this is LOL funny. I have seen a lot of paranoid speculations on this, but dollars to donuts this is what happened.
Some GS-7ish employee in or near the supply chain slipped this in, confident that it would get approved without anyone in the chop chain ever reading it. The intent was to slide it out of the system and take it home without anyone ever noticing.
"Hail of bullets? National Weather Service says ammo request was ‘clerical error’
Read more: Hail of bullets? National Weather Service says ammo request was 'clerical error' - Washington Times
The National Weather Service says it is not intending to arm its forecasters with high-powered weapons and ammunition — no matter how hot, cold, wet or windy it may get.
A purchase order issued Thursday seeking to buy 46,000 rounds of ammunition for use in National Weather Service offices in four states, including hollow-point bullets designed to cause extensive damage on impact and “frangible” ammunition used for close-quarter shooting when ricochets are unacceptable, actually was a “clerical error.”
The ammunition and 500 paper targets, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), are intended for the Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement.
I love how the right wing nuts are using this as "proof" the government is preparing for civil unrest:
Either the government is preparing for massive civil unrest stemming from a possible economic collapse, or the Obama Administration is preparing its own version of a November surprise in the eventuality that the election doesn't go their way.
It hasn't dawned on them yet that ordering bullets without guns to fire them won't work very well to quell civil unrest.
At the bottom of the article about civil unrest, they post the explanation:
The ammunition was intended to be acquired for the National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Law Enforcement. However, it accidentally listed the National Weather Service as the agency acquiring the ammunition. Both agencies operate under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). If you read through the solicitation on fbo.gov, the addresses that it lists as having requested the ammunition belong to the Office of Law Enforcement, not the National Weather Service. NOAA has acknowledged the error and said that it will be corrected soon.
