Unusual Government Agencies Stockpiling Ammo (turns out to be a clerical error)
Is the government preparing for civil unrest by amassing stockpiles of ammunition purchased through various government agencies such as the National Weather Service to complement purchases made through the Department of Homeland Security?
A solicitation appearing on the FedBizOps website asks for delivery of 46,000 rounds of .40 S&W JHP to the National Weather Service in various locations on the East Coast along with a request for 500 paper targets. This follows a previous DHS purchase of 450 million rounds of .40 hollow point ammunition back in March. It should be noted that hollow point ammunition has been "illegal in international warfare since 1899." Apparently, its use is approved against the citizens of one's own country. Get the full story here and here.
Either the government is preparing for massive civil unrest stemming from a possible economic collapse, or the Obama Administration is preparing its own version of a November surprise in the eventuality that the election doesn't go their way. Hey, they don't call the Obama Administration a bunch of Chicago street thugs for nothing. I'm just saying.
Tom Roberson blogs at tomroberson.wordpress.com.
Update from Rick Moran:
Interesting but not accurate. www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/national-weather-service-ammunition-solicitation-triggers-confusion/2012/08/14/3dc6b67e-e62a-11e1-936a-b801f1abab19_blog.html Clerical error - ammo for fish and wildlife -- and they need a lot of it considering they run into marijuana growers a lot.
Due to a clerical error in the federal business vendor process, a solicitation for ammunition and targets for the NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement mistakenly identified NOAA's National Weather Service as the requesting office. The error is being fixed and will soon appear correctly in the electronic federal bidding system. The ammunition is standard issue for many law enforcement agencies and it will be used by 63 NOAA enforcement agents in their twice annual target qualifications and training.
Update: Further confirmation from official sources, via Elizabeth Weber Levy:
I shared [this blog] with U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander's office. The following is from Rodney's D.C. staffer, Patrick Barron.
Ms. Levy,
I was forwarded a message from Tommie Seaton in our Alexandria office regarding the solicitation of ammunition by the National Weather Service. I looked into the issue, and it appears that there was a clerical error in the solicitation for ammunition.
The ammunition was intended to be acquired for the National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Law Enforcement. However, it accidentally listed the National Weather Service as the agency acquiring the ammunition. Both agencies operate under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). If you read through the solicitation on fbo.gov, the addresses that it lists as having requested the ammunition belong to the Office of Law Enforcement, not the National Weather Service. NOAA has acknowledged the error and said that it will be corrected soon.
With the way the solicitation reads and the addresses that were listed for the agencies making the solicitation, it does not appear that there was any risk of ammunition being sent to an office that does not handle law enforcement.
I hope I was able to answer your question. Let us know if you have any additional concerns or questions.
Sincerely,
-Patrick
Patrick Barron
Legislative Correspondent/Legislative Assistant
Office of Congressman Rodney Alexander (LA-05)
316 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515