Personal guns in the Army?

[RKBABob]

CZ 42, thank you for considering signing up to serve your country! I've never been in the military, but most of my family has, and I have a great deal of respect for those who have served.

With that said, you should be aware that being in the military is very different from being a civilian. For starters, you do NOT have the ability to exercise all of your Constitutional rights while in the armed forces... even as you are fighting to protect those rights.

Like it or not, when you sign on the dotted line you become "government property." You will do what you are told... and if you need a tool to do what you are told, it will be provided to you! When you no longer need that tool, you will store it where you are told to do so.

Don't let any of us burst your bubble, though. Sign up, if you're sure that's what you want to do. If you're like most people, you'll be challenged by military service in ways you never thought possible... but you'll come out better for it by far. Heck, I feel like it builds character to just HEAR about other people's service!

 

[wideym]

The only PX that I encountered that sold firearms was at Ft.Richardson,Alaska. That was where I bought my first pistol, a Ruger P85MkII, in 90' or 91'. I've been to several other posts in the lower 48 and never saw another one that sold firearms or ammo.

 

[mljdeckard]

I told him no, didn't I?

 

[woodybrighton]

unless you become a secret super soldier no way in hell.
found an m4 and flak jacket that had been put in a skip obviously whoever nicked was planning to come back to get it.
Officer turned up in a flap and got it back.
you guys special forces ? he asked
yes sir 1st special needs don't think he got British humor
found a very nice kimber one of the special types had dropped in the dirt and left outside his wagon
how to win friends and influence people 3am waking people up to ask if they have lost a handgun

 

[rero360]

from my personal experience, just got back from Baghdad a month and a half ago, personal weapons, i.e. firearms, absolutely without a doubt not a chance.

knives, clubs, batons and the like, basically if you can legally own it back in the states, you can have it over there and bring back, although with the clubs and batons that only aplies to MPs everyone else is SOL.

putting stuff on your issued weapons, in my company, and our leadership was very scared of doing anything that might possibly run the risk of getting someone in trouble, we had personal scopes, bipods, vertical grips, slings, grips on pistols (that one was iffy) and a couple guys changed out the stocks and forearms on their shotguns when we had them.

''war tropies"- not allowed, however you can bring back various military gear, bayonets, helmets, stuff like that, but you need a letter from the company commander, as well as pieces of shrapnel, switch blades, and stuff like that. As far as bringing weapons back with you, never on an individual basis, I tried with a 1945 Remington Rand 1911 A1, the company can bring weapons back, but they must be demilled, barrel plugged, and must be going to be in a display or something, we didn't do it so I'm not sure the level of red tape and to what echelon it'd go to but I'm sure it'd probably require brigade level approval.

keep in mind though that all rules are constantly changing, only getting more and more severe, and much of it depends on your company commanders discretion.

 

[hopkin]

I thought some people got to use locally-purchased AKs because they hadn't initially been issued long arms?

 

[Josh Aston]

I thought some people got to use locally-purchased AKs because they hadn't initially been issued long arms?

Contractors, maybe. Definitely not military though.