Boys Won’t Get To Keep Old War Gear They Found

The four Boy Scouts didn’t need to use their imaginations to play war games - not after finding a cache of military equipment in the woods near Kapowsin, Wash.

One box was labeled “tank, periscopes.” There were goggles with dials and switches and a technical manual for an Abrams tank.

“And there was, I think, some infrared stuff, or whatever you call it, and a blueprint and a big white machine that goes in a tank,” said Nick Joslyn, 13.

Joslyn and his friends, Nick Brownrigg, 12; Jesse Brownrigg, 14; and Michael Baine, 11, all are members of recently formed Troop 161.

After some discussion, the four Scouts decided to report the find to their assistant Scoutmaster.

Next came the anticlimactic part. The Scouts found out the equipment is outdated and probably had been stolen and that they won’t be getting it back.

“We checked out all the equipment against our supply system inventories,” Fort Lewis spokesman Joe Hitt said. “All the parts are outdated and non-sensitive and are no longer in the supply system.”

Hitt said Army investigators concluded the equipment had been stolen from surplus tanks and armored personnel carriers parked on its artillery ranges. The Army uses the old tanks for target practice.

The equipment will be recycled, Hitt said Wednesday.

Joslyn said he and his friends made the right decision when they decided to turn in the equipment. “It could have been new stuff they needed.”

But recycling it sounds like a waste, he said, adding, “I think they should give it to me.”