DHS Explains Plans To Buy 1.6B Rounds Of Ammo: We're Buying in Bulk to 'Significantly Lower Costs'

CNSNEWS

By Gregory Gwyn-Williams, Jr.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has responded to a letter dated November 13, 2012 from Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) regarding the agency’s ammunition purchases.

Sen. Coburn published the response on the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs website yesterday, April 1, 2013.

The response, dated February 4, 2013, says that DHS buys ammunition in bulk to “significantly lower costs.”

The letter states:

“DHS routinely establishes strategic sourcing contracts that combine the requirements of all its Components for commonly purchased goods and services such as ammunition, computer equipment and information technology services. These strategic sourcing contracts help leverage the purchasing power of DHS to efficiently procure equipment and supplies at significantly lower costs.”

While it has been previously reported that DHS has solicited the purchase of 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition over the next four to five years, the government agency shows only 263,733,362 rounds in its current inventory.

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Open letter to all Federal Firearms Licensees

Responses to Senator Coburn’s November 13, 2012 Letter  
  
1.   How many rounds of ammunition has the Department purchased during each of the
past three fiscal years?  How much did these acquisitions cost?
 
CBP = U.S. Customs and Border Protection
FLETC = Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
NPPD/FPS = National Protection and Programs Directorate/Federal Protective Service
ICE = U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
TSA = Transportation Security Administration
USCG = U.S. Coast Guard
USSS = U.S. Secret Service
 
FY 2010   FY 2011   FY 2012
DHS   Rounds   Rounds   Rounds
Component   purchased   Cost   purchased   Cost   purchased   Cost
CBP   66,248,000   $17,376,248   48,461,000   $13,895,900   36,475,000  $12,255,040
FLETC   17,056,000   $5,507,057   22,735,654   $7,062,254   7,678,946   $2,485,045
NPPD/FPS   2,946,000   $976,621   1,498,000   $517,412   2,804,000   $928,345
ICE    25,212,000   $7,703,308   13,221,000   $4,505,731   28,061,000   $6,633,460
TSA   15,383,000   $2,818,760   7,124,000   $2,010,642   14,864,000   $4,484,581
USCG   17,472,325   $11,465,150   6,782,540   $8,442,495   9,791,274   $8,309,944
USSS   3,997,500   $2,097,971   8,841,860   $1,802,871   3,503,980   $1,439,495
Total DHS   148,314,825   $47,945,115  108,664,054   $38,237,305  103,178,200  $36,535,910
 
2.   Does DHS plan to purchase more ammunition in the current fiscal year?   How much is
budgeted for ammunitions acquisitions?
 
FY 2013 Estimates for
DHS Components   Ammunition Acquisitions
CBP   $12,528,146
FLETC   $5,900,000
NPPD/FPS    $470,000
ICE    $5,200,000
TSA   $4,515,552
USCG   $7,400,000
USSS   $1,250,000
Total DHS   $37,263,698
 
January 2013      1 
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Open letter to all Federal Firearms Licensees
3.   How many rounds of ammunition does the Department currently have in its inventory?
How are these rounds allocated to each of its agencies?
 
Component Inventory 
DHS Components   as of November 20, 2012
CBP   94,404,329
FLETC   18,797,942
NPPD/FPS    2,500,000
ICE     42,300,000
TSA   29,909,514
USCG   70,258,197
USSS   5,563,380
Total DHS   263,733,362
 
4.  Please describe how DHS (and its component agencies) plan to use this ammunition. 
How many rounds are allocated for training?  How many are allocated for operational
use?  How many rounds are allocated for other purposes?
 
CBP:  Approximately 70 percent of CBP ammunition is used for quarterly qualifications,
mandated firearms training, advanced firearms training, as well as testing and evaluation. 
Twenty percent of CBP ammunition is allocated to maintaining CBP’s operational posture.  This
includes rounds for duty use, as well as for maintaining CBP’s special response teams.  The
remaining 10 percent is dedicated to maintaining ammunition reserves at both the national and
local levels  .  
 
FLETC:  All FLETC ammunition is purchased, distributed, and used for law enforcement
training.  No ammunition is allocated for operational or other use.
 
NPPD/FPS:  FPS allocates 1,000 rounds of ammunition per firearm per year for quarterly
qualifications and training, to include advanced firearms training exercises, as well as
ammunition to support law enforcement operations.  
 
ICE:  ICE allocates 1,000 rounds of ammunition per firearm per year for quarterly qualifications
and training, to include advanced firearms training exercises, special response team training, and
ammunition to support law enforcement operations.  
 
TSA:  Approximately 21 million rounds of TSA’s current inventory are reduced-hazard,       
lead-free frangible training ammunition, which is used exclusively for training.  The remaining
rounds are duty ammunition, which are used for both training and operational purposes.  Overall,
approximately 35 percent of TSA ammunition is allocated for operational use (qualifications and
duty carry).  Fewer than 100,000 rounds are used for other purposes annually, including firearms
testing and evaluation.
 
USCG:  USCG allocates its ammunition inventory for Non-Combat Expenditure Allowance
(NCEA) and ship-fill purposes.  The NCEA, available to both shore units and cutters, is used for
training and for non-defense operations including maritime law enforcement operations.  USCG
ship-fill allowances are specific to cutters and are designed for use on defense operations.  
January 2013      2
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Open letter to all Federal Firearms Licensees
 
USSS:  USSS plans to use the above mentioned ammunition for training, research, and
operational use as needed to maintain professional firearms proficiency.  Based on a review of
recent historical data, USSS plans to allocate approximately 60 percent of the ammunition for
training, 38 percent for operational use, and 2 percent for quality control testing of all
ammunition and function firing of all new and repaired weapons.  
 
5.  Please detail approximately how many rounds DHS and its component agencies have
used for training and operational purposes during the past three fiscal years.
 
FY 2010   FY 2011   FY 2012
DHS   Training   Operationa  Training   Operational   Training   Operational
Component   purpose   l purposes   purpose   purposes   purpose   purposes
CBP   42,616,129   13,888,595   33,380,176   13,830,548  23,358,285   14,550,803
FLETC   23,391,012   0   20,800,782   0  16,939,215   0
FPS/NPPD    2,356,800   589,200   1,198,400   299,600   5,798,400   1,449,600
ICE    20,169,600   5,042,400   10,576,800   2,644,200  22,448,800   5,612,200
TSA   8,200,000   4,400,000   8,200,000   4,400,000   8,200,000   4,400,000
USCG   9,406,788   2,384   9,969,412   3,989   9,461,664   9,004
USSS   3,298,910   1,230,800   3,086,200   2,340,740   2,133,570   1,866,240
Total DHS   109,439,239   25,153,379   87,211,770   23,519,077  88,339,934   27,887,847
 
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