Army CID Investigating Missing M1911A1 Pistols From Civilian Marksmanship Program

What happens when guns disappear from military facilities? Uncle Sam doesn’t like it when his guns go walkies. So when a growing number of 1911A1 pistols kept turning up missing from the Civilian Marksmanship Program in Anniston, Alabama — which is technically a military facility — the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division decided to step in to investigate.

You may remember the M1911A1 pistols were finally released for distribution through the CMP back in 2018. They were a hot commodity, with lots of red-blooded Americans anxious to get their hands on them. It seems that someone at CMP was anxious, too. They just weren’t willing to pay for them.

The CID agents working for the various military branches investigate criminal activity on bases or amongst military personnel. They aren’t “military police” or MPs. An acquaintance of mine recently finished a distinguished career in the Naval CID before retiring. The stories he’s shared are epic, endlessly entertaining, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny.

He was smart enough to marry up and his wife is a good shooter, too. He wasn’t above bringing her out on qualification days to humiliate the guys who thought they could shoot, but hadn’t practiced as much as they should have. Moreover, aside from their marksmanship skills, CID investigators tend to be very good at what they do.

If someone on the inside at the CMP facility in Anniston thought they could get a few 1911s out the door every now and then without getting caught, that person was risking a lot for a little. Again, Uncle Sam doesn’t like it at all when you take his guns. Even if they are allegedly obsolete and no longer issued to the troops.

From AL.com . . .

A “significant number” of guns were reported missing from a military facility in Anniston over a 2 1/2-year period, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division said Tuesday.

“The Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division has been notified of a significant number of 1911A1 pistols reported missing from the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) located in Anniston, Alabama, between September 2019 to March 2022,” said CID spokesman Keith E. Smith.

Further information on the missing guns was unavailable, but the CID said it is offering a reward up to $10,000 for information leading to the pistols’ recovery and/or for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any suspects.

Anyone with information on the incident was asked to call the CID’s Southern Field Office at 706-709-0738, or through the CID’s website at cid.army.mil/tips.

The good news is that it seems as though this “leak” of guns from the CMP guns ended in March, 2022. Far more 1911s ended up in righteous hands in the highly competitive acquisition process…as opposed to those that have gone missing. Stay tuned.