Despite a wild report on a website dedicated to conspiracy theories, Fort Carson, Colo., soldiers haven't lost a low-yield nuclear weapon.
As the lockdown of soldiers in a Fort Carson battalion dragged into its fifth day Monday, the site Whatdoesitmean.com reported that a nuclear artillery shell was missing — an item that hasn't been in the Army inventory for 22 years. That story was translated into several languages, including Russian, and spread rapidly on the Internet.
Sources at the post said the lockdown involving 100 soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment is actually for something more mundane: a 9 mm pistol. The Army hasn't officially released details on what spurred the lockdown and search, calling it "missing government property."
The lockdown started with about 800 soldiers confined to the battalion's buildings on the post. That was reduced during the weekend to about 100 soldiers — a company of troops.
Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Terrance McWilliams, who served as the post's top enlisted soldier, said lockdowns are a common practice commanders use to turn up lost gear.
"I personally went through it as a first sergeant, and the longest it took was four days," McWilliams said.
The lockdown was triggered Thursday after the pistol turned up missing in an equipment inventory that followed a training exercise. Post officials ordered a wide search for the missing weapon Thursday, including inspecting cars as they exited the post at gates.
Retired Command Sgt. Maj. John Kurak, who also held Fort Carson's top enlisted post, said a five-day lockdown isn't close to a record for Fort Carson.
"In Fort Carson's history, there have been lockdowns that have lasted months," Kurak said, noting that an infantry battalion spent three months on lockdown in the late 1980s after a M-16 rifle was lost.
McWilliams said the first step in the search for the weapon likely was quizzing the soldier who checked it out from the unit's armory for the training exercise. The battalion's soldiers were returning from a training exercise that spanned a wide swath of the 137,000-acre post.
When it was determined that the weapon was lost, soldiers were likely sent to scouring training areas in a move called "hands across Fort Carson" that sees soldiers walking shoulder-to-shoulder to find the missing weapon.
When that didn't bear fruit, soldiers were ordered to remain on duty and on post until the weapon was found.
Long lockdowns such as the one that deprived 1st Battalion soldiers of what was a planned four-day weekend do come to an end.
"Eventually, it's going to get to the point where they determine the item is actually lost," McWilliams said. "Then they will determine what actions to take against the person responsible for the item."
Losing a weapon can bring stiff consequences in the military, where loss or destruction of government property can be charged as a crime bringing up to a year behind bars.
The Army spends a lot of time keeping track of pistols, rifles and other "sensitive" items. Every training day begins and ends with a sensitive items check, and daily inventories are sent up through the chain of command.
"If you can't keep track of your equipment, how can you be expected to do more complex tasks?" Kurak asked.
In combat, units heading out and returning stop for a "boys and toys" check to make sure all weapons, night vision goggles, laser sights, radios and other items are on hand.
"Accountability of equipment is a basic and essential function of a unit," Kurak said.
While the battalion may have lost a pistol, scores of web pages carried the nuclear weapon tale Monday. That story, attributed to unnamed Russian intelligence sources, alleged that a 155 mm artillery-fired nuclear warhead is missing at the post.
The battalion involved, though, doesn't have artillery. And the W-48 artillery warhead alleged to be missing was pulled from Army bases worldwide in 1992.
Although the Pikes Peak region is home to five military bases, it doesn't house nuclear weapons. The closest nuclear arms are atop Air Force intercontinental ballistic missiles at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyo.
©2014 The (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Gazette. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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