Southwest Asia -- A team of Soldiers ensured the safe movement of a shipment containing donated ammunition at an undisclosed location in the Middle East.
The shipment contained nearly four million rounds of small arms ammunition given to the Coalition from partner nations around the world to support contingency operations.
"When we receive donated ammo, it often comes shipped meeting the standards of movement from the country where it originates," said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jan Coons, the 1st Theater Sustainment Command-Operational Command Post's munitions branch chief.
The mission for the mixed team of Soldiers, from the Army's Reserve, National Guard, and active-duty components, was to turn these various foreign standards into a shipment that meets American safety specifications.
This was done through practices such as blocking and bracing newly formed pallets of ammunition to ensure they don't get tossed around during their movement.
"Conforming the shipment to American standards also allows us to move the ammo through American assets," said Coons.
Most ammunition accidents happen during transportation, so the U.S. military takes all necessary precautions to ensure shipments arrive without the loss of ammunition or explosions.
It took Coons and her team a few weeks to complete this task, and safety was stressed throughout the operation.
"We ensured every bundle and every container passed multiple safety reviews prior to movement," said Coons. "Our Soldiers were trained on the standard, and safety was our utmost concern."
The ammunition will now continue its travel across multiple borders and modes of transportation. Then, determined by mission requirements, the shipment will reach its final destination.
The mixed team of Soldiers are assigned to: the 1st Theater Sustainment Command, an active-duty Army unit based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina; the 451st Expeditionary Sustainment Command, an Army Reserve unit based out of Wichita, Kansas; the 369th Sustainment Brigade, an Army National Guard unit based out of Harlem, New York, and the 960th Quartermaster Company, an Army Reserve unit based out of Sioux City, Iowa.
All units are currently on a nine-month deployment augmenting the 1st TSC-OCP in the U.S. Central Command area of operations overseas.
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