ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. -- The Joint Munitions Command was recognized for supplying training ammunition to the FBI in a ceremony held, here, August 27.
"With over 13,900 agents and 36,000 employees, the FBI shoulders the bulk of federal criminal investigations and is charged with domestically ensuring the national security of the United States," said FBI Special Agent in Charge, James E. Finch.
Agents are required to train once a quarter, while SWAT team members train even more frequently. With budget constraints, there were concerns that agents would not have enough ammunition to train successfully.
The FBI and JMC began exploring the possibility of transferring 'training use only' ammunition. The FBI first approached JMC officials to determine if any small-caliber obsolete ammunition was available.
JMC located 28 million rounds of predominantly 5.56 mm ammunition at two of its installations that were available for use by the FBI.
It was determined the ammunition transfer could be provided from JMC's demilitarization account. JMC saved $2.5 million by avoiding demilitarization costs and transferring these rounds to another government agency.
JMC employees performed the ammunition stockpile research, located the ammunition, started the paperwork for the transfer and obtained the authorization through the Department of the Army and the Pentagon.
The ammunition was sent to all 56 of the FBI's field offices across the United States, which allowed agents to continue to perform training. Each agent may go through approximately 1,000 rounds during a training day.
"Maintaining our proficiency level is very important in performing our duties and for public safety," Finch noted.
JMC provided 600 short tons of ammunition to the FBI in late March, satisfying their request and providing enough cartridges for a multi-year need.
"The forward thinking business acumen of JMC has, to date, saved the FBI over $12 million. When coupled with the savings realized by JMC, the taxpayer has saved almost $15 million. This transfer serves as a model of good stewardship of the public's funds and trust in an era of enhanced fiscal responsibility," said Finch.
JMC produces small-, medium- and large-caliber ammunition items for the Department of Defense. JMC is the logistics integrator for life-cycle management of ammunition and provides a global presence of technical support to U.S. combat units wherever they are stationed or deployed.
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