Military explosives unearthed in Northern Arizona

mojaveman · 01-07-2018, 01:16

Authorities say military explosives were buried for two decades before being found by construction workers in Northern Arizona.

Was someone saving them for the Fourth of July?

That's actually a lot to go missing from some military installation. Could the government have been looking for that stuff for a long time?

http://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/ari...rthern-arizona

miclo18d · 01-07-2018, 06:11

Someone signed a DA5515 for that ammo at one time or many. All the lot numbers will still be there, since the packaging is still there, and they will give a list of 5515s that signed for it. Then it will get interesting.

On a side note. They were very well cached as they are in pristine condition.

AZ, eh? Any insight to this TS?

SF_BHT · 01-07-2018, 08:32

Looks like they packaged it well. Guess they paid attention to the class in how to pack and build a proper Cashe

glebo · 01-07-2018, 09:11

delete...

Penn · 01-07-2018, 09:38

My question: How many blocks of C4 and Claymore's to a case, seems an odd number to cache - 80/9/1 of anything, if the by the case number exceeds what was found, or would imply that the number equals X number of cases, then there is more cached elsewhere.

MFF3705 · 01-07-2018, 10:00

DODIC - K143 - 6 claymores per case.....The electrical initiation system of the M 18A1 consists of an M4 electrical blasting cap with integral 100 foot wire extension , M57 Firing Device , and M40 Electrical Test Set .

Penn · 01-07-2018, 10:06

So that's 1 1/2 cases of clays. 3 missing. So the possibility is a minimum of 2 cases. If you have access to to two and understand the risk penalty, why stop at 2? Anyone know the case load for C4?

Combat Diver · 01-07-2018, 10:24

IIRC it was 30 blocks of M112 per case. Each being 1.25 lbs. If those M112 blocks were in a M183 Demolition Charge (commonly known as a Satchel Charge) then 16 blocks, 2 bags per case or 32 blks per case. Det Cord came 3ea 1000' spools per case. Where's the blasting caps and did anyone else mold small animals out of C4?

CD

**Team Sergeant** · 01-07-2018, 10:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by mojaveman

That's actually a lot to go missing from some military installation. Could the government have been looking for that stuff for awhile?

Surely you jest......... you've never been on a Special Forces demo range have you?

I’d be interested in seeing the cache site……. and what it was packed in and how it was marked. Then you’d know if they were dealing with a professional or amateur. From the looks of the recovered explosives I’d said he knew what he was doing and best be on the look out for LAWS, nades and ammo…………..

I’m betting it was the former home of DB Cooper.

Edit to add:
ATF: Stolen military explosives found in Pine buried for 20 years

Gabriella Del Rio, The Republic | azcentral.com

Federal authorities are seeking the public's help with information about a stash of military explosives that were unearthed by a construction crew working in a northern Arizona community late last year.
The explosives were discovered Oct. 27 by a construction crew clearing a path in Pine, which is located about 15 miles north of Payson on State Route 87, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The items include 80 M112 blocks of military C4 explosive, nine M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel mines with firing devices and one roll of military detonating cord, the ATF said in a press release.
Officials believe the items were stolen and buried there for 20 years, according to the ATF, which added that the items were buried about 5 feet underground inside large plastic pipes.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...rs/1005432001/

Packed in plastic pipes, you're looking for a "professional"

Sorry ATF LEO dudes..... those explosives could have been taken years after the stamped dates on them....................

I was in OKI when an EOD guy gave us top secret "limpet mine" material to blow up. It was dated 1945.

**Peregrino** · 01-07-2018, 11:39

Plastic pipes + 5' depth = determined professional or well educated (and equally determined) amateur. That significantly exceeds detection depth of search equipment most agencies could bring to bear (without having prior intel).

mojaveman · 01-07-2018, 11:55

Quote:

Surely you jest......... you've never been on a Special Forces demo range have you?

Actually yes. I was thinking that maybe the theft was an inside job with the explosives taken from a hardened facility and not off of the range.

**Team Sergeant** · 01-07-2018, 11:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by mojaveman

Actually yes. I was thinking that maybe the theft was an inside job with the explosives taken from a hardened facility and not off of the range.

I've been on the demo range with thousands of pounds of demolitions. Take a while to fire it all because of the range limits.

**Team Sergeant** · 01-07-2018, 11:58

And a smart man would have buried it on fed land or someone else’s property.

Buried for 20 years, but possibly stolen in the 60’s, sat in the attic for 40 years and then he decided to bury it? Was it all from the same case? Or was it stolen a piece at a time? What are the feds not reporting? Caps and fuse igniters are not in the picture or the report? An SF guy would not forget those. Also, looks like an generic infantry or engineer unit training stuff…….. when we go to the demo range we have “everything” and sometimes tons of it.

No TNT, no dynamite, no mortars, no grenades, no shape charges, no caps, no fuse igniters, no time pencils, no Bangalores, no detcord clips, no claymore spools etc etc etc. definitely not an SF cache.

Infantry or Engineer unit training explosives.

I’d be looking for a guy with a lot of military ammo in his house……… unless he buried that too.

**Team Sergeant** · 01-07-2018, 21:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brush Okie

My first thought was Mexican Cartel stash. Obama gave them lots of weapons. Also I know there has never been a corrupt south American official but it could be military aid we gave someone that somehow was gotten by the cartels, stashed here for later use. The owner may have been killed or just forgot about it.

We're going to refer you to AR15.com/tinfoilpreppers.com if you continue..........

PSM · 01-07-2018, 21:22

I would imagine that there is more than one cache. Miners don't store detonators and explosives together so that may be a hint. They seem to be short on clackers, too, unless they were cut out of the picture.

BTW, Pine is not Northern AZ. It's Central.