrap trauma plates in duct tape before they stay put on your chest?

Are we allowed to bring out own weapons to Iraq or Afghanistan? No.

However, once there, it is not outside the realm of possibility to acquire other weapons and carry them. I carried an AK-47 for 6 months in Iraq. Passed it on when I left. I saw a few other weapons being carried, the one that comes to mind is an MP-5 that was allegedly found in one of Saddams palaces. Some staff officer who never left the base carried it everywhere, even staff meetings.

You definitely cannot bring a personally owned weapon into a theater of war. Heck it's hard enough to even bring one on post in the states let alone ship one overseas nowadays.
Weapon has to be registered with the provost marshal. Has to be cased.
Some commands will not allow soldiers to have personally owned weapons off post due to the rise of suicides.
I remember the days when in Germany the Rod and Gun clubs flourished. You can't even bring firearms into that country now.

Warrant and commissioned officers are allowed when it's signed off by someone higher up in their command, usually an O-6 (full bird colonel) or higher. I have a good friend of mine that is a retired Marine Captain that brought his Springfield XD 45 with him in 2004 - 2005, and I've also seen an Army CWO2 here on the FOB that I'm located carrying his personal Glock just last year.

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Interesting...I didn't know that O-6s were the waiver authority for General Order #1, issued by a (4-Star) General Officer, the CENTCOM Commander.

That's a first. I wonder if the 4-Star knows that.

if your some super Secret squirrel type you might get away with but regular forces no chance in hell.
British army virtually no chance did have an LT who carried various personal pistols but he was a special case as in "special needs"
grew tired of carrying his newly purchused desert eagle rather quickly.

Not just logitics but liability. The military doesnt need soldiers bringing thier 9mm Jennings or such and have it blow up using govt ammo in the middle of a firefight. If we could bring our own, I'd have my HK USP .45 and my own Berretta 92. No such luck. Get caught with one and it's gone and so is your job and/or retirement! Not worth it. I took my issue M-9 over to the Small Arms Shop here at KAF and had them go thru it and lighten the trigger, slick up the ramp and brighten the sights. I put a finger grip on it and it's ALMOST as good as the one I have at home.

Come on, now!

Patton had his pearly/ivory handled pistols on his hip...

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They were ivory, only cheap pimps at whorehouses use pearl!

I'd want to carry a claymore like "Mad Jack". He was a crazy SOB.
"any officer who goes into action without his sword is improperly dressed"
Jack Churchill

Let's see if I got this right..Our guys can't carry their own weapons they are comfortable with into the fight but the Taliban can scrounge up any old Soviet era shells, grenades or whatever to make IED's and that's OK? Souinds like your governmet at work!!! I say shoot them with what ever you want, Just shoot them!!!

Then again, I don't work for the government, I work for a company that has to succeed to exist.

redranger1 said:

"2 DO NOT try to take a gernade out of the MK19 and fire it in your M203."

I had a Sgt Maj tell me that he used to do that all of the time, but he didnt want to catch me doing it because we where short on MK19 ammo. I stood the two rounds side by side and am pretty sure that if you can get the ring off the 19 round w/o damaging it you still couldnt get it to close in the 203.

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You can't fire M203 rounds in a MK19. The M203 uses low velocity rounds the MK19 uses high velocity rounds. The MK19 grenade is 40mm x 53mm and the 203 is 40mm x 46mm.

If you did manage to get a M203 to chamber a MK19 round you will get a grenade effect upon firing but it'll be the M203 blowing up.

And this is from someone who spent 8 years behind a coax MK19 and M2, was our platoon armorer for our crew served weapons and not some MSgt talking out his butt because his head knows better.

I'm sure weapons rules have changed since ww2, nam, and korea. Usually though, no unaccounted for weapons. Stateside if you live on base/ship it probably has to go to the armoury. It's probably different with Officers too. Long ago dad had his guns/loading equipment in the home (on base) He was also the XO. When i ran the armoury on the ship, civilian weapons were at my discression based on available space. Available space depended on such thing as Cigs. donated to the homeless gunners mates fund. There was an unloaded 45 for the petty officer of the watch, I had to give the Jr officer of the watch a loaded gun, Captn's orders. He didnt specify if it had to have a firing pin in the weapon. 3 bb's will hold the backplate on a 45 in place. I placed a loaded 12ga in the chief's quarters. The Capt'n wanted a loaded, working, 45 for his stateroom. (wonder why he added that,,working,,bit) The big draw these days i understand is shoulder holsters for drivers, which can proabably be sent no problem.

on the 203/19 thing, you can fit it, one is a low pressure round, one is a high pressure round, so if you want to loose your hand and be picking bits of yourself and putting them in a bag, go ahead, cause an aluminum tube is going to hold what it takes a mk19 barrel to.

I know one guy who went from E6 to PFC in two short steps, 1 get caught with a POW, 2 cuss out the SGM cause everybody is doing it.....

They are not authorized, SF gets anything they want, ISSUED,
if found, the owner will be prosecuted, that was the army 3 years ago, now how it was in Nam, or WWII, isn't how it it NOW.

Asked, answered, old.