Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif. -- Firearms are defined as a small-arms weapon from which a projectile is propelled by gunpowder or air pressure. Aboard the Combat Center, these weapons are carefully tracked by the Provost Marshals Office as a precautionary measure for the safety of its officers and the residents of the base.
The Combat Center order regarding firearms, CCO P1630.6E, parallels many of the California State laws and adds a few of its own. It is the responsibility of a gun-owner to keep up with these rules and regulations. Currently, the procedures for the Combat Center are as follows:
Purchase: The rules to buy firearms on base follow state laws and regulations set by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Any purchase of a firearm requires a background check and a 10-day waiting period. You must be at least 18 years old to purchase rifles or their ammunition and at least 21 to buy handguns or their ammunition.
Any weapons banned by the state are also prohibited aboard the base. Combat Center residents may also not have any magazines with a maximum capacity of greater than 10 rounds.
The Combat Center’s Marine Corps Exchange began the sale of firearms earlier this year. The purchase of weapons on base is exclusive to Combat Center residents. This excludes Marines in transit or in school. Family members and retirees are also allowed to purchase products as long as they have exchange privileges and meet the state’s requirements.
Registration: After the purchase of a firearm, Marines are required to register their weapons at the Vehicle Registration Office, located at Building 901. Do not bring the weapon into the registration office. Owners must provide paperwork showing the weapon has been registered in the state as well as fill out a weapons registration form, available at the office. The form must then be signed by a command representative. Staff noncommissioned officers and below must have a signature from an E-8 or above to purchase from the gunshop at the exchange. Upon completion of the registration process, the owner will receive a Weapons Registration Card, which must be kept on the person any time they are in possession of their firearm.
Transportation: Privately owned weapons are permitted in any vehicle for transportation purposes on and off base. Firearms may not be kept in vehicles as a means of long-term storage. While transporting the firearm, the weapon must be unloaded, and on safe. The weapon must also be properly stored in the trunk, meaning the firearm is in a locked box designed for the weapon.
Storage: The storage of the weapon largely depends on the housing situation of Marines. Marines and sailors living in the base housing areas are permitted to keep their weapons at home as long as they are unloaded, on safe and in a locked box designed for the weapon. Marines and sailors residing in bachelor enlisted quarters are required to keep their firearm at their battalion’s armory and are explicitly forbidden to keep their weapons at the barracks.
For more information about regulations for owning firearms on base, call the vehicle registration office at 830-6794 or see the Combat Center order at http://www.29palms.marines.mil/Portals/56/Docs/G1/Adj/1000/P1630_6E.pdf