I was an Intelligence Sergeant in 5th Special Forces most of my career, and served in 5th Special Forces Group 1986 to 1997, then again 2005 to 2008.  I was in the First Gulf War, Somalia and Iraq War with 2nd Battalion, 5th SF Group.

 

During the Gulf War I accompanied the Egyptian ground forces into Kuwait during the ground invasion.  I managed to pick up a number of items while pushing through Kuwait.  I gave quite a lot of items away - to family and friends, as well as to strangers with whom I had corresponded with in "To Any Service Member" mail.

 

Here are just a few of the Iraqi things I brought back.  I've still got more packed away somewhere.  I've got several of the helmets I brought home mounted in my man cave. 

 

 

 

 

 

This first item is a shelter half I found covering a bunker door.  I used it to help keep some of the dust out of my vehicle.

 

 

 

The Iraqi helmet with the burlap cover had folded within the inner lining a women's clothing ad from a magazine.  I imagine the closest thing to a "girly" photo available. 

 

 

 

The bottom photos are of my Iraqi helmets displayed on the wall.

 

 

 

 

 

I mounted the canvas-covered Iraqi helmet beside the helmet my father brought home from Vietnam - also framed items of his from Vietnam, and like items from my own time in Gulf War and OIF.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few more of my Gulf War stuff displayed in my man cave, with one of the uniforms, helmet and gear I wore over there.

 

The map was the one I put together and used to plot enemy positions.  I briefed off of this to the 2nd Battalion (5th Special Forces Group) Commander, and the individual Special Forces detachments.  I made it so that I could easily fold it up and toss it in my vehicle when we moved.

 

I still have the desert tan gortex 5th SF Group was issued back in the 1980's.  They let us keep it, as it wasn't U.S. government issue at the time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting array of stuff...the loose patches are great! Catch me up as I have not read all your threads here,were you already a collector while over there or did it develop afterwards?

3 hours ago, Jack the Collector said:

Interesting array of stuff...the loose patches are great! Catch me up as I have not read all your threads here,were you already a collector while over there or did it develop afterwards?

Greeting!

 

I collected as a kid.  When my father came back from Vietnam he brought me a helmet.  We moved overseas to Belgium, and one of the guys he served with collected helmets.  This guy gave me an old rusted WW2 German helmet and an old French helmet.  I was bitten by the bug, and started to collect what I could over there.  I spent my weekly allowance at the nearby town of Mons, at the Sunday morning flea market.  Back to the U.S. I picked up WW2 items at swap meets.

Then high school happened, followed by the Army, and I really fell out of the hobby.  I swapped uniform items with the troops I served with in different countries - Kenya, Zaire, etc.

 

The Gulf War was a chance to bring home some cool stuff, but at the time I never really placed any "collectability" value to any of it.  It was stuff I collected off the battlefield, out of bunkers, and some other places.  I gave away a lot, and didn't really give a lot of thought to most of it.

Two tours to Iraq, I brought home a few items, thinking that perhaps - like the Gulf War stuff - I might have a few things to pass on to some of my grandkids, and that was about the end of it.

 

After I retired from the Army I did military contract work, spending some time in Afghanistan.  Brought home a few minor things.

 

A couple years afterwards, my wife suggested I take up a hobby and so I fell back into collecting mostly vintage (WW1 - Vietnam) items.  I eventually started to collect items related to the GWOT. 

 

When I think back to all the cool stuff I could have brought back years ago while I was deployed - had I any interest in collecting at the time!

 

Bryan

 

FANTASTIC. Thanks for sharing! 

Bryan I wrote that before I saw the reply to my thread which you stated you collected as a kid.