Before leaving Kosovo, we had to have our bags inspected by Military Police, trained by US Customs and essentially given US Customs and Border Protections (CBP) authority. Since Military Police are already essentially “deputized” in a way, it is just an extra certification for them and probably a nice resume-addition for later law enforcement employment, should they choose to seek it.

Everywhere US military personnel go, there are jokes that at least one person is going to bring home a “special friend” from the host nation. Everyone has their odds-on favorite about who is going to be That Guy (or even That Gal in some cases) and try to bring home a “war bride”.

It was super common after World War Two, with US troops stationed on occupation duty in postwar Europe and Asia, even in allied nations we weren’t “occupying” but still maintained a forward presence, like Britain, Australia, or Korea. While in Kosovo, I did meet a Kosovan woman who was married to a US soldier but she had to wait in Kosovo while all the visa requirements were negotiated. There was also a US servicemember I would have put money on that was going to try to bring home a Kosovan woman, at least at some point.

But if someone decided to cut through the red tape and sneak their girlfriend home…?

In an unfortunate and un-funny truth, there have been people caught performing human smuggling in cargo containers– victims loaded into a container, given a bare minimum of food and a bucket for a toilet, and sent across the sea. US Customs is supposed to catch that, too, but it remains an unfortunate fact of life.