A soldier in a mask and goggles holds an M17 pistol with both hands.

A soldier in a mask and goggles holds an M17 pistol with both hands.

A soldier with the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry
Division fires an M17 pistol as part of the 2024 Sullivan Cup, held at
Fort Moore, Georgia. Army photo by Sgt. Duke Edwards

Half a year after 31 pistols went missing from Fort Moore, the Army’s
Criminal Investigation Division is increasing the reward offered for
any help finding the weapons, as well as optics that have also vanished
from the base.

A CID reward poster, shared to social media including the Army
subreddit, offers up to $15,000 for “credible information” that can
help find the pistols and gear or the people who stole them. Alongside
the 31 M17 pistols, CID is also searching for two Enhanced Night vision
Goggles and one AN/PAS 13D Thermal Optic. Those went missing between
August and October. All of the gear and weapons were stolen from the
Crescenz Consolidated Equipment Pool on Fort Moore.

The theft of the pistols was first announced to the public in June.
According to the Army, the 31 M17s went missing from the equipment pool
between March and May of this year. However, Army CID was only informed
in May. CID initially put up a [1]$5,000 reward for information on them
in June, but now several months later, the reward has increased, along
with the amount of equipment missing.
A reward poster for $15,000 dollars.

“On August 31, 2024 and October 1, 2024 respectively, the ENVGs and
Thermal Optic were reported missing,” the reward poster notes. “Army
CID is actively seeking any information relevant to the loss of the M17
pistols, ENVGs and Thermal Optic.”

Army CID confirmed the reward poster’s authenticity to Task & Purpose
over the weekend but did not provide any additional details beyond what
is in the notice.

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CID asks that anyone with information on the missing gear and weapons
contact Army CID’s Southern Field Office at 706-917-9115. Multiple
claimants and the quality of the information could impact how much of
the reward is given, per CID.

Fort Moore, located in Georgia, is a major training hub for the U.S.
Army, and home to the Army Infantry School and Army Armor School. The
M17 pistols, made by Sig Sauer, are the Army’s standard sidearm,
replacing the M9. According to Army code, all of the weapons must be
inventoried each month, with each gun accounted for by its serial
number.

The missing gear and guns at Fort Moore are among several instances of
military equipment stolen from bases in recent years. Missing weapons
have ranged from rifles and a pistol assigned 3rd Battalion, 6th
Marines at [2]Camp Lejeune to a [3]M240B machine gun from the Army’s
National Training Center at Fort Irwin. At least 1,900 guns went
missing or were stolen in the 2010s, according to an [4]investigation
by the Associated Press.

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References

1. https://www.wrbl.com/fort-moore/what-to-know-about-the-dozens-of-guns-stolen-from-a-fort-moore-facility/
2. https://taskandpurpose.com/news/another-gun-missing-camp-lejeune/
3. https://taskandpurpose.com/news/fort-irwin-missing-m240-signs/
4. https://apnews.com/article/government-and-politics-massachusetts-theft-6071075ec1980c35ac3724a6e7dcdf06
5. https://taskandpurpose.com/news/first-female-air-force-silver-star-recipient/
6. https://taskandpurpose.com/news/tomb-of-the-unknown-final-walk/
7. https://taskandpurpose.com/news/last-man-afghanistan-four-star/
8. https://taskandpurpose.com/news/sailor-rescues-woman-burning-building/
9. https://taskandpurpose.com/culture/cav-scouts-spurs/