I live in Hachinohe about 30km from the base and work teach with a couple of Americans from the base. They said that this goes on a lot more than is reported and that there is a small black market for this kind of stuff. It seems some people don't want to take the junk bought at China Pete's back home they want the real thing. Also this teacher was not only enjoying the items, he was selling them to the highest bidder. So its no surprise that soldiers are looting in Iraq, it seems to be a way of saying, "been there, done that, got a souvenir"
I used to live on the base, outside the base and in Hachinohe like canman1.
It surprising because there would be little small stuff the children of military personnel did, but those on the base for the most part were clean and didnt do much or never got caught. And the stuff was almost never reported in the news.
Something like this is gonna shake that base up.
I will not abide ignorant intolerance just for the sake of getting along.