Airmen must adhere to war trophy mailing restrictions

  • Published
  • By Roger Kolkena
  • 2nd Air Postal Squadron
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFPN) --  Throughout history, Soldiers have come home with souvenirs from battle. Many of these war-related items end up on display in museums and showcases.

Although it is tempting to bring back reminders of service in a military campaign, with few exceptions, taking or retaining individual souvenirs or trophies is prohibited.

"It is against the law to take certain souvenirs from a war zone," said 1st Lt. Andrew Ignash, 2nd Air Postal Squadron postal operations flight commander. “You can go to jail for mailing an illegal object.

Shipping weapons as personal property is punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Lieutenant Ignash said.

War trophies, defined as enemy weapons, ammunition, explosives or items of equipment, are nonmailable. This includes live or spent rounds, pistols, machine guns, weapons magazines and anti-personnel mines.

Most munitions and military articles of equipment may not be mailed; however, war trophies that obviously pose no safety risk, such as enemy uniform items and flags, may be mailed, Lieutenant Ignash said.

"If you’re unsure whether an item can be legally imported, don’t try to mail it,” said Tech. Sgt. Craig Thomas, the squadron’s postal manager. "Ask your postmaster to clarify the rules, follow the regulations as written, and there should be no problem.”

Almost all parcels move as cargo on commercial airliners, Sergeant Thomas said. Mailing war trophies can cause mail delays, bomb evacuations and confiscation of parcels when detected during X-rays by foreign governments and airline officials.

“If an X-ray could show that it may be dangerous to the passengers of a plane, it shouldn’t be mailed,” said Steve Waller, the squadron’s official mail manager. “Foreign countries could stop military mail flow through their country altogether if they believe that military parcels threaten their aircraft.”

“Mailing weapons, even nonfunctional replicas, is an unsafe and illegal practice,” he said. “For example, shell casing or bullet belt buckles, hand grenade paperweights, pistols mounted on plaques and so on could cause an international incident, delay the mail and could even (land) the mailer in a foreign jail.”

For more information, contact officials at the post office, customs office or legal office. (Courtesy of U.S. Air Forces in Europe News Service)