Intriguing question

[Moonshot]

Hey, I don’t want to get into a pissing match with anyone. I’ve read previous posts on a myriad of other subjects from everyone who has responded to my thread here, and I have come to respect their wisdom and their opinions.

I have absolutely no issue with LE being well armed and I understand purchases are often spread out over time. In the interest of full disclosure, I do have some reservations on the possible militarization of LE, but that’s a different subject, and I haven’t reached a conclusion yet.

The responses to my OP have been, for the most part, humorous and I am perfectly capable of laughing at myself. However, when I read the list of the agencies receiving weapons and/or ammo, I was surprised at outfits such as ...

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Bureau of Reclamations
Smithsonian
Bureau of Fiscal Services

I get that every Federal agency has their own armed investigators and armed security personnel. The whole thing just struck me as excessive, and considering it happened under an administration with no scruples or ethics, I was worried at the possible motive.

If this whole thing is a big nothing, than I apologize for wasting bandwidth. It wouldn’t be the first time.

[DocGKR]

It is indeed a BIG nothing, as all these purchases are quite routine and normal, as noted in the posts above....

[TGS]

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Bureau of Reclamations
Smithsonian
Bureau of Fiscal Services

For buying $40k worth of ammo, why would the Smithsonian surprise you out of any agency? They're a fairly large institution spread across multiple facilities and have over 800 security police officers (armed with revolvers, IIRC).

[HCM]

For buying $40k worth of ammo, why would the Smithsonian surprise you out of any agency? They're a fairly large institution spread across multiple facilities and have over 800 security police officers (armed with revolvers, IIRC).

Wasn’t APHIS merged into CBP Field Operations after 9/11 ?

[Wise_A]

For buying $40k worth of ammo, why would the Smithsonian surprise you out of any agency? They're a fairly large institution spread across multiple facilities and have over 800 security police officers (armed with revolvers, IIRC).

I was actually kinda surprised that they only bought forty grand in ammo. And that the DoE only asked for fifty grand in M16s.

[Joe in PNG]

If you have physical buildings, you need people to guard those buildings, and the stuff in them. Some of that stuff is either sensitive or expensive.

If it's a government building, you also have a target for terrorist (ala Portland).

So, you want your own doods packing heat, and you want them to be good at shooting stuff.

Plus, it's government. Inter Agency cooperation is a bitch at the best of times. Better to have your own people on your own budget than trying to wrangle people from somewhere else.

[Borderland]

If you have physical buildings, you need people to guard those buildings, and the stuff in them. Some of that stuff is either sensitive or expensive.

If it's a government building, you also have a target for terrorist (ala Portland).

So, you want your own doods packing heat, and you want them to be good at shooting stuff.

Plus, it's government. Inter Agency cooperation is a bitch at the best of times. Better to have your own people on your own budget than trying to wrangle people from somewhere else.

That must be the reason for so many alphabet agencies. Turf wars.

I saw it where I worked.

[HCM]

That must be the reason for so many alphabet agencies. Turf wars.

I saw it where I worked.

Federal authority having split though somewhat overlapping jurisdiction is mostly intentional.

Like the three branch system of government, the friction it creates is a feature, not a bug.

[DDTSGM]

Federal authority having split though somewhat overlapping jurisdiction is mostly intentional.

Like the three branch system of government, the friction it creates is a feature, not a bug.

Off topic, like most of this thread

What do you think creation of DHS really brought to the table that couldn't have been handled within the cabinet level agencies that existed in 2001?

I have no firsthand knowledge, but at the time it seemed like just another level of bureaucracy.

[HCM]

Off topic, like most of this thread

What do you think creation of DHS really brought to the table that couldn't have been handled within the cabinet level agencies that existed in 2001?

I have no firsthand knowledge, but at the time it seemed like just another level of bureaucracy.

You have to go back to that time and remember how did 9/11 happen? You had too much separation where agencies were literally prohibited by law from talking to each other. You also had agencies with significant law-enforcement and national security responsibilities that were within departments that were not oriented to law-enforcement or national security.

Too many people in those old agencies worried about Sharon little rice bowl instead of the big picture.

Despite the myriad issues with DHS the fact is 20 years later the homeland is more secure and we’ve had no significant this stuff is outside initiated a taxi s**t

Trying to create or integrate is not a large agency from scratch has its own issues. How long did it really take the department of defense to integrate and create the joint special operations command? it took 30 years and disaster at desert one