State Dept. Begins Weaponry, Explosives, Jungle Equipment Shopping-Spree

In recent weeks I have come across multiple new documents indicating heightened activity by the State Dept. – activity, that is, apparently involving U.S. Special Forces. Based on a review of these documents, an increase in jungle-based Drug War conflict may be coming. Specifically,  I have discovered that State is planning to purchase and distribute many thousands of replacement parts for weaponry designed for “close-quarters battle” situations, in addition to acquiring thousands of articles of U.S. Army-specification hot-weather combat uniforms. Where is the initial delivery destination for some of this equipment? None other than Fayetteville, North Carolina, home of elite special-operations units such as Delta Force, which has been training the Colombian military in counterinsurgency operations since the 1990s.

If the equipment had been slated for an Army unit at Ft. Bragg, then the Army presumably would have issued a request for bids. However, since it was the State Dept that initiated the process, it may be speculated that the gear will be for a U.S. government client, and not for another government agency that otherwise handles its own intra-agency procurement needs.

Among the Fayetteville-bound items are 2,400 pairs of jungle boots (Batch #1, #2, #3) and thousands of pairs of hot-weather “woodland-pattern” military pants and coats (Batch #1, #2, #3).

State on that same day issued a separate bid request for nearly 6,000 repair parts for Remington 870 shotguns,
which are popular among military and law enforcement agencies and contain kits enabling them to be attached to M16 machine guns as supplementary weapons. According to DefenseReview.com, “The 870 is still in use in hotspots around the world in both urban warfare and jungle warfare environments.”

Although it’s unknown whether the following State Dept. bid requests are connected to the shotgun and uniform purchases, they follow a sudden surge in activity resembling a weapons and explosives shopping spree at the department. For instance, on Sept. 10 it began searching for providers of “nitro exchange parts”, a package that includes dynamite, hundreds of switches and blasting caps – and even a remote-control toy Hummer, for some strange reason.

On Sept. 9 it launched the bid-invitation process for:

– Dozens of Glock 9MM pistols and spare parts (#1, #2, #3).

– Various “tactical products,” such as dozens of handcuffs, wound-dressing kits and bulletproof helmets.
(#1, #2).

– Dozens of fully automatic carbines (#1, #2, #3).

– Several portable x-ray systems and tripods.

– Explosive equipment

– Armor “ballistic plates” (#1, #2, #3).

It’s not unusual for the State Dept. to buy weaponry on a near-monthly basis (well, with the exception of the bomb-laden plastic Hummer that it's seeking); however, the abrupt, successive bid requests for bombs and guns made between Sept. 1 and Sept. 10 are exceptional, and are almost certain to have ramifications across the globe, most likely in this hemisphere. While the contracting documents confirm that the State Dept. foresees an increased need for such equipment, the outcome of their deployment and use may never be known.