Here are a few of the things I've brought back from Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq and the type of weapons that I've either had fired at me or captured. Since the Firearms Forum has mostly WWII arms, I thought it might draw more interest here. The weapons are mostly stateside purchase. Some assessory components are bring backs. Someday on some forum, they will wonder who the vet was. Enjoy. Steve
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Last edited by regular122; 03-05-2008, 11:48 PM. -
Tokarev TT-33 Tula arsenal 1949, no safety or import marks; Helwan make M951 with captured Iraqi Repblican Guard grips (I couldn't bring the Tariq pistol back so my Gerber at least got me the grips); Llama .380 (we captured several of these 'baby .45's' and loved them); and a Russian make flare pistol made in 1982 that I brought back. The headscarves came from insurgents. -
PSL Sniper; Russian make SKS, milled receiver 1950 Tula; Czech Vz58 with Czech bayonet (we captured alot of these rifles in Iraq); various pouches; Afghan styles of head dress (turban is Pashtun, 'pancake' hat is popular with many but always Tajiks, and a 'Karzai' style fur hat); The white flag is a Taliban flag (very hard to come by but I found one).Last edited by regular122; 02-23-2008, 02:01 AM.Comment
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Serbian Pouch upper left with Serbian soldier's M70B range training book; Iraqi chest pouch on left (with Oklahoma State Seal snap buttons!!! I still can't figure that one out); Faded chest pouch with AK-74 mags; Black banners at the bottom are 'Martyr Banners.' (These are for Udai & Qusai Hussein and Qusai's brother-in-law whom we killed when he tried to retaliate the brothers' death); Large faded Iraqi flags from the graves of Udai and Qusai Husein; Various types of Iraqi head gear (Rep Gd. helmets, black and airborne berets).Comment
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Zastava M70B 7.62x39 with oiler on sling, grenade launcher adapter and Russian-make bayonet; small Albanian flag; SAR3 AK-74; captured Iraqi bayonet; Chinese RPK 7.62x39 with drum (we captured several Chinese type weapons in Iraq); Iraqi satin flag.
Nearly every Communist bloc nation sold weapons to Iraq from what I could determine. We found almost every type. Oil for Food was wonderful for Saddam.Last edited by regular122; 02-23-2008, 02:41 AM.Comment
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Alot of the items that you found in Iraq are left over from the Iran- Iraq War. Iraq's army was primarily armed with weaponry it had purchased from the Soviet Union and its satellites in the preceding decade. During the war, it purchased billions of dollars worth of advanced equipment from the Soviet Union, France as well as from the People's Republic of China, Egypt, Germany, and other sources (including Europe and facilities for making and/or enhancing chemical weapons). Germany along with other Western countries (among them United Kingdom, France, Spain (Explosivos Alaveses), Canada, Italy and the United States) provided Iraq with biological and chemical weapons technology and the precursors to nuclear capabilities.Comment
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That is an awesome collection Steve! Please let us know what becomes of the lowlife who tries a home invasion on you. 
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Thanks guys.
Yes, a great many weapons would have come from communist countries during the Iran-Iraq war. We even found weapons from the Ottoman Turk and British mandate days. But many weapons had manufacture dates after 1990, in direct violation to the cease-fire agreements. As to the precursors to nukes coming from the USA, that is not actually the case. They stole and smuggled Zippe centrifuge technology secrets from Europe.
The US did provide assistance to them in the 1980s, as many western countries did, after the attacks on western embassies in Iran. We encountered some US weapons, such as M-79 Bloop Guns, but most were East Bloc rifles and machineguns. The Zastava-based Iraqi Tabuks were some of the finest AK-47s I had ever encountered in terms of receiver quality and design. Their home-built RPGs were also of a very high quality.
While there have been a few cases of AK-74s turning up in Iraq, my unit never encountered any. All were various AK-47 types, unlike Afghanistan, which had plenty. SteveComment
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Nice collection, Regular122. I'm glad you made it back. Thanks for your service!Comment
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Thanks Andy. These things hold alot of memories. I hope to acquire an RPG someday. We did bring back a couple of very nice ones and even one night passive site in its big case. Those made it into the National Infantry Museum and were not altered in any way.
We also brought back several of Saddam's original weapons and a jewel encrusted presentation sword presented by Saddam which we also put into the museum. I have many fine uniform items from Iraq and Afghanistan if you guys would want to see them. Steve
Found a pic of the sword on display at Ft. Benning.Comment
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Speaking of which the new national infantry museum is due to open later this year I think. At last a facility fit to house some of the great stuff they've got here at benning!
ChrisComment
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Yes, it will be good but unfortunately, the new museum has non-military oversight and they do not have the same love for artifacts that the Army museum folks do. So, expect that great big new museum to have actually one third less stuff displayed. Madness.
I currently have hundreds WWI & WWII artifacts on display there now when I donated nearly my entire collection to them in 1997. I also have many service related artifacts from my romps in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq, to include original Saddam paraphenalia. The only captured UCK battle flag known to exist in the states is on display there with a pic of me holding it when I served with the 26th Infantry. We captured it in a raid in August 1999 when we took on 60 UCK at an illegal compound they were operating.
The second set of Udai and Qusay's grave flags are also there. I still own the first set. The first soldier to die in the 4th Infantry Division, 1LT Baldo Oroszco, has his uniform on display there. He was a gallant Infantryman from my C Company in the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry.
I have since gotten back into collecting and many of the untouched bringback weapons from Iraq came into the museum because I knew the system and how to get them back uncut. We got some very rare weapons back to include a silenced AK.
The new centerpiece of the museum though will be a Bradley Fighting Vehicle. I even got that back for the museum. It holds a special place in my heart as it was B-14 from the B Company 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry, the battalion I commanded. It was destroyed by a mine and shipped back as scrap and ended up at the Red River army Depot. We found it secured it and got it transferred to the Infantry Museum.
The Infantry Foundation restored it (I wish they would have left it in its original paint and condition). But at least it is preserved and is an actual BFV that fought in the war. We lost Specialist James E. Powell and had several others wounded in that Bradley. It will be a place of honor for him and those of us that fought alongside him as well as for all the others we lost. SteveLast edited by regular122; 03-05-2008, 11:41 PM.Comment
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Great collection Steve, I for one would like to see the uniforms you brought back.
While on the museum subject, I thought of a great fundraising idea for museums such as the National Infantry Museum. With all the militaria that must be available from the Iraq-Afganistan conflicts, they should put that stuff for sale in the various military museum stores around the country. I for one would gladly buy artifacts at a museum giftstore. Even used G.I. uniforms with insignia would raise money. Don't they make our soldiers turn in their gear when returning home?
Just a thought.Comment
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Yes and no on the gear Jack. For example, issued uniforms depend on the deployment. I have had to turn in DCUs but other times got to keep them. Same with the ACUs. And when we switch from the BDU cammo pattern kit to the DCU pattern kit, we got to keep all of the new kit. My DCU kit is still in the original wrappers--all of it. A year later, we began to see the ACU pattern kit, which is what most of the guys used for round two if they were also in OIF I.
Helmets are different. I would usually buy one at a surplus store and keep the one I wore on deployment. I have one left for myself, but my Kosovo '99 helmet is in the National Infantry Museum as well as one of the helmets I wore in Iraq in 2003-2004. I did the same buy out with several items so I could keep my original kit. it cost me some money but I wanted to keep my stuff. I will post a different thread maybe for the complete US soldiers kit with descriptions.
Here is a pic that showed civilian wear from Afghanistan and Iraq from working man to 'Karzai Wear' to Tribal Sheik. I will follow it with one that shows various Iraqi uniforms, all Saddam era.
Pic #1
This pic shows an Afghan long shirt with balloon trousers (known by the soldiers as 'happy pants' or '7-day sh*tters'). The blanket was added for warmth as needed. The 'pakul' hat (don't know if that is the right way to spell it) is all the rage in Afghanistan and among many Pakistanis. The white one denotes education or so I was told. The turban is Pashtun and is common among their tribe, which includes a great many Taliban. The 'Joseph Coat' as I call it, is identical in every detail to Hamid Karzai's to include the fur hat. It denotes tribal honor and leadership.
The Iraqi long shirts are longer. The Iraqi men do not wear the 'happy pants' like in Afghanistan. So their shirts are longer. The checkered kafiyah (sp?) head scarf denotes Arab Sunni or Kurd Sunni and I was told the red and white are for non-pilgrims (have not made the Hajj). A black and white one would have made the Hajj and its wearer would be called Hajji (pilgrimage to Mecca) as a term of respect. The white one is also for a Hajji. I cold be wrong but it is what I was told. The goat hair ropes show leadership at some level but the square top is definitely 'the man' of something great. The white long shirt is summer weight and the brown one is wool blend winter weight. The intricate fur vest is added as needed for warmth but is not for your average working man.Comment
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Pic #2.
Here are 8 Iraqi uniform sets and one unissued wool shirt. I have some other uniforms but this is pretty representative. From the top left is an Iraqi Officer uniform. I believe this guy would be a Lieutenant General in command of a Rep. Guard Division. I do not read the squiggles but I think the patches say 'Adnan' and are the Adnan 7th RG Division which makes sense because our battalion fought it near Tikrit in late April 03. The cammo shirt is a variant I believe from the same guy. I have his name somewhere and a second ribbon rack, whistle, cord and other stuff of his. The other woodland pattern is different in quality and cut. The desert cammo is officer cut.
At the bottom you have a Lieutenant Colonel dress uniform. Unfortunately, the name tag as had the name stripped off. But it is otherwise complete. The two Rep. Guard unforms are enlisted. And then there is an even lower quality standard foot soldier tunic.
Hope you enjoyed these. SteveComment
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