What is the oddest, strangest, or most unusual/baffling item you know of or have come across in a property book?

2017-02-21T10:31:31-05:00

Mine would be during an NTC rotation where our Battalion was searching for PART of a WWII-era encryption system that had been misplaced. The item itself was useless, other than as a paperweight, as the rest of it was long gone.

It was on the list, though, so it had to be taken along whenever the Battalion went somewhere.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 21 at 2017 10:34 AM

2017-02-21T10:34:37-05:00

In my Preventive Medicine unit, we have an ID Card/Bar Code scanner. In my 7 yrs in the unit, even when we deployed......we have NEVER used that thing. Sure have to account for it, though.

Response by SFC David Davenport made Feb 21 at 2017 11:10 AM

2017-02-21T11:10:13-05:00

I ran a site in a high desert planes area overseas. One of the first things I did, after I took over from the people that were in charge previously, was to go through everything on site. Things went well until I opened a locker in a back office. The locker was packed full of things I was not authorized to know existed no less have in our possession. Thankfully my team was well trained and when I asked for two locks that only I had keys to they listened and did not ask questions. I had an interesting conversation with the intel folks over land line. About 4 days later someone flew in by helicopter to take the problem off of my hands. I can't get into what was in the locker but you see stuff in movies and sometimes you see the same things in the real world.

Response by CW4 Anthoney Lowry made Feb 21 at 2017 12:14 PM

2017-02-21T12:14:17-05:00

Very early 90's after the wall fell, before the Balkans.

AN/TRS-2(V), PLATOON EARLY WARNING SYSTEM (PEWS)

An operational AN/TRS-2(V) consists of ten detector anti-intrusion devices, two radio receivers, two interface wire links and other accessories packaged in two carrying bags. The system will operate in a variety of different types of terrain and under extreme temperature and climatic conditions with a very low false alarm rate.

Key word "OPERATIONAL". Every detector antenna was broken and the batteries were corroded to the point that they could not be removed. But we still pulled that crap out and set it up during "Sergeants Time training" on Thursdays. Those times still piss me off.

Response by CSM Richard StCyr made Feb 21 at 2017 1:08 PM

2017-02-21T13:08:18-05:00

An inert shell casing from Vietnam with engraved art donated to the unit by a veteran. Pretty neat with a Rome plow pushing over a tree.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 21 at 2017 2:10 PM

2017-02-21T14:10:39-05:00

When I was a Stryker Cavalry Troop XO, we had two tank smoke launchers on our hand receipt. It was a headache trying to get them removed.

Response by SSG Robert Webster made Feb 21 at 2017 3:28 PM

2017-02-21T15:28:04-05:00

Several M1921 Thompson SMGs from the CZ Police Department.

Response by CW4 Guy Butler made Feb 21 at 2017 4:11 PM

2017-02-21T16:11:18-05:00

Gyrocompasses, radar sets, sonar sets, hydrophones, and a few other odds and ends, all permanently installed on the boats and all of them should have been labeled "Components of End Item" (and half were pacing items!).

They finally fixed those MTOEs.

Response by CPT Jacob Swartout made Feb 22 at 2017 12:45 AM

2017-02-22T00:45:03-05:00

SGT Matthew S. we had three Vietnam Era metal detectors that didn't work but couldn't remove them from the PB because they were part of the MTOE. Most were missing parts too and they likely couldn't detect metal if they did work. If anything, give us some updated ones that we could actually train on.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Feb 24 at 2017 12:20 AM

2017-02-24T00:20:34-05:00

During the Viet Nam War the weapons development labs at Eglin AFB were working at full steam. If a system was being developed for Viet Nam it carried a 1A1 priority and could purchase just about anything it needed - materials, parts, test equipment, etc.

When ideas didn't pan out the excess materials was supposed to be sent to the scrap yard to be disposed of normally. One civilian lab manager put the materials, components, and test equipment in a store room and used it to support lower priority projects that had difficulty with funding. As a result his lab got a lot more development done than he would have been able to do normally, and got commendation awards for the efficiency of his operation.

Then the IG was scheduled to run an inspection of the base and he had all of this unauthorized equipment and materials in his lab that he had to hide for the inspection. He loaded it in a tractor-trailer rig and drove it out to the test ranges and parked it in the woods.

After the IG left he went out to the ranges to retrieve it, not knowing that the OSI had found it and was staking it out. He was arrested when he tried to drive it away, on charges of stealing millions of dollars’ worth of government equipment.

When the truth came out the lab manager got a reprimand but was able to keep his job. The reprimand canceled out his commendations, and the war effort went on.

Response by SSG Robert Pratt made Feb 24 at 2017 11:25 AM

2017-02-24T11:25:38-05:00

The field barber kit. When I got back from Desert Storm, on was on delayed PCS orders but my replacement was already there and I had no job. Since the supply sgt was leaving to go to his ANCOC, the Company Commander says....poof, your the new supply sgt! We had a Company Change of Command coming up in about 2 months too. I did get to write off alot of "combat loss" though. Still the ancient field barber kit with its manual hand operated hair clippers struck me as something unusual.

Response by SFC Kevin C. made Feb 26 at 2017 11:02 PM

2017-02-26T23:02:04-05:00

When our unit was deploying I was on the rear detachment, as the rear detachment NCO I ended up signing for everything that didn't go with them. Sounds fine except the unit ended up throwing everything into a conex and locked it up. Well to make this short when they returned shit was missing left and right and they wanted to try and pin a crazy amount on me with a statement of charges. Well it ended with things being written off and the LT and myself was not charged.

Response by PO1 Thomas Brooks made Feb 27 at 2017 12:18 AM

2017-02-27T00:18:11-05:00

Assigned to a facility maintenance department before signing anything inventory walked into a warehouse and row after row of 55 gallon cans of tools stacks of lumber no onne even knew that gear was there Drmo loved me not

Response by SSG Timothy Stevenson made Aug 17 at 2019 6:55 PM

2019-08-17T18:55:16-04:00

We had a Flame Thrower Test Kit down in our shop. Never opened it because if we did we would have to inventory all the parts.