how come u dont get to keep ur weapons when ur in the military?

ok me and my boyfriend were wondering y u dont get to keep ur weapon u used to fight when ur in the military? we were watching flags of our fathers and i was like do u get to keep ur weapon like a m1? and i asked him because his dad was a vetnam vet and he was like they give u like a hand gun but they dont let u keep the actual gun u used?? y is that????

Because my wife would have a fit if I tried to park a tank in the driveway. (And I couldn't afford the fuel for it anyway.)

Automatic weapons are nearly useless, certainly dangerous, off the battlefield.

How old are you?

Because they are government property and because most people don't have permits to own fully automatic weapons. I own a couple of M1s and a 1911 pistol but they were sold by the government as surplus once they were deemed to be obsolete. I doubt the government will ever sell old M16s as surplus.

The weapon is the property of the us military. When you need it, you will be issued one. When you are done you return it. If every veteran returned home with his duty rifle, just imagine how fast the military would go broke trying to replace all of them. And they dont give you a handgun to keep either, that was an old practice that was discontinued 40 years ago. Before modern accountability practices, many soldiers coming home from war would find a way to smuggle their rifles home, and that is the only way they left military ownership.