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Posted: 8/12/2004 12:45:13 AM EDT
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http://www.af.mil/media/photodb/web/040727-F-0000C-002.jpg link to big pic EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – Officials have preferred charges against Maj. Gregory McMillion after an investigation found evidence he allegedly shipped contraband items here from an Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment. The suspected contraband includes Iraqi AK-47s. Major McMillion is assigned to the base's 728th Air Control Squadron. |
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No, as an officer he knew exactly what he was doing. He was bringing back explosives, mines, RPGs and AKs. Not much souvenir use in landmines and RPGs. I would guess that when they start digging, they will find him to have been rather active on the blackmarket in stolen US military property, as well as the foreign smallarms and ordinance areas.... Have fun in Leavenworth, you deserve it. |
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I'll also add that if this was simply a solider (or airman) taking AKs as war trophys, I would have a different view. Here is another pic of part of his haul... Top left corner of the screen shows a few of the mines.  The squadron was deployed for seven months to Baghdad International Airport and provided air battle management and theater command, control and communications for U.S. Central Command. Major McMillion was charged with failing to obey a lawful general order and a lawful general regulation, failing to report and turn over captured or abandoned property, and dealing in captured or abandoned property. He was also charged with making false official statements, wrongful disposition of military property and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman. The charges are violations of Articles 92, 103, 107, 108 and 133 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. |
You know... mind you I have no interest in getting an illegal MG.... but wow would I like to find a Yard sale like this... Same server but there is no assumption on my part that this goes with the story above... it is a wider view of the same weapons however... I really would like a bayonet...
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| It would be easier to bring home an M16 or SAW than an AK. I myself brought two M16's and an M60 back from a deployment, the second M16 was issued to a buddy of mine who was sent home early on emergency leave, nobosy even questioned me about it, they just assumed that was what I was doing, I was legit, but for all of the questions I was asked, and scrutiny I was given it could have been something I picked up on the black market, or captured. |
Is that an Ergo grip on the third one from the top? |
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I think I handled that one with the ergo grip! The Navy had an EOD intel team of some sort there, looking through all the goodies to see what had intel value from an arms supply point of view as well as looking for new variations of old gear. They also looked for items that could be shipped back to the states for instructional use as well as historical items. I was talking to one of the EOD techs one day, and he'd shown me the "keep" pile, and told me what was so special about each of the items there. A couple of items were common issue crap that they somehow thought was a real find. Once they found out, it changed piles. I did some digging around in the destroy piles, and ran across probably this same RPG. I'd never seen one like it. I asked the guy what it was, and he'd never see it either! It went into his "keep pile". It turned out to be Iranian manufacture. The major that snagged the gear in these photos was in the AF stationed at Baghdad. I was there myself, early on. The Army did one hell of a job of grabbing that stuff up and putting it in a holding area. There were no AKs just lying around, unless it had been run over by a tank. I don't see how it would have been possible to find that much crap at the Baghdad airport without getting it from a holding area or making a deal with someone who had free access into the city. This guy definitly had help! He really must have pissed off someone who knew! |
Is that an Ergo grip on the third one from the top? |
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Looks like a part of a cetme or some clone Hk rifle, just some backstreet gunsmithing. I doubt the mines where live, also I dont see any RPG'S only launchers. Hell I would be tempted myself. I doubt I would bring back so little however. He just got caught.. The neigbor talks al the time about when they where bringing in the new 9mm and got rid of the 45s how many people just took a ton home. Also about people shipping AKs home in 91. I know a USMC Intel officer who talks about how easy it would to bring anything he wanted back (hes in Iraq right now) If you guys had access to so much good stuff wouldnt you be tempted. |
| I have heard enough war stories about coulda woulda shoulda, when it comes to bringing stuf back, the truth is that most guys who try get caught. It is not really worth the consequences, why riskw a military carrer and jail time to buy something that you could easily buy at agunshow back home for peanuts? As for the mines being inactive, I wouldn't bet on it. If you look closely there is no ammo in the picture, does it mean that they didn't find any? no, it is likely that the ammo found (if any) was sent directly to a facility for the storage and disposal of explosives. |
| Our EOD folks gatherd quite a few of the shown italian mines for intel purpose, probably from the same place in Baghdad. They were a version that could be loaded with I believe a smoke canister for training purposes. I don't know if they were the same componnents as a real mine or not. Chances are these were safe, at least from a life or limb point of view. Not safe when it comes to a career however. |
| The temptation is there, but it goes away quickly. We knew we'd be inspected with a fine tooth comb, considering where we were coming from and the fact that we had to redeplopy to another base within theater. You might make it to one base, but still get popped at another. Our Captain dug through everything we had to make sure this kind of thing didn't happen. |
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...He didn't take out enough, IMO. Seriously, if you're going that far, you might as well bring so much shit it's absurd. I don't care if he was dealing arms, because the fact is, I'd be tempted to do the same thing. Really, what he didn't shouldn't be illegal (not like he's taking stuff tax payers paid for), but that's just my opinion. |
| No matter what rank the guy deserves his day in court. It is possible someone was using him, and to smuggle that amount of weapons without any other involvment is almost impossible. You gotta think how can someone be so stupid to ship illegal weapons to themselves? If he did he is an idiot..... |
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I heard the other day the crate in question had been just sitting around their unit, the "owner" no doubt waiting for the coast to be clear to gather his loot. The troops decided to take the initative to clear the space, popped the box open, and sounded the alarm. Personally, i think the story's BS. He couldn't have done this alone, without anyone knowing. I think he stepped on some toes. Either that, or someone else got popped and took him down too. |
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Depending on what your unit is and/or does, it shouldn't be that hard to smuggle stuff back. I was dating a girl when GW1 ended, her B-I-L was in Kuwait and came home while we were still dating. He knew I was a Cop and asked if I wanted to buy an AK-47 he brought home. He said it had "Russian-type" markings on it and shot real well. His unit had a bunch of Hummers, I'll leave it to your imagination as to how it got home. I thought he was full of crap, but he kept asking me if I wanted to see it. Needless to say, I didn't buy it and never even looked at it. Shame. If it really was Russian, and was legal, it'd be worth a small fortune. Bub |
| I know from experience vehicles are not that smart of a place to smuggle anything home in, vehicles are inspected very well, to make sure there are no possible agricultural hazards aboard (we don't need any new forms of fruit flies, or wheat blights or the like). I have no doubt that there are some undisciplined scumbags with no honor who do make it home with thier loot, it is just a matter of scale, there are thousands of guys comming home, hundreds will attempt to bring contraband back, some will get caught some will get away with it. Every swinging dick over there would love to bring home an AK and a pistol, god knows there are enough to go around, but the orders say you can't do it, so those who follow orders and leave thier stuff behind are not going to have much sympathy for those who do as they please. If I had brought anything back from deployments I had plenty of chances), I would have never told anybody else in the service for fear of being ratted out by the guy who was in just as much danger as me, yet had the intestinal fortitude to obey orders even though we didn't like them. |
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