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U.S. military explosives vanish, emerge in civilian world

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Hundreds — and possibly thousands — of armor-piercing grenades, hundreds of pounds of plastic explosives, as well as land mines and rockets have been stolen from or lost by the U.S. armed forces over the past decade, according to an ongoing @AP investigation into the military’s failure to secure all its weapons of war. Still more explosives were reported missing and later recovered. Troops falsified records to cover up some thefts, and in other cases didn’t report explosives as missing, investigative files show. Sometimes, they failed to safeguard explosives in the first place.

Hundreds — and possibly thousands — of armor-piercing grenades, hundreds of pounds of plastic explosives, as well as land mines and rockets have been stolen from or lost by the U.S. armed forces over the past decade, according to an ongoing @AP investigation into the military’s failure to secure all its weapons of war. Still more explosives were reported missing and later recovered. Troops falsified records to cover up some thefts, and in other cases didn’t report explosives as missing, investigative files show. Sometimes, they failed to safeguard explosives in the first place.

  1. 1 Dec 2021

    Today, the is following up on our series on AWOL weapons in the military. This new story by myself, and focused on explosives:

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  2. 2 Dec 2021

    An investigation has found that a range of explosives — TNT, armor-piercing grenades, plastic explosives, even rockets — have been stolen from or lost by the U.S. armed forces over the past decade. 

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  3. 2 Dec 2021

    The consequences can be deadly. In August, an artillery shell exploded at a Mississippi recycling yard. Chris Smith saw his co-worker bleed out right there. “For no reason at all,” Smith said.

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  4. 2 Dec 2021

    Explosives have been recovered in homes and storage units, inside barracks and alongside roads. These are not rusty war trophies — they came from military shipments or bases over the past decade.

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  5. 2 Dec 2021

    The ’s AWOL Weapons investigation has shown that poor accountability and insider thefts have led to the loss of more than 2,000 military firearms since 2010. Some guns have been used in civilian crimes, including shootings. 

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  6. 2 Dec 2021

    In response to the investigation, Congress is set to require detailed loss and theft reports from the military. But those reforms won’t make it harder to steal explosives, which are harder to account for than firearms. 

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  7. 2 Dec 2021

    In 2018, authorities found C4 and armor-piercing grenades in a former Marine’s home. The case was one of many  found in which the military didn't know explosives were missing. 

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  8. 2 Dec 2021

    Authorities caught a lucky break in another 2018 case. When investigating one explosives theft at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, they stumbled on a second case: A sergeant had taken 13 pounds of C4 plastic explosive.

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  9. 2 Dec 2021

    The sergeant said he stole the C4 because he feared society would disintegrate if Donald Trump lost in 2016. “I had one thing on my mind,” he told military investigators. “I am protecting my family and my constitutional rights.”

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  10. 2 Dec 2021

    The is investigating lost or stolen military weapons, including those that end up in America’s streets and homes.    Read the full AWOL Weapons series: 

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  11. 1 Dec 2021

    Hundreds — and possibly thousands — of armor-piercing grenades, hundreds of pounds of plastic explosives, as well as land mines and rockets have been stolen from or lost by the U.S. military over the past decade, according to an ongoing investigation.

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  12. 2 Dec 2021

    A Marine Corps demolition specialist was worried about the civil war he feared would follow the 2016 presidential election. So he stole 13 pounds of C4 plastic explosives from Camp Lejeune. Read our investigation about lost and stolen military weapons.

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