Air Force Global Strike Command is conducting an inventory of its weapons, across the entire command, in the wake of two high-profile weapons losses at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.
Minot lost a container of ammunition for an automatic grenade launcher May 1 after it fell off a Humvee on a Native American reservation. About two weeks later, on May 16, Minot conducted a weapons inventory check and found an M240 machine gun was missing.
The 5th Bomb Wing and 91st Missile Wing began searching their inventories to find the missing machine gun, the 5th said, and the Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations has opened an investigation.
In an email Monday, Global Strike Command spokeswoman Linda Frost said the entire command is now reviewing its weapons.
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“Air Force Global Strike Command takes the safety and security of our installations, our airmen and the public very seriously,” Frost said. “In the interest of safety and accountability, AFGSC leadership has directed an immediate command-wide weapons inventory.”
The Air Force offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the grenades, but called off the searches last week after coming up dry.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
