Army, Air Force partners talk bomb demand, capacity

By Kevin Jackson, AMCJune 28, 2016

USAF PEO Weapons Visit 01
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Jerry Lovell, area supervisor in the Industrial Operations Division, talks to Air Force Brig. Gen. Shaun Morris, Program Executive Office for Weapons at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., about general purpose bomb preparation during a visit to McAlester Ar... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Col. Sean M. Herron (second from left), commander, McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, Okla., talks to Air Force Brig. Gen. Shaun Morris (second from right), Program Executive Office for Weapons, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., about the production of gener... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Gary Reasnor (second from left), civilian deputy to the commander at McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, Okla., tells Air Force Brig. Gen. Shaun Morris (far right), Program Executive Office for Weapons, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and Casey Sadler, the ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Clint Eaves, an explosives worker in a bomb production facility, tells Air Force Brig. Gen. Shaun Morris, Program Executive Office for Weapons, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., about preparation before pouring the explosive in the bomb body during his vis... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Chris Scott, site leader for Textron Systems Weapon and Sensor Systems at McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, Okla., talks to Air Force Brig. Gen. Shaun Morris, Program Executive Office for Weapons, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., about the CBU-105 Sensor F... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

McALESTER ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT, Okla. -- The Air Force executive responsible for the planning and execution of lifecycle activities for air-delivered munitions recently spent a day here touring the facility and talking to Army officials about the requirements of the joint force and bomb production capacity.

Brig. Gen. Shaun Q. Morris, Program Executive Officer for Weapons and Director of the Armament Directorate, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Air Force Materiel Command, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., visited to get a firsthand look at the facility and to discuss the longstanding partnership with the Army munitions facility.

During the visit, Col. Sean M. Herron, commander, McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, or MCAAP, provided Morris with an overview of the plant's capabilities demonstrating the efficiency, effectiveness and best value MCAAP provides its customers.

The majority of the time was spent touring the production lines, where Morris observed bomb preparation, explosive fill and final assembly, and the Sensor Fuzed Weapon, which is a public-private partnership with Textron Systems Weapon and Sensor Systems.

It also included a tour of the outload pad, where he learned about two of the plant's critical capabilities, storage and distribution.

"Our business is readiness," said Todd Stone, director of Depot Operations. "And to be ready, we must be prepared to ship ammo at a moment's notice. Our long-range storage plan facilitates our ability to quickly meet any urgent customer requirement."

Following the tour, the leaders returned to the headquarters to discuss efforts that could be undertaken to improve the time it takes to produce bombs for the warfighter.

Morris expressed his desire to better understand the lengthy acquisition process and asked if the Air Force could help with supply chain issues.

"One of our three strategic initiatives this year has been addressing the supply chain," Herron said. "We had the same questions you are asking us. We're absolutely part of the team and we want to be part of the solution."

MCAAP has made improvements to its production facilities in recent years and continues to make more to ensure it is positioned to meet future customer requirements.

Morris acknowledged the plant's efforts to modernize and address the Air Force's critical needs.

"You guys are doing great work," he said. "We just need to determine a sustainable production level so you can optimize and not have to react to big surge workload swings from us."

The visit to MCAAP was Morris' first since becoming the Air Force's program executive officer for weapons in April 2015.

"I have a greater appreciation, from a facilitization perspective, what we're doing with you after spending the day here," Morris said.

"We want to be where you come for your business. You have a choice and we appreciate your business," Herron added.

In September 2015, Col. Scott Bell, the senior materiel leader for the Munitions Sustainment Division at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, visited MCAAP. The Munitions Sustainment Division is a subordinate organization to the Armament Directorate at Eglin Air Force Base.

MCAAP is one of 14 installations of the Joint Munitions Command and one of 23 organic industrial base facilities under the U.S. Army Materiel Command.

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