Concealed carry & military bases

[herkyguy]

I am frequently on and off a local military installation. Obviously, concealed carry is prohibited when on a base. I am just curious, does anyone go through the process of checking in a CC weapon or do you just leave it at home if you have to go on base?

Thanks.

 

[BossHaug]

It is a Federal installation, and from what I know, weapon policy (and just about every other policy) is up to the current Base Commander. Some are pro-gun, some are anti-gun. But, overall, most Commanders take a dim view of anybody not under their control having a weapon on their Base! Best bet would be to just ask at your local installation what their policy is, and go by that.

 

[bja5006]

I always drop mine off at home.

Didnt use to all the time, then got randomly checked, thank God I had left it at home that day.

Don't get me wrong, I strap up as soon as I get home.

 

[Shadow 7D]

If you don't live or are in the military and work there, they will be happy to direct you the the MP station to secure you weapon, most installations prohibit everybody except police from CCW, and are pretty strict on how you transport Personally owned weapons POW.

 

[TheBookGuy]

When I was in the Navy you had to get the o.k. from the CO to have a firearm in the barracks. Otherwise you had to have it secured with the Master at Arms, and then check it in an out like a library book.

If I didn't live on the base I wouldn't bother trying to take it on, especially if it meant that getting caught would mean breaking big rocks into little rocks for many a year.

 

[NGIB]

I work at Ft Stewart, GA and while I can't carry I can have one in my vehicle (unloaded, ammo nearby) with no problems. I'll admit that this is the first military post I've ever been on that had such a flexible gun policy - and I ain't complaining...

 

[Tacbandit]

Quote:
"If you don't live or are in the military and work there, they will be happy to direct you the the MP station to secure you weapon, most installations prohibit everybody except police from CCW, and are pretty strict on how you transport Personally owned weapons POW."


Well,....maybe at some installations. Some that I'm more familiar with (ARMY) don't allow you to be in possesion of a firearm....period. If caught with it after you enter the gate, yes...you will be directed to the MP station, and Y O U will be secured. The last one I visited, has a policy of "confession" at the gate...In other words, you get to the security guy at the gate, and realize you didn't "stop and drop" at the house, you tell them you have a weapon, and you need to turn around, and they will get you turned around, with no problems. This one particular Installation allows deer hunting, and only with shotgun/muzzleloader. As I understand it, you declare it at the gate while showing your I.D., hunting license, post hunting license and safety certification. (And your obviously unloaded weapon...which you have stored separately from your secured ammo). You then proceed directly to the hunting site, and sign in/out accordingly. It is different at every Post/Base/Facility...There is no "one size fits all". This same installation said that the reason they turn you away rather than secure your weapon is because they don't have the facilities to do that. A polite way of saying that they're not in the babysitting business...which is true. It does seem that there would be a system in place that would allow authorized visitors to do this, especially travelers. To be sure and safe, rather than sorry, check ahead of time with the particular Installation in question.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Yeah, I know, lived on a few of those, my favorite was getting called by the gate guard on staff duty to pick up one of my guys 'detained' for transporting weapons because they got searched and told the guy 'yeah watch out for the guns in the trunk' when asked about weapons, AND they had the commanders arms room storage memo. They wanted to keep the guns to do "tracing" on them, I called the MP station and made sure that they were properly registered then had the Sergeant of the Guard instruct the civi renta cop to let us go.

So, it's a pain, if you don't have a reason to be on base, let alone possess a firearm inside of a controlled facility (base) avoid it like the plague, they don't ask questions first, they 'detain' then investigate, then question.

In Alaska they have to open the post to hunting, but it's required registration with the post and I believe that you have to have paperwork to hunt there. http://www.usarak.army.mil/conservation/REC_HUNTING_US_ARMY_LANDS.htm

 

[mljdeckard]

Their rules create some interesting conundrums. If you don't want to put guns on your orders, you can't ship them with your household goods. You can't ship any ammo. If you take them with you to your new duty station in your POV, you could be in a situation where you have to keep them with you until you get housing, with no provision to possess nor place to store. If you get anal probed by the gate guard, you would be ood-scray.

At Goodfellow AFB, I unloaded before I went on post, and I was required to check it with the post police, with some paperwork from my CO. (Meaning my CO knew exactly what kinds of guns I possessed.) At Ft. Huachuca AZ, I lived off-post, I left them at home and shut my pie-hole. The unit regulations did not bar me from possessing them nor require me to disclose them to my CO. Hill AFB does not allow any possession on post, in spite of being the state's largest employer, and new state law allowing you to possess in your vehicle at work regardless of your employer's preference. (No provision to secure at the gate.) I didn't take mine to California at all.

 

[herkyguy]

Frankly, I wouldn't even think of trying, I am just curious if anyone actually goes through the trouble of declaring, presenting, securing, locking, leaving, then repeating the whole process to pick it back up. Perhaps there are some folks who live in base housing who make the process work.

By the way, I am not criticizing the regs at military installations, just curious.

 

[unspellable]

carry, transport

Up to this point I've never taken a fire arm on the base. We have deer hunting but they want you to take firearms safety, no grandfather clause, and aasign you a teeny weensy huntin g area so I decided it wasn't worth the trouble. There are skeet rifle ranges supposedly available. The rifle shooting seems to be all M16 look likes, no interest to me. I might look into the skeet and trap one of these days.

I'd have to go off base to fetch my gun, can't have it in the car at work even if I am participating in the skeet range activities. I work at a civilian government facility that is completely surround by a military facility so I have double layered regulations.

(There something a bit odd about seeing an "arsenal" sign with a "no firearms" sign under it when I drive in.)

 

[Major Kong]

I can't help but see the irony of serving in the military for 16 years now with two combat tours and regular weapons qualification but not having the right to carry my legally owned weapon onto my own base in my car.

 

[Broken11b]

Never did unterstand that, I can almost see not letting firearms in the barracks, but when you deploy, you live with them. In the rear we drew them out every day, fired at least weekly. But chaos would errupt if a Sergeant were allowed to drive armed from his house where he has guns, through the gates, to the armsroom, where he's given weapons

 

[mljdeckard]

It's always like that. We train soldiers to fight, but we don't trust them to not get drunk and shoot each other on the weekends. It's because for every hundred soldiers who can be trusted, there is always THAT guy, the one who lives his life to prove nothing is foolproof. As pro-gun as I am, I have had these soldiers, who I not only don't trust to have a gun in the barracks, I don't want to give them any ammo while we are in a war zone either.

I was my unit's assistant armorer in the HHC of an armor battalion. As an E-2 I had unaccompanied access to 278 M-16s, 87 M-9s, 50 or so assorted M-60s, M-240s, M-2s, and Mk 19s. We had M-3s in the locker, and the POW locker. But I was getting discharged 30 days before my 21st birthday, so I was not allowed to by my friend's Taurus and take it home with me.

 

[calaverasslim]

I am retired Army and often go on base to the commisarry or medical center. I ALWAYS leave my weapon home. Not worth the hassles involved if your caught with it.