What to take overseas

[HI express]

Let's say that you are going overseas...scenario.

Let's assume that you will be a civilian contractor going over to Iraq and that you will need to bring your own weapons for being an armed escort for a convoy of trucks delivering goods to different parts of Iraq. You won't have to hump your gear, so you can carry whatever you can store in the trucks.

In terms of weapons, what would you tend to take over with you? Keep in mind that you face either wide open relatively flat land...roughly 300 yards plus. Sometimes you will be going in urban streets with two to three story buildings on either side, potential for sniping and ambushes. Probably 30 yards clear on either side of the road, sometimes really heavily populated streets with slow and go traffic.

What kind of gear (in terms of weapons) would you take with you?

 

[enfield303]

A SEAL platoon?

 

[jefnvk]

I was under the impression that contractors couldn't carry in Iraq? Maybe not.

I'm taking an AR, probably a 16". If anything goes wrong, I'll have access to parts and ammo.

And definitely a 1911 for backup, simply because I don't have a Beretta.

 

[bogie]

After over there, I'd procur an M-16 variant, preferably with a short barrel, iron sights, and detachable optics - might take my own scope. If possible, locate an M203 for underneath.

In addition, since I'll be in a vehicle...

12 gauge shotgun, with a lot of buck.

Either a 1911 or an issue-type Beretta.

Short-barreled .50 BMG, with brake and variety of rounds - don't need 1K accuracy, but it is nice sometimes to blow things up. Must have iron sights, with detachable scope, preferably 3-9x magnification.

 

[Lone Star]

My son just got back from doing that job...protecting convoys. He was in firefights several times a month, sometimes several times in one week.

He wasn't able to bring in even a knife (!), partly because his employer routed him through Beirut. He said that might have mattered. If using another route there, exceptions might apply. (Local laws)

His firm had a wide choice of weapons. He personally "drew" a Browning 9mm Hi-Power, a H-K 9mm MP-5 SMG, an M-4 .5.56mm carbine, and an H-K 7.62mm rifle. The last was used for longer range missions. The most popular pistol was probably the Glock, but there were several choices.

I should not at this point say more, but the weapons mentioned filled their intended roles quite effectively.

Check with your employer which arms you would have access to.

Be aware that you almost certainly WILL lose some of your companions-in-arms. Casualties in this job are high. I have read that convoy escort is the most dangerous job in Iraq.

I should add that the firm employed Kurdish (Peshmerga) tribesmen as machinegunners riding in the back of their trucks. They had either FN or Soviet-origin 7.62mm machineguns. They may well have also had .50 calibers on some vehicles; I didn't ask.

Lone Star

 

[Burt Blade]

Don't be like the (make donkey) who walked into the local gunshop here and bought a pair of Desert Eagle pistols in .50AE for carry in a dual-holster "Cowboy" rig. This was his Iraq carry rig. He had never fired an Eagle, and had somehow decided this was the best option for protecting himself in Iraq.

You might not be able to take firearms with you, and getting them back home again may be even more difficult, especially if you neglect to let the authorities know you took them there. Scrounging locally may be necesary. Try to pick weapons that your local associates feed and repair. Know how to evaluate and maintain the likely "finds" so you can live off the abundant supplies of cast-off and free-market arms.

 

[DontBurnMyFlag]

i would take a m1a or AK clone. parts would be accessable and both guns are pretty basic. ammo would be plentiful as well. id take a 1911 or beretta as backup and make sure i have plenty of Level III body armor. also, i wouldnt skimp on the mirrored sunglasses that civilian contractors wear so often...

 

[Gun God]

I was under the impression that contractors couldn't carry in Iraq? Maybe not.

I think they should carry. You guys see that one video of the survivor of the helicopter that was shot down? They told him to get up and go...but then they sprayed him with lead. Now if he was armed with say, a Colt commando, maybe he would've survived. Who knows.

If I was going to Iraq, being a firepower maniac as myself, I'd have to go with a Mk 46 5.56mm LMG with a forward assault grip, short barrel, and retractable stock. I'd also carry 1 or 2 extra barrels. For a side arm.....nah, I'd rather save room and carry more 5.56mm ammo.

 

[Farnham]

My silly-vilian contractor management expressly forbade personal weapons when I was there, BUT...

If I were a gunbunny on convoy escort instead of a REMF computer geek, I'd take:

Springfield Armory SOCOM 16: High power/long range capability, magazines and ammo available, still short enough to maneuver out of a vehicle.

1911 of some kind: Hate to abandon my favorite Glock 17C, but .45 is probably just as available there as 9mm, and bigger is better in the up close and personal arena...come to think of it, I like keeping the enemy farther out, and I'm used to it...I'm takin the Glock.

Mossy 500 or Remington 870: I'm not there for offensive missions, I'm there to defend a small group/area. If you're close enough to threaten me, you're close enough to get a hefty load of buckshot in your boiler room, and if you're far enough out (once again proving I'm a sissy, and I prefer my enemies to drop far before they can hit me) I can drop you AND take some of the fight out of your buddy.

S/F

Farnham

 

[PMDW]

Anything with an auto sear.

 

[CleverName]

An Abrams or two.

Seriously, though, a FAL or AK, and some sort of AR. Parts for those aren't hard to come by anywhere. Maybe 2 1911's, one would be a set of spare parts, just in gun form. Crew served weapons too, but I'd let my employer sort that out. Lots of ammo.

 

[Majic]

And just how do you think you are going to get these weapons past the Iraq customs?

 

[CleverName]

Dealer samples for the Iraqi police/military, of course. I'll just happen to keep them close to me so they don't fall into the wrong hands, after the Iraqis reject my "US$80k per rifle" offer.