Department of Defense to stop selling used military ammo casings to American ammo maker because they were going to sell it as scrap metal to China-Truth! But the directive was canceled!

Department of Defense to stop selling used military ammo casings to American ammo maker because they were going to sell it as scrap metal to China-Truth! But the directive was canceled!

Summary of the eRumor:
A forwarded email about the Georgia Arms company which buys spent ammunition casing form military bases, reloads and sells them to ammunition vendors. The eRumor says that the Department of Defense notified the ammunition maker that instead of selling them the used military surplus the government was going to shred all spent cartridges used for training sell it as scrap metal to China. This would have seriously affected the American ammunition company which would result in lay offs of at least 60 workers in the months to come.

The Truth:
The Georgia Arms Company is an ammunition supplier in Atlanta, Georgia and a company representative told Truthorfiction.com that this was true but the directive was rescinded in 5 days due to customer uproar to elected officials.

According to a March 20, 2009 press release issued by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service, a branch of the Department of Defense (DOD), there was a directive that for the reasons of national security would forbid the selling of military munitions. This is mainly because they were classified as a sensitive Munitions List item. All used casings were held until the DOD could determined a reclassification of the product for resale.

Click for press release.

updated 04/20/09

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

Georgia Arms is the 5th largest retailer of .223 Ammo in America . (they sell 9 mm, .45, etc ammo)

G.A. normally buy spent brass from the US Dept of Defense - 'one time used' shell casings by our Military - from target training on Military bases, etc. They buy the brass and then re-load for resale to Law Enforcement, Gun Shops, Gun Clubs, Wal-Mart, and etc.

They usually buy 30,000 lbs of spent brass at a time.

This week the DOD notified the owner of Georgia Arms and said that from now on the DOD will be destroying the brass - shredding it. It is no longer available to the Ammo makers - unless they just buy it in a scrap shredded condition (which they have No use for). The shredded brass is NOW going to be sold by the DOD to China as scrap metal....after the DoD pays for it to be shredded. The DOD is selling the brass to China for less money than Ammo manufacturers have been paying...plus the DOD has to pay to have the brass shredded and do all the accounting paperwork. That sure helps the US economy now, doesn't it? Sell cheaper to China - and do not sell shells

at all to a proven US business. Do ya see an agenda working here????

President Obama is going after our ammunition !!!!!

The Georgia Arms owner even related a story that one of his competitors had already purchased a load of brass last week - and the DOD contacted him this week and said they were sending someone over to make sure it was destroyed. THE BRASS HAS NO VALUE TO THE AMMO MAKER IF IT IS DESTROYED/SHREDDED/MELTED. THE AMMO MANUFACTURER ONLY USES THE EMPTY BRASS SHELLS TO RELOAD DIFFERENT CALIBERS - MAINLY .223 BULLETS !! The

Georgia Arms owner says that he will have to lay off at least Half of his 60 workers, within 2 or 3 months if the DOD no longer sells their spent brass to him. He has 2 to 3 months inventory of shells to use. By summer - he'll be completely out. If he has to buy new manufactured brass shells, then the cost of ammunition to the buyer will certainly double and then triple...plus Obama wants to add a 500% tax on each shell.....

You can read the info and see the DOD letter to Georgia Arms at the website below.....Click on it....