Posted: 7/6/2010 5:11:09 AM EDT
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Sitting in the lock down in Kuwait, I know customs is a common topic for what they are letting through and what they are taking.
if you are flying on an R&R return flight, regardless of your status (Emergency leave, TDY, or individual redeployer) customs will not all any "weapons or weapons parts" this includes magazines. I just lost 15 x 30 rd PMAG's (half windowed, all with ranger plates), 4 x 20rd, 2 lancers, 4 x Berreta 15 rdr's, and 4 metal magazines. I can live with the 9mm and metal mags, but that was my entire stock of PMAGs and some Navy customs guy now has. Was told if I was flying on a redeployment flight no issue, so that is good news for those redeploying with your units. I tried to get them to "define" weapons parts to see if that includes optics and the like, but did not get a good answer so can't give you all a heads up there. Good to be going home, but this hits the pocket book hard. MC |
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Quoted:
Sitting in the lock down in Kuwait, I know customs is a common topic for what they are letting through and what they are taking. if you are flying on an R&R return flight, regardless of your status (Emergency leave, TDY, or individual redeployer) customs will not all any "weapons or weapons parts" this includes magazines. I just lost 15 x 30 rd PMAG's (half windowed, all with ranger plates), 4 x 20rd, 2 lancers, 4 x Berreta 15 rdr's, and 4 metal magazines. I can live with the 9mm and metal mags, but that was my entire stock of PMAGs and some Navy customs guy now has. Was told if I was flying on a redeployment flight no issue, so that is good news for those redeploying with your units. I tried to get them to "define" weapons parts to see if that includes optics and the like, but did not get a good answer so can't give you all a heads up there. Good to be going home, but this hits the pocket book hard. MC that sucks. Sorry to hear. As I'm gearing up for my tentative August deployment, I'm wondering if I should just keep the PMags home. I've heard conflicting stories about mailing them to yourself, that customs is either checking and/or xraying packages for weapons parts. |
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I know that they would not let me mail them home. If you are deploying as part of a unit, you can probably deploy with them in your Kit, which is what I did, and then just pack them into your milvan on the way home.
I am PCS'ing, 3 weeks after I get back, so I wanted to bring my stuff with me. And the moron that I talked to when I called to check, told me that magazines were ok........ Oh well, sitting in Ireland, so almost home. |
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More discussion here: http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=132&t=1021515
Sucks about your mags, but we should all know better than to trust some sticky fingered customs homo "deployed" to Kuwait. Look on the bright side––now you get to rotate your mags. 
Enjoy leave; where are you PCSing to? |
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So if you are deploying as an IA do you have to worry about somebody rat-fucking you?
I head out to Derkastan next month and I have to fly through Kuwait both on the way there and on the way back. I'm definately going to be taking my own magazines for both M4 and 9mm. Where in my gear do I pack them so I don't lose them? Last time I deployed we were aboard ship and there wasn't a big customs presence. 
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| I found R&R to be completely different from the customs you go through as a returning unit. They didn't check $hit the second time. Seriously, if it weren't for the metal detector, I could've hid an MRAP in my stuff. I had more mags, knives, Iraqi patches/money, and shrapnel pieces than I knew what to do with and they didn't even look at any of it, let alone give me grief for it. I wanted to buy those guys a beer that second time. |
| Same experience here. I can attest that going through customs as an individual soldier was totally different from going through with my whole unit in JUN2010. As a redeploying unit they just fed stuff through the x-ray, unless you were selected for the random showdown inspection. Also, if you pack it in the connex going on the slow boat they let most of that stuff go in your personal gear. At that point if there is a problem and it’s a weapons part ask the UMO to pack it in with the organizational equipment. |
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Quoted:
I R&R'd in Jan and I took home a bunch of PMags. You can't have them in a carry on. They have to go in the bottom of the plane It has changed in the last 45 days or so. On R&R flights they will now not allow any weapons or weapons "parts", (of which the consider a magazine) as either carry on or checked baggage. I was traveling as a redeployer and they could have cared less. Told me if I had optics with me, they would have taken those as well. |
| As I raised holy hell, it appeared everyone of those Navy guys agreed on the same thing, that they could not go on R&R flights, so it appears that they are all on the same sheet of music, at least all the way up through the Detachment Commander ( a LCDR ) and the Senior Cheif. |
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Okay, so slow it down for the dumb Jarhead.
1. On my way to Afghanistan as an Individual Augment, flying through Kuwait I am cool to have my own magazines for my M4 and M9 just as long as they are in my gear and my gear is underneath the plane, check? 2. On my way back, permanently in 7 months, can I still have it in my war gear under the plane or should I mail it home? Help me out guys, I'm very stupid. 
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Payback, based on the experience I just had, you will be ok heading into theater. If you redeploy on a R&R flight, you will be not be able to take "weapons components" in either your checked or carry on baggage. If you redeploy on the Saturday "freedom Flight" then you will be ok as those are not R&R flights.
Clear as mud????
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