Joint Munitions Command: Where the Army gets its ammo

By Brig. Gen. Michelle Letcher, Commander, Joint Munitions CommandNovember 29, 2018

Joint Munitions Command: Where the Army gets its ammo
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A Soldier from the 411th Ordnance Battalion discusses the finer points of ammunition inspection with Crane Army Ammunition Activity Commander Col. Michael Garlington. Soldiers from the 411th Ordnance Battalion conduct their two-week annual training a... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Joint Munitions Command: Where the Army gets its ammo
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Sgt. Joshua Marcel, an ammunition specialist assigned to 307th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, counts 5.56 mm training rounds during a deployment readiness exercise on Fort Bragg, N.C., July 14, 2... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill.-- When Soldiers load M4s with 5.56, or Howitzers with 155 mm rounds, the Joint Munitions Command help make that happen. JMC, headquartered at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, provides bombs and bullets to America's fighting forces across all military services.

JMC provides the conventional ammunition life-cycle functions of distribution, storage, demilitarization, and production of munitions of all U.S. military services, other government agencies, and Allied nations as directed. We are here to provide the Department of Defense's joint forces with ready, reliable and lethal munitions to support global operations.

JMC provides a global presence of technical support to frontline units. The command also manages the ammunition plants that produce millions of rounds of ammunition annually and storage depots that receipt, store, and issue training and combat munitions. JMC employs 23 military personnel, more than 5,000 Civilian personnel, and more than 5,000 contractors across the nationwide network of ammunition installations.

For operational units, JMC strives to provide the right munitions in the right place and at the right time. To do that, we need unit leaders to predict as accurately as possible the unit's munitions training needs and schedules, in conjunction with any imposed lockout periods.

In most units, the Battalion S3 training office would coordinate unit training. Prior planning and coordination of ranges and ammunition requirements facilitate accurate forecasting of munitions requirements.

Accurate forecasting of munitions needs enables JMC to ensure the unit's ammunition needs are met, ensuring successful training and enabling unit readiness.

Inaccurate munitions forecasts can cause an inefficient distribution of ammunition. Because we distribute munitions worldwide, inefficient distribution costs the Army both money and time, hampering readiness.

JMC is a subordinate to the Army Materiel Command whose overall mission "is to synchronize and integrate the total capabilities of the vast materiel enterprise in support of the Chief of Staff of the Army's priorities," said AMC Commander, Gen. Gus Perna. "The objectives behind those priorities are: provide materiel readiness, sustainable readiness, force projection, battlefield sustainment, Army-wide sustainment and materiel development."