Afghan Soldiers Fire Their Guns Just to Sell Shell Casings for Scrap (Guess Who Pays for It?)

According to Reuters, the Afghan Army is not wasting any time shooting their weapons. Unfortunately, those spent munitions are not being used for training or for fighting the Taliban. Afghan soldiers are so poor that they’re randomly firing their guns just so they can collect the spent shell casings and sell them for scrap.

Scrap dealers in Helmand province are making a killing by purchasing the brass from soldiers for $2.55 per kilo. Whenever poorly paid police officers or soldiers need money, they simply fire off their weapons into the wilderness for 5 or 10 minutes, and hand over the spent shell casings to the dealers.

One anonymous Afghan officer admitted that soldiers in Helmand and Kunduz provinces fired off 7,000 shells in May alone. He told Reuters that “it’s very clear they fire aimlessly and collect the shell casings for copper and sell them.” Another officer admitted that about 8 out 10 soldiers sell their spent shells. “Unfortunately it’s very difficult to stop,” he said, before revealing that some military units are firing off 10,000 to 20,000 rounds per night.

Unfortunately there is little the Afghan military can do to stop this, because they know that some of the soldiers have been selling their ammo and weapons directly to the Taliban. If they can’t sell their spent shell casings, then there’s only one way to sell unspent shell casings, and that’s to the Taliban.

And in case you’re wondering, yes, your tax dollars are paying for this insanity. The US spent $300 million on ammunition for the Afghan army and police back in 2015.