'Inaccurate' report of missing M4 firearm prompts search at Fort Irwin
Increased security measures at the Fort Irwin National Training Center kicked in for roughly five hours Tuesday after a soldier reported witnessing two civilians take an M4 Carbine firearm from a unit of visiting soldiers — though the military base now says the report was inaccurate.
Hundreds of parked cars were backed up at Fort Irwin's exit Tuesday evening as personnel searched vehicles in a process that began around 2 p.m., causing multi-hour delays for some, people who were on the base said.
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The measures were spurred by an allegation that two unidentified civilians took an M4 that was lying along a road within the U.S. Army's 750,000-acre national training center (NTC). The civilians then reportedly told a soldier they would turn the weapon into the base's military police but failed to do so.
Fort Irwin spokesperson Abe Dawoud said in an email Wednesday afternoon that "we completed a 100% weapons inventory yesterday and all weapons have been accounted for."
"There was never a missing M4 rifle," Dawoud said. "It was a suspected missing M4 rifle due to a report made at the military police station by a Soldier who thought they witnessed two civilians picking up what they believed was a M4 rifle."
An Army source told the Daily Press that the reason behind the base's "claim of false report" was that "this was not a weapon that is part of the NTC" but instead "one brought by the visiting unit" of soldiers in rotation at the NTC.
Trainees usually spend one month simulating real-life combat per rotation at the NTC, which is one part of the military base north of Barstow.
The source provided the Daily Press a screenshot of messages they say were forwarded to members of the current unit on rotation at Fort Irwin. One message states that two soldiers "were doing checks and saw (two) civilians with the weapon. They got into a heated argument when the soldiers demanded the weapon."
Then, as alleged in the message, the civilians told the soldiers "they would turn the weapon into the MPs," which is shorthand for military police. But the civilians never followed through on this promise, the message alleges.
"Why the dumb ass soldiers would let random civilians walk off with a military weapon is beyond me," the person who wrote the message added.
Dawoud, the Fort Irwin spokesperson, said "those sources are inaccurate" when asked for confirmation or clarification on these alleged details.
The messages, which the source said were shared throughout the current NTC unit, also included a "Persons of Interest" alert purportedly issued by the U.S. Department of Defense on Tuesday.
The alert described the suspects as being in a silver, four-door crew cab truck with a California license plate ending in "76." The driver of the vehicle was described as a white middle-aged male with dark hair and a dark beard. The passenger was described as a white middle-aged male wearing a black cap with sunglasses on the brim, a dark shirt and blue jeans.
"If seen, immediately contact the Fort Irwin Police Desk at 760-380- 2707, CID 760-442-9319," the message concluded.
Another message supposedly forwarded throughout the current NTC unit stated, "Situation: An M4 is missing on FICA" which is shorthand for Fort Irwin, California.
"A (non-commissioned officer) from 2/11 found a full trooper set of kit on the road in FICA," the message stated. "Civilians in a truck stopped at the same time. The (non-commissioned officer) picked up the helmet and the civilians picked up the rifle. The civilians said they were taking the rifle to the (military police) - they have not yet (at this time)."
It is unclear at this point what actually occurred Tuesday at Fort Irwin beyond the fact that exiting vehicles were searched in connection to initial suspicions that an M4 firearm had been taken by civilians.
Dawoud said the military base's "Directorate of Emergency Services takes all reports like this very seriously."
"What many folks witnessed yesterday was the installation executing procedures to safeguard the Fort Irwin and local community," he said.
Charlie McGee covers the city of Barstow and its surrounding communities for the Daily Press. He is also a Report for America corps member with the GroundTruth Project, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to supporting the next generation of journalists in the U.S. and around the world. McGee may be reached at 760-955-5341 or cmcgee@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @bycharliemcgee.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: 'Inaccurate' report of missing M4 firearm prompts searches at Fort Irwin
