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Someone beat me to it. He was probably customs. Were you around Tomball? They fly out of that area and they were flight suits with the rig you were describing.

Years ago, a colleague at work was in the military as an MP - specifically, a dog handler. (Or whatever the "official" title is.)

He told me that sometimes two guys were detailed to go into town to pick up or deliver base mail at the local post office - when they went, they were issued a sidearm and five - count 'em, five - rounds of ammo.

The pistol and all five rounds of ammo had to be accounted for and turned in when they got back to base.

Just something that crossed my mind and I didn't see it posted, could he have been a recruiter? Now I've never noticed a recruiter open carrying, but I'd guess that would give him the non-applicability coverage and if he's rolling around in his recruit-mobile then he doesn't have the personal vehicle issue. Also, he'd be going back to an office somewhere, not a base, thus no hassle as far as checking in and out go.

Granted, I really have no idea what I'm talking about, just throwing some thoughts out so those wiser than I can shoot them down.

Fangs wrote:Just something that crossed my mind and I didn't see it posted, could he have been a recruiter? Now I've never noticed a recruiter open carrying, but I'd guess that would give him the non-applicability coverage and if he's rolling around in his recruit-mobile then he doesn't have the personal vehicle issue. Also, he'd be going back to an office somewhere, not a base, thus no hassle as far as checking in and out go.

Granted, I really have no idea what I'm talking about, just throwing some thoughts out so those wiser than I can shoot them down.

A recruiter wouldn't be in a flight suit.

Nice try though

I saw a big, white, corn fed looking guy in wally here in galveston maybe a year or so ago that had a full size, tan colored kabar in a drop leg rig looking at the ammo. I asked him if he was LE or what and his reply was something to the effect of "well I just got out of the army and I'm so used to being fully suited with my knife, vest and guns that I just can't get used to walking around as a civilian without it." I didn't want to be the one to ruin the party and tell him anything about it being an illegal knife, whether he already knew that and just didn't care I don't know, but I figured someone would let him know sometime down the road.

dicion wrote:

Fangs wrote:Just something that crossed my mind and I didn't see it posted, could he have been a recruiter? Now I've never noticed a recruiter open carrying, but I'd guess that would give him the non-applicability coverage and if he's rolling around in his recruit-mobile then he doesn't have the personal vehicle issue. Also, he'd be going back to an office somewhere, not a base, thus no hassle as far as checking in and out go.

Granted, I really have no idea what I'm talking about, just throwing some thoughts out so those wiser than I can shoot them down.

A recruiter wouldn't be in a flight suit.

Nice try though

Also, a recruiter wouldn't have any business carrying a pistol around.

rangefinderII wrote:Maybe he was not USAF.

I saw something similar a few years ago. Only the guy in the flight suit was a helo pilot with Customs. He was in a green flight suit, shoulder rig and no hat.

Beat me to it. I used to see the LAPD and L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. helicopter pilots in flight suits with shoulder rigs and service type Beretta pistols. It would have been easy to mistake them for military.

You know, Greg may have hit it on the head. I AM in Tomball, as a matter of fact. We're close to Hooks Airport, and they do a lot of air traffic. I was in the office and DEFINITELY saw him carrying a pistol in a shoulder rig through the window, but couldn't read the plastic ID card on his lanyard. He was definitely not Tomball Police, Harris County Sheriff, etc. Maybe he WAS customs, wearing the flight suit, because it had some sort of insignia that I thought was AF, but maybe it was customs. Yes, I know it's probably hard to confuse the two, but it was for sure, you typical USAF flight suit. I've got a buddy who is a pilot, and have seen his gear often. So, maybe I saw a customs agent, and that would solve the great mystery. Thanks for the input.

OK, things may have changed a lot since I was in, we were just changing over from black powder and such, but despite all of the objections about how tough it is to check out a gun, or how it's not allowed, or one has to be involved in an official capacity, I used to check out a .45 and go around parts of NY and NJ armed with great regularity.

So how did I accomplish this amazing feat?

Well, I was a Gunner's Mate, and in charge of the armory on ship and I was the one to see to check out a gun, so I essentially could sign out a gun to myself, countersigned by an officer of course, but that was usually a mere formality: "What's going on Longley?" "Making a run to Earle, Sir." "OK" Earle Naval Ammuniton Depot in New Jersey.

I would check out a truck from the motor pool for a trip to Earle to pick up small arms ammo for training, or drop off ammo boxes or one thing or another. Normally one of these trips required a driver with a Navy license and a Gunner’s Mate, but since I had a Navy license I fulfilled both roles and only had to take a passenger when I was actually transporting ammo, not empty boxes.

Dressed in dungarees and ball caps, usually not much in the way of identifying markings on the uniforms, most often in company of an officer in his version of fatigues, with a sidearm, sometimes with another enlisted.

Of course coffee stops were mandatory, sometimes without hats on, and even lunch at a diner, and also of course, ammo trucks, even with nothing but empty ammo boxes had to be placarded as ammo trucks, which meant we were not allowed to take the tunnels, so we had to cross from Brooklyn to New Jersey across Manhattan. And sometimes we just had to stop for lunch in Manhattan. And ammo truck drivers and passengers had to be armed, and I was in charge of the guns in the armory, etc, etc, etc.

We raised a few eyebrows, but nobody ever questioned us, or me when I was making a run alone.

coog83 wrote:You know, Greg may have hit it on the head. I AM in Tomball, as a matter of fact. We're close to Hooks Airport, and they do a lot of air traffic. I was in the office and DEFINITELY saw him carrying a pistol in a shoulder rig through the window, but couldn't read the plastic ID card on his lanyard. He was definitely not Tomball Police, Harris County Sheriff, etc. Maybe he WAS customs, wearing the flight suit, because it had some sort of insignia that I thought was AF, but maybe it was customs. Yes, I know it's probably hard to confuse the two, but it was for sure, you typical USAF flight suit. I've got a buddy who is a pilot, and have seen his gear often. So, maybe I saw a customs agent, and that would solve the great mystery. Thanks for the input.

Yeah that's Customs then. I see them all the time around Tomball.

I to believe it was Customs but to clarify a few things.... A GOV must be used to XPort GOV firearms if a GOV is available. The USAF doesn't expressly prohibit it. Additionally, anyone who has been to Fiesta (San Antonio) I am sure you have seen USAF Security Forces working downtown with SAPD, BCSO and TABC. And the last time I was down there we ate for free in one of the restuarants.

my father used to conduct operations in a blackhawk for customs years ago, he wore a flight suit and the whole nine yards, and as gov't agents, they are required to be armed at all times, chances are that is what you saw and not a USAF airman.

Back in the 90's I was the NCOIC of a payroll run from Camp Pendleton to the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Center in Bridgeport, CA. On the way to the base we had to stop at the local Bank of America to cash our US Government check in order to pay folks. Our butter-bar and myself were carrying our M9's and our two guards had M-16's. We all piled out of our US Govt van and noticed a California Highway Patrol cruiser parked across the street (very small town). He kind of looked at us in amazement as the troops and I went into the bank. The zero had enough sense to cross the street and reassure the CHPer. It went smoothly after that.

Morn'
I see uniformed US customs and CG personel all the time on Galveston strand area with weapons on the display. Starbucks is an ideaal place to observed them while cruise ships are docked..