LETTERKENNY, Pa. - In support of the U.S. Army Materiel Command's Strategic Readiness priority, Letterkenny Munitions Center worked with Headquarters Joint Munitions Command to execute a multi-phased approach to return unserviceable ammo for use to the Warfighter and provide cost savings to the Army.

Joint Munitions Command's mission is to provide the Joint Force with ready, reliable, and lethal munitions at the speed of war sustaining global readiness. Munitions readiness is why JMC exists.

JMC and LEMC successfully identified cost-saving opportunities by reclassifying non-serviceable ammunition to serviceable status with minimal expense and effort.

The cost-saving effort began when JMC headquarters inventory managers searched unserviceable quantities and asked quality assurance staff to investigate and determine what could be done to bring these ammo assets back to serviceable status. Upon inspecting rounds, LEMC QA identified that a majority of the mortars returned from the field were factory sealed. JMC QA staff developed a multi-phase approach to regain inventory with minimal cost.

"Other ammo installations should be able to do the same inspection and return other assets to serviceable if the condition of the ammo allows it," said Chris Heggen, mortar team lead, JMC quality directorate.

During phase one of the project, LEMC staff segregated factory-sealed 120mm mortars from previously unserviceable stocks, resulting in a cost savings of $575,000. This pulled 576 rounds classified as Condition Code-F back to serviceable condition. The final phase will involve 100 percent inspection of non-factory sealed containers.

With the new multi-phased approach, LEMC continues to return additional rounds to serviceable status by separating factory-sealed versus non-factory sealed containers currently co-located on pallets together. It is anticipated that 950 mortars will be mined out of unserviceable status providing a total cost savings of $900,000 for the entire project. This effort will ensure ammunition readiness to sustain the Joint Force and deliver lethality that wins!