Why can't I find ammo in the store?

Reps challenge DHS ammo buys, say agency using 1,000 more rounds per person than Army | Fox News:  (Friday, April 26, 2013)

Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz said Thursday that the Department of Homeland Security is using roughly 1,000 rounds of ammunition more per person than the U.S. Army, as he and other lawmakers sharply questioned DHS officials on their "massive" bullet buys. 

"It is entirely ... inexplicable why the Department of Homeland Security needs so much ammunition," Chaffetz, R-Utah, said at a hearing. 

The hearing itself was unusual, as questions about the department's ammunition purchases until recently had bubbled largely under the radar -- on blogs and in the occasional news article. But as the Department of Homeland Security found itself publicly defending the purchases, lawmakers gradually showed more interest in the issue. 

Democratic Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., at the opening of the hearing, ridiculed the concerns as "conspiracy theories" which have "no place" in the committee room. But Republicans said the purchases raise "serious" questions about waste and accountability.

Here's a Conspiracy Theory for you:

The Department of Public Security has a mission statement:

The Core Missions

There are five homeland security missions:

1. Prevent terrorism and enhancing security;
2. Secure and manage our borders;
3. Enforce and administer our immigration laws;
4. Safeguard and secure cyberspace;
5. Ensure resilience to disasters;

In addition, we must specifically focus on maturing and strengthening the homeland security enterprise itself.


Excuse me?  "... strengthening the homeland security enterprise itself ... "?

This sounds suspiciously like "Hey, Dude!  We're going to protect our ass first!"

Which would, y'know, explain the Billions of rounds of ammunition (according to this article from the Denver Post)  that they plan to buy in the immediate future.
They don't need it to "prevent terrorism and [enhance] security.
They don't need it to protect our borders .. the Border Patrol does this, and they are historically underfunded.
They don't need it to do the immigration laws thingie; Obama has already opened our borders like a cheap hooker.
They for SURE don't need it to "safeguard and secure cybperspace" .. I'm already using "virtual ammunition" to train new USPSA shooters!
And as far as Disaster resilience?  We've seen that the worst Hurricane stories were about cops shooting homeless citizens of New Orleans.

So why do they need all this ammor ... which WE can't get?

It's a two part policy.
Part I: Training!   The same reason we want ammo, so we can maintain our skills.  These guys use more ammo for training than the U.S. Army, which is our "Go To" resource for war.  As in, the Army fights wars, not DHS.
Part II: Conspiracy Theory Alert!   If they have all the ammo, we don't have it.  Is this a not-so-subtle way for a single government agency to impose limitations on American citizens to protect themselves?  I thought that we, the American People, were the final line of defense, not DHS.   At least, that's what Admiral Yamamoto said when the Japanese Empire's warlords were plotting the full-scale military attack on America.

"You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass.”

Somebody's going a little crazy here.  I hope it's just me.

In the meantime, DHS says that it's just a 'strategic buying policy'.  They can get ammunition cheaper by buying in bulk.

This is the only department in the federal government which is practicing Fiscal Economy?

Forbes (March 11, 2013) reports:

"... the Department of Homeland Security has issued an open purchase order for 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition.  As reported elsewhere, some of this purchase order is for hollow-point rounds, forbidden by international law for use in war, along with a frightening amount specialized for snipers. Also reported elsewhere, at the height of the Iraq War the Army was expending less than 6 million rounds a month.  Therefore 1.6 billion rounds would be enough to sustain a hot war for 20+ years.  In America."

Someone is going a little crazy here.  Since I'm not also "... (acquiring) ... heavily armored personnel carriers, repatriated from the Iraqi and Afghani theaters of operation...", but DHS is, I don't think it's me.

WHO are they going to use this ammunition against?

We cannot rely on the 2nd amendment to protect ourselves against a rogue government, when the government has already bought up all of the ammunition.

Crank up your Dillon 650's folks; the South shall rise up again.

Oh.  I forgot.  My XL650 doesn't work any more.  Damn!