ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Providing munitions to warfighters across the globe is a team effort. To maintain its successful management of more than $59 billion of ammunition items for the U.S. armed forces, Joint Munitions Command and its subordinate arsenals, depots and ammo plants shared best practices with fellow leaders at the virtual AMC Commander’s Organic Industrial Base summit July 7-8.
Army Materiel Command, JMC’s higher headquarters and the four-star command that delivers all equipment, ammunition and resources to American troops, hosted the quarterly event for OIB site commanders, life-cycle management commanders and other stakeholders to participate in a dynamic, proactive interchange to discuss both current and anticipated needs of service members.
AMC senior leaders engaged directly with site commanders and emphasized the OIB sites’ importance to Soldier readiness.
“As we look at strategic readiness, what comes front and center is the Organic Industrial Base,” Gen. Ed Daly, AMC’s commanding general and the U.S. Army’s senior sustainer, said to the participants. “You are foundational and pivotal to that. I want to have this dialogue and discussion. How can we help you with OIB modernization efforts?”
Commanders from across AMC and the OIB discussed the current status of their organizations and how each command is modernizing to better serve the 21st-century warfighter.
Brig. Gen. Gavin Gardner, JMC commander, discussed the JMC enterprise’s overarching transformation plan and its coordination with its 14 subordinate organizations.
“JMC identified core mission competencies, strategic initiatives and desired time lines and end states across the enterprise as a whole,” Gardner said. “Our installations are developing their own individual modernization strategies based on each organization’s core competencies and circumstances.”
Col. Stephen Dondero, commander of JMC subordinate Crane Army Ammunition Activity, discussed the depot’s infrastructure improvements for key operations.
“We’re prioritizing upgrading the facilities for our validated capabilities,” Dondero said. “For pyrotechnics, CAAA provides infrared and visible illumination rounds and several others. In terms of countermeasures, we support 20-plus types of aircraft across three different services. That’s our bread and butter and why we prioritize those so highly.”
The focus on modernization is part of a greater Army-wide push to prepare for the conflicts of tomorrow by updating methodologies, workforce and infrastructure for future needs. Many organizations in the OIB, including CAAA, still operate in World War II-era buildings. JMC’s transformation strategy addresses these issues as the enterprise remains focused on producing, distributing, storing and demilitarizing conventional munitions for the American warfighter.
Social Sharing