"There’s also the drug trade in the military and using military transport to get drugs around. That’s another story, and apparently there’s money to be made there."
In terms of the “drug trade” that’s a consistent theme, over and over again, I hear from many military people. That is extensive.
You need to quit hanging around that criminal trash and turn them into the law, if you think that their knowledge of the crimes aren't sufficient for conviction don't worry, they will be forced to turn in the criminals that they are protecting.
Here is your chance to do something patriotic for your country and to help the military.
You said — You need to quit hanging around that criminal trash and turn them into the law, if you think that their knowledge of the crimes aren’t sufficient for conviction don’t worry, they will be forced to turn in the criminals that they are protecting.
—
You don’t get to pick your relatives, although you do pick your friends. And in this case, the relatives were not engaged in it, but they definitely knew of it being done. It’s far from what you say — that these things are not done. They are done *extensively* — contrary to what you say. I’ve got that confirmed from direct witnesses to it, and also from news articles, too...
And these are the “half of it”... either...
I’m afraid you’re “out on a limb” on this one... LOL...
U.S. Government Weapon Stash for Sale on El Paso Black Market
March 19, 2009
Chris Roberts, El Paso Times, Texas
EL PASO — Military weaponry and supplies, everything from fighter jet parts to meals for combat soldiers, is vanishing from the U.S. government inventory. A recent government report says some of that lost equipment could be used against America’s military and police agencies.
A weapon stash in Juarez and night-vision rifle scopes stolen from combat teams in Iraq for sale on the black market in El Paso are part of a wider problem, according to the 2008 Government Accountability Office report.
The report documents the purchase of sensitive military items on eBay and Craigslist by undercover GAO agents between January 2007 and March 2008.
They bought the items “no questions asked,” according to the report. They also found dealers who regularly bought and sold the gear. Store owners said they purchased much of the equipment from U.S. service members, but some was obtained from government liquidators.
The gear included military aircraft antennas, military-specification night-vision goggles, Army combat uniforms with infrared tabs used to identify friendly forces, and body armor vests with the most recent plates.
“Many of the sensitive items we purchased could have been used directly against our troops and allies, or reverse-engineered to develop counter measures or equivalent technology,” the report stated.
It also said the Defense Department had in recent year improved a process meant to keep sensitive equipment from reaching the wrong hands. Still, the report outlined cases in which arms dealers attempted to sell U.S. weaponry to enemies.
In 2003, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials intercepted the attempted export of $750,000 worth of F-14 fighter parts to Iran, which still uses the aircraft. And in 2005, ICE officials confiscated 80 AK-47 assault rifles, an M-60 machine gun and an M-16 automatic rifle on their way to a terrorist group in Colombia.
“From fiscal years 2002 through 2004, $3.5 billion in new, unused and excellent condition items were being transferred or donated outside of (the Defense Department), sold on the Internet for pennies on the dollar, or destroyed rather than being reutilized,” according to the report.
It also cites less insidious examples including an enlisted soldier stationed in South Korea who was caught trying to sell large quantities of government-issue combat meals on the Internet.
The report’s authors noted that they did not try to determine whether “systemic property-management problems” at the Defense Department led to the sales.
Some of that gear is reported missing by individual service members who are billed for it, said Jeffrey McCausland, a military expert with the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Much of that equipment is outdated, he said Tuesday in a telephone interview.
“Six lost flak jackets at Fort Hood, Texas, don’t seem like that big a deal to the Army until six guys show up at First National Bank in San Antonio wearing flak jackets and armed with 9mm pistols,” said McCausland, who has served on the White House’s National Security Council staff.
Another source of “excess” equipment comes when units change their missions, from armored to infantry, for example, or bases are closed, McCausland said.
A spokesman for the Defense Department agency responsible for dealing with the military’s excess equipment said a series of checks are in place to prevent sensitive equipment from reaching the public.
The agency received more than $20 billion in equipment in the last fiscal year, which ended in September, said Kenneth MacNevin, spokesman for the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service, based in Battle Creek, Mich.
Only about $2 billion of that gear is reused, including some equipment that is sold to civilian law enforcement agencies, he said. Unused equipment is either destroyed, recycled or sold by government liquidators. Sensitive gear must be destroyed or rendered harmless, he said.
“There are internal reviews on our internal control systems, what kind of property leaves government hands,” MacNevin said. “We’ve made big strides.”
More gear is being reused as the agency finds ways to connect with supply personnel in the military services, MacNevin said, including online “warehouses” and e-mail alerts that are sent in response to requests for specific equipment.
If nobody else wants it and the equipment is determined safe, it is sent to a contractor that sells it to the public, he said. The agency “regularly and randomly” checks the contractors’ Web sites for equipment that shouldn’t be there, he added.
“For many years the focus was on sales. It goes all the way back to World War II,” MacNevin said. “Now our focus is on re-utilization and national security.”
http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/2009/3/19/us_government_weapon_stash_for_sale.htm
Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007
Did GIs Sell Guns in Iraq?
By Brian Bennett
The Pentagon is investigating whether some of the 190,000 weapons the U.S. military lost track of while training Iraqi troops were peddled on the black market by American soldiers and contractors, federal law-enforcement and congressional sources tell TIME. In recent weeks, Claude Kicklighter, the Pentagon’s inspector general, has privately told lawmakers that the Defense Criminal Investigative Service has launched a probe into whether U.S. military and civilian contractors intercepted up to 110,000 AK-47 assault rifles and 80,000 pistols intended for Iraqi security forces in 2004 and ‘05 to sell on the Iraqi black market. A Pentagon official declined comment.
The case was opened, according to a congressional aide who attended one of the briefings, after the Government Accountability Office revealed in July that some 30% of all U.S. weapons bound for Iraqi security forces had gone missing. The report cited, among other factors, “insufficient staffing” and a failure to follow established distribution procedures as contributing to the disappearance of thousands of weapons. Particularly unsettling for lawmakers was the realization that General David Petraeus was in charge of training Iraqi security forces—which has cost more than $19.2 billion since 2003—during the time the weapons went missing. Despite having the ultimate responsibility for overseeing the training, however, Petraeus, now the commanding general in Iraq, has not been implicated in any wrongdoing.
Revelations that U.S. soldiers are suspected of illegal arms sales in Iraq could prove to be another example, like leaving depots unguarded, of how U.S. actions have put weapons in the hands of anti-U.S. insurgents. “[The problem] goes back,” says a congressional aide, “to not having enough troops.”
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1697426,00.html
And it’s not necessarily limited to the U.S. Military, either....
As I said — drugs and weapons sales.... those are the *two main things* I hear from military people...
Soldiers Sold Weapons From Iraq for Cocaine, Court Martial Hears
Two soldiers who smuggled guns and ammunition out of Iraq to sell to other members of their unit accepted cocaine as payment for a pair of pistols, a court martial heard yesterday.
Lance Corporals Michael White and Anthony Creswick bought pistols and ammunition on the Iraqi black market while on a tour of duty with the 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, the court heard. The weapons were then smuggled to Osnabrück in Germany, where the soldiers hoped to sell them on.
The court martial, sitting at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire, was told that L/Cpl White and L/Cpl Creswick even produced a catalogue with photographs and details of the weapons they intended to “tout” around their unit.
It also heard that one soldier, Corporal Darren Clemie, offered them 30g of cocaine for two pistols, which L/Cpl White and L/Cpl Creswick subdivided into 1g wraps and intended to sell to other soldiers for a profit. Nigel Jones, prosecuting, told the hearing that L/Cpl White and L/Cpl Creswick sold four pistols between May and July 2005.
L/Cpl White has admitted charges relating to the buying and selling of weapons and ammunition and supplying cocaine. He will be called as the main prosecution witness, the court was told.
Mr Jones said the plan collapsed when other soldiers discovered that the guns were being sold, and arrests followed.
The court was told that although L/Cpl Creswick led police to the weapons, in interviews he said he was looking after them for a friend. Cpl Clemie denied any involvement.
L/Cpl Creswick denies three charges of selling a prohibited weapon and supplying a controlled drug. He admits unlawful possession of ammunition and possession of a prohibited weapon. Cpl Clemie denies possession of a prohibited weapon, ammunition and supplying a controlled drug.
A third soldier, Sergeant James Malone, denies a single charge of possessing three hand grenades. The hearing continues.
Guardian News & Media 2008
Published: 9/18/2007
I think you better “catch up” on what’s really going on “out there”....