A string Last fall, the previously unpublished intrusion of the Tennessee National Guard Arsenal marked the latest in the growing security breach of military facilities across the United States, raising new concerns about the vulnerability of the U.S. Arsenal to theft and invasion.
A confidential memo from the Tennessee Fusion Center detailed four break-ins in the Tennessee National Guard’s Armory over a seven-week period. In one incident, the thief carried night vision goggles, laser target locators and attractions, and other equipment. In other cases, the intruder violated the fence, tripped the alarm, and gained access to the supply room found in the consequences to unlock.
At least some of the break-ins seem to point to potential insider help. For example, in Covington, Tennessee, there is evidence that the intruder may have known in advance the location of the secure key control box. At other sites, try to bypass alerts and entry points.
The memorandum is for law enforcement use only and does not indicate that any weapon was stolen. However, quoted by the government’s counter-terrorism coordinator, “These incidents are not only because the stolen items are inherently sensitive, but also because of the indicators of some internal knowledge required for successful violations and theft.”
The document was first obtained by the people’s non-profit surveillance group property, and the document was shared specifically with Wired.
The break-in is still under active investigation and has attracted the attention of the Pentagon Marshal’s Pentagon office, the Army’s leading law enforcement agency. A senior police source told Tuesday that the FBI is leading the investigation. The FBI refused to confirm.
“The FBI’s policy prohibits confirmation or denial of an investigation unless publicity in rare cases helps the investigation, such as seeking missing children or trying to identify a bank robber,” said Elizabeth Clement-Webb, a public affairs officer for the FBI. “What you are asking doesn’t meet that exception, so it’s inappropriate to comment.”
The Pentagon forwards the issue to the National Guard. The guard did not respond to a request for comment.
The memorandum was initially regarded as an isolated incident, citing the value of the FBI and the Department of Defense for many years, reporting what agents call “domestic violence extremists” or DVE, discussing plans for raiding weapons and equipment, leading analysts to suspect organized activities. Domestic intelligence has always marked violent militia members and racially motivated extremists see ordnance as a soft target.
“Although DVE previously stole some low-level military equipment, the FBI has not determined any circumstances that the General Secretary successfully raided the arsenal to steal heavy military equipment,” the memo read. “To avoid such raids, the FBI and the Department of Defense are strengthening their liaison with local arsenals and military facilities to resolve gaps regarding reporting current land to exploit the vulnerability of the arsenal and to increase opportunities to detect and prevent theft of military equipment.”
The memo said that between 2020 and 2024, at least four FBI subjects discussed heavy weapons in the raid of military facilities, including .50 caliber guns and machine guns. The three confirmed the military background. One (formerly a member of the Guard) identified specific ordnances he had served, while describing how best to leverage its security. It is not clear whether any charges are filed.
The extremist chat quoted in the document echoes these ambitions. In early 2024, a telegraph user with the militia proposed to assess the vulnerability of the armory with the help of sympathetic firefighters and seek military or law enforcement recruits for internal information. In another case, an active tank commander claimed he could swing an armoured hand over the weapon, while a former Air Force contractor talked about raiding the guard facility to grab the mortar and secure the land.
