How did someone manage to start and steal a HUMVEE from a National Guard Armory?

This surprisingly easy explanation how someone managed to steal $220,000 armored vehicle from a National Guard Armory in Santa Rosa, CA.

According to the California Highway Patrol, earlier this week, a car thief committed Grand Theft Auto when they broke into the Santa Rosa National Guard Armory in California and stole an HMMWV, better known as a HUMVEE, from the government facility.

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This isn’t even the first time this happened, as a quick internet search reveals several recent instances of someone finding a HUMVEE and driving away with it.

According to this Reddit post, earlier in 2022 someone managed to steal a HUMVEE from an Army Reserve Center in San Marcos, Texas.

And according to Spectrum News 1, in 2021 a military HUMVEE was recovered after being stolen from a National Guard facility in a Los Angeles Suburb.

There are so many stories like this.

But, how?

You’d think it’s extremely difficult to gain access to one of these, let alone start it.

First, it’s not all that hard accessing these HUMVEES. Hear armory, and you think these HUMVEES are behind guarded gates and brick walls.

Not so.

Here’s what the outside of the Santa Rosa National Guard Armory looks like, the HUVMEES in question in red.

The actual armory is nothing more than a regular building accessible from a public street with the military vehicles behind a simple, chain link fence topped with barbed wire.

Anyone with some cheap bolt cutters can cut through that fence, not to mention throwing a car mat over the barbed wire itself.

But, how about keys or starting one of these bad boys?

Most (if not all) military HUMVEES do not require a key to start them.

And, you don’t even need a key to get in as, if they’re not already open, they’re locked in place with a simple, heavy-duty pad lock.

Here’s a screenshot from a video by Youtuber Benjamin Stubbs titled “How to start a HUMVEE” showing how HUMVEEs are typically locked.

And, if you know anything about the ARMY, someone most likely accepted a bid from the lowest bidder. In other words, these probably aren’t the most secure locks.

If a simple lock pick can’t open them, some bolt cutters will do the trick.

And here’s how you start them, it’s just a lever actuated toggle switch.

It is a diesel, so you have to wait a few seconds while in the run position for the glow plugs to light, but it’s self-explanatory, toggle it to the right to start this b****.

And, once you get it started, these HUMVEES can make light work of whatever chain link fence is in its way, just drive through it.

So that’s how someone was able to start and steal a HUMVEE, they’re not exactly secured to begin with.