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2nd Gulf War contraband Iraq officer rank


Bob Hudson
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Got these from a Marine who managed to bring them home despite the ban on war souvenirs. Unfortunately these are singles, not pairs:

 

1.jpg

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what ban on war souvenirs?

 

when I was there the only things you could not bring back were weapons, weapons parts, human body parts, and Insects not encased in lucite.

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They didn't really crack down on items other then weapons until Post 9/11. Some units had stricter policy then others but large up till Post 9/11 anything could be sent back that was explosive or gun there were a few other odd items on that list but it was pretty open door. Even today if you find something and write a well written letter to your CO you will most likely get away with patches, pin etc.

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Ive seen several of these these sold as sets, often mounted to a piece of cardstock with a small piece of paper explaining the ranks. I even got a mostly complete set at a random garage sale with no other military stuff there. I figured these sets were sold as souvenirs by local entrepreneurs. Which also explains why they are singles.

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These are made for the souvenir market.... It is possible they are late made (2000-2003) for the Iraqi army, but as already mentioned, these were sold by AAFES mounted on cardboard as souvenirs. A sort of post war cottage industry. Iraqi ranks from before that time are actually nice quality embroidered. Scott

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Greetings,

 

Real-deal pieces that were indeed sold in sets of singles on a cardboard sheet wrapped in cellophane. Certainly, post-war entrpreneurs were trying to get the most sheckles for their efforts. :) I think it's a nice find; legitimate pre-2003 stuff is getting harder tocome by.

 

Best,

 

Peter

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I can 100% guarantee that the Field Marshall board, worm only by Saddam Hussein is not the "real deal"...Real deal examples like this in other ranks certainly exist, but to be certain one needs to find examples where the stars within the eagles are present, the ends of the boards are double stitched and the quality is just better. Here is a real Air Force Colonel. The only difference between this and the Army is the blue color background. Scott

post-104832-0-27934900-1582794352.jpg

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Capt.Confederacy

These are made for the souvenir market.... It is possible they are late made (2000-2003) for the Iraqi army, but as already mentioned, these were sold by AAFES mounted on cardboard as souvenirs. A sort of post war cottage industry. Iraqi ranks from before that time are actually nice quality embroidered. Scott

I agree. I have come across several of the cardboard-mounted rank sets in the past, and the quality just is not what you'd expect a high-ranking officer to wear. These would have been made exclusively for the souvenir market. However, that being said, I have seen rank sets with obvious pre-03 made shoulder boards sprinkled in them. (According to one OIF vet there in the early days of the operation, he stated that the locals sold mostly original Saddam era items at first. When the supplies started running low, they switched to filling out the rank sets with newly made pieces.) I have a few of these board sets in my collection if anyone wants me to post an image here on this thread.

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Capt.Confederacy

These are made for the souvenir market.... It is possible they are late made (2000-2003) for the Iraqi army, but as already mentioned, these were sold by AAFES mounted on cardboard as souvenirs. A sort of post war cottage industry. Iraqi ranks from before that time are actually nice quality embroidered. Scott

I agree. I have come across several of the cardboard-mounted rank sets in the past, and the quality just is not what you'd expect a high-ranking officer to wear. These would have been made exclusively for the souvenir market. However, that being said, I have seen rank sets with obvious pre-03 made shoulder boards sprinkled in them. (According to one OIF vet there in the early days of the operation, he stated that the locals sold mostly original Saddam era items at first. When the supplies started running low, they switched to filling out the rank sets with newly made pieces.) I have a few of these board sets in my collection if anyone wants me to post an image here on this thread.

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Capt.Confederacy

Here is one I own. Thoughts please? 35c3af27129c2d65870404cfcd97b8ba.jpg

 

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

For my 2 centavos, I'd say it's likely a souvenir piece.

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For my 2 centavos, I'd say it's likely a souvenir piece.

Thank you, that was my thought as well after reading this thread.

 

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

 

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