Mk19 grenade rounds missing
Andy11M sends us a link to the news that the 91st Missile Wing Security Forces team from the Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota are missing a box of Mk19 machine gun rounds;
The team was traveling on rough gravel roads about four miles west of Parshall when the back hatch of the vehicle opened, and an ammunition container fell out, the Air Force said.
I hope the Air Force is more cautious with aircraft cargo doors.
The explosives were lost on 76th Avenue Northwest, somewhere between 33rd Street Northwest and Highway 23, the sheriff’s office said. The missing explosives were reported to the sheriff’s office about 4:15 p.m. on May 4, Sheriff Ken Halvorson said in a news release.
More than 100 airmen walked the entire six-mile route several times on Friday to search for the explosives but were unsuccessful, Halvorson said.
The Air Force Office of Special Investigations is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the munitions. The Air Force issued its first public statement on the lost ammunition about 7:30 p.m. Friday, 10 days after the explosives went missing and hours after Halvorson first issued a press release.
Lemme see, 100 Airmen walk six miles at a pace of 10 complaints per foot per Airman. I guess the Army is lucky that they don’t have any units near Minot. When I was in Panama, the Air Force used to task us for everything that might get their uniforms dirty.
Category: Air Force
And, they use to bring in ringers for the Turkey Bowl. But it was an Army round of Willie Pete that bounced into the stands setting the Ambassador’s wife’s dress on fire.
I had the privilege of managing the food and drink for the 10,000 or so drunks at two Turkey Bowls.
Sounds like some lucky enthusiast found areal nice gift by the side of the road, and secured it for the AF so no one would get hurt…either that or some ammo detail Airman decided to stash it and come back for it. How much you want to bet it turns up in a few days after they sweat the detail loading the truck?
I agree. That smells to high heaven.
BTW, that used to be my “home” flight back in the day (MCCC). There was pride in workmanship and mission back then.
One has to wonder whether they will end up in the hands of someone with a simple single shot grenade launcher like the M79 or that under barrel attachment for the M16 and the M4. And yes, I know the ammo in the can is linked, but I assume it can be de-linked.
The de-linked ammo from a MK19 doesn’t fit in the M-79 or the M-203. (Tried that when the wrong ammo was delivered to us.)
Thanks I thought that might be a possibility, as the shell casing looks a little longer. Figured one of you dudes with experience with this ordnance would likely answer that. One good thing in this tale is that it is unlikely anyone has a stolen MK19 to go with the ammo, one would hope.
It is not the length of the round, but the metal band on it.
You can shoot long rounds with the M203 and M320, like the smoke and illum parachute rounds.
So you are saying it’s not the length that counts, it is how you use it.
Some claim girth is important too.
Rgr 769, you can de-linked, but then you would have to remove the metal band around the round that secures the link and that’s a bitch to take of.
Only then it would fit on the M79, M203, or the M320.
But if someone is going to shoot Mk19 ammo on a handheld, please record it and post it on youtube so we can all laugh when the recoil chop off his arm.
The Mk 19 ammo has a lot of more propellant than the M320, making the recoil basically unsurvivable.
If I am not mistaken, that metal band is intended to prevent PVT Snafu from putting high-vel rounds in the low-vel M79/M203, and causing unintended “Kerry” Purple Hearts by self-exploding like Wyle-E-Coyote.
Pffft…now you sound just like the RSO, Yef…Buzzkiller
Yef has never uttered the words “Hold my beer and watch this shit”. I have. Repeatedly. That’s why MRS D is an RN.
Can you say Ogive Plunger.
Lockdown is a great motivator.
Bigger problem, is the 203 round is a high/low pressure, two chamber assembly. It essentially uses a blank, fired into a metered chamber, to launch the low speed projo.
The MK19 round, is a high pressure, conventional construction cartridge. Firing a MK19 round in a M203, will detonate the launcher all over the place.
The band is not easy to remove, for reasons. M203 launches—MK19 fires.
Someone is gonna lose a stripe or two.
Ouch.
https://youtu.be/R7trNL32HEU
The to and from routes for points of importance at the 91st Missile Wing have long been established. I can only assume the Security Police were tooling hard a bit off road. At the 308th MW in the 70’s at Little Rock, we had a Barney Fife type perform a ND on a common basis. It got them moved from Security Police to Security Guard. There is more to this story than, “Hey, they were right there, then…they were gone. They must of like, bounced out or something.”
Ah Security forces, the same ones who show up to MOPP training without their JLIST, fall asleep on the flightline……..with a partner and lose unstrapped ammo on a road march. I remember during Iraq and Afghanistan when our LRS squadron got tasked to run convoys and they all got butt hurt because our airmen saw more action than them. They haven’t changed a bit since I retired.
Looks like their cargo wasn’t secured very well. Them idiots sawed through a steering wheel once to “see what it looked like inside.” LRS/TRANS
In the late 90’s at Ft Campbell we had a Soldier steal a frag grenade. I sometimes wonder if he is still sitting in Leavenworth.
Sucks to be them for sure. When I was stationed at Ft. Lewis, during a jump, they kicked the pallets of 90’s out. One pallet was blown into a civilian’s porperty/field and “they” all new it; cant remember if the pallet jumpers landed anywhere near them. However, that did not stop us from spending all Night roaming the DZ looking for it :), until the sheriff (IIRC) instructed the land owner to allow them to go retrieve the pallet.
Mk19s, just in time for Spring Turkey Season..
Somehow I don’t think keeping them is worth a visit from Agent Friendly of the BATF.
This will not look good on a resume’.
I wonder if these are it Loll
http://m.kdminer.com/news/2018/may/11/buried-grenade-found-hearne-avenue-may-11/
One report had as many as 8 that were found
From what I recollect the grenades won’t arm unless fired through the Mk19. Still don’t want the HE wandering around causing chaos like that idiot that stole the bag of flash bangs and left them on the side of the road a while back.
40mm has to spin a certain amount of times after the primer was set off in order to activate. It’s not as scary as people portray.
The old M79 round had to travel 19 meters from the muzzle before it was armed. That is why people could sustain shrapnel wounds if it detonated with 25 meters, the bursting radius of the grenade. That is reportedly why Lurch (Kerry) was hit with a piece of its wire shrapnel from a friendly fire incident.
We had a grenadier who used to close his eyes and duck his head just before he fired. Thank goodness for that 19 meters.
He was, of course, laterally promoted.
If I recall correctly from my days as a Grenadier, centrifugal force of the fired spinning round forces 2 contact arms to pivot outward and complete the fuse circuit.
Finders keepers. Somebody just got a nice cache for when The SHTF. 😎
I bought a one eighth inch electric drill that actually had an aluminum body and winter socks back in 68-69 from one of the gin mill regulars where I hung out at that fell out of the back of the truck he used to drive working for a JFK Airport freight company.
Someone tell me how a box that big could simply ‘go missing’???
Specifically, not securing weapons and ammo properly for travel. Generally, having their heads up their asses instead of on task.
Well looks like it is almost time for me to leave this site. I started here several years ago mainly to see if they would eventually find and recover the body of USAF Officer that was alone in his aircraft and was shot down and is MIA on the wall. From the second home town I came from there are 5 names on the wall and just 1 MIA but further research by someone found 2 more that attended school there at the same time but seeing as to the site has reached the point that it like other groups did that I got out of by degrading this MIA officers service. Too bad the majority of them that make these comments had never served in a war itself or are those that sat behind a desk and got their medals by being attached to those that were in the field. Did I serve, far as I am concerned it is none of anyone’s business, I’ll just say that I worked for the Govt for almost 8 years and as it was I got up when called or when scheduled and went to work, did my job to the best of my ability and then went home. If I was in any danger at any time I was lucky as I and those with me were never protected by the Army or the Marines, ROK was our protection.
I don’t understand a word of what you wrote.
It’s OK Jonn, It’s called Day Drinking.
(Not you, Mr. DS here. )
😀 😉
What?
Is he butt hurt over the jabs at the USAF?
There are a lot of former Zoomies here, many of them posting in this thread. Eight years in government and you never developed a sense of humor over the good natured rivalries?
“I’ll just say that I worked for the Govt for almost 8 years….” Somebody has to clean the streets after Pussy Hat protests. It’s okay. There’s no shame in that.
I’d be a bit more traumatized at DS’ passing on, if a quick site search of “Dwight Schwarz” had revealed something other than:
“No Results”
AMF, Dwight. Whoever you were.
Well, almost bye, then.
Less vodka before posting, Comrade Bot.
I’ve seen people with half of their brain missing post something FAR, FAR more intelligible and coherent than that, STAY OFF of the brown acid, Dwight Schwarz!
Minot is improving. At least this time it didn’t involve loading live nukes onto a plane going cross-country.
Or dropping them on Goldsboro.
“A-A-Ron! Check it out, man. Found this here box. Take a look.”
“Dag, Ba-la-kay. Lemme get a hammer, whack that phat ass, and see what happens.”
Love those cans. Have a pile of them.
Marked inert practice 32 rounds linked.
Could the missing rounds be inert?
Hell of a FOD walk
A similar event happened way back when in my former life as a Security Forces Airman with the 90th out of FEW. Turned out the Gunner tried to short the belt and take some home. When he was about to get caught he chucked them in the weeds. He at least fessed up to it before we got totally fuckered up for it.
Hey! I was nowhere near N. Dakota! Ever! It’s just a coincidence!
I miss the good old days when you could just mail shit home.
…or stash it in a connex box. 🙂
Claw could do some awesome trades with that box. Make up all his shortages, even sheets.
You’re darn tootin’.
I hear Thumper rounds are A-Number One trading material.
There was an NCO in my Ranger company in the RVN before I joined the unit. He reportedly disassembled his beloved AK-47 and taped its parts inside the back of his Sanyo mini-fridge that he shipped home as part of his hold baggage. The MP’s found it, and he was reported to have received the Big Chicken Dinner and a year at Leavenworth.
Gee I seem to make some of you mad here, but then what does dome dumb ass civilian know, good thing that who ever did the search as to me as they would find out how worthless this dummy here is. You know having stirred all you up I went and did some research and boy what a bunch,passing through many other sites I have found pictures of USAF people that are young that have uniforms on and medals all over their chest and from what I heard many were from wrong services, placed wrong as well as comments as it being typical USAF and another of getting sworn in and their actions were down right disrespectful but typical Air-force. Course there are a lot on various sites dedicated to wars especially Vietnam that tell about those glorious regular Air-force personal living the life of luxury in air conditioned barracks. drinking beer by a swimming pool, going to movies in air conditioned theaters and doing much of nothing until the National Guard got there. Maybe that fellow who is on a hunger strike should get the VSM as to his being stationed out side the area and because the aircraft he worked on as well as much of the USAF was flying from outside the country and the token few that might have been in that country did next to nothing. Shoot the people in country were much safer using the other services that had A/C in country and A/C carriers just off the coast from all comments I have seen. Guess I ought to go down to the bar and get with Kenny and Ken, Barry, Bud, Dan and Danny, Leo, Gilbert, Magic, Brad, and Chuck and have a few laughs over a beer or three and joke about this matter. Just have to ignore that dumb ass in the corner alone that has Scoliosis and had most of the cartilage removed from his knee while in H/S as to his thought way back when he was younger was he would dodged the draft to avoid VN and joined… Read more »
might wanna check the expiration date on those meds Dwight.
Are you still drunk?
Did you miss the English classes on the formation of paragraphs? But then, that’s the least of your challenges when it comes to writing.
I’d like to see Mrs Durrance (my high school English teacher) diagram those sentences.
Anger issues you say? It hardly shows.
I tell you what Dwight Schwarz, FIRST you ought to pull out at least 12 of the eighteen corncobs you currently have stuffed up your ass, take a deep breath and then at least TRY to come up with something intelligible and coherent for your next comment. I myself suggest that you NOT huff the floor wax before posting!
What the hell is he babbling about?
Methinks he needs to quit sniffing glue yesterday.
You may have heard of Jotcean stream of consciousness where one expressed thought prompts another and another and another. Well, Davey here seems to have lapsed into stream of unconsciousness. Let’s hope that if he is a veteran, he gets the help he clearly needs and, if he’s not a veteran, that he takes a flying fuque at a rolling donut.
Maybe he picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.
“I went and did”
Now there’s a clue.
Even Dwight doesn’t know what Dwight is babbling about.
That’s a serious vowel movement right there.
Vowel movement. I’m totally stealing that.
Arrgggh. Joycean, not Jotcean.
It’s okay, AirCav. Jotcean can be a new form of stream-of-unconscious psychobabble.
You will get credit for it, too. A serendipitous moment in time….
Med’s, Drunk, English say what. Med”s, alcohol sorry but any problems I have had in the past 50 years I have found that they are used by Doctors and and others as a way to deal with anger, anxiety, nerves and other such things one acquired long ago. As to the college graduate pertaining to English, wake up, read things written on face book sites. Many there and other places can hardly spell or use the correct terminology to complete a sentence let alone the fact that English is fast becoming a minor language in usage here in the USA today. Get a clue folks, Many of you may have honorably served or so some think but few here have ever been in a real war situation. If I were to talk to any veteran as to things it darn sure would not be the likes of one such as our sheriff here who goes around beating his heroic chest as he drove down that road in Kuwait that you see in pictures that had all those destroyed vehicles and armament pushed off to the side, big whoopee hero, sorry but no cigar. Sorry that I omitted you Dave, as to being part what many here have determined as a worthless bar crowd, but if I could locate you it would be an honor to chat with you as to what you endured when you and those with you were there first on foot going through the carnage there locating any wounded or dead in that mess by war before clearing the road so our hero sheriff was able to drive down the road. As to those other ones that this group have determined are bar fly’s. Kenny (Ken) Stetson, USMC, KIA TET 68, on wall Kenny Schwarz, USA, WWII state side Carlton B. (Barry) Halcomb, USMC, KIA, TET 68 on wall Bud Day,Col USAF, POW, Aug 67 till release CMH Dan Larson, USAF, VNV 67-68 Danny Gomez, USMC, severely wounded TET 68 Leo Schwarz, USAAF, WWII Italy Gilbert Uhlman, USAF, Lt Col, Korean Era Magic, USMC, Tunnel Rat VN… Read more »
I’m just a working drunk.
There. Fixed it for you.
This is a matter of which should be of some concern to VNV and is of no significance to the rest of the non actual real veterans who served in the country of VN. Since I am stirring up things here, I have a question as to the memorials in D.C.. There is a well guarded one there that is highly revered to our nation. That is the tomb of the Unknown Soldier that at last last time I have seen it anywhere there were 4 tombs there, that are guarded, 24/7 year round, but there are only 3 unknown soldiers buried there in. It seems that the powers that be removed the remains of the tomb that the VN Vet occupied so as to bring closure to his family. So now it is an empty symbol for VNV. It would seem that there would be an effort to Identify the remains in the Korean war tomb and the WWII tomb also to bring closure to those families or has it been determined that these tombs are far more symbolic and revered than the VNV tomb after all there are many searching all the grave yards and various battle fields worldwide seeking to identify all unknown remains that are buried there from WWII, Korea and Vietnam and return the remains to the families for proper burial here in the USA.
“Since I am stirring up things here”
I see no evidence supporting that. It’s difficult to stir things up, or provoke thought when your statements are mostly incoherent babbling. May you should get someone (sober) to proofread your next flight of ideas and provide some constructive feedback before posting it.
Ummm. They walk among us. Ole Dwight may be an acolyte of SlURRPer41ShOrTBuS. Same writing style.
Oh good one sj and others, so let me ask you a small question. Do you now or did you ever have the government allow you to be in the service and did you ever serve in a theater of war in a capacity other than a clerk typist, you know those were the guys that sat behind a desk kissing higher ups rears and adding their names to any awards given to any unit remotely assigned to their company as to the regard to their actions in the field far away from your comfy office.
You know I’m tempted to disagree with you, but I still can’t figure out what I’d be disagreeing with. If you’re trying to stir things up, you’re not doing a very good job of it. All of the responses I’ve read to your posts are bewilderment and not indignation.
Wow, easy question to answer as,A. did you ever serve in the military service.
B. did you ever serve in a war as a person in actual combat. C. or were you what is referred to as a Rear Echelon Mother F—-r.
To further increase education for you
POW-prisoner of war
KIA-killed in war
MIA-missing in action
CMH or MOH is Congressional Medal of Honor
VN- Vietnam
VNV-Vietnam Veteran or Nam Vet
USA- Divison of the US Army
USAAC or USAAF- US Army Air Corp or US Army Air Force divison of the Army later split off to become USAF
USAF- Division of the US Air Force
USN- Division of the Navy which also has the US Marine Corp as part of their Divison
TET 68-Vietnamese New Years Celebration, late January 1968 and fighting lasting well into May
ROK- those somewhat smaller guys who were sent to secure a valley in Vietnam that Marines wanted no part of and Army wanted only small involvement as was a base to be placed there next to supposed Uncle Ho’s (ups sorry Ho Chi Min) boy hood home and after ROK’s secured it wanted no part of it as thought they may not be able to hold the position in the future which was good as ROK did not sign nor was the Geneva Convention agreement written in the Republic Of Korea’s Language
Time for numba 10 to didi
DILLIGAF
Well, gee whizzikers, dwight is either higher than a box kite flown by a glider pilot, or stoned out of his/her/its teenytinymind.
Do you know ANYTHING at all about punctuation, Dwightsie? Obviously, not. Coherent speech and writing patterns are not your strong suit, Sprout.
Moving on.
I also noticed a similar style….OhPleaseOhPleaseOhPlease let it be Psul Wickre reincarnated
I think I counted almost or more than 20 “AS TOs”
I think I remember someone else that “AS TOed” all over TAH while in a drunken stupor.
“HI PSUL!! How’s your MOM DOING??”
Happy Mother’s Day Last Weekend!!!
I THOUGHT I smelled a mixture of MD20/20, T-bird and Dutch Rudder Gamg Cocktails coming from somewhere!
As well as the scent of dirty spandex, all that clued me AS TO who it could be. I thought I heard a mailbox door falling off as well!
“…few here have ever been in a real war situation.”
Yup; your highly focused efforts have enabled you to finally discover our well-kept collective secret here at TAH.
None of us here are actual combat veterans.
The cat’s out of the bag now, and we’re all busted as Stolen Valor posers.
Oh, the shame of being exposed is almost too much to bear.
Yeah, it sucks to be outed as a REMF clerk typist. But damn, the manual typewriters and ball busting over typos on the Morning Report were brutal. Plus, sometimes the restaurant ran out of ice cream.
Yep:
“I want to be a Remington Raider.”
“I want to live a life of danger.”
“Bottles of whiteout and ink erasers be damned.”
“I’m gonna grab all the phony glory while I can.”
“I want to be a Remington Raider.”/smile
Gimme yer left…
Yer right, yer left.
Count Cadence, Delayed Cadence….
Count Cadence, Count!!…..
Brutal indeed. Ever miss a key and get your finger stuck? I have, and I think John Kerry got a Purple Heart for doing it.
I love the smell of Whiteout in the morning!
(Actually, I love the smell of Ditto machines more, but I doubt anyone would get it.)
I get it! The great ole days.
Dwight Schwarz loves the smell of A.B. Dick in the morning.
Stencil Eraser Fluid was the best!!
Good times.
HEY CLAW!!!!
“Lawer”
https://imgur.com/nGqi3aR
YAYYYYY!!!!
Woo-Hoo!!
You da Man, Chip.
Thanks
((Over))
I like it better.
Dwight folded his tent already?
I think he sent me an incoherent message on our FB page last year (which I deleted) and he thinks that I should have assembled an expedition to find a missing pilot in Vietnam immediately after reading his message – even though he didn’t give us a name or a place to look or an airplane tail number. I guess he thinks that we are DPAA or something.
Sounds like the gent needs professional help. Tnx.
His posts look like he spends too much time with his bong, or something that kills the “leetle gray cells,” as Poirot would say. My 93 year old mother that can’t remember what she had for lunch could put together a more coherent comment.
Aww, Damnit. The brainwashing, oops, education by Dwight was almost complete.
I had just about reconciled myself to the fact that I had never been in a real war situation and was going to start growing my hair and beard out again in hopes of becoming a stank-ass hippie.
Oh, well, what could have been./smile
Let’s see – we got a long dissertation not even remotely related to the topic, rambling accusations of something, unintelligible mutterings, promises to go away, and assorted stuff worthy of no one with an iota of training in the use of the English language.
Seems like we’ve done this before. All we need is some MD 20/20 and a dangling mailbox door.
The Schwartz is with me.
Whistle stop, lollipop, toilet cleaner and shine those boots. When the government says that there is no one in the White House, don’t believe the media or the Congress of Racial Equality, which I know something about when I was young. So, if you typed and typed,I know that I worked for the government for 8 or 80 years. Your guess. Charlie is in the wire and you don’t know because you were in a different war with your zipper.
Over.
Word Claw. As we talked over adult bevs along with 3/17 too long ago in Idaho. I found my 1LT butt in the Republic of the Domicans (a place I could not point out on a map) in ’65. I got shot at without effect as it was more of a aww shit spray and shoot. But I did earn a 82nd right sleeve combat patch which was Very rare in those days.
Now they are missing an M-240. Someone is in deep yogurt.