It used to be one gallon but that was MANY years ago. The topic does bring back memories of the "Great Wine Scandal of '75". I was stationed at Holloman AFB, NM. Our wartime committment was to reinforce Germany. We were outnumbered by the Warsaw Pact 4 or 5 to one in every category (tanks, troops, aircraft, etc.) so the theory was the only way to stop an invasion was with tactical nukes. Every year we deployed 96 F-4s to Germany as part of a major REFORGER exercise. Because of limited ability to support this many aircraft and all support personnel, we would send two squadrons (48) for 30 days with two more squadrons a month later. We would overlap by a couple of days with all 96 in country, then the first two squadrons would return to Holloman. German wine was very popular, so many people would buy cases to bring home every year. In previous years, they would be a cursory customs in Germany and the main customs declaration in NM. The customs agents in NM didn't care how much wine you brought back as long as you paid the duty charge.
One of the Colonels had the bright idea to do the main customs in Germany and only a cursory customs in NM so the troops could get with their families quicker. Well, the problem was that the Army did the customs in Germany. When the first two squadrons were ready to return to the states and went through customs, the Army referred to our own AF Regs that limited transport on Air Force aircraft to that one gallon (five bottle) limit. I don't remember the details (I was in the second group to deploy) but these guys managed to bring back all of the wine that they had purchased. Cases of wine were crammed into travel pods (empty naplam cans with doors added). Somebody (Army?) made an issue of this and, of course, it got blown all out of proportion. It became a huge scandal in the national press over airmen "using Air Force aircraft to transport alcohol". Many of us had been buying wine to bring back. Of course, in typical military over-reaction, the corrective action was that those of us in the second wave could bring back zero bottles of wine in the F-4. We had to drink it up before we returned. Some of us would pair up with a crew chief that would be flying home on a transport. They didn't have the same restriction. We would give them one bottle to bring back four.
At the time, we were concerned that our wing commander Col. Bill Kirk's career would be ruined by this "scandal" but we were wrong. He ended his career with four stars.
Sorry for the long post but brought back an old memory.
