Air Force Fires Commander Of Security Unit That Lost Grenades, Machine Gun

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The commander of the Air Force security unit that lost a machine gun and grenades has been fired, officials announced on Wednesday.

  • Col. Jason Beers was relieved on Wednesday as commander of the 91st Security Forces Group at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, “due to a loss of trust and confidence after a series of events under the scope of his leadership, including a recent loss of ammunition and weapons,” a 5th Bomb Wing news release says.
  • On May 1, the security forces unit lost a box of 40mm MK 19 grenades, which fell off the back of a military vehicle. Then, on May 16, an M240 machine gun turned up missing during a standard inventory check.
  • Following the two incidents, Global Strike Command, which is in charge of all of the Air Force’s nuclear missiles and bombers, ordered a command-wide weapons inventory for all airmen, not just security forces.
  • The 91st Security Forces group is tasked with safeguarding 150 Minuteman III nuclear missiles and launch facilities and 15 missile alert facilities, according to the 5th Bomb Wing.

So far, neither the missing machine gun nor the grenades have been found, said wing spokesman Lt. Col. Jamie Humphries, who added there is still a $5,000 reward for the missing grenades. Anyone with pertinent information regarding the missing rounds should contact Air Force Office of Special Investigations at (701)-723-7909.

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Jeff Schogol

Senior Pentagon Reporter

Jeff Schogol is a senior staff writer for Task & Purpose. He reports on both the Defense Department as a whole as well as individual services, covering a variety of topics that include personnel, policy, military justice, deployments, and technology.