War Souvenirs Scrutinized in Iraq
War souvenirs continue to be closely scrutinized coming out of Iraq:All souvenirs have to go before a reviewing officer, Lt. Col. Dwight Warren, judge advocate at Camp Anaconda, said.
?A soldier should never purchase an item without obtaining some kind of receipt showing the date, place and source of purchase,? he said.
Without a receipt, keepsakes can be confiscated by customs officials.
Navy Lt. Rory Russell, company commander of the customs office at Camp Anaconda, said he advises servicemembers not to try to sneak prohibited items out of the country.
?It will prolong your stay here and shorten your career,? he said.
How much things have changed in Iraq since I was there. I couldn’t take hardly anything out of that country when I left. There were actual US Customs Inspectors that shaked us down as we left and the only war souvenirs I could take back with me was Iraqi dinars, an Iraqi flag, and some melted scrap metal from at BTR-60 that my Bradley destroyed. Now they are selling Iraqi uniforms in the “ville” there. How much longer before they are selling mink blankets like in the Korean “ville” as well?
