NOAA Fisheries Office Involved In ‘Huge’ Ammo Purchase

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE “AMMUNITION” SOLICITATION TRIGGERS CONFUSION, NOAA EXPLAINS THE AMMUNITION IS ACTUALLY FOR THE FISHERIES OFFICE

Source: Dateline Zero

THE ORIGINAL STORY IS WEIRD:

A solicitation which appears on the FedBizOpps website asks for large quantities of ammunition to be sent to multiple locations, as well as paper targets. What is odd about this listing is the government agency making the purchase: DOC NOAA National Weather Service – Western Acquisition Division.

The listing asks for 16,000 rounds of .40 S&W jacketed hollow point (JHP) bullets, to be delivered to locations in Ellsworth, Maine, and New Bedford, Mass.

A further 6,000 rounds of S&W JHP will be sent to Wall, New Jersey, with another 24,000 rounds of the same bullets heading to the weather station in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The solicitation also asks for 500 paper targets to be delivered to the same locations in Maine, Massachusetts and New Jersey.

The solicitation requires a response by August 21.

Incidentally, NOAA is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA holds a number of offices and services; including the Weather Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, and the National Geodetic Survey. NOAA’s parent agency is the U.S. Deprtment of Commerce. So why would any NOAA office be buying up hollow point ammunition and having them delivered to various cities around the U.S.?

BUT THEN IT GETS WEIRDER:

Looking into the story, the Washington Post asked NOAA why the National Weather Service needs hollow point bullets. The reply given to the Wash Post is that the solicitation contained a “clerical error” and that the “solicitation for ammunition and targets for the NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement mistakenly identified NOAA’s National Weather Service as the requesting office.”

Incidentally, I did a quick check on one of the addresses given in the original solicitation – 53 North 6th Street, Room 214 New Bedford, MA, 02740. According to an All Pages listing of Federal Government offices in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the U.S. Government National Marine Fisheries, Office of Enforcement, does indeed have an office at 53 North 6th Street.

There are a few other government agencies with office space in that building, including the IRS and Agriculture Dept, Plant Protection & Quarantine. The National Weather Service isn’t listed; and — thinking about Fast and Furious, that program carried out by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) — I didn’t see any FBI or ATF or any other serious law enforcement office listed at that address.

So the Fisheries Office needs hollow points for law enforcement? For friggin’ sakes, does every government agency need to have armed officers, and exercise law enforcement powers?

WHY ARE SO MANY FEDERAL AGENCIES ARMING THEMSELVES?

I’m reminded of a story last year about the Department of Education. Last year the U.S. Department of Educationbegan buying shotguns, and stormed at least one home. Until that story broke, most Americans (myself included) had no idea that the Dept. of Education even had an armed enforcement division.

My thoughts: When I first saw the story — before NOAA said it’s the Fisheries Office and not the National Weather Service needing all the ammo — I found it hard to believe that the National Weather Service would have armed officers. But I still I find it hard to believe that the Fisheries Office needs hollow points. (I still don’t think the Dept. of Education needs guns.)

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks it’s more likely that the purchases are being made on behalf of some other agency that wishes to remain anonymous.

More in the full post at Dateline Zero