Can anyone think of a logical reason why the Social Security Administration would be purchasing ammunition? Via
73 Replies to “174,000 rounds of .357 Sig 125 grain bonded jacketed hollow point”
I’m guessing this is the Obama administration’s new take on “death panels.”
The answer to this one is obvious. To protect themselves against deranged weathermen.
Hopefully to kill all the boomers! It’s one way to reduce the deficit.
Old Country Boy is going to explain to us why the Social Security Admin needs 174 thousand rounds of .357 JHP any second now…
aaany minute now…right Bob?
right?
Same-old, same-old tired alarmist warnings. And from where? Oh, yes, InfoWars, the Net’s answer to The National Enquirer.
The SSA has 60,000+ employees working in over 1,350 locations. It’s common to have armed guards in many of them. Let’s say there is just one guard per location – call it 1,300 of them. Each one has to practice regularly to keep qualified. 174,000 rounds – gee, that’s about 130 rounds per year per guard. That’s about minimal for routine practice. In other words, the Agency is buying a quantity of ammo corresponding to a reasonable estimate of that required for annual training.
As to the nature of the requested item, it’s more-or-less standard cop and security guard ammo. Nothing special.
Thinking and common sense almost always work better than panic and fearmongering.
@Bob
But it’s not as fun
This is fast becoming a disturbing pattern.
Yeah well, I’m not about to get knots in my toga about this….from a tactical propective.
My view is that bureaucrats with pistols may be an accident waiting to occur…colateral casualties and all….but these folks haven’t passed through Paris Island and haven’t been issued M16/M4’s.
The prospect of bullying bureaucrats/civil servants struting about with pistols is disturbing.
In the past, I have had direct experience with irregulars strutting about with firearms…just itching for something/anything just to hear the sucker go.
Yeah, that’s the correct term…irregulars.
Can anyone think of a logical reason why the Social Security Administration would be purchasing ammunition?
To jack up the retail price of ammo even more than it already is now? In 2006 I could buy 50 rounds of 115g Winchester Whitebox for $4 and change. Now? At WalMart the other day I see the same box of ammo priced at $14 and change.
Hope and Change!
.
Almost all law enforcement handgun ammunition has jacketed hollow-point bullets. That includes pretty well all Canadian police forces as well, I know that the OPP, Ottawa Police and RCMP carry hollow points.
In a way it is a safety requirement. A non-expanding bullet fired from the higher velocity cartridges such as .40S&W or the .357Sig would go right through a bad guy exiting with enough energy to kill a bystander half a block behind the bad guy. An expanding bullet is made to dump all its energy in the bad guy and not exit or exit with less than lethal energy.
Since here in Canada hollow-point pistol ammunition is prohibited, it is best to use the biggest ‘ball’ ammunition you can handle, thus my choice of a .45ACP as my ‘something went bump in the night’ gun.
Nothing to see here.Just the muzzie-in-charge stimulus plans working.And 174,000 rounds? Nothing compared to the millions that conservatives are buying for when the civil war starts if Soreto gets elected again.
Kind of gives new legs to the question “How much do you want the government to do at gunpoint?”
a ‘something went bump in the night’ gun???
Terrific!
Al_in_Ottawa at August 15, 2012 12:28 PM
“Since here in Canada hollow-point pistol ammunition is prohibited, it is best to use the biggest ‘ball’ ammunition you can handle, thus my choice of a .45ACP as my ‘something went bump in the night’ gun.”
Who told’ja that nonsense.
I have a box of recently, legally acquired “Winchester Supreme, Elite, 9mm LUGER 147gr Bonded personal Protection” beside me as I post.
It’s perfectly logical. Everybody gets ammo for target practice with the notable exception of the border service.
My guess would be they are buying them for someone else, some CIA operation or such that is being supplied off the books. Then it is “stolen” or “misplaced” from a warehouse somewhere, and written off.
Perhaps Obama is in the process of nationalizing the weapons industry. Isn’t that what socialist states do to create monopolies that they then control? Recently, Hilary Clinton signed a UN treaty which would circumvent the 2nd amendment (according to Dick Morris) that had to do with worldwide gun control…something about the “rights of the child”.
In BC all Worksafe BC (workers comp), and Family Maintanance Enforcement (alimony) offices have bullet proof glas to deal with those whom they lovingly serve…perhaps our yankee pals plan on elevating their SS services to similar levels but have a better armed populace they fear?
I would agree with Kevin, probably more shady stuff like Fast and Furious.
“It’s perfectly logical. Everybody gets ammo for target practice with the notable exception of the border service.”
Yeah, right up until we tire of paying for the oceanographers, social workers, teachers and weathermen’s ammo and want out.
And for those who are easily distracted: the “source” is not Infowars.
The source is the Social Security Administration.
day-am, ya beat me to it with this little tidbit of fed paranoia Kate.
Social security officers muat arm up to deal with deadly white-haired dissidents, madly wielding their walkers at besieged agents.
The SSA has 60,000+ employees working in over 1,350 locations. It’s common to have armed guards in many of them.
~Bob
Why, Bob?
What do you imagine the profile of an assailant who would attack the Social Security Admin to be?
What is their motive?
Why is it common to have armed guards at Social Security?
You’re ready to retire? Step this way, please.
Just kidding. Does the SSA need guards? Try denying a request for disability from an able-bodies, self-entitled individual without one being present.
You do know there is a rather large increase in people applying for disability, don’t you? You do realize that unemployment is the new normal for a lot of people.
Desperate people will do stupid things. This is not, I think, the administration plotting a coup to stay in power.
The article’s conjecture is plausible.
With the Chinese economy sinking, the risk of fiscal crisis in the U.S. increases every day, given that the Chinese are huge buyers of American debt.
And if the U.S. suffers a fiscal crisis and can no longer cut a cheque, they’ll be a lot of unhappy campers.
But again, just a conjecture. Perhaps a wild one.
Kate @ 1:39. Dear lady, while the source is indeed the SSA, the link leads directly to Infowars and, as usual, that site leads the charge into paranoia. One of the delightful things about your most excellent blog is that common sense, facts and reality are stressed. I would hate to see challenges to those go unanswered.
To keep welfare recipients away from rain gauges?
The Us needs 1300 armed gaurds for 60,000 ss workers?
Hey I know most civil servants are parasites and steal their livelihood from the rest of society but that is 1 armed guard per 46 Social security workers. Just fire them and set them free from the bondage of armed guards already.. Free our Social Security workers for they know what they do.
“The SSA has 60,000+ employees working in over 1,350 locations. It’s common to have armed guards in many of them. Let’s say there is just one guard per location – call it 1,300 of them. Each one has to practice regularly to keep qualified. 174,000 rounds – gee, that’s about 130 rounds per year per guard.”
Bob, 130 rounds per year is actually SFA for practice. Back when I was working in a gunstore, I had an AB Sheriff as a customer that told me they were only allocated 50 rounds a year for training. She bought at least that much per week.
I don’t think that the issue is how much training ammunition is used by a law enforcement person. I think that the issue is, why are these agencies all of a sudden opening bids for large bulk deliveries of ammunition, when they must have had prexisting contracts to support their training needs?
Oz, good questions.
There seems to be a pattern here. Some of it is plausible, some of it, like this, not so much.
Like sasquatch said or askd, paraphrased, all government employees armed? Why?
Again, I quote Phantom: “…is it reasonable that the NOAA has its own police force?”
(Emphasis mine.)
Or the SSA?
The Department of Education?
.357 Sig? That’s an odd calibre to arm an entire security force with. I’ve been shooting a very long time, and never seen one up close. Soumds more like a great marketing job, than any sort of secret government plan.
Al_in_Ottawa- Yes indeed. Hollow point pistol ammo is available at every Canadian gun shop. Not very popular, because the extra cost doesn’t make the holes in the paper any bigger.
Well the Mexican Drug Cartels are using the Obama Admin agencies (FBI, SS, CIA) as thier Protector, in the USA. The drugs must get through or Pelosi & Obama get spanked.
Nice that Mexico gets the VIP treatment given that the Fast & Furious operation included Ammunition that wasn’t delivered
The Grey Lady – The figure of 1,300 that I used was hypothetical and I presented it as such. It is a fact that many of their offices have armed guards. It doesn’t take long for the requirements for ammo to build up and I was merely trying to put that 147,000 in perspective.
Sean – That there are pre-existing contracts is a matter of conjecture, sorry. Government agencies buy bullets and this is the normal process, a routine call for tender.
Coach – the 357 SIG in SIG/Sauer pistols is becoming increasingly popular among US cops. A number of federal agencies and police departments use it as the standard.
As to why every US department has its own police force, it’s the nature of their system of government. The founding fathers, having revolted against central imposed authority from London, distrusted centralized power. Note for instance that every state has its own army (the National Guard) under control of the state governor. To me it’s silly and inefficient , but they seem to prefer it that way.
“You do know there is a rather large increase in people applying for disability, don’t you? You do realize that unemployment is the new normal for a lot of people. Desperate people will do stupid things. This is not, I think, the administration plotting a coup to stay in power.”
~MarkD
So Bob says armed guards are “common” at SS and you, MarkD, say “recent developments” warrant it.
‘Common’ and ‘recent developments’ seem to be conceptually at odds, which is it?
Please cite incidents(with links) that show armed force protection at SS Admin sites is warranted.
You say the Obama Admin is not plotting a coup but you seem to think the American people, specifically those who might apply for Social Security, are seething with barely supressed violent urges against Federal bureaucrats which require an armed protection of SS offices.
maybe to shoot holes in the CO2 layer and let the heat out?
after all if its 0.03% of the atmosphere it could be 150 ft thick.
Mr. Obama Tear down that CO2 layer.
maybe to shoot holes in the CO2 layer and let the heat out?
after all if its 0.03% of the atmosphere it could be 150 ft thick.
Mr. Obama Tear down that CO2 layer.
Oh stop hyper ventilating. The NOAA thing is for game wardens. ( seriously, and NOAA was a typo on the requisition, it’s some other related department)
46,000 rounds is nothing.
Think about it, if you are a gun-carrying functionary, the government has a range and free ammo for your use. How much do you think you can burn through? I could burn through a LOT. Conservatively: 100 rounds a week, or 6-7 magazines, x50 weeks, 5000 per person/year. Now multiply by that by a couple of dozen people.
If you assume even minimal training of 10’s of people per year 46,000 is nothing worth getting worked up about.
(Realistically it means 5% of the shooters used 95% of the ammo, but I digress.)
For comparison, competitive shooters ( IPSC and the like) burn through serious amounts too. 1000 rounds a month would not be a big deal to a half serious civilian hobbyist competitor. The really serious ones go through _many_ 10,000’s of rounds per person/year. Gun companies GIVE them guns to see what breaks, wears and deforms.
Same with the SSA, as someone pointed out you don’t need that many security guards shooting 50r a month to blow through a mountain of ammo.
Why does the SSA need armed security? How many major gov buildings do you know what DO NOT have armed security guards? And they need shifts of them. There’s a night guard.
I used to live in NYC: there were NYPD, transit cops, airport cops, bridge and tunnel authority cops, etc… plus who knows how many security guards, and other Feds. DHS? Look how many of them have guns strapped on or have to qualify, times 1000’s of airports x 3 shifts. 750million rounds is nothing much.
Sean: “All of a sudden”?
What makes you think any of this is new?
Fred: No, NOAA wasn’t a typo, most likely – NOAA really does, for stupid bureaucratic reasons, get charge of ocean fisheries enforcement – it’s in their org chart, and they have a section on their website talking about it.
Total agreement otherwise.
Oz – The issue at hand is the bullets. It’s not up to anybody (except perhaps the departments in question and the GAO) to prove that they need security. My point is that the security guard is ubiquitous in the USA, especially in government buildings.
Whether or not there’s a need is neither here nor there; they exist. And if you’ve got armed guards, they need to shoot to stay in practice. That in turn means that you wind up buying bullets; there’s nothing particularly unusual or threatening about that.
DHS? Look how many of them have guns strapped on or have to qualify, times 1000’s of airports x 3 shifts. 750million rounds is nothing much.
~Fred2
Department of Homeland Security?
The agency that was created to deal with Islamic terrorism better have armed agents, what is your point or do you even have one?
……………………………….
The Federal Protective Service (FPS)—within U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) in
the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—is responsible for protecting federal government
property, personnel, visitors, and customers, including property leased by the General Services
Administration (GSA). http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS22706.pdf
Oh and they also contract private security firms to provide on-cite security.
Bulks buys of ammo for federal bureaucrats are NOT common nor are they justified as a security measure when office security is provided by a separate entity.
Social Security Administration does not have their own armed security officers warranting this bulk purchase of ammunition.
Bob at August 15, 2012 3:48 PM
The entire premise that SS provides their own security is a red herring/wild goose chase/misdirection.
The DHS provides on-site security for Federal buildings or contracts it out to private security firms which purchase their own ammunition needs within their organizations and firms.
Social Security Administration does not need 174 thousand rounds of SIG .357 JHP.
As soon as I saw the name Alex Jones I quit reading.
Bob y-o-u D-o-n-t Get it. Knew it.
“It’s perfectly logical. Everybody gets ammo for target practice with the notable exception of the border service. ”
Exactly. Why is it that anybody thinks that this is ok. Even if it’s not a conspiracy like some think it is, you have to wonder why Social Security gets hollow point bullets and the border patrol gets bean bags. There’s no logic to it whatsoever.
“Social Security Administration does not need 174 thousand rounds of SIG .357 JHP.”
Glad you are so intimately familiar with the needs of the second or third-largest federal department in the USA.
My main point is that anybody carrying a weapon requires regular practice and that the quantity in question is, when taken on a national scale, really quite small. In any case, the figure of 1,300 was itself unrealistic as no place has but one guard. What I am trying to show is that there are perfectly plausible explanations that do not require New World Order/Obamanazi fantasies. Among others, the SSA Inspector General’s office has armed agents; their employment brochure shows a gal handcuffing somebody.
“Glad you are so intimately familiar with the needs of the second or third-largest federal department in the USA.”
~Bob
I guess you didn’t use the link I provided at 3:52.
Not a surprise.
You’ve been arguing all along that, “It’s common to have armed guards in many of them. Let’s say there is just one guard per location – call it 1,300 of them.”Bob August 15, 2012 12:13 PM
A premise that you just pulled straight out of your ass and don’t have the conscience or dignity to acknowledge was false.
DHS provides security for ALL Federal offices/buildings or it is privately contracted out. “My main point is that anybody carrying a weapon requires regular practice and that the quantity in question is, when taken on a national scale, really quite small.”
~Bob
Your main point is irrelevant to the topic.
You have yet to demonstrate any justification for any agents of/or directly attached to the SS Admin having any firearms at all or a legal Congressional mandate to use them. their employment brochure shows a gal handcuffing somebody
~Bob
What a weak sauce bullshit argument.
What real proof do you have that “the gal handcuffing somebody” is some sort of armed enforcer or even an agent/employee of the Social Security Administration and not just a model for an intimidating photoshoot ?
That brochure you mention Bob, also has an individual behind the one with the cuffs who is carrying an automatic and the website for the “game wardens” describes some enforcement activities where it is probably a good idea to carry a weapon.
That being said however, some historical data on past purchases by these departments would be informative. Do these current tenders fit into a regular purchasing pattern or are they anomalous? Do you have any insight into that Bob?
The tender for the SSA expired on 13 Aug. The requested delivery times would fall in to the mid-late October time frame which could lead to speculation of preparations for a “surprise”..
I’m guessing this is the Obama administration’s new take on “death panels.”
The answer to this one is obvious. To protect themselves against deranged weathermen.
Hopefully to kill all the boomers! It’s one way to reduce the deficit.
Old Country Boy is going to explain to us why the Social Security Admin needs 174 thousand rounds of .357 JHP any second now…
aaany minute now…right Bob?
right?
Same-old, same-old tired alarmist warnings. And from where? Oh, yes, InfoWars, the Net’s answer to The National Enquirer.
The SSA has 60,000+ employees working in over 1,350 locations. It’s common to have armed guards in many of them. Let’s say there is just one guard per location – call it 1,300 of them. Each one has to practice regularly to keep qualified. 174,000 rounds – gee, that’s about 130 rounds per year per guard. That’s about minimal for routine practice. In other words, the Agency is buying a quantity of ammo corresponding to a reasonable estimate of that required for annual training.
As to the nature of the requested item, it’s more-or-less standard cop and security guard ammo. Nothing special.
Thinking and common sense almost always work better than panic and fearmongering.
@Bob
But it’s not as fun
This is fast becoming a disturbing pattern.
Yeah well, I’m not about to get knots in my toga about this….from a tactical propective.
My view is that bureaucrats with pistols may be an accident waiting to occur…colateral casualties and all….but these folks haven’t passed through Paris Island and haven’t been issued M16/M4’s.
The prospect of bullying bureaucrats/civil servants struting about with pistols is disturbing.
In the past, I have had direct experience with irregulars strutting about with firearms…just itching for something/anything just to hear the sucker go.
Yeah, that’s the correct term…irregulars.
Can anyone think of a logical reason why the Social Security Administration would be purchasing ammunition?
To jack up the retail price of ammo even more than it already is now? In 2006 I could buy 50 rounds of 115g Winchester Whitebox for $4 and change. Now? At WalMart the other day I see the same box of ammo priced at $14 and change.
Hope and Change!
.
Almost all law enforcement handgun ammunition has jacketed hollow-point bullets. That includes pretty well all Canadian police forces as well, I know that the OPP, Ottawa Police and RCMP carry hollow points.
In a way it is a safety requirement. A non-expanding bullet fired from the higher velocity cartridges such as .40S&W or the .357Sig would go right through a bad guy exiting with enough energy to kill a bystander half a block behind the bad guy. An expanding bullet is made to dump all its energy in the bad guy and not exit or exit with less than lethal energy.
Since here in Canada hollow-point pistol ammunition is prohibited, it is best to use the biggest ‘ball’ ammunition you can handle, thus my choice of a .45ACP as my ‘something went bump in the night’ gun.
For the same reason that the Department of Education has a swat team that they don’t call a swat team.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/06/doe_swat_raid_still_troubling_after_corrections.html
Nothing to see here.Just the muzzie-in-charge stimulus plans working.And 174,000 rounds? Nothing compared to the millions that conservatives are buying for when the civil war starts if Soreto gets elected again.
Kind of gives new legs to the question “How much do you want the government to do at gunpoint?”
a ‘something went bump in the night’ gun???
Terrific!
Al_in_Ottawa at August 15, 2012 12:28 PM
“Since here in Canada hollow-point pistol ammunition is prohibited, it is best to use the biggest ‘ball’ ammunition you can handle, thus my choice of a .45ACP as my ‘something went bump in the night’ gun.”
Who told’ja that nonsense.
I have a box of recently, legally acquired “Winchester Supreme, Elite, 9mm LUGER 147gr Bonded personal Protection” beside me as I post.
It’s perfectly logical. Everybody gets ammo for target practice with the notable exception of the border service.
My guess would be they are buying them for someone else, some CIA operation or such that is being supplied off the books. Then it is “stolen” or “misplaced” from a warehouse somewhere, and written off.
Perhaps Obama is in the process of nationalizing the weapons industry. Isn’t that what socialist states do to create monopolies that they then control? Recently, Hilary Clinton signed a UN treaty which would circumvent the 2nd amendment (according to Dick Morris) that had to do with worldwide gun control…something about the “rights of the child”.
In BC all Worksafe BC (workers comp), and Family Maintanance Enforcement (alimony) offices have bullet proof glas to deal with those whom they lovingly serve…perhaps our yankee pals plan on elevating their SS services to similar levels but have a better armed populace they fear?
I would agree with Kevin, probably more shady stuff like Fast and Furious.
Kate, the US Border Patrol does target practice as well as it’s allowed to, come onboard..
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/03/03/fbi-report-raises-concerns-border-agents-facing-bullets-bean-bags-609544203/
“Bean bags” in the link being the clue.
“It’s perfectly logical. Everybody gets ammo for target practice with the notable exception of the border service.”
Yeah, right up until we tire of paying for the oceanographers, social workers, teachers and weathermen’s ammo and want out.
And for those who are easily distracted: the “source” is not Infowars.
The source is the Social Security Administration.
day-am, ya beat me to it with this little tidbit of fed paranoia Kate.
Social security officers muat arm up to deal with deadly white-haired dissidents, madly wielding their walkers at besieged agents.
here is the story plus an update apparently someone made some errors
http://www.infowars.com/national-weather-service-follows-dhs-in-huge-ammo-purchase/
The SSA has 60,000+ employees working in over 1,350 locations. It’s common to have armed guards in many of them.
~Bob
Why, Bob?
What do you imagine the profile of an assailant who would attack the Social Security Admin to be?
What is their motive?
Why is it common to have armed guards at Social Security?
You’re ready to retire? Step this way, please.
Just kidding. Does the SSA need guards? Try denying a request for disability from an able-bodies, self-entitled individual without one being present.
You do know there is a rather large increase in people applying for disability, don’t you? You do realize that unemployment is the new normal for a lot of people.
Desperate people will do stupid things. This is not, I think, the administration plotting a coup to stay in power.
The article’s conjecture is plausible.
With the Chinese economy sinking, the risk of fiscal crisis in the U.S. increases every day, given that the Chinese are huge buyers of American debt.
And if the U.S. suffers a fiscal crisis and can no longer cut a cheque, they’ll be a lot of unhappy campers.
But again, just a conjecture. Perhaps a wild one.
Kate @ 1:39. Dear lady, while the source is indeed the SSA, the link leads directly to Infowars and, as usual, that site leads the charge into paranoia. One of the delightful things about your most excellent blog is that common sense, facts and reality are stressed. I would hate to see challenges to those go unanswered.
To keep welfare recipients away from rain gauges?
The Us needs 1300 armed gaurds for 60,000 ss workers?
Hey I know most civil servants are parasites and steal their livelihood from the rest of society but that is 1 armed guard per 46 Social security workers. Just fire them and set them free from the bondage of armed guards already.. Free our Social Security workers for they know what they do.
“The SSA has 60,000+ employees working in over 1,350 locations. It’s common to have armed guards in many of them. Let’s say there is just one guard per location – call it 1,300 of them. Each one has to practice regularly to keep qualified. 174,000 rounds – gee, that’s about 130 rounds per year per guard.”
Bob, 130 rounds per year is actually SFA for practice. Back when I was working in a gunstore, I had an AB Sheriff as a customer that told me they were only allocated 50 rounds a year for training. She bought at least that much per week.
I don’t think that the issue is how much training ammunition is used by a law enforcement person. I think that the issue is, why are these agencies all of a sudden opening bids for large bulk deliveries of ammunition, when they must have had prexisting contracts to support their training needs?
Oz, good questions.
There seems to be a pattern here. Some of it is plausible, some of it, like this, not so much.
Like sasquatch said or askd, paraphrased, all government employees armed? Why?
Again, I quote Phantom: “…is it reasonable that the NOAA has its own police force?”
(Emphasis mine.)
Or the SSA?
The Department of Education?
.357 Sig? That’s an odd calibre to arm an entire security force with. I’ve been shooting a very long time, and never seen one up close. Soumds more like a great marketing job, than any sort of secret government plan.
Al_in_Ottawa- Yes indeed. Hollow point pistol ammo is available at every Canadian gun shop. Not very popular, because the extra cost doesn’t make the holes in the paper any bigger.
Well the Mexican Drug Cartels are using the Obama Admin agencies (FBI, SS, CIA) as thier Protector, in the USA. The drugs must get through or Pelosi & Obama get spanked.
Nice that Mexico gets the VIP treatment given that the Fast & Furious operation included Ammunition that wasn’t delivered
The Grey Lady – The figure of 1,300 that I used was hypothetical and I presented it as such. It is a fact that many of their offices have armed guards. It doesn’t take long for the requirements for ammo to build up and I was merely trying to put that 147,000 in perspective.
Sean – That there are pre-existing contracts is a matter of conjecture, sorry. Government agencies buy bullets and this is the normal process, a routine call for tender.
Coach – the 357 SIG in SIG/Sauer pistols is becoming increasingly popular among US cops. A number of federal agencies and police departments use it as the standard.
As to why every US department has its own police force, it’s the nature of their system of government. The founding fathers, having revolted against central imposed authority from London, distrusted centralized power. Note for instance that every state has its own army (the National Guard) under control of the state governor. To me it’s silly and inefficient , but they seem to prefer it that way.
“You do know there is a rather large increase in people applying for disability, don’t you? You do realize that unemployment is the new normal for a lot of people. Desperate people will do stupid things. This is not, I think, the administration plotting a coup to stay in power.”
~MarkD
So Bob says armed guards are “common” at SS and you, MarkD, say “recent developments” warrant it.
‘Common’ and ‘recent developments’ seem to be conceptually at odds, which is it?
Please cite incidents(with links) that show armed force protection at SS Admin sites is warranted.
You say the Obama Admin is not plotting a coup but you seem to think the American people, specifically those who might apply for Social Security, are seething with barely supressed violent urges against Federal bureaucrats which require an armed protection of SS offices.
maybe to shoot holes in the CO2 layer and let the heat out?
after all if its 0.03% of the atmosphere it could be 150 ft thick.
Mr. Obama Tear down that CO2 layer.
maybe to shoot holes in the CO2 layer and let the heat out?
after all if its 0.03% of the atmosphere it could be 150 ft thick.
Mr. Obama Tear down that CO2 layer.
Oh stop hyper ventilating. The NOAA thing is for game wardens. ( seriously, and NOAA was a typo on the requisition, it’s some other related department)
46,000 rounds is nothing.
Think about it, if you are a gun-carrying functionary, the government has a range and free ammo for your use. How much do you think you can burn through? I could burn through a LOT. Conservatively: 100 rounds a week, or 6-7 magazines, x50 weeks, 5000 per person/year. Now multiply by that by a couple of dozen people.
If you assume even minimal training of 10’s of people per year 46,000 is nothing worth getting worked up about.
(Realistically it means 5% of the shooters used 95% of the ammo, but I digress.)
For comparison, competitive shooters ( IPSC and the like) burn through serious amounts too. 1000 rounds a month would not be a big deal to a half serious civilian hobbyist competitor. The really serious ones go through _many_ 10,000’s of rounds per person/year. Gun companies GIVE them guns to see what breaks, wears and deforms.
Same with the SSA, as someone pointed out you don’t need that many security guards shooting 50r a month to blow through a mountain of ammo.
Why does the SSA need armed security? How many major gov buildings do you know what DO NOT have armed security guards? And they need shifts of them. There’s a night guard.
I used to live in NYC: there were NYPD, transit cops, airport cops, bridge and tunnel authority cops, etc… plus who knows how many security guards, and other Feds. DHS? Look how many of them have guns strapped on or have to qualify, times 1000’s of airports x 3 shifts. 750million rounds is nothing much.
Sean: “All of a sudden”?
What makes you think any of this is new?
Fred: No, NOAA wasn’t a typo, most likely – NOAA really does, for stupid bureaucratic reasons, get charge of ocean fisheries enforcement – it’s in their org chart, and they have a section on their website talking about it.
Total agreement otherwise.
Oz – The issue at hand is the bullets. It’s not up to anybody (except perhaps the departments in question and the GAO) to prove that they need security. My point is that the security guard is ubiquitous in the USA, especially in government buildings.
Whether or not there’s a need is neither here nor there; they exist. And if you’ve got armed guards, they need to shoot to stay in practice. That in turn means that you wind up buying bullets; there’s nothing particularly unusual or threatening about that.
DHS? Look how many of them have guns strapped on or have to qualify, times 1000’s of airports x 3 shifts. 750million rounds is nothing much.
~Fred2
Department of Homeland Security?
The agency that was created to deal with Islamic terrorism better have armed agents, what is your point or do you even have one?
……………………………….
The Federal Protective Service (FPS)—within U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) in
the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—is responsible for protecting federal government
property, personnel, visitors, and customers, including property leased by the General Services
Administration (GSA).
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS22706.pdf
Oh and they also contract private security firms to provide on-cite security.
Bulks buys of ammo for federal bureaucrats are NOT common nor are they justified as a security measure when office security is provided by a separate entity.
Social Security Administration does not have their own armed security officers warranting this bulk purchase of ammunition.
Bob at August 15, 2012 3:48 PM
The entire premise that SS provides their own security is a red herring/wild goose chase/misdirection.
The DHS provides on-site security for Federal buildings or contracts it out to private security firms which purchase their own ammunition needs within their organizations and firms.
Social Security Administration does not need 174 thousand rounds of SIG .357 JHP.
As soon as I saw the name Alex Jones I quit reading.
Bob y-o-u D-o-n-t Get it. Knew it.
“It’s perfectly logical. Everybody gets ammo for target practice with the notable exception of the border service. ”
Exactly. Why is it that anybody thinks that this is ok. Even if it’s not a conspiracy like some think it is, you have to wonder why Social Security gets hollow point bullets and the border patrol gets bean bags. There’s no logic to it whatsoever.
“Social Security Administration does not need 174 thousand rounds of SIG .357 JHP.”
Glad you are so intimately familiar with the needs of the second or third-largest federal department in the USA.
My main point is that anybody carrying a weapon requires regular practice and that the quantity in question is, when taken on a national scale, really quite small. In any case, the figure of 1,300 was itself unrealistic as no place has but one guard. What I am trying to show is that there are perfectly plausible explanations that do not require New World Order/Obamanazi fantasies. Among others, the SSA Inspector General’s office has armed agents; their employment brochure shows a gal handcuffing somebody.
“Glad you are so intimately familiar with the needs of the second or third-largest federal department in the USA.”
~Bob
I guess you didn’t use the link I provided at 3:52.
Not a surprise.
You’ve been arguing all along that, “It’s common to have armed guards in many of them. Let’s say there is just one guard per location – call it 1,300 of them.”Bob August 15, 2012 12:13 PM
A premise that you just pulled straight out of your ass and don’t have the conscience or dignity to acknowledge was false.
DHS provides security for ALL Federal offices/buildings or it is privately contracted out.
“My main point is that anybody carrying a weapon requires regular practice and that the quantity in question is, when taken on a national scale, really quite small.”
~Bob
Your main point is irrelevant to the topic.
You have yet to demonstrate any justification for any agents of/or directly attached to the SS Admin having any firearms at all or a legal Congressional mandate to use them.
their employment brochure shows a gal handcuffing somebody
~Bob
What a weak sauce bullshit argument.
What real proof do you have that “the gal handcuffing somebody” is some sort of armed enforcer or even an agent/employee of the Social Security Administration and not just a model for an intimidating photoshoot ?
That brochure you mention Bob, also has an individual behind the one with the cuffs who is carrying an automatic and the website for the “game wardens” describes some enforcement activities where it is probably a good idea to carry a weapon.
That being said however, some historical data on past purchases by these departments would be informative. Do these current tenders fit into a regular purchasing pattern or are they anomalous? Do you have any insight into that Bob?
The tender for the SSA expired on 13 Aug. The requested delivery times would fall in to the mid-late October time frame which could lead to speculation of preparations for a “surprise”..