Body Armor from a Yard Sale

[bryang]

A nearby house had a yard sale with quite a lot of U.S. Army (current) uniforms and gear - ACUs, woodland cammo stuff (ponchos and gortex), as well as PT uniforms and some field gear.

 

As I'm retired, I still have tons of this stuff packed up and put away (I find my old boots and ACU bottoms handy for yard work).

 

He did have, however, body armor with plates, which he wanted $50 for. I bargained with him and gave him the $50 for it along with a woodland LBV as well as a pair of kit bags (the DCU one zips like the standard kit bag, but also has straps on one side to carry the bag like a rucksack).

 

Didn't really need the body armor other than the fact that the seller was an extra-large sized guy like me, so it fits. The LBV is also my size and will be used when I go to the range to shoot.

 

As far as I'm concerned you can never have too many kit bags! I use them for several purposes.

 

[bryang]

[CHASEUSA11B]

You got a great deal. I'm always looking for plates for the guys I work with and they don't come cheap!

[pbuchh7715]

Hmmmm....

 

I haven't had to conduct a CI or SI in a while but.....SAPI plates were, and I think still are, considered a sensitive item; by old standards, those are considered stolen. Double-checking with my S-4 and AT/FP dude as the rules may have changed but....

 

Best,

 

Peter

[m1ashooter]

Great find. I wish I had neighbors who do not know the value of their stuff. I wouldn't be too concerned about the feds knocking on your door. OTV and IOTV is all over Ebay for sale.

[vzemke]

No, Peter is partially right. While not technically a sensitive item, according to the Army there is no legal reason for SAPI plates (or any other hard armor plate of a similar type) to be out for sale on the open market.

 

I highly doubt anyone will come knocking on your door about it and its suprisingly common for such items to work their way into the civilian market with out anyone setting out to rob or steal anything from the Governement.

 

If you live near an Army post and try to sell them on Craigslist or Ebay however, I would fully expect to get a vist from Army CID. Army Surplus stores near many military bases will often not buy body armor and plates for this very reason (or atleast not openly buy them). Some posts are more aggressive than others with this. At some places Soldiers have been arresseted for attempting to sell boby armor, plates and ACHs (read: "government property").

 

-Vance

 

 

Hmmmm....

 

I haven't had to conduct a CI or SI in a while but.....SAPI plates were, and I think still are, considered a sensitive item; by old standards, those are considered stolen. Double-checking with my S-4 and AT/FP dude as the rules may have changed but....

 

Best,

 

Peter

[anelles]

No, Peter is partially right. While not technically a sensitive item, according to the Army there is no legal reason for SAPI plates (or any other hard armor plate of a similar type) to be out for sale on the open market.

 

I highly doubt anyone will come knocking on your door about it and its suprisingly common for such items to work their way into the civilian market with out anyone setting out to rob or steal anything from the Governement.

 

If you live near an Army post and try to sell them on Craigslist or Ebay however, I would fully expect to get a vist from Army CID. Army Surplus stores near many military bases will often not buy body armor and plates for this very reason (or atleast not openly buy them). Some posts are more aggressive than others with this. At some places Soldiers have been arresseted for attempting to sell boby armor, plates and ACHs (read: "government property").

 

-Vance

 

 

 

I don't think it's as intense as it was back when there were shortages of plates in the military. The older Level III plates, which are the black ones, have flooded the market lately.

 

A friend of mine in the Army was given his Level III plates to take home and keep after he was issued Level IV's before a deployment. I'm guessing that must be fairly common, and that they often go straight to eBay.

 

[vzemke]

Like I said, lots of these have entered the market, and elements of the Army have unofficially let that happen frequently over the years. Property accountability is not something the Army has been very good at.

 

But some locations have been cracking down very hard on this recently. Just last year at FT Polk, LA several service members were arrested and charged under UCMJ for trying to sell vests, plates, and ACHs on Bookoo (a site similar to Craigslist). The difference here is these were active duty folks actively trying to sell them next to an Army base.

[pbuchh7715]

Greetings,

 

I spoke to my Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection Specialist today and he concurred with what Vance wrote. Funny thing was that he shared a story similar to what Vance wrote about.

 

On a side note, the Army has made a complete 180 on property accountability. The days of "field loss" are over and the number of FLIPL's that DON'T get written-off has increased ten-fold in the past two years and the number of items that are considered disposable (e.g. t-shirts, boots, clothing that touches skin) has DECREASED just as much. Even if it's not on your clothing record or on a hand receipt, you're SUPPOSED to turn it in. It's sort of insane as a lot of stuff heads to DRMO for disposal.

 

Regardless, not here to be a Regulation Nazi. Congratulations on your find.

 

Best,

 

Peter