Customs agents not allowing soldiers to return home with their fighting knives.
Customs agents have not been allowing soldiers to return home with any knife over 4" long in their checked baggage. Many soldiers had to throw their Ka-Bars and other privately purchased knives in the trash before they could board a plane home.
When I returned home from Iraq, I got around it by via registered mail through the USPS.
I suspect that customs agents are enforcing their own policy rather than US law when they make soldiers throw their knives in the trash rather than allow them to bring them home in checked baggage.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jeb B on -
Phillip,
When you say "disposed of by customs", who do you mean? Do you mean uniformed Customs and Border Protection officers at a US airport, military police acting in a customs role, or something else? That's been part of the problem with this issue, determining who is actually causing the problem. If the issue is with CBP then the complaints need to go to DHS, if its a military service then it goes to DOD of course.
Thanks!
Phillip Cissell said:I had my spyderco endura 4 taken out of a checked bag and disposed of by customs as well. PFC Cissell
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Permalink Reply by Steve Shackleford on -
If it's not carry on, no one should be able to confiscate the knife. Sounds like a clear case of Customs overstepping its bounds to me.
Which airport was it?
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Permalink Reply by Rep. Jenn Coffey on -
That's the main issue, we have customs following what they want for the day, and then we have various gov. agencies with their own rules, end result our soldiers are disrespected and stolen from. What is frustrating me is the little effort I am seeing from our Congress or Senate to address the issue.
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Permalink Reply by Jeb B on
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OK, we're not getting anywhere. I really wanted Phillip to reply back to where he thought his particular problem was. As I said in my previous post, "customs" can be allot of different things in different locations. I think most problems come from military police acting in a customs capacity, but it would be nice to have a recent example to confirm that. If you send a generic complaint to DoD and DHS they will insist that the problem is with the other agency and not them.
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Permalink Reply by Phillip Cissell on -
Sorry for the delay on responding. This was at Lambert airfield in Saint Louis, Missouri. And it was the Customs and Border Protection officers at the terminal. I have already filed a complaint with the DHS and have not received any feed back whatsoever. It is very fustrating the knife that was taken has gone through three deployments with me and was a gift from my wife. Again sorry for teh delayed response time.
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Permalink Reply by Jeb B on
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Phillip,
Thanks for answering back, so your problem was indeed with CBP at a US airport. Here’s my recommendation on what to do:
- Write a letter (don’t send an email or use CBP’s e-complaint system) to the Acting Commissioner of CBP (David V. Aguilar), mail it to him at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20229. Show on the letter that you are sending courtesy copies to the Secretary of DHS, you’re US Congressman and the US Senators from your state.
- In the letter professionally and in as much detail as possible describe the circumstances of your knife being taken away. Make sure to name the officers that took it, if you didn’t think to get their names then state the flight you arrived on, date and time, since CBP should be able to narrow down or completely ID the officers that processed your baggage from their shift records.
- Tell Acting Commissioner Aguilar how much the knife meant to you, that it was personally procured professional gear (use that term exactly) that you need for follow on military deployments, and that you would like it returned at the earliest possible opportunity. Don’t ask for another knife or to be reimbursed, that hurts the emotional impact of your letter, tell him you want your knife back.
- Also state that you believe there is serious confusion on the part of CBP and military police acting in a dual customs authority while deployed overseas about the return of military gear of redeploying serviceman, and that knives are one of the most commonly things seized improperly by Customs and those acting on Customs authorities. Request that Aguilar notify all CBP offices and US military acting in a Customs capacity what the rules are for personally procured professional gear, especially knives.
- Close the letter professionally and give him a good place to contact you.
- If Aguilar doesn’t offer a profuse apology and send your knife back (let’s be honest, the knife is gone, but he might offer to reimburse you for it), then raise holy hell on him. If you aren’t satisfied then your next step is your US Congressional representatives, send them a letter saying CBP didn’t rectify their mistake and you want them to wage war on your behalf, that’s what they are there for after all.
This might seem like allot of work, but it really isn’t, and the best part is the idiot CBP officer that took your knife probably gets sent to mid shift for the next year after he personally makes Aguilar look bad. Best of all, you have a chance to make sure your peers don’t have their knives seized by some bone head CBP officer.
Best of luck!
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Permalink Reply by Ed. Fowler on
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The consequences of any hassle you have with "authorities" are much greater in your favor when you to get their name, rank and badge number, also demand a receipt for what they have taken and have theme sign it, stating all pertinent information as to their identity. Then do as you have done, go public with it immediately, and stick with it!
Don't just go their immediate supervisor, go a couple of steps above him and soon all flows down hill.
Good Luck
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Permalink Reply by Steve Shackleford on
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Great suggestions, Jeb. Phillip, if you are able to follow up on Jeb's suggestions, let us know what happens, please.
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