Clearing CUSTOMS Split from: BOOT REGULATIONS:

[Quirky]

Steel not just 'safety'?

I have Reebok thru the supply system;  weight next to nothing, CSA grade 1 composites. 

I remember going through security at YQQ* in uniform. Everyone had to take their boots off because of the steel toe. I was wearing my safety Magnums and I politely told the old gentlemen that these aren't steel toe and won't set off the detector. His response was "I was in the military for 30 years and if you are wearing safety boots they are steel!". Needless to say the detector was not set off, I didn't remove my boots and he owes me a beer next time I'm in town.

(what is this crap about having to go through security from a military base, on a military transport aircraft, to another military base. You really think I'm going to high jack the plane with my nail clippers when there is a fucking AXE on board?)

/rant.

The desert steel toes are real garbage, the toe caps wear out and steel is exposed after a month or two of use. Same goes with the black steel toe boots, you drag those things on the flight line enough times through normal use and they are garbage. Guys would have to use PRC to temporarily patch the exposed steel until their order came in, sometimes took months. My super awesome #1 magnums are still intact after 5 years of flight line use, only the bottom tread has worn down slightly. I'll probably never wear an issued boot again if I don't have to. $200 every 5 years is a small price to pay not to be in discomfort.


[Split from  BOOT REGULATIONS: issued vs. non-issued vs. non-standard boots and retitled.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

(what is this crap about having to go through security from a military base, on a military transport aircraft, to another military base. You really think I'm going to high jack the plane with my nail clippers when there is a fucking AXE on board?)

I asked the same kind of question;  apparently the RCAF agreed or was told they have to abide by TC rules for running PAX ops.  Something like that.  I really prefer Aurora Air.

:facepalm:

 

[McG]

(what is this crap about having to go through security from a military base, on a military transport aircraft, to another military base. You really think I'm going to high jack the plane with my nail clippers when there is a fucking AXE on board?)

I had to pass my weapon, fighting order and ammo through the x-Ray for flights between different coalition bases in Afghanistan.

 

[Humphrey Bogart]

It's not about hijackings, it's about contraband.  Ever heard of Frank Lucas?  Just because someone is military doesn't make them immune to crime.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Then why lock up our multi tools in an Ammo can under the belly of a Cdn Mil plane

 

[Humphrey Bogart]

Then why lock up our multi tools in an Ammo can under the belly of a Cdn Mil plane

Never said rules aren't applied stupidly or that government decisions aren't dumb sometimes.  You assume that people making these decisions actually think.  Your experience in our organization should be enough to tell you that isn't the case.

 

[AmmoTech90]

Then why lock up our multi tools in an Ammo can under the belly of a Cdn Mil plane

Because the plane might have to divert to a civilian airport and unload the pax for what ever reason.  The pax are then in the security cleared area with knives.  The fact you are military doesn't mean anything dealing with most foreign bureaucracies.
So the decision is:

A. Look like a bit a knob for making soldiers drop off their multi-tools before boarding a RCAF passenger flight?
or
B. Have to deal with getting a soldier who was arrested in a Kenyan (or where-ever) airport for opening a bag of jerky with their multi-tool?

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Thank you for that. Would have been nice to have been told that at the beginning.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

Because the plane might have to divert to a civilian airport and unload the pax for what ever reason.  The pax are then in the security cleared area with knives.  The fact you are military doesn't mean anything dealing with most foreign bureaucracies.

Some people who are diverted have more to worry about than a Gerber...I usually have NATO travel orders or something when I'm on the move and the fact I have them means something to the countries I travel to.

 

[NL_engineer]

...I usually have NATO travel orders or something when I'm on the move and the fact I have them means something to the countries I travel to.

Yet Canada Customs will give you a hard time for not having a passport on you, and followed by secondary search just because.

 

[AmmoTech90]

Some people who are diverted have more to worry about than a Gerber...I usually have NATO travel orders or something when I'm on the move and the fact I have them means something to the countries I travel to.

Cool, didn't know that NATO travel orders let passengers bypass security.  Seeing as you are normally air crew I don't think your experience is relevant to this situation.  Coming out of Africa I was happy that I had given up my Gerber and could go into the Italian duty free area and stock up on cheap wine.  I know of the two times I have bothered to get NATO travel orders, once they never saw the light of day, the second time the unit I was visiting asked if I had them and was happy with my "yes".

 

[OldSolduer]

Yet Canada Customs will give you a hard time for not having a passport on you, and followed by secondary search just because.

v

I have a story from 1976 returning from Cyprus.

Customs decided that the last flight back was to be thoroughly searched. We finally go out of the airport about 0030 hours. There were a lot of peeved wives and families.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

Yet Canada Customs will give you a hard time for not having a passport on you, and followed by secondary search just because.

We get treated the worst by our own.  Heck, I get treated better by the US people going thru Holten than I do coming back the other way!!

 

[NL_engineer]

We get treated the worst by our own.  Heck, I get treated better by the US people going thru Holten than I do coming back the other way!!

That sounds like my luck with customs.  I love it when they say "Welcome to Canada, is your visit business or pleasure" when traveling in uniform.  Enter the US in uniform and they take hour card, thank you for your service and send you on your way.

 

[George Wallace]

That sounds like my luck with customs.  I love it when they say "Welcome to Canada, is your visit business or pleasure" when traveling in uniform.  Enter the US in uniform and they take hour card, thank you for your service and send you on your way.

Been there.  Done that.  And it was a Pakistani CBSA Agent who welcomed me thus.

 

[Jarnhamar]

We get treated the worst by our own.  Heck, I get treated better by the US people going thru Holten than I do coming back the other way!!

In all my travels I've ever only been treated like shit by Canadian customs, including while in uniform.

 

[Journeyman]

And it was a Pakistani CBSA Agent who welcomed me thus.

:facepalm:

[Still on my first coffee, and not ready for the latest racism....unless of course, you actually checked his citizenship]

 

[George Wallace]

:facepalm:

[Still on my first coffee, and not ready for the latest racism....unless of course, you actually checked his citizenship]

Sorry.  It was the thick accent asking me if I was "here on business or pleasure" that made the whole experience memorable.  Comical in a sad way.

 

[NL_engineer]

Been there.  Done that.  And it was a Pakistani CBSA Agent who welcomed me thus.

They are normally the ones who say "welcome to my country" in a thick accent.  I alwayse find them the best as they know our uniform and say thank you.

 

[Old Sweat]

On the other side of the coin, because of the actions of more than a few individuals the army had a bad reputation for smuggling booze and smokes. Probably the most egregious, or at least the one I heard of involved 3 RCR, in 1973 Customs at Trenton opened a crate labelled "Platoon Stores" when clearing a chalk returning from an AMF(L) exercise in Norway. Instead of military kit the crate was full of illicit booze.

Side issue - the guys in the AMF(L) Battery developed a large dislike for the battalion because of the incident. You see, they had been told that because of an administrative glitch, there was no duty free alcohol available for them. It didn't take much to connect the dots.