The first “modern” field gun was developed by the French and was used in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War.
Without ammunition, it wouldn’t have been usable.
Throughout history, having the right ammo that is effective in the right place and at the right time has been essential.
In 1941, 84 parcels of farmland across the nation were transformed into the U.S. Army’s ammunition Organic Industrial Base. These facilities were constructed to meet the urgent demands of World War II.
The ammunition bases have made remarkable advances throughout time with continued modernization, but today, only 14 of these facilities remain active. These installations continue to transform and improve performance on battlefields worldwide.
On December 30th, 2002, the organizational structure for ammunition management was reformed and the Joint Munitions Command was established. This change prioritized resources for ammunition and refocused efforts on posturing the industrial base for the future.
JMC is nested and aligned with the National Defense Strategy, Army, and Army Material Command’s priorities and objectives.
JMC and its subordinate arsenals, depots and ammunition plants produce, store, distribute and demilitarize conventional munitions for the U.S. Department of Defense. The enterprise is accountable for $65.2 billion of munitions and missiles.
JMC provides the conventional ammunition life-cycle functions of logistics sustainment, readiness and acquisition support for all U.S. military services, other government agencies, and allied nations as directed.
JMC is also the logistics integrator for life-cycle management of ammunition and provides a global presence of technical support to frontline units.
During a recent meeting with leadership, Col. Landis Maddox, JMC’s commander, stated, “We need your help to articulate the importance of JMC.”
Members of every DoD service, communities surrounding JMC installations, Members of Congress, members of federal, state, and local governments, and the taxpayers need to understand the value JMC brings to fighting and winning wars and deterring aggression.
Like its counterparts, JMC is reforming to meet the needs of the future Warfighter and is doing so through JMC 2030.
JMC 2030 is a futuristic and progressive approach to set munitions preparedness on a strategic and sustainable path, and it sets the course of the command moving forward.
“We are going to use data to operationalize and drive decisions at the point of relevance,” Maddox said. “Data should improve our reaction time.”
The JMC 2030 priorities include becoming the premier organization in how the command:
· recruits, develops, employs, and retains employees,
· holistically operationalizing the Organic Industrial Base modernization effort to enable munitions readiness, and
· solidifying JMC as the recognized experts for logistics and munitions.
Some of the key tenets of the JMC 2030 concept include integrating innovative workplace practices with modern technology to increase productivity and effectiveness. JMC will embed data and analytics into its operational culture to defend decisions with rigor.
To close capability gaps and achieve success, the command must sustain what it has already achieved while simultaneously transforming into a data-driven culture.
“When it comes to fighting and winning it comes down to who has the right information at the right time,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Petra Casarez, who is the JMC’s CSM.
JMC is building upon 80 years of ammunition industrial base strength, dependability, and experience. As we move into the future, JMC’s employees will continue to provide the lethality needed for the Joint Warfighter to deploy, fight, and win against any adversary, anytime, and anywhere.
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