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Bring back: Iraqi M80/03 helmet & net


Bob Hudson
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This was brought home by a Marine officer who was in Fallujah 2004-2005. This has been called the "03" variant of the M80 helmet. The bright green suspension and pinkish sweatband make for a colorful inside. What was the situation in 2004 in regards to war souvenirs, were they legal to bring home?

 

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A few veterans told me it was harder to bring souvenirs back in OIF then in desert storm, but they found ways to get some items back. Regarding the legality of doing so, I'm not sure, but I doubt it was illegal as so many soldiers brought stuff back.

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Also, the US Army wasn't concerned with someone bringing back a helmet or uniform, but weapons were difficult to get back, and they were, in most cases, not allowed to be sent home.

Here is an excerpt from an article written in 2004 by an Army News Service

 

"The current Army policy in place is that a battalion can bring home one weapon, Cole said. Each brigade-level unit is allowed to send home three such weapons, he added."

"There isn't a restriction on the number of items like helmets or uniforms that a unit can send, though, Cole added."

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Knew a SF intel officer and got a few things from him that was there early.They found a wharehouse/stock piles of stuff.Uniforms and boots new in plastic bags,new helmets etc...even Chinese made AK pouches that were new.

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  • 2 weeks later...

If my memory serves in the beginning it was pretty much anything, except weapons, could be brought back. Then Sometime around late 03 or early 04, they changed it to where you could only mail like 5 or 10 things home, if you could actually find someplace to mail it. But you could get around it by breaking up lots into different packages. When redeploying I think you could only bring back like five items, but no weapons of any kind i.e. firearms, bayonets, swords etc.. I know it changed every time I was there so and trying to remember that far back I might have a few details mixed up.

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  • 2 weeks later...
jeremiahcable

When my unit rotated out anything that was Iraqi military type gear was confiscated from us, with the exception of bayonets. We were told by the marine MPs doing customs searches that all the gear was going to be used to equip Iraqi units. We were of the opinion that the MPs were cherry picking our souviners.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I brought home two of these helmets but in rougher shape in 2006, picked up in 2005. I recall nobody caring. We got a brief by customs on the way out about filling out the capture documents, but even then they only really cared if we had weapons. The post offices also didn't care, I sent home an Iraqi uniform. Fast forward to Afghanistan in 2011, and the caring levels had definitely increased

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I sent home thousands of items in 2003-2004. All were shipped through the army via USPS. No restrictions on anything but firearms newer than 1898 and of course explosives etc... I also wrote all of the Military Trader articles on Iraqi helmets, berets, the Republican Guard, rank, and such. Your helmet is an M90/03 not 80. The M80 is a copy of the South Korean M79 ballistic fiber helmet that was produced in Iraq and used in the Iran War and Desert Shield/Storm. Due to sanctions and a generally poor economy the ballistic properties of the later M90 were questionable at best. A large rubber rim band had to be added as the fiber layers would separate and the helmets would fray apart.

As you can imagine, by 2003 the situation was worse and an entirely new helmet (yours) was patterned after theM80 M90 and locally produced. It has a different liner webbing, a thicker shell and it came with an elastic banded camo net. Many of these were unissued and later used by the ICDC in 2004-2006. There are a couple of paint styles from an almost olive green to a tan. Some are found with unit marks and all should have the dark green webbing in the liner. Hope this helps. Also note that the helmet nomenclature was created by us collectors and I never found proof of the Iraqi's using these terms outside of some very early references to the M80 in that 1980 was the year of procurement and adoption. Scott

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I sent home thousands of items in 2003-2004. All were shipped through the army via USPS. No restrictions on anything but firearms newer than 1898 and of course explosives etc... I also wrote all of the Military Trader articles on Iraqi helmets, berets, the Republican Guard, rank, and such. Your helmet is an M90/03 not 80. The M80 is a copy of the South Korean M79 ballistic fiber helmet that was produced in Iraq and used in the Iran War and Desert Shield/Storm. Due to sanctions and a generally poor economy the ballistic properties of the later M90 were questionable at best. A large rubber rim band had to be added as the fiber layers would separate and the helmets would fray apart.

As you can imagine, by 2003 the situation was worse and an entirely new helmet (yours) was patterned after theM80 M90 and locally produced. It has a different liner webbing, a thicker shell and it came with an elastic banded camo net. Many of these were unissued and later used by the ICDC in 2004-2006. There are a couple of paint styles from an almost olive green to a tan. Some are found with unit marks and all should have the dark green webbing in the liner. Hope this helps. Also note that the helmet nomenclature was created by us collectors and I never found proof of the Iraqi's using these terms outside of some very early references to the M80 in that 1980 was the year of procurement and adoption. Scott

 

 

Thanks for sharing -

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  • 1 year later...

I sent home thousands of items in 2003-2004. All were shipped through the army via USPS. No restrictions on anything but firearms newer than 1898 and of course explosives etc... I also wrote all of the Military Trader articles on Iraqi helmets, berets, the Republican Guard, rank, and such. Your helmet is an M90/03 not 80. The M80 is a copy of the South Korean M79 ballistic fiber helmet that was produced in Iraq and used in the Iran War and Desert Shield/Storm. Due to sanctions and a generally poor economy the ballistic properties of the later M90 were questionable at best. A large rubber rim band had to be added as the fiber layers would separate and the helmets would fray apart.

As you can imagine, by 2003 the situation was worse and an entirely new helmet (yours) was patterned after theM80 M90 and locally produced. It has a different liner webbing, a thicker shell and it came with an elastic banded camo net. Many of these were unissued and later used by the ICDC in 2004-2006. There are a couple of paint styles from an almost olive green to a tan. Some are found with unit marks and all should have the dark green webbing in the liner. Hope this helps. Also note that the helmet nomenclature was created by us collectors and I never found proof of the Iraqi's using these terms outside of some very early references to the M80 in that 1980 was the year of procurement and adoption. Scott

 

Great info as usual >Scott, here a quick guide http://www.gostak.co.uk/composites/iraq/

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