Ammo Boxes

[0311 Hesco]

So I may or may not have acquired some green military ammo boxes that once held bomb fuzing parts. My goal, if I were to have such items, would be to transport them in my checked luggage when I go home on leave. This will be an international flight and I was wondering if there is anything that could go wrong with doing this; i.e. explosive residues or ITAR/import issues. Anyone have any ideas? Theoretically these would be standard US Mil ammo boxes with all the usual markings on them. Thank you gentlemen.

 

[hiddenmongoose]

I know an ordinance guy who got locked up in an airport as he brought a bag he had used at work through the terminal, explosive residue set off the alarms and the airport actually went into its terror alert plan .His story checked out and was released without any charges.If I were you I wouldnt bring them unless it was a mil flight landing in a mil base.

 

[0311 Hesco]

I'm already gonna get pinged at the airport because of the visa I have. Everyone over here that goes home get "randomly" bugged. Everybody. Par for the course. I'm worried more about true legal ramifications. I appreciate the shared experience, something to think about; is all this worth saving $150 on ammo boxes?

 

[Nuttshooter]

What airport do you think you will be entering the US from? I know that sounds funny but it can make a difference.

 

[Hairball]

Just clean them out and dry them before you pack them. Talk to the water purification folks and get a little bleach or get some vinegar from a cook and wash them out. Hell, any soapy water should do the trick. Or, you could do like we did and pack them in the connex boxes your unit took over there and have them ship it back with the rest of the "combat loss" crap that finds its way back home.

 

[scimitar2]

Despite how ridiculous TSA is about this sort of thing, I would be more concerned about the airports I would be flying through en route home. Some of them go full retard about stuff like that.

 

[0311 Hesco]

I will be flying into Chicago. Is there some place I can call and see if this is kosher? Just don't want to be hassled about these. They aren't worth THAT much.

 

[17874]

I know I had a pain flying back from Quantico after explosive breacher school, and that was before 9/11. I had explosive residue all over all my stuff. I had to show my orders to everybody and their brother.

 

[bogeybrown]

Of all things, Dawn dishwashing soap works as well as anything for cleaning that kind of item. Are you able to ship/mail them home? I try to do that with items I've acquired that I don't want in my luggage. I also travel with an "official" letter explaining that pretty much anything I own may test "hot" and why, with a list of people to call should they need verification.

 

[0311 Hesco]

I think shipping would nullify the value in the boxes. I have free checked baggage provided from my company's ticket so I figured I should make use of it.

 

[bogeybrown]

Gotcha. I was thinking you had APO over there. With APO you can send BIG items back via Space A Mail and it's still affordable. If they're going in your checked bag, I'd clean the hell out of them, leave them to air dry as long as possible, then maybe use them to hold some of your normal items, whether that be hygiene gear, electronics, whatever. That way if you get called on it, you can explain that you're simply using them as protective cases for some of your items and it takes the focus away from the items themselves.

I wish I'd gone to the trouble to get one of the Bushmaster ammo cans (25mm?) back, since it worked perfectly as a protective case for my little travel laptop and accessories.

 

[truth]

is all this worth saving $150 on ammo boxes?

Do you really need help with that question?

 

[LawnMM]

The hassle if they catch a whiff of it isn't going to be worth whatever you hope to gain by bringing the boxes home with you.

 

[dragbag]

To easy to just mail home why all the hassle of carrying them back? Postage isn't that much when I was over in the sandbox I shipped a lot more then just cans back and was no big deal or heavy cost.

 

[0311 Hesco]

... then maybe use them to hold some of your normal items, whether that be hygiene gear, electronics, whatever. That way if you get called on it, you can explain that you're simply using them as protective cases for some of your items and it takes the focus away from the items themselves...

Exactly the same thought I had.
[MENTION=67080]dragbag[/MENTION], I am in kind of a remote area and when I get to the not-so-remote, it will be a short time and there's only the hotel and the airport I can go to before my flight. We have armed escorts wherever we go outside of the base. I was trying to use up my free checked baggage since there is nothing else I really intend to take back to the states on this trip.
I think I'm just gonna clean them up and do it. If they want to prick with me then so be it, however there is nothing malicious intended. Thank you gentlemen.

 

[0311 Hesco]

double post