Proper use of amnesty boxes ensures safety of service members

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Britney Hiatt | Spc. Francisco Campos, with the Camp Victory Mayor's Cell, takes a a few rounds of ammunition from an amnesty box on Camp Victory, Aug. 4, and places them into a bag to be turned back into the amnesty supply point . Among the items found were supplies from a combat lifesaver bag, uniforms, and bulk ammunition. Intended for single small caliber rounds, the amnesty boxes on Camp Victory have been misused as a place to drop off items that should be turned into a supply sergeant.  

CAMP VICTORY, IRAQ

08.07.2010

Story by Spc. Britney Hiatt 

U.S. Forces Iraq

It’s early morning, and a soldier is on his way to work. His attention is drawn to something shining on the gravel. Curious, he walks toward it and finds an M-16 round. He sees a nearby bunker, painted yellow with a sign identifying it as an amnesty box, so he picks up the round, walks over and drops it in the box.

That is the purpose of the amnesty box, said Sgt. 1st Class Oscar Peterson, the Victory Mayor’s Cell sheriff. The amnesty box program was designed to allow service members the ability to turn in small-arms ammunition, without repercussion, for proper disposal.

Peterson said the amnesty box is for small amounts of ammunition that is .50 caliber or smaller, but lately, amnesty boxes are being misused, and the results could be deadly.
The personnel who collect ammunition from the boxes have found grenades and large amounts of ammunition, in addition to other items that should be turned in through supply channels such as pieces of various weapons and military uniforms.

When the wrong type of ammunition is placed in the amnesty boxes, the safety of others is put at risk, said Sgt. Maj. Richard Jones, the United States Forces-Iraq J3 sergeant major. All it takes is a single incident to occur such as a grenade pin accidently getting pulled, or an amnesty box full of ammunition that gets too hot and gets set off, and someone can get hurt or killed.

The dumping of large amounts of ammunition in the amnesty boxes is turning into one of the main safety issues as units rotate or redeploy without a replacement.

“Smaller units are coming in to replace larger units and we are seeing a large amount of bulk ammunition that was passed from the previous unit to the new unit coming in,” Peterson said. “Often, they do not go through the right process and they take the easy way out by placing it in the amnesty box instead of turning it into the supply personnel.”

“Amnesty boxes are being used to circumvent the system Victory Base Complex has for turning in bulk ammunition or incendiary grenades,” said Mel Kelder, the USF-I safety director.

“Ammunition that does not belong in the amnesty box needs to be turned into the ammunition supply point.”

The ASP on VBC is making it easy for units to turn in their bulk ammunition, said Jones. The ASP personnel will take the ammo and sign for it. If the unit doesn’t have the paperwork, they will assist with creating the proper documents.

Another recent trend is that if an amnesty box gets full, service members are just leaving items laying next to the containers. Leaving items like ammunition or grenades out in the open creates two major problems.

“The first is the ammo or grenade could be picked up and used against our forces,” Jones said. “The second is someone could pick it up to place in the amnesty box or to turn it in properly and set it off resulting in injury or death,” he said.

Amnesty boxes, if used properly, can be a great way for people to turn in small amounts of ammunition, but when someone tries to go around the supply system and put something in the box that doesn’t belong, that’s when problems and safety concerns arise, Kelder said.

If service members have questions about the amnesty box program, or if they see a box that is full and has items lying around it, they should call Peterson immediately at 318-485-3699.

For information about the Ammunition Supply Point located on Camp Liberty and hours of operation, call 318-242-7662.

Service members need to do the right thing and properly turn-in their ammunition, weapon parts, and other military items to ensure accountability of the items, and more importantly, the safety of their fellow service members, Peterson said.

• Date Taken: 08.07.2010
• Date Posted: 08.07.2010 10:28
• Story ID: 54115
• Location: CAMP VICTORY, IQ