MCALESTER, Okla.-- Coming from Ripley, W. Va., 3rd platoon of the 261st Ordnance Company eagerly approached their Culminating Training Event (CTE) at McAlester Army Ammunition Plant which taught them everything about Ammunition Supply Points (ASP) before they deploy overseas. They were here July 18-22 as part of mandatory training for all Army ordnance units.
As an ordnance platoon, WO1 Thomas Houston, the unit's ammunition accountable officer, said their mission is to ensure the Soldier who's in battle has the correct and serviceable ammunition to win.
As it applies to CTE training, "this will be the first time we've been able to set up a mock ASP in a training environment which will reflect what we'll actually do in the theater of operations," said Houston. He's been in the ammunition field for 11.5 years of his 21 years of Army service.
"The CTE training at MCAAP gives the Soldiers the hands on experience and a true understanding of the operation of an ASP," he said.
As reservists, they don't handle ammunition every day, so the guidelines and rules they have to adhere to are sometimes forgotten, he said. Soldiers will get more value out of this training than some of the other ammunition training they've received, Houston said.
One of the reasons why this training is so effective is that, "MCAAP has given us the resources, equipment and ability to incorporate an ASP scenario within the confines of a functioning ammunition plant," said Houston.
Three ASP's were established. This challenged the Soldiers, especially for those who have never run an ASP before, to know their ammunition compatibility, how to conduct vehicle inspections, download munitions, store and inventory them and issue and receive munitions.
Near the end of the week, each ASP was administratively "over run" by the enemy," he said. "When threatened by the enemy, our most important job is to preserve our assets because we don't want the enemy to overtake our ASP, take control of the ammo and use it against us," Houston said.
As far as training at the ammunition plant, Houston said, "MCAAP is a willing participant and accommodates Soldiers in any training that is needed to make them better Soldiers and more proficient ammunition specialists." The unit is now serving in Kuwait.
McAlester Army Ammunition Plant is the Department of Defense's (DOD) premier bomb provider and stores one-third of DOD's munitions on its 45,000 acres.
-30-
Social Sharing