Reader Opinion
Al,
I read your letters about the ban on protective (gas) masks. The letters were directed to your congressman in Ohio.
On/or around the 1st of Nov. 1999, I ordered 50-C4 Canadian Protective masks. 2-weeks later I call up the company I purchased the masks from and they said I should have received them by now.
Well, we call UPS and they have NO clue to where the protective masks are. It takes 12 days to find out that U.S. Customs have been holding on to them. They never called UPS, myself, or the company that they came from.
So I call up customs at the U.S./Canadian border, and they tell me that they (the masks) are ARTICLES OF WAR, and are illegal to come into the U.S. He asked me if I had a 'FORM 6' . I of course have never heard of a FORM 6, and he tells me that the masks are going NOWHERE until he gets a FORM 6. I call up the Canadian broker and ask if they know what a FORM 6 is and they know about as much as I do...
I find out later that the FORM 6 is an ATF form, which I need to fill out and then maybe they (ATF) will release my masks to me.
The form I needed to fill-out, was: APPLICATION TO REGISTER AS AN IMPORTER OF U.S. MUNITIONS So when your Senator was told that this was a simple process to import masks into the U.S., then he was directy lied to!!!
It took 21 days to find out WHAT a FORM 6 was. I had to threaten to SUE someone, whether it be UPS or the brokerage firm. To give you an idea, it cost $245.00 just to ship those masks.
The deadline for buying/importing masks that I was aware of, was to take place on 01Dec. 1999, my masks were guaranteed to arrive at my location no later than 01 Dec. 1999. The government purposely held my masks so that I wouldn't be able to acquire them.
About a month and a half later I was able to convince someone with the ATF, to release the masks back to Canadian officials. I called U.S. Customs to find out if she had called, and he said that they were going back to Canada. Five days later they showed up at "my" front door, and I GLADLY signed for them...
All 50 of those masks went to people who desperately needed them. There are alot of other countries that are handing out protective masks/equipment to there citizens, and in this wonderful country of ours, the civilians are "on their own", while they and their families are safe. They want the civilians to think that the Haz-Mat teams will protect them from a terrorist incident, but the truth is, the Haz-Mat teams are only going to be able to clean up the MESS...
I travel nationwide teaching nuclear, biological, and chemical defense skills to the military, first responders, hospitals, private sector, and etc...
It saddens me to think that one day a terrible attack will take place, and there will be MANY casualties.
Jade Edwards, Director
American School Of Defense
http://www.AmericanSchoolOfDefense.com
(the site is being
reconstructed)
The issue of State Dept. sanctions against the importation of protective masks came to the attention of Al Colombo in 1999. The following links lead to letters from Al Colombo to his Senators and House Representatives, as well as return letters from the Honorable George Voinovich and a representative of the U.S. State Dept. (This will end up opening up a new window in your browser. Close out the window to return to this page. Thank you. --Al Colombo)
