View Full Version : Personal items in the barracks
DudefromDiego
02-22-11, 11:26 PM
Hello there. I have roughly 6 guitars (4 acoustic, 2 electric) and I know that I will not be able to take all of them with me to the barracks (especially the electrics). However, I was curious as to if I will be able to take at least one of the acoustics for when (if) I have some downtime. I want to bring my prized 1949 Gibson J-45 but I hear theft is a major problem and would probably suffer a heart attack if my family heirloom was stolen. I have a stand, and they are all well taken care of, so presentation probably isn't an issue. I plan on taking one of my Epiphone's (they're great, but expendable), but don't want to ship out a guitar (if necessary, hoping to get stationed at Miramar or Pendleton since at least Miramar is 10 minutes away) only to find out that I won't be allowed to have one. Thanks.
Once you get to the Fleet, you can have whatever you want in your room. The only thing is that you should make sure that you can lock them up in your Wall locker, since if it is locked away, the good ol' Marine Corps will pay for the theft.
Mahalo.
DudefromDiego
02-23-11, 12:13 AM
Thank you kindly.
You put two grunt Lcpls in a a padded round room with no exits and really no nothing and leave them in there with two bowling balls. Check on them an hour later and one of the balls will be lost and the other will be broken.
I would seriously reconsider putting a very expensive guitar in the barracks. I have heard that the Corps has loosened up on the rules about what you can have in there and you may very well be allowed to have something like that. If you are set on having a guitar with you then make it a cheap acoustic. If it becomes lost or broken you aint out much.
You put two grunt Lcpls in a a padded round room with no exits and really no nothing and leave them in there with two bowling balls. Check on them an hour later and one of the balls will be lost and the other will be broken.
It's a vicious cycle.....
SlingerDun
02-23-11, 01:00 AM
....lock them up in your Wall locker, since if it is locked away, the good ol' Marine Corps will pay for the theftFor real? How do you prove what was stolen, and the value
For real? How do you prove what was stolen, and the value
Well, there's going to be an investigation and all that gay crap. With me, they first determined if my room and locker was broken into and my locks cut. Then I filled a report and told them what went missing. A bit down the road, after everything was said and done and they determined it is a legit case, they got me the cash to replace the missing items (in my case, a DS and an XBox 360) I guess it could vary from unit to unit, though.
haebyungdae
02-23-11, 06:29 AM
Before a BEQ fire destroyed all my stuff I had three guitars and two amps (one being a Marshall half stack). You can have anything in your room that is not classified, per your units barracks policy, as contraband. When you get to your first unit I would take only the cheaper guitars until you get settled in with whoever you will have as a roommate. If they are cool and are not going to F with your chit then ship over the better ones. Acoustic is cool, but for electric I would recommend having a smaller size amp, probably nothing over a 10-inch speaker and get some headphones. Get to the unit and get to know that barracks policy.
Locking stuff up. I only locked my stuff up when the highers were doing walkthroughs or inspections. This may differ according to how your unit, when you get there, does things so just go with the flow.
Theft. If you are going to have hundreds, if not thousands of dollars worth of this and that in your room, I would look into getting renters insurance. Yes, a single Marine living in the barracks can get such insurance. This would ensure that any theft or damage that occurs outside of your control would rate compensation for you. It almost sucked for me after there was a fire in my previous BEQ because had the Fire Marshall determined that it was my or another service member's fault that the fire had occurred, I would not have received a dime for the things that I owned at the time.
DudefromDiego
02-23-11, 03:42 PM
I had decided long ago not to take my Gibson. I settled to take the $300 Epiphone because it is the cheapest of my guitars and easily replaceable. (Obviously I'll be mad if it gets jacked, but nothing compared to if my Gibson was stolen) Was just curious if there was some kind of barracks regs that prevented guitars at all. Thanks for your answers.
Zulu 36
02-23-11, 04:13 PM
Marines with guitars were common when I was in too (70s). No change there.
Sgt Leprechaun
02-23-11, 07:36 PM
Me too...and theft WAS a problem/issue. I always had the theory that I wouldn't bring ANYthing into the barracks that I couldn't afford to lose.
Phantom Blooper
02-23-11, 08:18 PM
Also remember....what you bring in may have to packed out in a matter of a short time.
In addition to your military gear based on your MOS and if you are with a deployable unit.....you may or may not come back to that hooch.
AlohaMarine
02-23-11, 11:43 PM
Well, there's going to be an investigation and all that gay crap. With me, they first determined if my room and locker was broken into and my locks cut. Then I filled a report and told them what went missing. A bit down the road, after everything was said and done and they determined it is a legit case, they got me the cash to replace the missing items (in my case, a DS and an XBox 360) I guess it could vary from unit to unit, though.
Gunrun, wtf?
Every time we have gotten back from a field op our unit has had at least 5-10 rooms broken into.
They broke locks, ripped open doors, smashed windows. I wonder how many units have this problem at KBay...or...if we're..."related" :idea:
They don't have to smash window in the 5000 series of barracks. I don't know if you seem them. They are more or less falling apart. We had a few rooms broken into here, but not that many.
Break ins were never an issue at 1600 series.
Say again previous posts
If you want a musical instrument buy an inexpensive(cheap) one after you arrive
will save a lot of heartache and concern
CrockettJW
02-24-11, 05:40 PM
In every room I stayed in, I think I had a room-mate who was a thief. Some go for the small stuff, some go for the big stuff. One guy had a 35-pound weight he called, "the master key," which he would use to smash the locks off of wall lockers.
Do they still make you etch your SSN into things like they did 20 years ago?