Future US ARMY, M1911 issue

[djames7545]

I will be shipping for FT Knox / Basic Training in about 2 mo's, then AIT in Maryland, and from there likley orders to Afgan. My MOS is generator electrician, so I will have my hands on tools often and a M16 will do me no good.

Is any one current or former ARMY, that knows if I can buy a M1911 now, (practice untill I leave), and get later approval to carry that fire arm on my deployment? Or do I have to be issued a new one when in? (Though I think it will come out of my own pocket regardless)

[gottripletsNC]

I am pretty sure that you can forgo a 1911 when you deploy, there are some spec ops teams that carry em, but if Uncle Sam wants you to carry a weapon, its most likely gonna be an M16, M4 or an M9 Beretta.
As for buying one in country and carrying, I would expect that won't happen. If you do manage to get your hands on one over there, you won't be able to bring it back in country when you return.

[Rich-D]

I doubt that you will be able to bring your own gun. Once in country, it will depend on your chain of command.

BTW: Thanks for your service!

Best of Luck!
Rich

[garrettwc]

Welcome to the forum and thanks for your service.

You can pretty much forget about a 1911. In fact you may be forgetting a sidearm period. Not all MOS get issued a pistol in the Army. If your MOS does not call for it, you won't be issued one. Even if it does, you can figure a 99% certainty it will be a Beretta. (Confirmed this with an Apache pilot Lieutenant friend over lunch just now)

Even if by some stroke of luck you could manage to sneak your personal sidearm over there, it won't come back with you. When they quarantine you to ship you back home you are relieved of all your gear and they are pretty thorough. Most guys I have talked to say that the "good stuff" gets traded off to a buddy in a unit that is staying, rather than let it go to the junk heap.

As to carrying "anything" non-standard while you are there, as someone noted, that is up to command. Some guys do have battlefield pickups and/or "tools" that they have purchased in the marketplace, but it was bought from some roadside vendor over there and quality is suspect at best.

[dstrbd223]

I wouldn't even take it on base, unless your going to be living in housing. If your going to be living in the barracks, you will have to turn it over to the armor and sign it out any time you want to use it. Better of just leaving it at your parents or what ever. And unless your a O-1 or higher, you'll probably never see an M9.

[AGR1279]

I will be shipping for FT Knox / Basic Training in about 2 mo's, then AIT in Maryland, and from there likley orders to Afgan. My MOS is generator electrician, so I will have my hands on tools often and a M16 will do me no good.

Is any one current or former ARMY, that knows if I can buy a M1911 now, (practice untill I leave), and get later approval to carry that fire arm on my deployment? Or do I have to be issued a new one when in? (Though I think it will come out of my own pocket regardless)

If you want to practice get yourself a M-9/Barretta 92. Only special units use 1911s. You will spend more time with an M-16. You will not be able to carry personally owned weapons overseas. Sorry but that is the way it is.

Dan

[JTQ]

Save your money and wait until you've completed training and get settled in at your first assignment. Then you can figure out what the rules are at your location and decide what you want to do.

dstrbd223 is correct, you won't be able to keep it with you in the barracks and you may even find difficulty bringing it with you to an overseas assignment, not even counting Afghanistan or Iraq.

[govtmodel]

To pile on the bad news, unless the Table of Organization and Equipment for your outfit calls for .45's, there won't be any parts or ammunition available.

[doc45]

Yup, what they ^ said :D . fyi My older son is a 68W (Combat Medic), was issued the M9 along with his M4 on his first deployment and will be issued the same on his very, very soon-to-be next one.

btw on his last deployment he interacted with quite a few units from the spec op side of things and most of the Army guys were carrying the M9, every now & then a group would have either 1911s or Glock 17s. The Navy guys had the Sig 226, even the EOD guys he interacted with (also Navy) had the 226. He has pics with some of these guys and all of the above are visible in his pics (sorry, not for public consumption).

[IZinterrogator]

Also, all weapons used by the U.S. military, from hand grenades to HIMARS, must be approved by the JAG Corps for compliance with the Hague convention. They only approve weapons when the military orders them, so any 1911 you could buy wouldn't be on the approved list, since the 1911s that the military has procured over the last few years weren't off the shelf pistols.

Generator mechanics are issued M4s or M16s just like everyone else. I've never seen one with a sidearm, even the platoon sergeants carry M4s.

[Immortal_Ben]

All of the response posts have been spot-on. You are in no way allowed to carry personal firearms overseas, and some units even restrict which kinds of knives their soldiers are able to take.

Before deployment, your gear will be lined out, similar to inspections that you will experience in basic and AIT. Then the military working dog(s) will be brought in and the handler(s) will take them through the ranks of gear. I have personally seen a few guys deployment ruined even before they step foot on the plane. I definitely recommend not trying to take any personal firearms.

As stated above, you will either have an M16 or an M4. My guess would be an M4, as when I left the service, the M16 was hardly seen on anyone other than Reserve units. The only handgun currently issued in the "Big Army" is the Beretta M9, but your MOS does not call for that weapon system, last I knew.

During your deployment, you will receive briefings on contraband items. The list includes any firearms found on the battlefield, and most war trophies. You will see "Amnesty Boxes" scattered throughout the friendly camps, and you may drop ANY contraband in these boxes, at any time, without fear of retribution. I have seen many many highly illegal things come out of those boxes.

As a matter of humor, I have also caught a few guys trying to fish magazines out of those boxes. These magazines were um... of ill repute. GI's can be quite inventive, but my own solution to the puzzle was a skinny stick with a ball of duct tape on the end, sticky side out.

The military working dogs will be brought in before your re-deployment back to the States, same as before you leave. You can expect "hands-on" shakedowns before the dogs are brought in.

Follow the rules, and you will be fine. When you go to boot camp, remember to "Be in the right place, at the right time, in the right uniform" and "Do what you are told, when you are told, and in the manner you are told."

Most of all, enjoy your time in the military and thank you for service. If you have any other questions, dont hesitate to send me an SMS or a private message.

[IraqVet.45]

You wont get a 1911 or can you purchase one to carry in uniform. I went to basic in Knox as well. I did 1 tour in Kuwait and 1 tour in Iraq years ago as a scout. Officers and tankers were the only guys I came across that carried handguns. They carried M9s. I carried M16/203 and an M4. So get used to M9s if your MOS allows.
-Hope this helps-

[Immortal_Ben]

Mods, I just realized what forum this thread is under and how off-topic I got. Sorry about that, and if you want to delete my other post... well, grrrrr.

[Convert]

As everyone else has sated, the only sidearm you ever have any hope of getting your hands on will be the M9. And if your MOS doesn't require it (which sounds like the case), then you won't get one, period.

I was a machinist/welder, but I voluntered for title-10 active duty with the SF unit on my base since they were short of guys (everyone was in Iraq so they needed supplemental personnel to help out with base/flightline security and whatnot). I got issued an M4 or M870 most of the time, depending on post assignment and mission requirements. After gaining some seniority and being signed off to run my own posts, only then did they issue me a sidearm in place of my M4, which was of course an M9 Beretta. They let us wear crossdraw tac vests over our BDUs though, which was pretty nice.

Anyway, long story short: no 1911 bro. Sorry. Best of luck to you though. Immortal_Ben just gave you some excellent advice too, so if I were you I'd heed every word. Keep your head down over there - even the wrench turners like you and me have to worry about mortars and IEDs when vacationing in the sandbox.

[JLPATTEN]

It might depend on what type of unit you are assigned to. I was in the Army during the Clinton era. In between budget cuts and down sizing, We had several deployments when I was with the 10th Mountain and the 25th I.D. I was with an Air Defense Artillery (ADA) unit. The air defense at that time was the advenger that consisted of a hummer with a missile turrent in the back. The turrent operators were frequently issued the M-9 Beretta. Some other assignments would sometimes have a pistol but most were carrying M-16A2 or a SAW. Check with your commander when you get to your permanent duty station. BUT don't be surprised if they say no to other types of firearms. Look luck and thank you for service to our country.

Jeff