In the past week there has been a bit of drama over once fired surplus brass sold by the government. Ammunition manufacturers such as Georgia Arms rely on this brass to make their reloaded ammunition. Last week Georgia Arms and other remanufacturers who buy the surplus brass were informed by Government Liquidation, LLC that as a condition of future sales the brass would have to be mutilated and rendered unusable prior to the purchaser taking possession. This policy change would have destroyed the remanufactured ammunition business in the United States. Below is the letter surplus brass purchasers received.
Dear Valued Customer:
Please take a moment to note important changes set forth by the Defense Logistics Agency:
Recently it has been determined that fired munitions of all calibers, shapes and sizes have been designated to be Demil code B. As a result and in conjunction with DLA’s current Demil code B policy, this notice will serve as official notification which requires Scrap Venture (SV) to implement mutilation as a condition of sale for all sales of fired munitions effective immediately. This notice also requires SV to immediately cease delivery of any fired munitions that have been recently sold or on active term contracts, unless the material has been mutilated prior to sale or SV personnel can attest to the mutilation after delivery. A certificate of destruction is required in either case.
Thank you,
DOD Surplus
Well as you can imagine many companies and people were extremely upset by this sudden change in policy. Fortunately, after many phone calls, letters and inquiries those who made the decision to require mutilation took pause and reflected on the comments of others and decided to reverse the decision for brass that is 50 cal. and smaller. The summary of what transpired was posted on AR15.com by someone close to the situation …
The facts as I know them, which come directly from candid discussions with my CEO, indicate the following:
- Prior to 11/2008, Demil B items required no mutilation for sale to the public. That policy changed in November, but several exceptions were granted. Expended munitions brass was one of those given a waiver.
- Enter the new administration. Since Demil B category items had been given a broad, general label as “national security sensitive” someone above the DRMS (likely in the DLA) reviewed the policy and immediately went with a CYA policy and yanked all exemptions. No thoughts or considerations were given to the implications of this policy change, but this directive was issued to DOD Surplus effective immediately last week.
- Shit storm blows up as a result. In particular, the letters, phone calls, and emails to our legislators, the media, and anyone else who would listen caused this policy to be review post haste.
- As of this morning our company was informed that expended munitions brass will now be reclassified as Demil Q –– which requires no mutilation unless sold to a foreign country.
There you have it. The policy change was simply the result of some n00b administrator attempting to close a perceived “national security” loophole and brass got caught up in the snare. There was no political motivation behind the policy change, but it is good that people like us were suspicious, got involved, and helped bring about a resolution.
Ed
I think this is a great example of how the firearm community needs to continue to act especially under the current administration who are not friends to the firearm community. We need to be aware of the current policies and laws and new bills that can adversely affect our right to keep and bear arms. We need to write, fax and call our representative so they know the bills we support and oppose. It is only through your active participation in the process that we will preserve our rights. No one else is going to do it for you.
