Windwalker
Contributor
I felt inspired to post this on a thread where people were having difficulty with Air line security. This brought up a story that my brother had, I asked him to relay the story so those who wanted could get a little laugh.
In 1990, before Desert Storm Desert Shield, I was in the US Marines and I had volunteered for the Companys Competition Squad. Basically, a Marine Infantry company assembles a squad of motivated hard chargers and we compete with other squads in Infantry related competitions, patrolling, attacking, defending, physical fitness, etc.
I was a SAW gunner and I carried a machine gun for the squad. We had won the Battalion, and Regimental events in Hawaii and we were sent to compete in Okinawa where we came in 2nd Place at Division. Since it was a competition, not a deployment we took our weapons in a massive green box that had steel bands around it (theoretically so we couldnt get our weapons out of the box and make the pilot take us home, like we wouldnt want to go to Hawaii, with beautiful beaches and beautiful, available women).
It took four Marines to lift this box and carry it.
Now Okinawa, and Japan are very anti-gun. Someone once told me that only one person can legally carry his own firearm and that is the Emperor. Most Japanese seem terrified of firearms.
On the way through Osaka International Airport, we had to get our check-in luggate and carry it from one terminal to another. This included the big box of weapons that had to be carried by four lean mean fighting machines with military haircuts wearing civilian clothes.
Again we had to go through customs. The Marines set the crate of firearms on the conveyer belt and the conveyer belt almost stopped because it couldnt handle the weight. Then it went into the baggage scanner. I happened to be standing near the Warrant Officer when this happened, several of us were.
The security checker looked at his screen, I could see it too. Black mass of metal with barrels and knives sticking out at the ends. Not easily identifiable.
With a perplexed look the security check asked What is that?
In a very non-chalant voice, a Marine named Pryor said Machine guns, assault rifles and bayonets.
The Security checkers eyes got kind of big as he took another look at the crate and nearly had a heart attack. He almost fell out of his chair and he said I must get supervisor, must get supervisor. In a blink he was gone. I dont think Pryor didnt have a clue how much he frightened that security checker who probably expected us to start pulling other weapons out of our shorts and start shooting, but the look on the Security checkers face was priceless.
Of course the supervisor showed up, saw our paper work was in order and let us pass. He seemed a little less fazed by the amount of weaponry we were toting around but didnt freak nearly as much as the first guy. Maybe someone should have explained to Pryor how sensitive the Japanese were to firearms.
Nah.
In 1990, before Desert Storm Desert Shield, I was in the US Marines and I had volunteered for the Companys Competition Squad. Basically, a Marine Infantry company assembles a squad of motivated hard chargers and we compete with other squads in Infantry related competitions, patrolling, attacking, defending, physical fitness, etc.
I was a SAW gunner and I carried a machine gun for the squad. We had won the Battalion, and Regimental events in Hawaii and we were sent to compete in Okinawa where we came in 2nd Place at Division. Since it was a competition, not a deployment we took our weapons in a massive green box that had steel bands around it (theoretically so we couldnt get our weapons out of the box and make the pilot take us home, like we wouldnt want to go to Hawaii, with beautiful beaches and beautiful, available women).
It took four Marines to lift this box and carry it.
Now Okinawa, and Japan are very anti-gun. Someone once told me that only one person can legally carry his own firearm and that is the Emperor. Most Japanese seem terrified of firearms.
On the way through Osaka International Airport, we had to get our check-in luggate and carry it from one terminal to another. This included the big box of weapons that had to be carried by four lean mean fighting machines with military haircuts wearing civilian clothes.
Again we had to go through customs. The Marines set the crate of firearms on the conveyer belt and the conveyer belt almost stopped because it couldnt handle the weight. Then it went into the baggage scanner. I happened to be standing near the Warrant Officer when this happened, several of us were.
The security checker looked at his screen, I could see it too. Black mass of metal with barrels and knives sticking out at the ends. Not easily identifiable.
With a perplexed look the security check asked What is that?
In a very non-chalant voice, a Marine named Pryor said Machine guns, assault rifles and bayonets.
The Security checkers eyes got kind of big as he took another look at the crate and nearly had a heart attack. He almost fell out of his chair and he said I must get supervisor, must get supervisor. In a blink he was gone. I dont think Pryor didnt have a clue how much he frightened that security checker who probably expected us to start pulling other weapons out of our shorts and start shooting, but the look on the Security checkers face was priceless.
Of course the supervisor showed up, saw our paper work was in order and let us pass. He seemed a little less fazed by the amount of weaponry we were toting around but didnt freak nearly as much as the first guy. Maybe someone should have explained to Pryor how sensitive the Japanese were to firearms.
Nah.
