TLSC-E and USAREUR partner to demilitarize, sell ammunition residue

By Greg Jones, 21st TSC Public AffairsMarch 30, 2016

TLSC-E and USAREUR partner to demilitarize, sell ammunition residue
1 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – MIESAU, Germany—Tons of ammunition residue like that pictured here, is currently being demilitarized and sold through a cooperative venture of the Ammunition Center Europe, Product Manager - Demilitarization, U.S. Army in Europe and the NATO Su... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
TLSC-E and USAREUR partner to demilitarize, sell ammunition residue
2 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – MIESAU, Germany—Spent small arms casings move along a conveyor belt to a machine that will shred them into small brass nuggets and renders the brass product into material deemed as safe. Tons of these casings are currently being demilitarized a... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
TLSC-E and USAREUR partner to demilitarize, sell ammunition residue
3 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – MIESAU, Germany—Peter Kafitz, an employee at the U.S. Army Ammunition Center Europe, sort through small arms ammunition residue which will then be shredded and rendered into material deemed as safe brass for resale on the European commodities m... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
TLSC-E and USAREUR partner to demilitarize, sell ammunition residue
4 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – MIESAU, Germany—Reiner Werle, an employee with the U.S. Army Ammunition Center, loads shredded brass into wooden crates. The brass is from ammunition residue that has been demilitarized and rendered safe for resale through a cooperative venture... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
TLSC-E and USAREUR partner to demilitarize, sell ammunition residue
5 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – MIESAU, Germany—Reiner Werle, an employee with the U.S. Army Ammunition Center, uses a forklift to move wooden crates full of ammunition residue. The ammunition residue has been demilitarized and rendered safe for resale through a cooperative v... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
TLSC-E and USAREUR partner to demilitarize, sell ammunition residue
6 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – MIESAU, Germany—The end product of a joint venture of the U.S. Army Ammunition Center Europe, Product Manager-Demilitarization, U.S. Army in Europe and the NATO Support and Procurement Agency is these small shredded brass nuggets. They look a l... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

MIESAU, Germany -- The Theater Logistics Support Center's U.S. Army Ammunition Center Europe, working with NATO and several other agencies, completed the first sale of demilitarized small arms ammunition residue, consisting primarily of spent small arms cartridges, in a program that is expected to recoup $5 or 6 million over the first few years, and roughly $500,000 each year thereafter.

This sale, consisting of roughly 254 tons of shredded brass from spent bullet casings, marks the first big step in a cooperative effort between the ACE, U.S. Army Europe, the U.S. Army's Product Manager --Demilitarization, and the NATO Support and Procurement Agency.

Under this program, ACE receives a variety of small arms ammunition casings not deemed as safe (uncertified), made mostly of brass, but also consisting of some steel and other metals. ACE visually inspects all material for live rounds, then shreds the casings to produce what is called 'material deemed as safe (MDAS)'. The result is shredded metal that is no longer considered a hazardous material and can be sold to interested parties on the European market. The small chips of brass look a little like gold, and while not as valuable, they are traded internationally as a commodity, much like gold or silver.

More importantly, according to James Lane, the 21st TSC's theater demilitarization manager, disposing of the brass in this manner helps to ensure environmental safety.

"We have to dispose of the ammunition somehow," said Lane. "This way, we're making sure that we don't have live rounds ending up in a land fill, or worse yet, in someone's back yard."

The proper disposal of ammunition residue is carefully and stringently controlled by federal and international regulatory agencies, according to Hugh Murray, senior ammunition manager at U.S. Army Europe, who also explained that other options for disposing of the ammunition can be much more labor intensive and do not recoup money like this project does.

"There are other ways to dispose of the brass, but the restrictions make it nearly impossible to certify the large stockpiles that have accumulated," said Murray. "With this we're able to receive shipments that may even contain live rounds and render them safe."

One of the biggest challenges to other methods is the need to completely remove all live rounds from the brass, and to perfectly sort the brass by caliber and ammunition type. Turn-in of brass through more traditional channels requires a zero-error process for sorting ammo and removing live rounds, which often requires an impossibly labor-intensive operation.

"You could have a whole battalion of soldiers at the range for hours sorting through shipments round by round, and you might still end up with live rounds or mixed ammunition," said ACE deputy director, Hans-Juergen Becker. "A commander doesn't have time to do that, he's got a mission to accomplish, so we simply take the brass from him and figure it out ourselves."

To accommodate a more efficient process for those line unit commanders to turn in their ammunition residue, the ACE accepted much of it in relatively unsorted condition. This left the ACE with a stockpile of brass that couldn't be turned in through traditional methods.

Then ACE, in conjunction with USAREUR, reached out to Product Manager - Demilitarization. PM-D provides oversight of the demilitarization and disposal of ammunition, and provides for funding, equipment, and other resources to accomplish this function. Working with the PM-D, the ACE makes the demilitarized ammunition available to various markets as 30/70 brass, and the money recouped goes back to the U.S. government under the demilitarization Resource, Recovery, and Recycling (R3) reinvestment program in accordance with federal law. Of the funds recouped in these sales, 60 percent of all funds are retained by PM-D for re-use in other demilitarization efforts throughout the Army, and up to 40 percent can be returned to ACE to further fund the ongoing R3 demilitarization projects there. Funds can be used for equipment, maintenance and even to pay salaries for workers to execute the R3 demilitarization missions.

Of course, to sell the demilitarized brass, and recoup any of these funds, the ACE had to find a buyer, and that's where NATO came in. Under existing cooperative agreements, the NATO Support and Procurement Agency handled the international bidding process and found buyers for the brass. The process of finding a buyer and executing the sale is heavily regulated to prevent fraud waste and abuse, and it's a process that requires significant expertise. The NSPA's help in navigating this process can't be overstated according to Murray, who as USAREUR's senior ammunition manager, is the central point of contact between the U.S. Army Europe and NSPA on this project.

"It's amazing what NSPA does for us," he said. "Essentially they find a buyer, execute the transaction, and send the check directly to PM-D, and we're really glad they're helping us with that part of this process."

The current stockpile of about 1,700 tons of ammunition residue is expected to bring roughly $5 or 6 million, and will take several years to demilitarize and sell. After that, the steady-state of ammunition residue turn-in should amount to roughly $500,000 yearly, based on current estimates.

Related Links:

USAREUR

21st Theater Sustainment Command