U.S. ammunition plant reaching its limit

Seattle Times ^ | January 11, 2004 | Joseph L. Galloway

[sarcasm]

FORT BELVOIR, Va. — The U.S. military's only plant making small-arms ammunition is running at near capacity, 4 million rounds a day, and the United States still is forced to look overseas and to the recreational industry for ammunition for troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and those training to deploy there soon.

Gen. Paul Kern, commander of the Army Materiel Command, said Friday that giving those units priority ensured they had enough small-arms ammunition. "Everyone else will have to pay the price" and wait for it, he said.

The increased demand for ammunition for combat shooting and intensified training has made deep inroads in the nation's war reserves of ammunition, Kern said.

The sole plant making small-arms ammunition, the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Mo., is running three eight-hour shifts a day, six days a week. The plant provides 5.56 mm rifle, 7.62 mm and .50 caliber machine gun as well as 9 mm pistol cartridges for all branches of the military.

Because of the increased demand for ammunition since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and America's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Kern said the Army in late December let two supplemental contracts to Olin Winchester of East Alton, Ill., and Israeli Military Industries for each to produce 70 million rifle rounds per month starting in June.

The general said it would probably take until 2005 to get small-arms ammunition production to a level at which there will be enough to cover all the increased training needs and begin rebuilding the war reserves.

"We can't just go out and buy our ammunition commercially," Kern said. "We maintain very tight quality controls. Our ammo has to work, at 40 below zero or 140 degrees."

He said the Army has put an additional $225 million into small-arms ammunition production and additional armor for Humvees since the 9-11 attacks.

In addition to combat requirements, two other factors were driving the increased demand for ammunition: increased live-fire training for combat-service-support units and the fact that Reserves and National Guard were shooting as much as the active Army as they trained for deployment to combat, Kern said.

[Pern]

This could and will really bite us in the ass should a major conflict start.

It's just plain disgraceful that our military infrastructure has been reduced to almost nothing, that we have to look to other countries for ammo.

I bet the armament factories in China are in full swing.

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[Cobra64]

Time to dust off my RCBS and Lyman presses. Lemme see, where'd I put the powder scale, and case trimmer?

[coloradan]

[T]he United States still is forced to look overseas and to the recreational industry for ammunition for troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and those training to deploy there soon.

Note to gun grabbers: should you succeed in shutting down the civilian arms market, you will deny the US military the ammunition necessary to train and equip soldiers. (Admittedly, this may also be your traitorous goal, your support for a military exemption to your gun grabbing legislation notwithstanding.)

[M Kehoe]

The U.S. military's only plant making small-arms ammunition is running at near capacity, 4 million rounds a day,...

If we are using up 4 million rounds a day, I hope that we are becoming proficient with our weapons, or that we are killing a load of bad guys. Either one is fine by me.

5.56mm

[big_Rob]

4 million rounds a day. Ohhhhhh.. Yesssss, yessss, That's a beautiful thing

[expatpat]

Going down to only one plant for production is a scandal -- a Clinton legacy?

[Bringbackthedraft]

Big deal, we are the "Arsenal of Democracy", if we need more we will produce more. Remember the Claymore? If its made by "Mattel" its swell! Solicit the bids and the ammo will appear in quantity. Any industry capable of switching to the production of ammo will jump on board.

[Ranger]

When my son went to Iraq in July he couldn't sight in his weapon because they didn't have ammunition at his european base. He had to arrive in Iraq and was told to swap his weapon with the guy leaving so that it had a better chance of being sighted. Incredible to see that 8 months after the conflict we still face a shortage. I'd say shoot the bastards that caused this problem, but then that would be a waste of ammunition. I hope the national guard units can get their hands on what they need before the country forgets we are still at war.

[Always A Marine]

It is insanely negligent that the United States has only ONE small arms ammunition plant. We should never be solely reliant on any one source or location.

[VMI70]

Here's a quick way to increase output by 15%:

Work Sundays

[Mulder]

You can thank Klinton for signing an executive order banning the plants from selling surplus military ammo to us peasants.

In the 'old' days, any excess ammo could be sold to the civilian market.

But since that E.O., excess ammo would have to be written off as a loss, since there was no "backup market". Therefore, it was in the financial interest of the manufacturer to produce the minimun amount of ammo, with the minimum amount of equipment.

[thoughtomator]

Actually the note to gun grabbers should be: Should our only ammo-production facility be destroyed, the only people who will be able to make ammo in the US are people who are very, very upset with you.

[I_dmc]

I nominate Australia to be added to list.

[RKV]

OK in theory, unworkable in practice. Plants need maintenance and that requires some downtime.

[Pern]

I'd say shoot the bastards that caused this problem, but then that would be a waste of ammunition.

LOL! I'll donate a box of .45 ACP for that!

[Beck_isright]

"This could and will really bite us in the ass should a major conflict start."

Re-read the article. This plant is in full production in anticipation of a future conflict.

Bush's advisers debating military force against Syria

[RKV]

"We can't just go out and buy our ammunition commercially"
HORSE$&*#. Commercial plants can build it just fine - with the proviso that they be given the right requirements. As we found out when the first M-16s were fielded, it DOES matter that the components be up to snuff (military changed powder types and oked production without chrome plated barrels and that caused needless deaths). Take a look at the various manufacturers who made rifles in WW2 - like Smith Corona!

[primeval patriot]

We can always outsource to NORINCO.