The Joint Munitions Command offers vital Ordnance Specific Training, and some don’t know it exists.
They certainly should though, and that’s because it provides a great opportunity for Soldiers to enhance their skill sets prior to their deployment or before they manage an ammunition supply point. OST gives Soldiers a chance to train on key tasks critical to their missions, and they gain the confidence to succeed.
OST reduces a costly learning curve, meets Mission Essential Task Lists, supports the Army’s Total Force Policy, and follows the JMC’s vision, which is to provide lethality that wins. Unlike OST, other exercises do not offer the training versatility our Warfighters need to win on the battlefield, as no such instruction is done at mobilization stations.
During OST, individuals learn operations concepts with bulk quantity munitions, and ordnance soldiers from the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines — including each respective branches’ reserve units — who want to partake in OST can.
OST allows leadership to set a schedule for their unit which mirrors their deployed battle rhythm prior to arrival into Theater, and it ensures successful and technical competent Warriors. Those who have capitalized on what OST offers have a full understanding of munitions and logistics.
OST fills gaps, and you can tell which units have received training. They’ll integrate themselves into the operations a lot faster and a lot smoother, and they understand how inventories are going to work.
There are two levels of OST instruction. The first offers training in: munitions familiarity; field storage and handling; store, issue, and receive; inventory and accountability; materials handling equipment; compatibility; explosives safety; vehicle and container inspections; blocking, bracing, and tie-down.
Stock development and review, advanced demilitarization, nonstandard munitions, effects, rotary-wing and rail operations, advanced explosives safety, and electrical safety and high-energy retaining ordnance are some examples of the second phase of OST.
OST sessions are conducted at Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, Crane Army Ammunition Activity in Indiana, and Tooele Army Depot in Utah. Training at each installation is based on the Unit Commanders discretion of what METL tasks their respective units needs to complete, and official coordination with units and installations is through Jason R. Huffman, who is the total force integrator at JMC.
Past experiences have shown how vital it is for our Soldiers to participate in OST. The intent is for all to be Ready, Reliable, and Lethal — the JMC way — and I hope more active-duty Soldiers realize this opportunity is out there. Those in the Army National Guard and Army Reserves already do, and they’ve taken full advantage of it.
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