31 Fort Moore Firearms Gone Missing
Have You Seen Me?
31 Pistols Went Missing from Fort Moore, Georgia. The Army Is Offering $5,000 for Information.
Kelsey Baker
The Army’s Criminal Investigation Division is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information on 31 M17 pistols that went missing from Fort Moore in Georgia.
Investigators were notified May 16 that the pistols had been reported missing from the Crescenz Consolidated Equipment Pool on the base, and the firearms are believed to have gone missing sometime between March and May, according to an Army CID reward flyer posted on Reddit.
“The Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Moore is [sic] aware of the incident, which remains under investigation,” the center’s public affairs office said in an email Thursday to Military.com.
The reward poster hadn’t been posted on the official CID website Thursday, but had been circulated across the Fort Moore installation and among local law enforcement, according to one person familiar with the investigation but who was not authorized to speak publicly about it.
The M17 is a 9 mm Sig Sauer pistol with a 17-round magazine capacity. The handgun was adopted by the Defense Department in 2017 to eventually replace the M9 Beretta pistol.
The civilian version of the M17, the P320-M17, retails for around $650.
Seems a bit more than an accounting error- somebody got some ‘splaining to do.
Category: Crime
How in the actual fuck…
E Holder was unavailable for comment….
I know the exact spot where all my firearms fell overboard in a
tragic fishing expedition off the coast of Rhode Island.
So, it’s not like they are unaccounted for but then, I’m not an
armorer in the military.
And not giving up your favorite fishing hidey hole either, are ya
It appears as though Lieutenant Commander Hunter Biden was the last one to do the sensitive items inventory. Has anyone checked the local crack dens?
Someone wasn’t keeping up with physical security and inventories.
Can you imagine being the NCO or officer that realized these were missing and you had to go to your commander and tell them about this?
So bets on who it was? Dumb Joe? NCO that thought he was smarter than the system?
Being the NCO or officer that found the discrepancy isn’t a problem. The problem is the previous poor fucker that signed off at 100% accountability. They’re well and truly fooked!
As a former company armorer, I may or may not have had a few NCOs just sign off on that weekly serial number inventory after I asked them “look Sgt, do you trust me? or do you want to spend the next 2 hours in here checking every thing in here?” You would be surprised how many of them did.
Sounds like me, I saw and heard of a few who “trusted” and got heavily screwed!
I wondered about that every time we got a new Company commander in Germany. The outgoing CO can’t wait for the new CO to sign for all the property, knowing full well some of it is not there. The new guy, also knowing the game, prays he can get through his tour without someone officially noticing missing stuff. Like a game of musical chairs.
I’ve seen armorers swipe NVGs twice but never a firearm. It gets the federales all worked up in a hurry. I saw an attempted theft of an M9 after an exercise that was found. They never did find the person who did it but the platoon sergeant was relieved for cause.
When I was going through the armorers course , the instructors were all prior service so they shared all kinds of stories. When we going over accountability regs and paperwork, they told us about an armorer in a tank unit who would need a little cash until payday, so he would take one of the .38s out of the arms room and pawn it. Then payday would come and he would get it back. Well you can guess what happened eventually, and he failed to get it out of pawn and you best believe they sold it. Now this guy is stuck, but he managed to hide it for awhile because of how sloppy things were until someone insisted on doing a inventory. I knew from the very beginning that the only thing stopping me from stealing from the armsroom was me, and I wasn’t going down like that.
Back in 1974, I was sent TDY to a base on the west coast, (Don’t want to indite anyone so I’m not going to name the base) to qualify before shipping overseas. Had to qualify before shipping out. When I arrived at the west coast base firing range. The NCO said” look you’re the only one here today. Just sign here and here and you’re qualified”.Good deal for me as I had 10 days travel time to do this, and leave From Travis AFB. Anyhow, this is how they get ammo to the black market. I’m sure things have not changed much. But stealing weapons is another thing.
I also worked out of a connex box for awhile issuing ammo and if I couldn’t account for all the M-40 rounds, and various other munitions it was my hide on the line. The foreign troops all wanted to trade cheap pistols for grenades, etc. No way was I going to part of that.
I’ll name it for you. Fort Ord?
I’m sure this happened at a lot of bases. It’s… best I do not say. Never know who is reading.
I was photographing some sewer workers and they came over to me and ask that I delete the photos. They didn’t want OSHA to see what they were doing. You never know how things can come bite you in the ass.
“Anyhow, this is how they get ammo to the black market.”
Oh, my. I never thought of that. When I was in Germany our company went to the range for annual qualification on the M-14. The weather was so bad we couldn’t see the 50 meter targets, so they “expedited” the process. Took about 30 minutes to qualify the entire company. I qualified “expert” that time. You make me wonder what happened to all that ammo we didn’t use.
I’ve seen a few who THOUGHT they were smarter than the system and ended up in the Graybar Hilton, and I’m sure I’m far from the only on, the Unit I ETS’ed from on Benning had a few who thought they were extra-special E4 Mafiosi who got their asses handed to them. For starters, they were swiping tool cases destined for the motor pool and selling them downrange as well as doing B&E’s on paws shops on Victory Drive and South Lumpkin, I never heard the end of the story AS TO who got Primary Jurisdiction, because both Uncle Sugar and the State of Georgia wanted their pound of flesh from each of them, either way they ended up in PMITA facilities. I’m sure that more than one or two people have some very serious ‘splainin to do. Me? Hell yeah, every time I was tasked with a Sensitive Items Inventory, I didn’t even think of signing off until I saw the items and read the damned serial numbers!
Indeed, 14 months trapped in a armsroom made me an absolute ass when it came to accountability and paperwork, and nobody telling me ” trust me, it’s there” could sway me.
Has anybody patted down the local illegal migrant invaders, I mean, displaced aliens looking for a better life?
Someone will buy one of these stolen weapons. Bring it in to a gun shop for some updating. Later that evening when the buyer is home sleeping the FBI will raid his home, tearing it up during the search. All the while his family is facedown in the muddy garden. The buyer being shot multiple times and beaten for not answer the door right away. Only to find out he bought the gun from an undercover FBI agent at a gun club. And the intruders are all protected by qualified immunity. Possible!
They’ll shoot the dog, too.
That or someone who has one will try to sell it at a Gun Show and do so to some Undercover Feebie! It happened to some M88 Crewman who went to DS/DS, he smuggled a few AK’s back in his vehicle, smuggled them out of the motor pool and sold one just like I said!
Someone gots some splainin to do.
I had to report a piece of equipment missing once. I found out that the maintenance contractor had thrown it out because it was beyond repair and replaced it with a similar item. I had to go before the General and explain. Almost no one was bothered; the General accepted the explanation, the contractor was reminded of his company’s responsibilities, and I was not in any trouble at all. Except for one person, the General’s executive assistant (secretary in earlier days) was furious. She chewed me out, belittled me, and made feel as though I was back in basic training. Heaven has no rage as a civil servant being told that something is none of her business.
A bunch of civil “servants” need to be shown the door. Not elected, not accountable to anybody, yet they go out of their way to make life miserable for anybody who dare question their authoritie.
I had one shop that was 50% GI and 50% civilian. The GI’s said the civilians were like missiles; they just stood there, they didn’t do anything, and you couldn’t fire them. The civilians said the GI’s were like sea gulls; all they did was squawk, shit, and were protected by the Government. A good time was had by all.
And the unions protected the civilians. Each side chasing their own tails, neither side catching what they’re chasing, and the wheels continue to turn.
We had an incident where a Security Forces Airman found a door unlocked to our area. The Aircrew Mobility Section shared a bay with us and they left the door unlocked.
Well the Airman reported this to his supervisors and they all proceeded to go shopping in the Aircrew Mobility Section our area (Aircrew Life Support). Thank God our NVGs were locked up (As usual). But they did walk off with about 6 fully equipped Aircrew Survival Vests, tons of cold weather gear. Hell these cops even stole from their own supply room, and from the base mobility section.
I ended up having to testify at their Article 32 hearings. That was an adventure, I got verbally reprimanded by the officer overseeing it when I became argumentative and borderline disrespectful to the one of the defense attorneys during her questioning of me.
They decided to take a plea, instead of going to trial as they were looking at grand larceny.
Mike
USAF Retired
It was either a coordinated inside job, or more likely an error that some enterprising but extremely stupid armorer took advantage of. As a company Armorer on Sand Hill, I went to the Weapons Pool a few times each cycle. We kept our M4A1s and had them gauged after each cycle, but late in Red Phase, I’d take a detail to pick up crew served weapons (M249/M240B/M320). Those would be turned in just before graduation. I’d also have to take a trip to pick up night vision and radios early each cycle, with turn-in after graduation. Pistols were never a thing for Infantry OSUT, and I left Benning when it was still Benning (and before the M17 was adopted) over six years ago, so don’t point fingers at me. If I want a SIG, I’ll go select one of the 40 or so we have in stock here in the Land of Bassholes.
It’s pretty routine, so I doubt I’m giving away sensitive information, but standard procedure was to drive the deuce or LMTV to the gate, go through the entrance and metal detector and get let in, then back up to the dock to account for each piece of equipment before the Drill or Supply Sergeant signed for it and reversed the process. There was no leeway for just “grab and go” when I was there, and there are cameras everywhere. I got bamboozled by the ever-mysterious OE-254 one cycle, when my commander inexplicably decided to draw one for training. It was missing a few pieces of BII upon turn in (I don’t know if they were even present when I signed for it), so I paid a few scores of dollars through a Statement of Charges.
Now I know I’ve been out too long, as OE-254 flew by me and I had to Google it. As much time as I spent in a brigade HHC you would think I would remember all the times I had to set up one of those.
Oh God, what a FUN and lovely piece of USG Equipment!!!
Is Fort Moore the Base formerly known as Benning?
Yes.
It shall always be the Benning School for Boys
Trump did it! I’m sure there’ll soon be another Mar-a-Lago raid by the Federal Bureau of Intimidation, and another search of Melania’s underwear drawer for the missing weapons!
This investigation will go much quicker and be wrapped up before November.
74-76 I was a 11B SGT in A Co, 2d Bn 6th Infantry Berlin Brigade and slotted as the Commo Chief due to my clearance, a 2 year background humping a PRC-77 radio and a KY-38 voice encryption device and a need for a quick replacement.
Did the inventory the day before the previous Commo Chief signed out. Everything present except a TA-312 field telephone, which had a signed repair tag.
2 years later as I was clearing to go to Chicago for Recruiting duty, it was noted that that TA-312 had not come back from maintenance. Found out they never had it. Let 1SG and Co Cdr know. 1SG said don’t panic, check back with him Monday.
Monday came and 1SG gave me a thumbs up at formation. He had a brand new TA-312 he got from a drinking buddy at “Detachment A”, which I now know were based out of the locked 3rd floor of the adjoining barracks.
“Detachment A (39th SF Detachment) of the Berlin Brigade was a small 90 man element of Special Forces Soldiers stationed in Berlin, Germany. They were members of a classified unit, wore civilian clothes, and spoke fluent German. The unit, in existence from August 1956 to December 1984, was involved in some of the most classified and sensitive missions of the Cold War. it would later transition to PSSE-B (410th SFD) in the years 1984 to 1990.“
Det A soldiers were required to be able to pass for German civilians, as they were tasked with carrying out missions in East Germany generally and specifically in East Berlin. There were more spooks from both sides in Berlin than anywhere else in Europe in the late 20th century.
It’s pure coincidence that I signed out on terminal leave the day after these came up missing.
Congratulations! From your comments, I know you served much longer than I did, but there were mixed emotions for me when I signed out and knew my time was up. Here I am nearly two years later (1.5 years after retirement was official), typing nonsense on these pages, thinking about what I’m doing at Bass Pro today (probably buying that $513 M&P-15 with EOTech very soon), and plotting on dinner already.
Thanks. I’m still on terminal so it hasn’t really set in yet. My wife planned a 9-week “Epic Adventure” just to deprogram me, but I’ll never stop being army….
In VTNG we (allegedly) had numerous Remington .22 match rifles disappear from the armory’s long the units after deployed.
Paper records were difficult to track. Only as good as the company clerk.
I read on the Terminal Lance blog that if a firearm goes missing on a USMC facility, then they lock down the whole place and search everyone and everywhere until they’ve located the weapon(s) involved.
I wonder if the Army did the same here.
ONLY 31 Pistols gone missing? Anyone check the pawn shops on Victory Drive and South Lumpkin?
I remember all the hoops I had to jump through to do the semiannual serial number inventory in my old Company. We even had some 3 digit serial number M-2’s.
Of course I also remember the times I was the OIC of the transport of the weapons from the vault to the “wet site” for training. I was given a 45 and 2 troops were issued a M16 and none of us were issued any ammo to secure a couple 2 1/2 ton trucks worth of 50’s 30 cals (M73’s for the M60 tanks), M16’s, 45’s, M3 grease guns (both models). Fortunately back then (mid to late 70’s), cartels weren’t much of a thing then since we had a 95 mile trip from Tucson to Ft. Huachuca.
I can neither confirm or deny that some 45 and 5.56 ammo somehow found it’s way to the guards.
I can’t believe that someone screwed the pooch so badly as to lose over 30 weapons and the loss wasn’t discovered until this late.
Remember driving from Savannah to Fort Johnson (previously known as Polk) in a couple of Ryder Rental trucks to pick up a few weapons for the guys at JRTC so they could jump back in for a family day. Thankfully they did issue us a “few” rounds of 9mm. I bought a nice new Uncle Mike’s shoulder rig for the M9, and they told us to bring our Class A rain coats to conceal the MP5Ks that we also brought along.
Felt very weird stopping for gas, and getting some snacks for the drive back.
I’m sure now that the reward has been posted that someone will come forward with their Hand Receipt showing they lawfully have them checked out for training. Though that sounds like one more than two 15 pistol racks. Wonder if they are missing the racks too?