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Fort Florida Old rifles, long lives
By CHUCK MURPHY AND SYDNEY FREEDBERG
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 2, 2003
Thanks to programs that provide surplus military weapons to local law enforcement, many military rifles never seem to die. They just get recycled. Here is the history of three rifles that made their way to Florida police and sheriff's agencies.
No. 2240927
On March 21, 1975, this M-16A1 rifle went into service with the 16th Psychological Operations Battalion at Fort Sheridan, near Chicago. On Dec. 21, 1985, the Defense Department shipped it to Fort McCoy, Wis., where reservists and active-duty Army trainees used it for training. Three months later, the rifle went to the Anniston Army Depot, where it remained until Oct. 21, 1998, when it went via certified U.S. Mail to the Miami Police Department. Almost four years later, on Sept. 26, 2002, somebody stole no. 2240927 from the trunk of a Miami SWAT officer's car, parked outside his house. It has not been recovered.
No. 1978760
This well-traveled M-16A1 started in Europe, where it was with the Combat Equipment Group in Eygleshoven, Netherlands,in 1975. From 1976 to 1991, it was transferred back and forth between bases in Kaiserslautern and Wiesbaden, Germany. In October 1991, the rifle reached Anniston Army Depot, where it remained until April 24, 1997. Then it went to the seven-member Jasper Police Department in North Florida, where it is kept locked in an office.
No. 224035
Jimmy Carter was elected president in 1976, the year this M-14 found its way to the Letterkenny Army Depot in Chambersburg, Pa. It was there for two years, then went to the Anniston Army Depot, where it sat in a crate for 22 years. On Dec. 13, 1999, the Defense Department sent it to the Pensacola Police Department, which said it would be used for police work. Instead, it is used only for ceremonial functions.
-- Source: U.S. Army Materiel Command, Logistics Support Activity, Redstone Arsenal, Ala.
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