Photo By Sgt. Cassandra Monroe | Spc. Adam Gill, Staff Sgt. George Prime and Staff Sgt. Caleb Dawson, all military...... read more read more
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CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq – A scene of scattered Soldiers filled a flat area, July 7, at Contingency Operating Base Speicher. Piles of personal clothing and stacks of DVD's and books towered over each other. The Soldiers stood in line with their belongings, waiting to be inspected by military policemen with the 317th Military Police Battalion, 49th Military Police Brigade, a reserve unit out of Tampa, Fla.
The military policemen conducted pre-customs inspections with these Soldiers, who are currently redeploying home, to expedite their process and give them a chance to dispose of any contraband items they may have.
“Soldiers sometimes forget that they have items in or on their battle equipment, so this inspection gives them a chance to find and dispose of [contraband] early on so we can get rid of it properly and make sure it doesn’t get taken [to the U.S.],” said Staff Sgt. George Prime, a military policeman and electronic warfare officer with the 317th MP Bn.
Before the inspection, the redeploying Soldiers were given a briefing, as well as a 10 minute amnesty period, allowing them a chance to search through their items once more and turn in any missed contraband. Once the searching began, members of the 317th MP Bn. began filtering through the personal items of the Soldiers.
The typical contraband items found by the policemen were illegal amounts of DVD's or extra rounds of ammunition.
“We usually find a lot of knives,” said Spc. Gregory Algren, a military policeman with the 317th MP Bn., and a Largo, Fla., native. “Knives that they aren’t supposed to have, like switchblades and double ended knives.”
The team also looks specifically at the cleanliness of the items, making sure that there isn’t dirt or rocks – anything that could do harm to the environment of the United States.
“We inspect the items to protect the U.S. environment and agriculture,” said Staff Sgt. Caleb Dawson, the noncommissioned officer in charge of customs with the 317th MP Bn. and Tallahassee, Fla., native. “There are also a lot of bugs that could do a lot of damage to the crops back in the states.”
Most of the Soldiers flew through the process smoothly; their moods were light hearted, and they were soon packing their individual plastic box containers to be loaded in the CONEXs – large, moveable storage facilities.
Some of the challenges faced by military policemen are deciding if items are allowed to be kept. During the inspection, one Soldier did have a map of Iraq. The military policemen had to decide whether or not the Soldier could keep it, and after some discussion, the Soldier was able to keep the map because it wasn’t classified.
The pre-customs inspection makes the customs process faster, and allows Soldiers to have a speedier redeployment.
“These guys need the help to go home,” said Algren. “We want to do anything to advance that. When it’s time for me to go home, I hope someone will be there to help us too.”
However, this customs inspection is a glimpse of the future for the team. They will soon be redeploying and making their venture home as well.
“This is our last customs inspection because we are about to redeploy back to the states,” said Prime. “Our time is up, it’s our last rodeo. I’m one step closer to home.”
| Date Taken: | 07.07.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.09.2010 05:23 |
| Story ID: | 52577 |
| Location: | CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, IQ |
| Web Views: | 197 |
| Downloads: | 108 |
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