Ron,
Didn't I post about this problem (here & other places on SI) two years ago?
OK All, as demand for lead grows, it should help the silver miners better show a profit. As the miners start showing a profit could it not make the XAU have better health, leading to flows into Precious Metals Funds which will drive some investment into the metals as many precious metals funds hold some bullion?
opinion all?
Clinton’s Legacy: Army Is Running Out of Bullets
NewsMax.com
Thursday, Feb. 8, 2001
The U.S. Army is running out of bullets.
There is a worldwide shortage of ammunition for the 9 mm Beretta pistol, standard issue for many officers and some enlisted men such as military police and tank crews, according to an Army memo from Fort Hood, Texas, obtained by the Washington Times.
So critical is the shortage that the Army has been forced to cancel marksmanship training except for police and soldiers about to deploy overseas from Fort Hood, the Times reported, adding that sources say the Army needs fast new funding if it is to reverse the lowering of combat readiness that developed under the Clinton administration.
"Due to an Army worldwide 9 mm ammo shortage, all Fort Hood 9 mm ranges have been canceled except for 89th MPs and special deployment needs," says the memo circulated Monday among Army III Corps units. "This shortage is expected to last until [sometime] this fall. ... Until further notice no units (active, reserve, National Guard) will get [9 mm bullets] based on their normal forecast except [MPs]."
The memo called the situation a "critical shortage." It reveals that those units that still have 9 mm shells "should ensure they get maximum training benefit from it. ... Units should micromanage [9 mm ammo] already in the hands of units."
"There's still an option," Cecil Green, a spokesman at Fort Hood, home to the 1st Cavalry and 4th Infantry divisions, told the Times. "Personnel in the units that are deploying will be able to fire and train in the 9 mm," he said, declining further comment.
Army sources told the Times that the bullet shortages were another bad sign for a branch that was stretched thin this decade on global "peacekeeping" missions.
"This is indicative of a lot of other problems," an Army source confided to the Times. "We've been robbing Peter to pay Paul for years. What does this tell you? We don't have enough ammo to shoot. They keep demanding we do more with less. The situation is not healthy."
Maj. Tom Artis, an Army spokesman at the Pentagon, said the shortage stemmed from budget shortfalls as opposed to production problems.
Col. Guy Shields, a spokesman for Army Forces Command in Georgia, said the command had passed the word to the 197,000 troops it oversees that a shortage existed for training rounds and to deal with it unit by unit.
The shortage of 9 mm ammo isn’t the only case of scarce bullets. An Army officer stationed at a base overseas told the newspaper that personnel have been warned of shortages of another bullet, for the M16, the standard infantry weapon.
According to a Senate Armed Services Committee report concerning this year's defense budget, the Army is short $242 million in its ammunition procurement account.
"For the past several years, field commanders have expressed concern regarding the inadequate stocks of ammunition to support their training and war reserve requirements," the committee said.
Said one Army official: "I wonder why they can't go down to Wal-Mart and make a local purchase. Last I checked, they had plenty of 9 mm ammo." A box of 9 mm shells at Wal-Mart costs about $7.
newsmax.com
ps should we even ask where the spent the money intended for ammo? |
