Homeland Security Ammo Buy

jspeligene · Mar 7, 2013

What's up with Homeland security buying 650 million rounds of ammo last year and another 21 million so far this year. Saw the report on the news last night...supposedly our military only consumed 5 mil per month at the peak of the Iraq war. Why in the hell would they need that much ammo?
I also saw that H.S. was involved in a raid in El Reno this week, confiscation gambling machines.
Can anybody enlighten me on what their scope of responsibility is supposed to be? Maybe Poop can weigh in here...he seems to be well read on such things.

kdf9511 · Mar 7, 2013

If they keep buying them then we can't.

CrtsHarris · Mar 7, 2013

They are also buying about 1800 MRAP armored vehicles worth billions of dollars. So all that money for ICE to catch illegals just to let them right out of prison? Doesn't make sense to me.

argyle64 · Mar 7, 2013

Seriously guys? Come on. This one pops up every month. I did the math on this a few months back to debunk this conspiracy theory. DHS runs FLETC. Enough said.

jspeligene · Mar 7, 2013

Pardon my ignorance...What the heck is FLETC?

argyle64 · Mar 7, 2013

FLETC is the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. DHS runs the show there. For example, my agency (FBOP) is the smallest of them all with the shortest academy (3 weeks). So here's the breakdown:

Days on the range: 10
Rounds used each day: 100
Officers per class: 30
Classes each week: 2 (2.5 classes per month)
Total rounds used per year for the FBOP alone: 900,000 rounds

Every Federal Law Enforcement agency trains through FLETC and they expend more rounds than my agency does. This number does not take into account ammo for requalifications throughout the year and the different specialty academies they put on (firearms instructor school, tactical schools, etc.).

-Ace- · Mar 7, 2013

Argyle covered it pretty well, I've also noticed that quite a few of the reports on quantities are skewed due to inaccurate figures, and misunderstanding of how purchasing contracts work for DOD and DHS.

jspeligene · Mar 7, 2013

Very good explanation. Thanks.
Would you hazard a guess as to the overall population that FLETC serves? That would help put it in perspective. For instance, if FBOP represents 5% of the training conducted (ammo consumption), then the annual requirement would be around 20 million rounds per year?
I don't know if the news report is accurate. Hopefully not, because that would mean they bought a 20+ year supply.

jspeligene · Mar 7, 2013

Googled this...provides a little more insight.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/14/homeland-security-bullets_n_2688402.html

argyle64 · Mar 7, 2013

The FLETC serves as an interagency law enforcement training organization for 91 Federal agencies. The FLETC also provides services to state, local, tribal, and international law enforcement agencies. The FLETC is headquartered at Glynco, Ga., near the port city of Brunswick, halfway between Savannah, Ga., and Jacksonville, Fla.

In addition to Glynco, the FLETC operates two other residential training sites in Artesia, N.M., and Charleston, S.C. The FLETC also operates a non-residential in-service re-qualification and advanced training facility in Cheltenham, Md., for use by agencies with large concentrations of personnel in the Washington, D.C., area.

The FLETC dining facility serves over 4,000 meals per day to students, staff and contractors.