The ethics of buying rations

Mirage · Post by **Mirage** » Sat Apr 16, 2005 12:47 am

kman, a very logical presentation - basically covers what I would have asked as well, if I was going to comment in this thread.

I will be extremely interested to see the same amount of logic from the anti-50 cal contingent. Honestly I can't see how there could be a logical reason, but hey - surprise me.

Could I ask one minor favor - skip the tired old arguments of how a 50 cal will shoot down an airliner, puncture both sides of a bank vault and so on? These tired old chestnuts have been touted for years now and all have been shown to be complete nonsense.

It's quite obvious a logical reason was posted several topics above - long range target practice - but it was conveniently ignored.

Also, very informative link, kman! Let's hope that EVERYONE reads that page before adding any nonsensical comments.

Twobravo · Post by **Twobravo** » Sat Apr 16, 2005 8:09 am

kellywmj wrote:Hey, if you want to buy some beat to shit surplus M1911A1 that has had 40,000 rounds run through it, be my guest. As far as 50 cals go, unless you are some whack job fending off BATF agents as they storm your doomsday bunker, they have no legitimate use in society.

BATF agents are a thing of the past. They are no longer even called that now that they are under the control of the Dept. of Homeland Security. Also, most .50 BMG rifles are kind of on the slow side. I have something with a little faster cyclic rate in my "doomsday bunker".

I also see you failed to answer the questions I asked you. Your silence speaks volumes.

Post by **DIRTYDAVE** » Sat Apr 16, 2005 1:30 pm

I am happy I can buy them on eBay, legal or not. I want 'em and I shall have 'em. You don't want them, don't buy them. The government is no shining star in my mind. I pay taxes, a hell of a lot of them at that, over $16,000 worth last year and my money has helped in the development of MREs and I want a little payback. Buying MREs is my payback. After all the government is for the people, by the people not Bush and Cheney's toy to play with only.

Twobravo · Post by **Twobravo** » Sat Apr 16, 2005 4:19 pm

DIRTYDAVE wrote:I am happy I can buy them on eBay, legal or not. I want 'em and I shall have 'em. You don't want them, don't buy them. The government is no shining star in my mind. I pay taxes, a hell of a lot of them at that, over $16,000 worth last year and my money has helped in the development of MREs and I want a little payback. Buying MREs is my payback. After all the government is for the people, by the people not Bush and Cheney's toy to play with only.

Yeah...now, given the amount of taxes I've paid, I should be able to buy Surplus M9 Pistols and M4 Carbines. After all, those 2 firearms are legal for me to own. Why can't the government take my money for those?

DangerousDave · Post by **DangerousDave** » Sun Apr 17, 2005 5:27 pm

problem with selling U.S. Gov't food, how can Cheaperthandirt and Sportsmansguide legally sell them? Right now at CTD, they are selling Chili beans, Teriyaki and Chow Mein for $6/Tray. We've all heard the firearms ownership opinions. The Canucks and Brits will never get it. Canucks(Mostly) don't like any firearms. Thats why their soldiers are the highest paid in the world. And then, theres a little accident in Crapganistan, and they go Ape S___. Wanting heads on a platter. By the way, with the sunset clause of the Clinton assault weapons ban of 1994, any law-abiding American can legally purchase and own L.E. and U.S. Gov't marked weapons and mags. I can't wait to get my hands on a used Virginia State Police M-4(no, they are'nt fully auto, but they have those darned deadly collapsible stocks on them) Carbine.

deanopilot · Post by **deanopilot** » Sun Apr 17, 2005 8:20 pm

Anyone got a line on a Chevy Corvette for sale? It must have the following options: collapsable stock, exhaust suppressor, extra capacity fuel tank. Bayonette lugs, bipod and pistol-grip steering wheel are preferred options too. I'm off to buy my Ronnie Barrett M82A1 before some bed wetting liberal from across the Detroit River decides that I need to use my money to pay tea taxes to King George instead.

223 · Post by **223** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 2:37 am

kellywmj,as long as we waste money supporting every 3rd world chithole,I dont mind getting some over run MREs.And the G dont mind selling anything out of DRMO,so take that high and mighty attitude and stuff it.

I dont want any wore out Beretta that some punk gang banger turned soldier boy doesnt take care of and is now wore out.

And dont worry,when I have to shoot some socialist,JBT azz,I will use Israeli made M855 in my AR15,not some reject demilled crap that the government WANTS me to buy at a ridiculous price.

aquarius · Post by **aquarius** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 4:10 am

Let us get back to Kelly’s basic remarks: “MRE’s should not be for sale. I honestly think its part of the experience of being a soldier. Rations were never meant to be sold to the public, they are government property”.

Except for the “experience” part, his opinion is clear to me, because MRE’s are indeed not for sale to the public and yes, they are still gov property. The ones sold on eBay and other places are probably the boxes that “fell of a truck”, or more lickely, they are the left overs from all kinds of disasters (hurricanes, troop manouevres). Many, many hunderdthousands or even millions of these rations are being produced, stored, shipped and eaten every day by soldiers all over the world. A tinny percentage (0.0000?) is now for sale on eBay, but to us it looks like everybody is selling our troops MRE’s.
Of course some will be stolen or otherwise being taken care of by soldiers. But remember, these are not the items you can easily hide under your shirt while walking through an army camp gate!

The probable reason why we like the military rations so much, is just because they are so hard to get! Why don’t we buy food in supermarkets (there we can buy excellent, even fresh food), or take the Mountain House commercial packings with us on our outdoor weekends...??
I guess you know the answer.

The very few Dutch rations I can get are being brought to me by a friend, who has a friend in the Army. When the Army guy goes out on exercise in Norway they get Arctic rations (freese dried stuff) every day for a 3 week period. This Army guy saves the left overs and take them back in his rucksack so he can trade them with us! Yes, we are trading gov property items, but on a extremely small scale and otherwise the stuff would have been thrown away in some Norwegian trash heap.

So, is it ethical to buy rations from eBay and alike?
For some it is, for some it isn’t.
Is it ethical to buy stolen rations?
Still, for some it is, for some it isn’t. But we must respect the persons who do not want to buy them any longer when they are stolen, and who wishes to discuss this!

- About the .50 BMG Rifles. (Pouring a little bit of salt in fresh wounds makes me happy...)
Where does it stops, this shooting-large-calibers-for-fun hype? Is .50 BMG the maximum, or should it be 14.5 Russian, or 20x110 mm, or maybe the latest 25 mm OICW Air Burst, or a lovely little 80mm mortar, or...?

Maybe the ones who want to shoot .50 caliber rifles are the same weirdo’s that want to eat military rations: 1. both habbits do not make any sense, 2. it is only for fun, 3. it is a strange kind of fun, 4. both hobbies are dangerous because over-exposure will lead to extreme physical problems, 5. it makes you a little bit insane (just read what I have written), 6. and so on.
* Please don’t take this serious.

Stay safe!

Mirage · Post by **Mirage** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 12:59 pm

deanopilot - sorry you have to be a serving Cdn. soldier in order to drive a car like that!

Mirage · Post by **Mirage** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 4:17 pm

kellywmj wrote:I know IMPs are never sold as surplus, thay are either issued, or if past expiry, destroyed. .

To put the final nail in the coffin and clarify even this one minor statement that came back (which was the ONLY comment made on the original topic), once everything else was disproved.

After some probing phone calls to clarify this:

There is no official force-wide policy on surplusing out IMPs.
HOWEVER unit commanders have some flexibility regarding their stores and can trade off IMPs for other gear. Whether they wish to do this with another unit or to a surplus dealer if that dealer has something their guys require, is their call.

So, all the IMPs you see for sale are not stolen either. Once again some minor amount of them no doubt are, but some are from the source listed above, others are from soldiers returning from a training exercise and are left over - so they bring them home.

You honestly think people are leaving the base with truckloads of these? Wholesale theft would be caught reasonably easily. Also there are some companies that sell these openly, once again if these were obtained through theft, the government would be all over them.

It's also convenient how we haven't had a single comment back on the original topic of "ethics of buying rations", as the original poster had diverged into gun control and terrorist policies. At least have the courtesy to address the original topic and support your assertions or acknowledge that you were obviously wrong.

The ethics of buying rations

very well presented

If theres a legal

too bad....

alright