Sidearm in the military

C

Cool_Hand

New member
I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this or even the right forum for that matter but I was wondering if you can carry your own sidearm or backup in the military? I love my revolvers and would feel safer having one on me as my siderarm or backup. I am about to graduate from college in the next few months and more and more I have been thinking about joining the Marines and applying for their officer program. If anyone is wondering why I would do 4 years of college then decide to go into the military I really cant tell you, I am kind of wondering that myself :confused: Thanks for any help
 
but I was wondering if you can carry your own sidearm or backup in the military?
Click to expand...
No.
I love my revolvers and would feel safer having one on me as my siderarm or backup.
Click to expand...
No.
If anyone is wondering why I would do 4 years of college then decide to go into the military I really cant tell you, I am kind of wondering that myself
Click to expand...
It'd make perfect sense if you plan to go to OCS.
 
If anyone is wondering why I would do 4 years of college then decide to go into the military I really cant tell you, I am kind of wondering that myself
Click to expand...

It's more common than most people realize.

To answer your initial question (and reiterate zoomie's response): no.
 
The least of your concerns trying to become an officer in the Marines will be your sidearm. If you ever need to use your sidearm in the Marines, the one they give you will do the job.
 
I think to an extent you could... some time before before I was born, although I can't say I see why anyone would want to. Aside from the issue of caliber choice and ammunition supply you would have to deal with getting magazines, parts, and holster it wouldn't seem like too much of a hassle... unless it was lost or damaged beyond repair, then who would take care of it?
 
I am retired Military and think its a great idea. You can never go wrong serving our Country! As far as the side arm goes it depends on what part of the Marines you decide to take on!

That being said you could have the 9MM or the .45 HK-SOCOM or Colt. Either way I agree with Teuthis, "the one they give you will do the job"! :)
 
The Law of War

The reason you can't bring your own weapons is due to the law of war. Basically, every weapon and type of ammo you're issued by the military has been vetted and complies with all the various treaties and agreements that are collectively known as the law of war. You pop a cap from your "Dirty Harry" magnum in to some enemy and faster than you can say "court martial" you'll be headed for one.

Besides, the Marines have plenty of guns.

As an active duty Marine with 18+ years in the Corps I can tell you 2 things:

1. Lots of fine young men desire to join our ranks. It's a challenge; a test of physical and metal toughness. And if given the privilege of leading Marines the Corps will give you the best years of your life.

2. If you're not already in very, very good physical shape, you'd better get off this computer and into some serious roadwork. OCS is not so much a school, as the name suggests, but a selection course. It's physically demanding and unless you're a collegiate athlete at or near the top of your sport (no, not golf!) you'll find it very difficult indeed.

___________
The "T" stands for Top, as in Master Sergeant of Marines :mad:
Now get your slimy nasty looker-balls off this screen and PUUUUUUUSSSHHH!!!!! :D
 
You used to could...

not sure about now. I think you can in certain situations... but during those situations you will have a lot more important things to deal with than a personal side arm. Like keeping your fellow marines alive.

My father carried a personal side arm when he was in the Marines... he still owns the 38 revolver he kept strapped to his chest for a year and a half. Burned in the grip is: "Korea, Dec. 1950 it was hell."
 
A little story...

Oh, you could probably get a handgun over to Iraq or Afghanistan without much problem...but when are you going to be able to carry it after you get there? Your soldiers will know about it and people will talk. Eventually, word will get to somebody who outranks you and does NOT approve.

For example, when I got back to Baghdad after two weeks of leave I found that my company commander had ordered a bunch of Knight's accessory rail handguards for our M16A4 rifles. And everyone had installed theirs already. Having been gone, my rifle did not have the handguards.

Frankly, I didn't want them. They made the rifle heavier, as they were machined alloy. And ruined the balance of the rifle, making it muzzle-heavy. More importantly, we didn't have any "gadgets" in our inventory to even put on these rails. If I were to suddenly come into an ACOG or red dot sight, I would've mounted it to the A4 flattop rail, not the handguards.

The only thing we had was a forward pistol grip to add to the handguards. Being a competitive shooter, I found the foreward grip somewhat silly.

So for about two weeks I was walking around with my standard handguards. Until my commander finally noticed my rifle didn't look like everyone else's and ordered me to put mine on. I briefly made the argument that a soldier's rifle should be what HE thinks he needs to fire accurately, not that they all "look" the same.

(You will also encounter this kind of thinking from 1SGs and Sergeants Major who think everyone's ammo pouches and gear on their body armor should be "dress right dress" rather than where the individual soldier prefers them to be for ease of access and speedy reloads)

I made my arguments and was overruled. My rifle had to look like everyone else's. That was more important than whether or not I believed I could fire more accurately with the rifle the way I wanted it.

Be prepared to deal with that mentality in the military.

So, say you've got your non-issue pistol over there and you've managed to keep it, unnoticed and uncommented on. Great.

Now...how do you get it back home? That's the tough part. They go through all of your baggage. They check everything you mail home in boxes.

Frankly, I wouldn't want to consider a $500 pistol a throwaway affair I got 7 months of use out of.
 
Unless you are a very high ranking person then standard issue is the law of the land. Other items that will get more use (sunglasses, wristwatch, etc) are easier to own.
 
Under current policy, the answer is no.

There are really two questions I see in your original post:

Q1: Can you have your personal firearm with you at all times while on base after joining the military?

A1: No.

Q2: Can you carry your personal firearm with you in battle?

A2: Don't think so. Even if you could, getting it there would be a problem since you can't carry it otherwise. Also, you most likely wouldn't need an additional weapon as our troops are very well equipped already.

Good luck, and thanks for considering serving our country!
 
I have a friend in the reserves that was in Kuwait loading convoys. Before he went they told him that he could buy a 9mm handgun, quality with it, then he would be able to take it with him.
 
Carry personal

Generic Answer - NO you cannot.

.... But XX knows a guy who did.

If he did and either didnt't get caught or are ignored by people doing the same thing --- that doesn't really mean it OK.

Standard procedure when deploying/redploying is a check by MPs or Customs to make sure you are not taking To/From:
any forbidden items
-- a personal weapon.
-- explosives.
-- drugs.
------ etc etc etc.

The fact that some times some people get away with it doesn't make it OK with the Army/Navy/Marines or Air Force.

But General Patton took his own .....
Yes he did, it's almost like life isnt' fair.
 
Thanks for all the info, I kind of expected that I would not be able to carry my own sidearm. Im also not willing to risk getting my smith and wesson taken away either.

It's physically demanding and unless you're a collegiate athlete at or near the top of your sport (no, not golf!) you'll find it very difficult indeed.
Click to expand...

I appreciate the concern, I am sure I will find it difficult but no more difficult than a college athlete would. I am fairly confident I spend more time in the gym and running than the average college athlete. Even so I still expect to get my butt handed to me.
 
Last edited:
What a shame it's come to this. As a student of history, I've read a lot of soldiers of WWII and Korea commenting on handguns sent from home or taken from captured or killed enemy. The common comment was that these guns were a real comfort when sleeping in a foxhole at night. There guns were often handed down many times from one soldier to another when the previous owner was rotated out or wounded and sent to the rear.

It seems to be a much different military these days. I guess we live in a different country too.
 
Well, when has the country always been the same anyway? Pick your perfect year and tell us about it. How about 1910?

When I was in the service no soldier I knew would have spent a nickel of his own money to buy anything military, especially a firearm, in spite of the fact that the arms room had a cabinet full of personally owned firearms and that was overseas. You could own things that weren't legal in the states, too.

Yes, things are different now. Non-issue gear is popular in some units and in some armies especially, where it's called Gucci gear. Another thing that's different is that there are fewer foreigners in the country now, believe it or not.
 
can carry your own sidearm or backup in the military?
Click to expand...


Judging by the thunderous cacophony :eek: last week coming from Quantico, another officer class is about to be loosed upon the world. Good but loud neighbors.:D

When you reach the upper ranks, that is, you get a star, you may have some leeway in your choice of personal sidearm. Until then, you'd better bcome familiar with the Beretta M9.
 
Cool_Hand,

If you want to shoot big guns, then join the Navy. We have bigger guns and more aircraft than the Marines. If you join the submarine force, we also go down more frequently and deeper than the Marines as well.

And when the Marines get into trouble, who do they call to bail them out? Typically those guns and/or aircraft waiting a few miles away on some Navy ship somewhere. :D
 
If you join the submarine force, we also go down more frequently and deeper than the Marines as well.
Click to expand...

And they are about to start submerging with females on board. That's going to be a real cluster.


Navy has much better chow too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top