Howard Wallace said:
The HI forum has a great history of supporting our troops.
Please though guys, convince yourself that the receiver is legit before sending anything.
Sarge, a young man I have known for many years is going to be joining the Marines this summer. I was thinking of getting him a khukuri when he deploys. In terms of trouble with the brass, what are the acceptable paramaters for a Marine's khukuri, as you see them.
Hmmm khuks for troops. In the early stages of OEF and OIF you could express a bit more "individuality", 18" khuks weren't a big problem then. Now, things are different and the focus is more on "peacekeeping", whatever that means. The enemy is still active, our guys are still having to clear caves/bunkers, and engage in street fights with bad guys, and the only way to stop IEDs/suicide bombers is to put the grab on the people responsible, which still requires boots on the ground. Our troops are still at war, regardless of how the politicos paint it.
The media pukes will quickly zero in on anything negative or sensational, while, for the most part, routinely ignoring the good stuff our troops are accomplishing. Commanders know that, and it makes them very cautious about the image their troops present. Not making excuses for them, just trying to explain the reason why many of them don't cotton to the idea of their guys running around with what appear to be curved "swords".
All that said, most units have unit specific standards and SOP's, that lay out the commander's intent as to how that unit complies with and implements overarching regulations and directives. These cannot be more lax than higher headquarters guidance, but they can be considerably stricter, depending on unit, mission, and commander's interpretation. Hence, two soldiers, in two different units, could experience very different circumstances.
So, which khuk? In my experience, a BAS, 15" AK or 15" Siru that's "toned down and taped up", shouldn't be a problem. Remember, these are still huge knives to the uninitiated, but at least they're short enough not to appear "swordlike".
Best bet of all is to have the troopie discuss the matter with his unit First Sergeant, before you even send him a khuk. He may not be able to carry one at all, or you may find out that he can get away with carrying something like a 20" Sirupati without a problem. It all depends on the particular unit and it's mission. Like I mentioned earlier in this thread, "utility" knives, like a JKM, Kumar Karda, or KPH/Sarge, are always a safe bet, and will see much use, can't go wrong with them.
Sarge
