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Subscribe to RSSAn anti-tank weapon, capable of penetrating 12 inches of armor, was smuggled off of a military base in Washington state. Chris Daniels reports.
Five soldiers are under investigation for taking an Army anti-tank weapon loaded with a live rocket home from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state and passing it around, a federal law enforcement spokeswoman confirmed to msnbc.com.
NBC station King-TV in Seattle was first to reveal the probe. The station reported that one of the soldiers smuggled the M-72 LAW (light anti-tank weapon) -- a shoulder-fired launcher armed with a rocket capable of penetrating armor nearly one-foot thick -- off the sprawling base southeast of Seattle. The weapon was then held in the possession of at least five soldiers.
“It was indeed a live rocket,” Cheryl Bishop, spokeswoman for the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), told msnbc.com on Wednesday.
According to KING-TV, this is how the weapon was discovered:
The soldiers' secret reportedly became revealed when one of the troops was deployed to Afghanistan last year. His girlfriend called police when she found the rocket launcher in their closet.
The weapon was turned over to federal agents by the Pierce County Sheriff’s office, Bishop said.
“There is nothing that we know about to date that there was any intention for it to be used," Bishop said. “They did have it – it was an active and live military LAWs rocket.”
Investigators told King-TV they expect that charges for illegally possessing a military-grade weapon will be filed by federal prosecutors against the soldiers.
The Army has assisted in the investigation, Bishop said. It was unclear if any disciplinary action within the military has taken place against the soldiers.
An Army spokesman at the base told King-TV he wasn’t aware of the investigation.
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Hopefully they were saving it for when Obama came to town.
I like guys like this, they got bigger balls than the rest of you. How cool would it be to have one of these bad boys as a discussion item while you pass that J.
We need more shysters like this in the military. Mens men.
Let em go with a reprimend.
Reminds me of the time that Grandpa got a "water closet" installed in his house.
His son came home that same weekend from the military with a grenade.
Gramps was taking his final farewell dump in the old outhouse.
The son and his brother figured since the outhouse was no longer needed, it would make a nice target.
After the explosion, Gramps, half naked in a nearby tree said, "Well that the last time I take a crap and light my pipe".
First Mistake....never trust a woman, ever.
Second Mistake........never steal rockets from the military.
But if you are compelled to break rule #2, or any other rule, keep in mind rule #1
Never trust a woman, ever!
So trusting a woman is worse than stealing rockets?
AZ, you make the most idiotic comments!
Why do you hate women so much? Because they won't stand for you beating them or because you're gay?
I never said I hated women, dont jump to assumptions. In fact I love women. I just dont trust them. The majority of my best informants have been women. They are usually emotional driven, have little loyalty and will inform on anyone about anything if it benifits them. I have had wifes snitch on their husbands, girlfriends on their boyfriends, even mothers on their children. Everyone up to no good seems to like talking around women and they pick up the best dirt on everything.
So even though I love women of all colors and shapes I dont trust any of them. But then again I dont trust anyone period. :)
Anti-tank guns don't kill people, people kill people. We have enough laws on the books. Now we have to have a LAW in our apartments?
ROFLMAO
BTW, if the military isn't taking this seriously (and it appears they are not) then why should I?
I was going to say, boys will be boys, but sadly not everyone in the military is a war hero. A rocket launcher would make a pretty effect terrorist attack.
A single rocket would make far less an effective terror attack than I could brew up in my basement.
Without giving a lot of detail, it is a VERY simple matter to make reasonably powerful explosives using common, every day household chemicals - yet a high explosive would be excessive for something designed purely to spread terror.
Simple biological weapons can be produced at home, by anyone, without need for any specialized equipment more complex than a plastic soda bottle. With just enough explosive force to spread one's home-made germs over a reasonable area, one could very easily sicken enough people to the point they wished they'd die, rather than be miserable any longer to make Al Kayduh look like a bunch of mentally retarded amatures.
Be damned glad I'm our side.
True True! The LAW rocket uses a small shaped charge to pentrate armor and concrete but has very little blast radius for casualties, but the delivery system is fantastic. Drive by fire one into a building or shopping center and all the public see's is explosion. The casualty rate and actual damage wont be spectacular but it will be dramatic.
On the other hand a case or two of emulex and a spool of 55grain detcord or primacord will result in a more catastophic explosion with more damage but to deliver it would be the problem and most people do not have the expertise to construct it let alone conceal and deliver it properly without arousing suspicion.
The news would have a field day with it.
It is time to clean house at Lewis McCord! No discipline to speak of, no security, no sense of shame. All the great work our service people have done could unravel because a group of Army malcontents feel they are above the nation's laws and statutes.
Tom, it's just unbelievable to me that they would do such a thing as this and then for 1 of them to just "store" it in a closet?? Amazingly stupid is all I can think of to say.
What in the world were any of them thinking of?
Absolutely scary crap with the military being filled with Tim McVeigh types. I have fired a LAW twice once in training and once in combat, and the damage that one of these could cause in the wrong hands is enormous. I hope they get to the bottom of this and that the military starts doing a better job of inventorying "our" weapons of war. One of our soldiers left the squads starlight scope behind on an ambush sight in '69, we returned and it was gone, and this soldier was reprimanded......... but our sarge was facing dismissal from the Marine Corps over this. Chain of command can suck at times. I guess the old saying of @!$%#e rolls downhill is still true, but at times it can roll uphill too. Heads should roll on this..............
Sheriffs have military-issue tanks, do they not?
So - where do federal agents draw the line.
These men are superior in their training than sheriffs that possess extremely dangerous military weapons, as well as officers of the law - that usually do not know how to handle a rifle.
I'm very serious. So, if this case goes forward, then investigate law enforcement that have obtained or use military-issue grade equipment.
Law enforcement is not the military and never will be.
Show us the law.
No, they do not.
I served for 6 years and I can assure you, a lot of guys I served with weren't qualified to pick their noses. Dream on!
The police still have that tank that the one guy hijacked in San Diego. You know, the one that led police on a wild chase.The police are now using that tank as their own patrol car. They even added a siren on the top of it.
P.S.- I'm using sarcasm incase any of you thought I was serious.
As we should all realize, it's not just GSA that has stupid employees. These soldiers should be incarcerated, if found guilty in a court martial, and spend a good amount of time locked up. It's one thing to waste tax payer moneys, it's something else to take major weapons home....to play with.
Just the Item one would require in a road rage confrontation! If everyone had one available the roads would be much much more pleasant wouldn't it LMAO
Women!
If in fact Trayvon did attack Zimmerman then Zimmerman is innocent. We all have the right to protect ourselves and our property. If in fact Trayvon did not attack him then there is something wrong no doubt. In my opinion It's really that simple. I do wonder If many Black Americans do care about the circumstances that lead to this shooting. It's painfully obvious that many of us as Americans have not gotten past color. I have to admit that I never want to live in a bad community where I have to worry about crime in general. I would rather live in the middle of nowhere. I hate to even listen to this crap on the news much less live in it. Oh and the news is so bias It's nothing but a joke these days. I'm sure the truth will come out regarding this case but it won't be do to good reporting I bet....Lets get to the truth and quit stirring the pot. JMO
'I see NOTHING! I know NOTHING!' - Sergeant Schultz, Hogan's Heroes
Kept getting error messages/unable to post, won't let me delete...so my explanation instead.
Felony theft! Taxpayers are being robbed! Prosecute, & send to Jail!
During the Vietnam War, we had lots of Officers shipping Vietcongs automatic weapons to US. When returning to states, they would pick them up at this one location. I have no doubt these things are still going on. War is hell, they are great looking above the fireplace. As far I'm concern the military personnel in Vietnam, deserved them over the draft dodgers like Romney.
He didn't dodge the draft. Liar.
Many veterans of WWI - WWII - Korea, etc - had numerous momentos they managed to smuggle home with them. For years my Grandfather had a large shell as a door stop in his bedroom.
Fortunately - TV - got to be a big thing - and - they had many stories about these war momentos blowing up and killing people. So - he finally disposed of the thing.
Where can I get me one. It would be just the thing to take care of those pesky tanks on the back 40. On a serious note what the hell were they thinking. they'll be lucky if they don't spend the next 20 years in Leavenworth Kansas.
You have the right to bear arms...just not the ones that matter.
Where can I get one? You see, I'm the neighborhood watch and I.....
Had George W. Bush and Dick Cheney not declared this illegal war for the sake of enriching their campaign contributors like Hallburton, British Petroleum, and other war profiteers those five young soldiers would have lived completely different lives. It's sad to read about more young lives ruined by this illegal war. These young men obviously were not thinking clearly probably due to PTSD, a mental illness. The responsibility for their actions lies with our military in command who should have had these weapons secured to prevent this from happening. When will Bush and Cheney be arrested and tried for war crimes?
Meh. Ragnar Benson's books teach you how to build Claymore mines, M203 grenade launchers, hand grenades, and mortars, among other things.
I think a Javelin would be fun though.