The 234th Mechanized Infantry Brigade is conducting an investigation after a post-exercise inventory check showed that 20 rifle rounds were unaccounted for, the 10th Army Corps said yesterday.
The brigade conducted its sharpshooter qualification course on Thursday at the Joint Operations Training Base in Pingtung County, but a tally of shell casings revealed that 20 5.56x45mm cartridges were missing, the army corps headquarters said.
It is not clear why there was a discrepancy and the army corps has not determined if the bullets were lost during the exercise, fired without the casing being recovered or stolen, Major-General Chuan Hui-an (莊惠安) said.
The investigation is complicated by the fact that many units and personnel besides those in the brigade took part in the exercise, he said, adding police have been informed of the incident.
The brigade has been deployed multiple times to respond to natural disasters, including providing relief to Chiayi County after floods in August last year, for which it received a commendation from President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
The most recent incident involving ammunition going missing in the military was in December last year, after a sharpshooting exercise held by the Hua-Tung Defense Command.
Later, a non-commissioned officer surnamed Liao (廖) was dishonorably discharged for pocketing a rifle magazine and six bullets.
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