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    Homeland Security and its cache of bullets

    By ALICIA A. CALDWELL | Associated Press – Thu, Feb 14, 2013

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Online rumors about a big government munitions purchase are true, sort of.

    The Homeland Security Department wants to buy more than 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition in the next four or five years. It says it needs them — roughly the equivalent of five bullets for every person in the United States — for law enforcement agents in training and on duty.

    Published federal notices about the ammo buy have agitated conspiracy theorists since the fall. That's when conservative radio host Alex Jones spoke of an "arms race against the American people" and said the government was "gearing up for total collapse, they're gearing up for huge wars."

    The government's explanation is much less sinister.

    Federal solicitations to buy the bullets are known as "strategic sourcing contracts," which help the government get a low price for a big purchase, says Peggy Dixon, spokeswoman for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Ga . The training center and others like it run by the Homeland Security Department use as many as 15 million rounds every year, mostly on shooting ranges and in training exercises.

    Dixon said one of the contracts would allow Homeland Security to buy up to 750 million rounds of ammunition over the next five years for its training facilities. The rounds are used for basic and advanced law enforcement training for federal law enforcement agencies under the department's umbrella. The facilities also offer firearms training to tens of thousands of federal law enforcement officers. More than 90 federal agencies and 70,000 agents and officers used the department's training center last year.

    The rest of the 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition would be purchased by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal government's second largest criminal investigative agency.

    ICE's ammunition requests in the last year included:

    —450 million rounds of .40-caliber duty ammunition

    —40 million rounds of rifle ammunition a year for as many as five years, for a total bullet-buy of 200 million rounds

    —176,000 rifle rounds on a separate contract

    —25,000 blank rounds

    The Homeland Security ammo buy is not the first time the government's bullets purchases have sparked concerns on the Internet. The same thing happened last year when the Social Security Administration posted a notice that it was buying 174,000 hollow point bullets.

    Jonathan L. Lasher, the agency's assistant inspector general for external relations, said those bullets were for the Social Security inspector general's office, which has about 295 agents who investigate Social Security fraud and other crimes.

    Jones the talk-show host did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

    ___

    Follow Alicia A. Caldwell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/acaldwellap

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    14,107 comments

    • DJ
      DJ  •  2 days 4 hrs ago
      So how many agents does Homeland Security have that needs all these bullets?
      • jaminT5
        jaminT5 22 hrs ago
        Wake up people, this is not a repuk or a demokk thing.. this is not a black and white thing.. this effects you personally. I hate to see it.. and dont want it.. but you must be prepared to at the least defend your family.
    • Dan
      Dan  •  2 days 5 hrs ago
      If they're able to find bullets to buy they're doing better than most citizens right now.
    • Yossarian
      Yossarian  •  2 days 4 hrs ago
      a good way to cause an ammo shortage.
    • Dan
      Dan  •  1 day 22 hrs ago
      I trust the Government as much as I trust a rattlesnake.
    • gary
      gary  •  2 days 5 hrs ago
      Whew! What a relief. I'm glad the government has put my fears to rest. They wouldn't shoot me with hollow point rounds, would they?
    • Mantis
      Mantis  •  1 day 23 hrs ago
      "The same thing happened last year when the Social Security Administration posted a notice that it was buying 174,000 hollow point bullets."

      Hollow point bullets expand on impact, maximizing damage to flesh. If the government was merely interested in target/range shooting, they'd use full metal jacket ammo which goes straight through a target.
    • Leslie
      Leslie  •  2 days 2 hrs ago
      If Joe the plumber goes in and buys 1000 rounds to get a good price, he is suspect!
    • nbhooligan
      nbhooligan  •  2 days 5 hrs ago
      The concerned, politically active Citizenry of this country became enemies of the State with the Patriot Act, and the now expanded NDAA act. When voting citizens are viewed as liabilities for the current Administration, we've got a big BIG problem.
    • Brett
      Brett  •  2 days 5 hrs ago
      Anyone see the math problem here? If Homeland Security uses up to 15 million rounds a year, 1.6 BILLION rounds would last over 100 years! Now I'm suspicious!
    • John
      John  •  2 days 5 hrs ago
      man that is a lot of ammo how many gun they have and how much shooting do they do
     Post a comment

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