Title 10Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§2722 Theft or loss of ammunition, destructive devices, and explosives: report to Secretary of the Treasury

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART IV— - SERVICE, SUPPLY, AND PROPERTY › Chapter CHAPTER 161— - PROPERTY RECORDS AND REPORT OF THEFT OR LOSS OF CERTAIN PROPERTY › § 2722

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must tell the Secretary of the Treasury about any theft or loss of ammunition, destructive devices, or explosive material from Department of Defense stocks within 72 hours, if possible, after finding it. The Secretary of Defense can choose not to report items that are low risk and of little use to someone who gets them illegally, but any items left out must be listed in a memorandum of agreement with the Secretary of the Treasury. Explosive material means explosives, blasting agents, and detonators. Destructive device and ammunition have the meanings given in 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(4) and (17).

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §2722

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of Defense shall report the theft or other loss of any ammunition, destructive device, or explosive material from the stocks of the Department of Defense to the Secretary of the Treasury within 72 hours, if possible, after the discovery of such theft or loss.
(b)The Secretary of Defense may exclude from the reporting requirement under subsection (a) any item referred to in that subsection if—
(1)the Secretary determines that the item represents a low risk of danger to the public and would be of minimal utility to any person who may illegally receive such item; and
(2)the exclusion of such item is specified as being excluded from the reporting requirement in a memorandum of agreement between the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Treasury.
(c)In this section:
(1)The term “explosive material” means explosives, blasting agents, and detonators.
(2)The terms “destructive device” and “ammunition” have the meanings given those terms by paragraphs (4) and (17), respectively, of section 921(a) of title 18.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2006—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 109–364 substituted “921(a)” for “921”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Pub. L. 100–456, div. A, title III, § 344(c), Sept. 29, 1988, 102 Stat. 1962, provided that: “The amendment made by subsection (a) [enacting this section] shall take effect with respect to thefts and losses discovered more than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Sept. 29, 1988].” Incident Reporting Requirements for Department of Defense Regarding Lost or Stolen Weapons Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title III, § 363, Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1661, as amended by Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title III, § 342, Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 1857, provided that: “(a) In General.—For each of fiscal years 2022 through 2029, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on security, control, thefts, losses, and recoveries of sensitive conventional arms, ammunition, and explosives (commonly referred to as ‘AA&E’) of the Department of Defense during such year, including the following:“(1) M–16 or M4s. “(2) Light automatic weapons up to and including M249, M2, and 40mm MK19 machine guns. “(3) Functional launch tube with umbilical squib installed and grip stock for the Stinger missile. “(4) Launch tube, sight assembly, and grip stock for missiles. “(5) Tracker for the Dragon missile. “(6) Mortar tubes up to and including 81mm. “(7) Grenade launchers. “(8) Rocket and missile launchers with an unpacked weight of 100 pounds or less. “(9) Flame throwers. “(10) The launcher, missile guidance se, or the optical sight for the TOW and the Javelin Command Launch Unit. “(11) Single shot and semi-automatic (non-automatic) shoulder-fired weapons such as shotguns and bolt action rifles and weapons barrels. “(12) Handguns. “(13) Recoil-less rifles up to and including 106mm. “(14) Man-portable missiles and rockets in a ready-to-fire configuration or when jointly stored or transported with the launcher tube or grip-stock and the explosive round. “(15) Stinger missiles. “(16) Dragon, Javelin, light antitank weapon (66mm), shoulder-launched multi-purpose assault weapon rocket (83mm), M136 (AT4) anti-armor launcher and cartridge (84mm). “(17) Missiles and rockets that are crew-served or require platform-mounted launchers and other equipment to function, including HYDRA–70 rockets and tube-launched optically wire guided (TOW) missiles. “(18) Missiles and rockets that require platform-mounted launchers and complex hardware equipment to function including the HELLFIRE missile. “(19) Explosive rounds of any missile or rocket listed in paragraphs (1) through (18). “(20) Hand or rifle grenades (high-explosive and white phosphorous). “(21) Antitank or antipersonnel mines. “(22) Explosives used in demolition operations, C–4, military dynamite, and trinitrotoluene (TNT). “(23) Warheads for sensitive missiles and rockets weighing less than 50 pounds each. “(24) Ammunition that is .50 caliber or larger with explosive-filled projectile. “(25) Incendiary grenades and fuses for high-explosive grenades. “(26) Blasting caps. “(27) Supplementary charges. “(28) Bulk explosives. “(29) Detonating cord. “(30) Riot control agents. “(b) Immediate Reporting of Confirmed Thefts, Losses, and Recoveries.—Not later than 72 hours after a confirmed theft, loss, or recovery of a sensitive conventional arm, ammunition, or explosive covered by the report required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall report such theft, loss, or recovery to—“(1) the National Crime Information Center; “(2) local law

Enforcement

and “(3) the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 2722

Title 10Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73