Tuesday January 14, 2014
What is it?
Operation Ammunition Clean Sweep (OACS) provides Army Materiel Command’s Responsible Reset Task Force an opportunity to improve accountability of outside contiguous United States (OCONUS) munitions while supporting combat readiness and explosives safety, improving munitions management and reducing excess stock.
What has the Army done?
As of late Dec. 2013, the OACS has visited 211 sites, assessed 487 units and inspected a total of 78,396 ammunition lots.
When initiated in 2011, OACS was created to enhance the explosives safety footprint across the battlespace by assigning QASAS to remote forward areas in theater. The results included inspection of 57 sites, classification of on-hand munitions and subsequently, inventory of munitions for better visibility of stocks.
Today’s OACS teams are intricately linked to reset operations to: cross-level theater stocks, facilitate safe demilitarization, and identify legacy ammunition that will no longer be present on official record. OACS findings help reduce the need for ammunition preparation at CONUS depots.
What continued efforts does the Army have planned for the future?
Maintaining its original intent, OACS teams will assist in preparing ammunition for the backhaul to major hubs or local demilitarization as U.S. forces depart Afghanistan. While the current iteration of OACS continues, the next scheduled event will take place in mid-2014.
Why is this important to the Army?
OACS’s mission of classifying stocks, establishing inventory of remaining munitions and properly tagging unserviceable munitions helps the Army streamline the reset process. All of which facilitate a timely and orderly theater departure.
While cost savings are realized during the operation through various means; ultimately, protecting Soldiers fulfills the mission of OACS.
Resources:
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