Military rules about KNIVES

T

Tony Perez

Joined
Dec 17, 2001
Messages
92
Here is the question...what are the militaries rules about carrying your own knife ?
I ask because the woman in the cubicle in front of me has a husband that has been called in from Navy Reserves. He is a SEABEE.
He will be leaving next week. She was telling me about all the stuff he needs to get and I said "have you gotten him a ggod knife ?"
She tells me they are not allowed to have their own as he was told it will be issued to them. My response was that I am not going to Afghanistan to bulid airstrips without at least a Leatherman with me.
Any comments ?
 
Each unit has rules about what knives you can carry. Most will allow a 3" blade folder to be carried with no problems. To minimize hassles, I definitely recommend a set of Gerber Multi-pliers or a Leatherman and a AA Maglite with a red lens insert. I know Leatherman makes a neat sheath that carries pliers and a AA Maglite. I can't speak for the Navy, but I know the Army issues Gerber Multi-pliers to its boat mechanics (yes, the Army has boats!). This tool will be a lot handier than a large fixed blade, at least that has been my experience in field environments. Just my $.02. Out here.
 
I agree with the Gerber multi tool suggersiton. I was at Ft. Bragg in a Field Hospital and we had to set up and tear down a whole Hospital whenever we went to the field and I can't count the number of times a day someone would yell out " anyone got a Gerber" or ask me if they could use my Gerber. No one ever really asked to use my knife.
 
I agree with both of you...with what my friends husband is going to be doing I would see a need for a Leatherman or a MultiPlier.

I personally can't go anywhere without at least a Spyderco Ladybug.
When not at work I have at minimum 2 knives on me. Not counting my Micra on keychain...and my SwissTech Utili-key..does that count ?
I COULD use it as a knife...given enough time.
 
Well, It's been along time since I was a Soldier (ETS in 1992) but huge fixed blades were definitely frowned upon, but I never had anyone question the Schrade LB7 I carried.
I also carried an original Leatherman tool and sometimes a Victorinox Super Tinker.

BTW, Guess which one saw the most useage...
Get the multitool! I used my Leatherman and my Victorinox Super Tinker all the time but I hardly ever used my LB7.

Good luck,
Allen.
 
It does seem ironic to issue a soldier a machine gun and a bayonet and a hand grenade and then restrict the size of his pocket knife. What? Are they afraid he will hurt someone? Isn't that his job?
 
Originally posted by Rubber Ducky
So why do the armed forces have such restrictions on blades? I have to admit, I'm mystified.

Pierre
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's sort of confusing. Basically the military does not want it's soldiers armed with anything when they are off-duty. For self-defense they stress the "buddy system", in other words you never venture out alone. This is a PR/liability issue if you ask me. If you have a personally owned large knife or firearm the military requires you store the weapon in the arms room. That way they can control your access to a weapon.

During peacetime the military is very strict about personal weapons possesion but from what I've heard this all changes when the sh!t hits the proverbial fan.
 
As a former Army Company Commander, maybe I can help you understand why things are done the way they are. It is true we trust soldiers with rifles, machine guns, bayonets, handguns, tanks, artillery, etc. but we don't let them take them home with them, and they don't keep them in their barracks room. We issue these items to them, or make them sign for them, denoting they have responsibility to keep them servicable and secure. We help with the security by providing arms rooms with locks and motor parks with roving guards. When lost or damaged, responsibility and accountability is determined (sometimes by investigation), the appropriate party pays (sometimes the government) and a like item is re-issued to the soldier. Soldiers are trained to use these items as tools, employing the appropriate and current tactics .

Privately owned weapons get in the way of all this. There is little to no training on how to employ pocketknives and privately purchased fixed blade knives so anything the Army doesn't issue the soldier, it doesn't feel responsible for in the performance of his duties. My experience indicates that if soldiers in the barracks are allowed to keep knives in their rooms, at some time, they become a liability.

Now don't get me wrong. If I were to deploy today I would take a personal knife (or two) and would allow my troops to do so. I don't think the Army issues enough bladeware.

Bruce Woodbury
 
The army does lots of stupid things. In peacetime they deal with all the same issues and more that the civilian world does, but with a much less mature population. I am middle aged out here in the civi world at 45. I would be a fossil in the Military. All those beer swilling 18 year olds do a lot of immature things, and there have to be rules and regs in peacetime to keep all that energy from being directed at each other and in the wrong direction.
Knives are one more thing they decided needed to be regulated. When bullets start flying though, seems a lot of things fall by the wayside.

In the more elite units things also change. You do not get into those by being a yard bird, and with the added responsibility comes added latitude.
 
USMC 8 years and counting...(reserve now). You'd be amazed what will come out of Marine's seabags once they unpack it (in-country) from the embark crates...but don't try to carry much with you in your personal gear. I carry a BM 910 folder and Wave with me, a CRK Project II and (now) a RMJ Talon in my seabag.
 
Drill Sgt. Webster said it best:
"The Army wants polite, well-mannered, well-spoken, non-cursing, non-drinking, non-smoking, eagle scout-types, that will happily kill, maim, and disembowel the enemy upon command"!

Now is that too much to ask for?

Cheers,
Allen.
 
Originally posted by allenC
Drill Sgt. Webster said it best:
"The Army wants polite, well-mannered, well-spoken, non-cursing, non-drinking, non-smoking, eagle scout-types, that will happily kill, maim, and disembowel the enemy upon command"!

Now is that too much to ask for?

Cheers,
Allen.
Click to expand...

You forgot college educated, computer literate ethically, racially, religiously, sexually, complexion, hair style, jewelry, morally and culturally diverse.

And the military used to "kill, maim and disembowel" the enemy; now we neutralize, temporarily-neutralize and neutralize-with-prejudice.

Seriously though, the idea of controlling knifes and other implements of piability is an important consideration considering the testaserone levels, maturity and closeness of quarers. But, when afield, reasonable standards and reasonable gear should be the order of the day (or night.)
 
Viet Nam 62 Issue weapons:
M14w/selector
Bayonet

Plus My carry:
38 S&W snub
12 guage riot gun
9 mm Swedish"K" machine pistol
Raldall #1
Schrade 5" folder
Navy pilots survival knife
Case stockman
 
Fortunately, the SEABEES are not part of the Army :) Any small folder (eg Benchmade, Spyderco) should be fine. A good leatherman/Gerber multi-tool would be my first choice, but a good locking folder such as my Benchmade 710HS would also find a way into personal carry. Unless his unit has specific rules against it. In general, the Navy tells you what you can't do, everything else is up to your good judgement.
 
Just thought I'd chime in here with what my knife experience in the Army was. I just got out after 4 years infantry and everything 95Bravo said in his posts was correct. I know we were only allowed a four inch or shorter bladed knife in garrison, unless we wanted to leave it in the arms room. And Kabar sized knives were for the most part accepted when in the field or on deployment. Virtually everyone carried a leatherman or similar tool and a one handed folder with a pocket clip. My pesonal preference was a Leatherman Wave and any of a number of Spyderco or Benchmade folders.
 
With 20+ years in the service, and 12 of those spent in Law enforcement, I can give a little insight into the reasons for blades restrictions in the military........
The main reason that there are restrictions on blades stems from the fact that all militray installations are federal properties. These federal properties are based in many states. In order to keep continuity, stateside installations are required to adhere to most of the laws wich apply within that state. So, whatever the law in a given state is regarding blade lengths, that determines what is legal for a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine to carry when not involved in a specific military operation.
The UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) also gives specific authority to commanders to impose greater restictions than are written in the code. Basically a commander can "add to", but may never "take away" from the UCMJ, hence the differences between services and installations in addition to local laws.
This also leads commanders, from the top down, to sometimes place more restrictions on "weapons". Privately owned weapons are strictly controlled on military installations. Anyone who is single, and living in a barracks may NOT keep anything greater than a kitchen type knife (with a restricted blade length) in their room. All other items (to include "writst-rockets", BB-guns, and the likes)must be stored in a central armory. These items must be registered with the unit commander and 1st seargent, and must be signed in and out by the owner. Should a person be married, and live in base housing, you are allowed to keep your firearms and such in your home, however, these must also be on record, listed by caliber, type, and make with the individuals' unit commander and 1st seargent. Control is kept by random inspections of quarters, and of vehicles coming in and out of the installation.
Concerning the question of why we carry M-16s, machineguns, etc, but are restricted on other day to day carr items is for the reasons mentioned in the previous posts. One of my additional duties is running my unit's armory. Very strict controls are in place for issuing weapons, and accountablility is at it's highest where weapons are involved.
As you can see, "weapons" restrictions are the greatest where you would not expect them to be. But, that is part of the game when you raise your right hand and give your oath to serve.
 
Us SOF guys don't have those problems:)
 
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