Defense Articles

PYONGYANG - North Korea’s No. 2 leader said Wednesday that whether the country will carry out further nuclear tests following one earlier in the week would depend on how the United States treats the country.

In a meeting with Kyodo News, Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, said North Korea also considers U.S. policy toward the country the main factor for determining whether to return to the stalled six-party talks on its nuclear programs.

———- 83% happy with Abe’s China trip, opposition to Yasukuni visits rises

TOKYO - An opinion poll by Kyodo News has found that 83.2 percent of respondents hold a favorable view of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent trip to China and South Korea, while the total of those opposing a prime ministerial visit to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine has risen to 56.6 percent, up 5.3 percentage points from immediately after the launch of the Abe administration in late September.

The telephone survey, conducted Tuesday and Wednesday on 1,035 randomly selected people, showed support for Abe’s Cabinet stood at 62.7 percent, down from 65 percent in the previous survey on Sept. 26-27. Disapproval moved up to 19.5 percent from 16.2 percent.

———- U.S. forces unload missiles for Patriot interceptors in Okinawa
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NAHA, Japan - U.S. forces on Wednesday unloaded cargo believed to contain missiles for a U.S.-led missile defense system from a freighter that arrived in Okinawa on Monday and started transferring it to the U.S. Air Force’s Kadena Ammunition Storage Area in the same prefecture.

U.S. soldiers and other workers were able to unload the cargo after the local police cleared the route that civic groups were blocking in protest at the deployment of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor system.

———- Japan on alert, decides on additional sanctions against N. Korea

TOKYO - Japan decided Wednesday to slap additional economic sanctions on North Korea, including a total ban on North Korean ships’ entry into Japanese ports, with the nation remaining on high alert over speculation that Pyongyang may conduct a second nuclear test.

The measures, also including limiting imports from North Korea, were worked out in a meeting of Cabinet ministers concerned and are to be made formal through a meeting of the Security Council of Japan later Wednesday and a full Cabinet meeting on Friday, government sources said.

———- Chinese Communist Party meeting ends stressing social harmony

BEIJING - An important meeting of the Chinese Communist Party concluded in Beijing on Wednesday with Chinese President Hu Jintao highlighting social harmony, state media reported.

Hu, who is also the party’s general secretary, said while economic development was the key task, the country should put more emphasis on issues such as narrowing the wealth gap and creating more jobs.

———- Police says more terror attacks in S. Philippines

MANILA - Big cities and densely populated areas in the southern Philippines braced Wednesday for more terror attacks after a series of bomb explosions believed to be handiwork of al-Qaida-linked militants rocked the region, killing at least six people and wounding 29 others, police said.

Police and military in the jittery southern region of Mindanao Island, home to a decades-old Muslim insurgency, have been placed in full-alert as several towns will hold various festivities expected to attract huge crowds in the next few days, security officials said.

———- Japan says no radioactive material found in air

TOKYO - Midair dust collected by Japanese Self-Defense Forces aircraft following North Korea’s claimed underground nuclear test Monday contained no radioactive materials, a government liaison conference dealing with radioactive issues said Wednesday.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said seismic activities monitored in northeastern North Korea on Monday bore many differences to a natural earthquake that occurred in the country four years ago.

———- H.K. chief shifts governance focus away from politics

HONG KONG - Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Donald Tsang on Wednesday delivered to the Legislative Council his second governance blueprint, which focuses on economic development, family welfare, education and pollution without much emphasis on development of democracy in the territory.

Tsang pledged funding to support preschool education, to assist in goods design and to support elite athletes, as well as financial initiatives for car owners to replace their old, polluting vehicles and car registration tax rebates for environmentally friendly models.

———- Sri Lanka gov’t, Tamil Tigers to talk peace in late Oct.

COLOMBO - Norway announced Wednesday that the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers have agreed to meet in Switzerland from Oct. 28 to 29 and asked Oslo to make the ”necessary arrangements.”

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Insurgents hit an ammunition dump on a U.S. base with a mortar round, setting off fiery explosions through the night that shook buildings miles away, while renewed attacks Wednesday killed at least 14 people.

The corpses of seven people were turned in to the morgue in the southern city of Kut, including at least three apparent victims of sectarian death squads who were fished out of the Tigris River in Suwayrah, 25 miles south of Baghdad. They were shot, and had their hands bound.

The United Nations’ top humanitarian official said some 100 people are being killed in Iraq every day with sectarian and revenge attacks by militias and death squads going unchecked.

“Many of those are killed by gunshots or have been tortured to death,” Jan Egeland said in Geneva. “Revenge killing seems to be totally out of control.”

Among the 14 overall dead in attacks, five people were killed in three separate car bombings in Baghdad, while gunmen also shot and killed a policeman in the capital. Another policeman was shot and killed in the northern city of Kirkuk, while a civilian died in a roadside bombing on a highway in the north.

The director of Salahuddin province’s electricity department was kidnapped as he drove from Tikrit to Baghdad for meetings, provincial police said. Although his driver was later released, the official’s whereabouts remained unknown.

Government offices and schools were nearly entirely empty in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, with people staying away after leaflets signed by a previously unknown insurgent group warned of retaliatory attacks on government offices if a local army commander was not relieved of duty.

The group, Mujahdeen of Diyala, claimed the commander was responsible for attacks on Sunni Arabs in the province. The leaflets, dated Oct. 6, gave Wednesday as the deadline for his removal.

“These are the so-called representatives of the people, they do nothing … while the sons of Iraq are murdered,” the pamphlet said.

Abu Khalid, who works in the Baquoba municipal offices, said he stayed home out of fear.

“The situation is dangerous and the insurgent’s statement looks serious,” he said. “We cannot risk our lives.”

The Islamic Army in Iraq, a nationalist anti-occupation insurgent group, claimed responsibility for the Tuesday night attack on the U.S. Forward Operating Base Falcon in southern Baghdad near the Dora neighborhood that caused stockpiles of tank and artillery shells to explode through the night in spectacular bursts of flame and sparks.

“With the help of God, the mortar and rocket squads of the Islamic Army have shelled a U.S. Army base with two rockets and three mortar shells,” the group said in a statement posted on a Web site known to be used by insurgents. “The rockets and shells fell on ammunition dumps causing them to explode. Sounds of explosions were heard in Baghdad.”

The authenticity of the statement could not be immediately verified, but the U.S. military did confirm that the base’s ammunition depot had been hit Tuesday night by an 82mm mortar round fired by insurgents from a nearby residential area.

Personnel were put on full alert and soldiers and base employees were moved to bomb shelters, said base spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington. There were no injuries reported, and he said the attack had no strategic effect.

“The attack does not affect ongoing Baghdad security operations in the focus areas, and the loss of ammunition will not degrade the operational capability of the” U.S. forces in Baghdad, he said. “The base’s essential services were not disrupted.”

Explosions from detonating tank and artillery ordnance and small- arms ammunition stored at the site went off for hours after the fire erupted. Helicopters were seen in the night sky flying over the area.

The explosions on the base damaged nearby homes, but there were no casualties in the neighborhood, police Capt. Furat Gaiti said.

“The windows of my house plus three neighboring houses were smashed out from the heavy explosions,” said neighborhood resident Sabir Hassan, a 50-year-old teacher. “At first we thought the insurgents were shelling us with mortars and we rushed outside our houses.”

The mortar round set fire to an ammunition holding area, where material is kept temporarily before distribution to the units at Falcon, Withington said. He said more than three battalions were stationed there at the time of the attack but he would not give a specific number of troops.

Firefighters and hazardous material experts continued Wednesday to put out the blaze, while engineers and explosive ordinance specialists were to begin the clearance of unexploded ordinance, Withington said.

Falcon is located in a former commercial trucking depot in a sprawling industrial area at the southern entrance of Baghdad. It is near the violence-torn district of Dora, where U.S. troops have been focusing in a two-month-old sweep of the capital neighborhood-by- neighborhood aimed at rooting out militants and weapons.

The sound of a cement mixer breaks the silence in the darkness on a lone Iraqi road near the city of Fallujah. Marine combat engineers are working in what is known as a “blackout” condition–no light other than the moon and the occasional glimmer of a flashlight. It’s early morning, and the Iraqi sun will soon be rising.

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This is the time of day when many Americans get up for work, but the combat engineers have already put in an 8-hour day. The Marines of Charlie Company, commonly referred to as “Hell-Bent Charlie,” of Combat Logistics Battalion 5, are hard at work repairing the roads that intersect the city and countryside of Fallujah.

Repairing Iraqi streets isn’t quite like repaving a road in the United States. Instead of fluorescent orange vests and hard hats, Marine combat engineers carry rifles with optic sights and wear combat gear consisting of a protective vest, helmet, and ammunition–for a combined weight of more than 50 pounds. These roads, which are traveled by Iraqi citizens along with coalition and Iraqi security forces, are constantly damaged by roadside bomb attacks, and fixing them is crucial to the movement of supplies and troops in the area. In addition, the work is helping to rebuild the Iraqi infrastructure.

The night repair mission begins right after dusk with a quick meeting to discuss the mission and the latest intelligence findings. Last-minute gear checks are conducted before leaving the security of Camp Fallujah. Charlie Company goes straight to work, quickly filling two holes as soon as it leaves the confines of the camp.

Soon the company encounters the very threat it is trying to fight–an improvised explosive device (IED). Security is set up, and the explosive ordnance disposal team is called. The potentially deadly device is neutralized in minutes, and the Marine road workers press on. These roadside bombs are a favored weapon used by the enemy to wreak havoc on coalition forces. The threat of IEDs is one of the main reasons these Marines are on the road. The roads, which have fallen into disrepair over the years, are a favorite place for insurgents to place IEDs.

Various teams within the company have specific jobs and responsibilities. The teams may be tasked to provide security, survey a crater to make sure it is safe to repair, or conduct the actual repair. For the craters to be repaved efficiently, these teams must work together while performing their individual tasks. The Marines have to work fast to avoid being a target of insurgents and still perform their job with precision. Many of these missions have been subject to deadly sniper and mortar attacks.

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Surveying is the first step to repairing a road. Many factors must be calculated to properly repair a crater–size of the hole, depth of the hole, and time needed on-site. For a crater to be filled properly, dirt is molded into a foundation and then cement is poured in. After smoothing off the top of the quick-drying road patch, Charlie Company searches for the next area in need of repair.

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Working with hundreds of pounds of concrete mix and dirt, in temperatures well above 100 degrees during the day, is a physically demanding job for these Marine combat engineers. But the results of their efforts are evident every time a convoy travels a road that has been made safer by their work.

Corporal Holt was temporarily assigned to Camp Taqaddum, Iraq, as a combat correspondent. His duty station is Camp Pendleton, California.

The following article describes one of several possible scenarios for the design and operation of the future combat systems (FCS) for the Objective Force. The technologies described in this article are still under development and have not been tested on an FCS prototype. In FY03, the Army will make the decision as to the design of the FCS, including the type and calibers of the weapon systems and which technologies to incorporate. Ed.

In 1999, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, (DARPA), Arlington, Virginia, in conjunction with the US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) with its headquarters at Fort Monroe, Virginia, initiated the FCS Program for the Objective Force. This program will leverage advanced technologies in platforms, sensors, communications, lethality and unmanned systems, including robotic ground vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The FCS force has specific goals for strategic deployability, lethality and sustainability. For example, the FCS unit of action (brigade-sized) has a deployment goal of weighing only 25 percent of today’s heavy brigade. Additionally, this force must be more lethal, emphasize standoff precision engagement and be capable of closing with and destroying the enemy. FCS must be effective across the spectrum of conflict, including stability and support operations (SASO), and operate in all environments, including urban.

About this same time, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology approved an Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) to be run by the Tank-Automotive and Armament Command-Army Research, Development and Engineering Center (TACOM-ARDEC) at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. The ATD is designated the Multi-Role Armament and Ammunition System (MRAAS), the subject of this article, and includes developing an integrated direct and indirect firing capability on a common chassis.

MRAAS will be mounted on an FCS chassis to produce an advanced strike system to perform multiple functions on the battlefield of 100-by-100 kilometers. TRADOC provided initial guidance for MRAAS to be capable of providing lethality overmatch in the direct fire mission and full-spectrum lethality in both the red zone and shaping zone fights. (The red zone is the FCS-based force’s standoff engagement area approximately 12 kilometers away from the enemy.)

TACOM-ARDEC began working with DARPA, TRADOC and industry to develop a high-technology armament system that will serve as one of the key FCS strike platforms and underpin the Objective Force’s ability to dominate maneuver and fires throughout the battlespace.

Operational Concept. Developing an operational concept facilitated understanding the multi-role tactical requirements of the MRAAS system. The concept exploration scenario was one in which a joint task force (JTF) commander requested an FCS force for a rapid deployment mission. The force included MRAAS and other platforms consistent with emerging FCS concepts.

The scenario investigated the actions of a notional decisive operations unit (DOU) consisting of MRAASs, reconnaissance and surveillance (R&S) platforms, infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and responsive accurate munitions modules (RAMM). RAMM is another TACOM-ARDEC science and technology objective investigating a fully robotic indirect fire module that shoots conventional and special purpose 120-mm mortar munitions out to 15 kilometers.

In this operational concept, systems were inserted by parachute or immediate follow-on air transport landing on unimproved combat runways at a distance of about 75 kilometers from the threat force. The threat provided a robust baseline of battlefield targets, including tanks, light armored vehicles, cannons, rockets, missiles, trucks, helicopters, mortars and soldiers in the open and in fortified fighting positions.

Immediately after landing, the DOU dispersed. Due to limited airlift, the force did not bring UAVs. Instead, a RAMM launched a limited-dwell UAV, called QuickLook, that flew to the threat area and provided a live feed for targeting purposes.

MRAAS oriented and commenced standoff engagements at ranges out to 50 kilometers. Each FCS system had a predetermined mixture of munitions that was weighted toward attacking the threat through long-range standoff fires while maintaining an air defense and direct fire capability.

MRAAS steadily moved toward the enemy, continuing to destroy enemy targets. Based on his systems’ ammunition expenditure and movement rates, the DOU commander requested precision airdrop resupply between his force and the threat; MRAAS systems independently moved to dispersed pallets and resupplied.

The fight had unfolded rapidly, and MRAAS guns needed a quick ammo resupply. Resupplying ammunition at this point allowed systems to tailor the load for the last 25 kilometers of the fight when beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) and direct fire engagements would prevail, but long-range engagements also might be needed. As a three-gun MRAAS platoon resupplied, the other platoon continued to rain lethal fires on the threat.

In the archives at the US Army Chemical School, we have located documents and photographs detailing the extraordinary service of the men in the 86th Chemical Mortar Battalion during World War II. The history of the 86th deserves recognition. The commander of the 86th, Lieutenant Colonel Wesley B. Hamilton, said that “the history of this battalion contains many deeds of valor on the part of individual members of this organization, yet standing high is the record of the entire battalion of 672 officers and men, together with all former members and reinforcements, who have performed all duties and tasks as a ‘team’ in an unsurpassed manner.”

Originally, the 86th was designated to fire chemical shells, but Allied and Axis forces in World War II observed policies against the first use of chemical weapons, so the battalion served in their secondary role–providing conventional indirect fire support to front line infantry troops. The 86th Chemical Mortar Battalion used its 4.2-inch mortars to deliver white phosphorous (WP) shells (for smoke screening and casualty effect) and high-explosive (HE) shells.

In May of 1943, the 86th Chemical Mortar Battalion (Motorized) consisted of cadre from the 1st Separate Chemical Company at Camp Swift, Texas. (1) The basic training program consisted of short, intense, and rigorous missions to prepare the battalion for close support to infantry forces (conditions that the unit would face during combat operations).

Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton, the 86th departed Camp Swift, Texas, on 11 April 1944. Traveling by rail and ship, the battalion made stops in Greenock, Scotland; Port Sunlight, England; and Stonehenge, England, before arriving in France on 29 June. Bravo Company ran into trouble en route when their ship either struck a mine or was torpedoed. Company commander, Captain Edward M. Overbeck, and his men immediately went into action to save Soldiers from the sinking ship. The explosion on the ship tore apart loose hatches and dumped Soldiers below deck. This was extremely dangerous because the lower level held many motor vehicles, some loaded with HEs. The ship was rapidly filling with water and oil. Captain Overbeck immediately took control of all other units on deck. Disregarding his own personal safety, he went to the lower level and instructed the safe removal of more than 50 wounded personnel and ensured that every man was safely aboard the landing ship, tank (LST) that came to the rescue. Bravo Company went back to England to reorganize, while the rest of the battalion continued on to France to participate in missions leading up to D-Day. Captain Overbeck and several of his men received Bronze Stars for their actions, bravery, and heroism.

The battalion’s first mission was to provide combat support to the 8th Corps. During this time, the battalion fired more than 11,500 rounds of mortar ammunition for close support of five divisions. Although they were created for combat support, chemical mortar battalions often found themselves in other supporting roles. The experience of Alpha Company on 6 and 7 July of 1944 is a great example. On D+25, Alpha Company docked in the man-made harbor of Beachhead Utah, surrounded by the floating hulks of other ships that never made it to the shore. The company was attached to the 90th Infantry Division in support of the 358th and 359th Regiments.

The 90th began its attack in the early morning of 3 July. All through the day, the mortar crews of Alpha Company persisted in the battle and created an opening for the infantry troops. The 86th fired seven smoke screens while the 90th was forcing a bridgehead across the Seves River. An eyewitness at the scene reported that “machine guns and rifles were blasting all over the place, and you couldn’t begin to count the dead….” But the best gauge for measuring the accuracy of the mortar fire was the speed of the advance of the 90th–a half mile in a half hour. Later, many captured Germans wanted to see this “automatic artillery” that was so deadly in its speed and accuracy. Two infantry division commanders later recommended Alpha Company for commendation for its superior battle performance and devotion to duty during the counter-offensive.

The battalion went on to Northern France and contributed immensely to the captures of Saint Malo, Dinard, and Cap Frehal in August of 1944. The battle plan called for the mortar companies to fire WP on the fort at Saint Malo. On 16 August, Charlie Company fired hundreds of WP rounds on the citadel. A communications wire that ran from the fort to the outside was cut with the assistance of the 86th. A day later, the enemy capitulated. In his surrender, the German commander, Colonel Andreas von Aulock, cited the WP barrage as his reason. Two officers and two enlisted men from the battalion were among a group of American officials who accepted the surrender of Colonel von Aulock at the citadel at Saint Malo.

During the period of 24 August to 19 September 1944, the extremely high volume of accurate, close support fire provided by the 86th played a huge part in the fall of Brest and the capture of the Crozon peninsula. It was there that the German prisoners of war nicknamed the WP shell Whispering Death, because it could not be heard in flight. The assault on Brest began on 15 September, and the city surrendered the following day. Personnel from the 2d Infantry Division cited the effectiveness and accuracy of the 4.2-inch mortar in street fighting situations. Personnel from the 86th were able to fire the mortar over tall buildings and provide support to within 100 yards of the front lines.

In the past, the 120mm heavy mortar platoon’s key focus was no different than that of a light mortar platoon. The focus of their training was oriented on how fast they could deploy and fire accurately. Although this is still a critical mission-essential task, a heavy mortar platoon brings a key element to the fight that forces them to expand their training focus.

The M1064 (mortar carrier variant of the M113 chassis) makes the heavy mortar platoon an armored maneuver element, which opens the platoon to new missions far from its traditional role. Convoy escort, cordon and search operations, and raids are all missions that a heavy unit must be able to accomplish. The current gunnery training in a heavy battalion, or combined arms battalion (CAB), only tests the platoons in its traditional role. The training needs of the platoon have expanded. To best prepare soldiers for combat, they must be exposed to the types of missions they will be conducting.

Just prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the 120mm mortar platoons reorganized from six M1064 mortar carriers and two M577 fire direction centers (FDC) to four M1064 and one FDC. It was decided that four mortars could still effectively support a maneuver battalion, which would create more platoons with fewer mortar vehicles.

Losing one FDC and two mortar vehicles prevents a platoon from effectively operating as separate sections, eliminates the redundancy of fire mission calculations, and reduces the battlespace that the platoon can effectively engage. Whereas a platoon could operate as two separate, three-mortar sections and cover a wide sector, it no longer has this capability due to the loss of one mortar vehicle per section and one FDC. This reduces the linear coverage of the platoon from 900m (75m burst radius per gun) to 600m with a four mortar vehicle platoon. To compensate, often the platoon leader’s M998 becomes a secondary FDC. This only works if it is a cargo back, and even then, it does not have all the utilities of an M577.

After the initial advance into Iraq, mortar firing was severely reduced due to the urban environment, a different battlefield requiting a different skill focus. Iraq is more of an environment for heavy mortar platoons because they bring flexibility to the fight. A 120mm mortar platoon is capable of firing both 81 mm and 120mm ammunition, but more importantly, it brings an armored vehicle to the fight.

Mortar platoons need to shift focus from purely effective mortar firing to survivability. A mortar is useless if the crew cannot get to the battle safely. A simple solution is to apply tank direct fire concepts to the mortar platoon. Any senior mortarman will probably tell you that prior to deployment, he never fired an M2 .50-caliber from a moving M1064. Contact drills and maneuvering in contact are not normal situations for a mortar platoon. The modern battlefield forces the mortar crew to be an active part of the fight. Mortar crewmembers must know how to orient on the move and what to do if they make contact. This is easily trained once they understand that regardless of what occurs out of sector, mortarmen must maintain their sector of fire. Squad leaders must now think and talk to their fellow vehicles, much like a tank commander–they must learn to maneuver.

Maneuvering begins at a basic level that teaches squad leaders and drivers direct fire control. The focus is communication between the crews. Crewmembers have to be taught skills, such as shooting on the move, bounding, and supporting the maneuver of other vehicles. When this concept was introduced to my mortar platoon, it took a few attempts before they grasped the idea. This was something entirely new from the vehicle perspective.

Our platoon first began training with a single vehicle, on the move, shooting multiple targets. The platoon was then placed on the range with another mortar carrier and they fought the range in sections no different from two tanks attacking the range. They quickly grasped the concepts of covering each other on the move and engaging targets in their wingman’s sector due to reloading or terrain.

The platoon practiced advancing and breaking contact as a section and squad leaders quickly learned they had more responsibilities than just their vehicle. Once the squad leaders mastered these tasks, we added the whole crew to the equation. Since a 360-degree live-fire range was not available, this training was conducted as a blank fire. During this segment of the training, the entire crew manned their sector on the vehicle and the section moved out as a unit. Contact would be made and the section sergeant would make the decision to advance through contact or break contact. The focus was to increase the gun crews’ situational awareness about the .50-caliber traversing to engage targets, as well as maintain their sectors of fire.

After two days of training, we added all-inclusive training segments that covered losing a vehicle, actions to establish a perimeter, recovering the crew and weapons, and evacuating wounded. This training made soldiers realize the depth of the new missions they would be conducting in Iraq and how critical it was to master these critical tasks prior to deployment.

Imagine working for a company with a merchandise inventory valued at $4.2 billion and nearly 1,500 employees working at 22 different locations around the world. Your company’s inventory consists of some 337 different major end items weighing a total of 210,510 tons and is stored at over 150 places worldwide, including stocks afloat on the oceans. Your company’s budget for the next 6 years for replacing the items your customers are anticipated to use is $2.1 billion. Your company must train 450 new employees a year to keep up with personnel turnover, and those employees must be trained to understand and comply with numerous, strict safety regulations imposed by the Federal Government. Finally, there are the customers–over 200,000 of them–whom your company supplies with items from its inventory. They are extremely demanding and unforgiving, and they will not tolerate late delivery or insufficient quantities of items, or items that malfunction or do not work as intended, or shipments that do not contain the items they ordered. Oh, by the way, your customers’ very lives depend on the received items working as advertised.

Welcome to the world of Marine Corps ground ammunition, referred to in the military supply vocabulary as “class V(W).” The management of the Corps’ ground ammunition program, headed by the Program Manager for Ammunition (PM-Ammo) at the Marine Corps Systems Command, is big business. However, managing the Corps’ ground ammunition is not simply a matter of keeping worldwide track of 337 major end items, each with its own Department of Defense Identification Code (DODIC). Many of these items include component items with separate national stock numbers (NSNs). There are literally thousands of NSNs to keep track of, not including the lot numbers assigned to batches of a specific NSN-designated item by its manufacturer. Items with the same lot number are assigned one of 15 condition codes by DOD, and those condition codes can change throughout the life cycle of those items. Items with the same lot number at the same storage location also can have different condition codes. For example, the portable Anti-Personnel Obstacle Breaching System (APOBS) is one of the 337 items managed by PM-Ammo. It incorporates components with different NSNs, including the motor, grenade, fuze, detonation cord, and packaging, and each of those components potentially can have different lot numbers and condition codes.

To improve the management of ground ammunitions and thus improve support to logisticians and operating forces in the field, the Marine Corps is developing several information systems that will increase the availability, timeliness, and accuracy of ammunition information.

Managing Ground Ammunition

The mission of PM-Ammo is to conduct limited research, development, and acquisition and execute lifecycle management support of all conventional ground ammunition Marine Forces require to train for, and successfully conduct, expeditionary maneuver warfare. PM-Ammo’s corporate headquarters is located at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, and includes the PM, Deputy PM, and three divisions: Inventory Management and Systems, Ammunition Programs and Budget, and Logistics (see the chart on page 12). PM-Ammo is also the sponsor of occupational field 23, Ammunition and Explosive Ordnance Disposal, for the Corps’ ammunition community, both officer (restricted only) and enlisted. [”Restricted” refers to warrant officers and limited-duty officers. “Unrestricted” refers to the rest of the officer community. All officers in the Marine Corps ammunition community are restricted.]

PM-Ammo is responsible for managing the following types of ground ammunition–

* Small arms.

* Medium caliber.

* Mortar.

* Artillery.

* Tank.

* Grenade and pyrotechnics.

* Demolition.

* Rockets and missiles.

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It does not, however, manage Navy-owned aviation ordnance used by Marine Corps aviation units; the Deputy Commandant for Aviation is responsible for those requirements.

Ammunition Knowledge Management Portal

A significant information technology (IT) enabler used to provide meaningful and timely information in the conduct of the Corps’ ammunition business is a comprehensive repository of ground ammunition data with its own Web site known as the Ammunition Knowledge Management Portal (KMP). Access to the KMP is controlled for security reasons.

The KMP includes data on the following ammunition-related subjects–

* Class V(W) ground ammunition assets.

* Life-cycle management.

* Marine Corps stockpile by age.

* Malfunction histories.

* Notice of Ammunition Reclassification (NAR) histories.

* Engineering change proposals.

* Lot manufacture dates.

* Current NARs.

* Muzzle velocity adjustments.

* “Preferred for training lots” ammunition (a classification of ammunition that should be used for training).

The KMP is an evolving service provided to the Marine Corps ammunition enterprise that is updated systematically to provide “added value” to the viewer. Resource links are regularly added to the alphabetized directory located on the KMP home page.

The integration and effectiveness of the light mortar is only as good as the ammunition plan, management, and resupply procedures. The amount of ammunition available is an important consideration in the attack of targets. When this is low, missions should be limited to those that contribute to mission accomplishment. When the controlled supply rate (CSR) is high, missions fired may include targets that require the massing of fires without adjustment. The CSR is designed to limit the number of rounds per weapon per day.

CSRs are imposed for two reasons–to conserve ammunition and to avoid a shortage for a tactical operation. During the fire support planning, ammunition requirements must be considered. Thus, it is very important for the mortar section leader to be present to recommend the types and amounts of ammunition that will be required. Combat experiences in World War II and Korea have shown that an on-hand mix of 70 percent HE, 20 percent WP or smoke, and 10 percent illumination ammunition is the most flexible. The basic load of a light infantry company should be approximately 245 HE, 60 WP, and 45 illumination, for a total of 350 rounds, which can be in any combination to best support the mission. The percentage of ammunition used by the unit should be modified by the commander on the basis of the mission. The expenditure of mortar ammunition must be based on the tactical priorities and ammunition availability.

How do we manage 60mm ammunition at company level (that is, How do we know what we have on the ground at any one time.)?

It is difficult for the commander to keep track of the availability of on-hand mortar ammunition. The primary responsibility should fall on that section sergeant and the FSO/FSNCO for knowing exactly how many rounds are currently carried by the company, where in the company, and what type of rounds. To make it easier for the commander to know what is on the ground, recommended ammunition breakout is as follows: 1st and 2nd squads carry HE pure (2 rounds per man = 36 HE per platoon), and 3rd squad carries illumination and WP (A Team illumination [8 rounds], B Team WP [8 rounds]. This amounts to a basic load of 60mm–not carded by the mortar section–as 108 round HE, 24 rounds illumination and WP. Using a very basic tracking card updated by the FSO/FSNCO, the commander can keep track of the availability of 60mm ammunition within the company and realistically plan future operations.

AMMUNITION RESUPPLY

Even as good as it sounds by doctrine, we know a light infantry company cannot carry a basic load of 350 rounds of mortar ammunition. Companies at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) routinely begin rotations with as few as 40 to 60 rounds of 60mm mortar ammunition and almost never get a resupply. When executing the defense, it is with a very small amount of ammunition. To keep the company resupplied with mortar rounds, the company executive officer (XO) and the first sergeant and mortar section sergeant must work together on a daily basis. They must forecast the appropriate number of rounds to be fired daily and make it a standard part of logistics. If the number resupplied is more than the number fired, the ammunition can be kept in the combat trains or carried in the company vehicle until needed. This allows the company to maintain its initial load of ammunition on the basis of the SOP or the current tactical mission. When defense sectors are identified, another basic load can be brought forward.

Although units generally manage to get mortar ammunition onto the battlefield, getting it to the mortar firing positions has been the problem. The fix to ammunition management and resupply must be obtained through a detailed company level control procedure (SOP) for the distribution, drop-off, and retrieval of mortar ammunition. Target suppression is a common task for the mortars. Field Manual (FM) 7-90, Tactical Employment of Mortars, recommends firing five rounds from each tube against a platoon-size enemy element, which should inflict 20 percent casualties. This means that the fire for effect (FFE) should never be less than 10 rounds and will often require much more. This is only one example for one mission. A 60mm mortar section can fire 350 rounds in approximately 9 to 10 minutes at a sustained rate of fire.

How do we get the ammunition to the mortar section?

* Line squads drop when called for ammunition: Using his quick reference card, the mortar section sergeant and the FSO/FSNCO can call for the squads or teams that carry the required ammunition to be dropped off at the mortar firing point location. This works well in the defense, as well as air assaults and airborne assaults as units require time to assemble and thus will have time to drop ammunition with the mortars. This can be chaotic if the landing plans are changed.

* Co-locate ruck drops with mortar firing point: The most success I saw at the JRTC was when in the attack, co-locating the company (or a platoon) ruck drop with the mortars. This allows the mortars direct access to the ammunition they might require. It works very well when mortars are supporting an attack from an established company tactical assembly area, where platoon ruck drops can be established. Thus, mortars have three mortar round caches, in effect. This allows them to shoot, then displace to the next ruck drop, which in most cases would be 150 to 250 meters away from the last firing point. This gives the mortars greater flexibility in supporting the attack. The driving constraint in this method is the maximum range of the 60mm mortar, especially if older, non-ballistically matched lots are issued, where WP and illumination have a maximum range of 950-1500 meters. This method can also succeed when the mortars are task organized under a platoon for security purposes, and establish a mortar firing position in the vicinity of that platoon’s objective release point (ORP).

Imagine working for a company with a merchandise inventory valued at $4.2 billion and nearly 1,500 employees working at 22 different locations around the world. Your company’s inventory consists of some 337 different major end items weighing a total of 210,510 tons and is stored at over 150 places worldwide, including stocks afloat on the oceans. Your company’s budget for the next 6 years for replacing the items your customers are anticipated to use is $2.1 billion. Your company must train 450 new employees a year to keep up with personnel turnover, and those employees must be trained to understand and comply with numerous, strict safety regulations imposed by the Federal Government. Finally, there are the customers–over 200,000 of them–whom your company supplies with items from its inventory. They are extremely demanding and unforgiving, and they will not tolerate late delivery or insufficient quantities of items, or items that malfunction or do not work as intended, or shipments that do not contain the items they ordered. Oh, by the way, your customers’ very lives depend on the received items working as advertised.

Welcome to the world of Marine Corps ground ammunition, referred to in the military supply vocabulary as “class V(W).” The management of the Corps’ ground ammunition program, headed by the Program Manager for Ammunition (PM-Ammo) at the Marine Corps Systems Command, is big business. However, managing the Corps’ ground ammunition is not simply a matter of keeping worldwide track of 337 major end items, each with its own Department of Defense Identification Code (DODIC). Many of these items include component items with separate national stock numbers (NSNs). There are literally thousands of NSNs to keep track of, not including the lot numbers assigned to batches of a specific NSN-designated item by its manufacturer. Items with the same lot number are assigned one of 15 condition codes by DOD, and those condition codes can change throughout the life cycle of those items. Items with the same lot number at the same storage location also can have different condition codes. For example, the portable Anti-Personnel Obstacle Breaching System (APOBS) is one of the 337 items managed by PM-Ammo. It incorporates components with different NSNs, including the motor, grenade, fuze, detonation cord, and packaging, and each of those components potentially can have different lot numbers and condition codes.

To improve the management of ground ammunitions and thus improve support to logisticians and operating forces in the field, the Marine Corps is developing several information systems that will increase the availability, timeliness, and accuracy of ammunition information.

Managing Ground Ammunition

The mission of PM-Ammo is to conduct limited research, development, and acquisition and execute lifecycle management support of all conventional ground ammunition Marine Forces require to train for, and successfully conduct, expeditionary maneuver warfare. PM-Ammo’s corporate headquarters is located at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, and includes the PM, Deputy PM, and three divisions: Inventory Management and Systems, Ammunition Programs and Budget, and Logistics (see the chart on page 12). PM-Ammo is also the sponsor of occupational field 23, Ammunition and Explosive Ordnance Disposal, for the Corps’ ammunition community, both officer (restricted only) and enlisted. [”Restricted” refers to warrant officers and limited-duty officers. “Unrestricted” refers to the rest of the officer community. All officers in the Marine Corps ammunition community are restricted.]

PM-Ammo is responsible for managing the following types of ground ammunition–

* Small arms.

* Medium caliber.

* Mortar.

* Artillery.

* Tank.

* Grenade and pyrotechnics.

* Demolition.

* Rockets and missiles.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

It does not, however, manage Navy-owned aviation ordnance used by Marine Corps aviation units; the Deputy Commandant for Aviation is responsible for those requirements.

Ammunition Knowledge Management Portal

A significant information technology (IT) enabler used to provide meaningful and timely information in the conduct of the Corps’ ammunition business is a comprehensive repository of ground ammunition data with its own Web site known as the Ammunition Knowledge Management Portal (KMP). Access to the KMP is controlled for security reasons.

The KMP includes data on the following ammunition-related subjects–

* Class V(W) ground ammunition assets.

* Life-cycle management.

* Marine Corps stockpile by age.

* Malfunction histories.

* Notice of Ammunition Reclassification (NAR) histories.

* Engineering change proposals.

* Lot manufacture dates.

* Current NARs.

* Muzzle velocity adjustments.

* “Preferred for training lots” ammunition (a classification of ammunition that should be used for training).

The KMP is an evolving service provided to the Marine Corps ammunition enterprise that is updated systematically to provide “added value” to the viewer. Resource links are regularly added to the alphabetized directory located on the KMP home page.

The integration and effectiveness of the light mortar is only as good as the ammunition plan, management, and resupply procedures. The amount of ammunition available is an important consideration in the attack of targets. When this is low, missions should be limited to those that contribute to mission accomplishment. When the controlled supply rate (CSR) is high, missions fired may include targets that require the massing of fires without adjustment. The CSR is designed to limit the number of rounds per weapon per day.

CSRs are imposed for two reasons–to conserve ammunition and to avoid a shortage for a tactical operation. During the fire support planning, ammunition requirements must be considered. Thus, it is very important for the mortar section leader to be present to recommend the types and amounts of ammunition that will be required. Combat experiences in World War II and Korea have shown that an on-hand mix of 70 percent HE, 20 percent WP or smoke, and 10 percent illumination ammunition is the most flexible. The basic load of a light infantry company should be approximately 245 HE, 60 WP, and 45 illumination, for a total of 350 rounds, which can be in any combination to best support the mission. The percentage of ammunition used by the unit should be modified by the commander on the basis of the mission. The expenditure of mortar ammunition must be based on the tactical priorities and ammunition availability.

How do we manage 60mm ammunition at company level (that is, How do we know what we have on the ground at any one time.)?

It is difficult for the commander to keep track of the availability of on-hand mortar ammunition. The primary responsibility should fall on that section sergeant and the FSO/FSNCO for knowing exactly how many rounds are currently carried by the company, where in the company, and what type of rounds. To make it easier for the commander to know what is on the ground, recommended ammunition breakout is as follows: 1st and 2nd squads carry HE pure (2 rounds per man = 36 HE per platoon), and 3rd squad carries illumination and WP (A Team illumination [8 rounds], B Team WP [8 rounds]. This amounts to a basic load of 60mm–not carded by the mortar section–as 108 round HE, 24 rounds illumination and WP. Using a very basic tracking card updated by the FSO/FSNCO, the commander can keep track of the availability of 60mm ammunition within the company and realistically plan future operations.

AMMUNITION RESUPPLY

Even as good as it sounds by doctrine, we know a light infantry company cannot carry a basic load of 350 rounds of mortar ammunition. Companies at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) routinely begin rotations with as few as 40 to 60 rounds of 60mm mortar ammunition and almost never get a resupply. When executing the defense, it is with a very small amount of ammunition. To keep the company resupplied with mortar rounds, the company executive officer (XO) and the first sergeant and mortar section sergeant must work together on a daily basis. They must forecast the appropriate number of rounds to be fired daily and make it a standard part of logistics. If the number resupplied is more than the number fired, the ammunition can be kept in the combat trains or carried in the company vehicle until needed. This allows the company to maintain its initial load of ammunition on the basis of the SOP or the current tactical mission. When defense sectors are identified, another basic load can be brought forward.

Although units generally manage to get mortar ammunition onto the battlefield, getting it to the mortar firing positions has been the problem. The fix to ammunition management and resupply must be obtained through a detailed company level control procedure (SOP) for the distribution, drop-off, and retrieval of mortar ammunition. Target suppression is a common task for the mortars. Field Manual (FM) 7-90, Tactical Employment of Mortars, recommends firing five rounds from each tube against a platoon-size enemy element, which should inflict 20 percent casualties. This means that the fire for effect (FFE) should never be less than 10 rounds and will often require much more. This is only one example for one mission. A 60mm mortar section can fire 350 rounds in approximately 9 to 10 minutes at a sustained rate of fire.

How do we get the ammunition to the mortar section?

* Line squads drop when called for ammunition: Using his quick reference card, the mortar section sergeant and the FSO/FSNCO can call for the squads or teams that carry the required ammunition to be dropped off at the mortar firing point location. This works well in the defense, as well as air assaults and airborne assaults as units require time to assemble and thus will have time to drop ammunition with the mortars. This can be chaotic if the landing plans are changed.

* Co-locate ruck drops with mortar firing point: The most success I saw at the JRTC was when in the attack, co-locating the company (or a platoon) ruck drop with the mortars. This allows the mortars direct access to the ammunition they might require. It works very well when mortars are supporting an attack from an established company tactical assembly area, where platoon ruck drops can be established. Thus, mortars have three mortar round caches, in effect. This allows them to shoot, then displace to the next ruck drop, which in most cases would be 150 to 250 meters away from the last firing point. This gives the mortars greater flexibility in supporting the attack. The driving constraint in this method is the maximum range of the 60mm mortar, especially if older, non-ballistically matched lots are issued, where WP and illumination have a maximum range of 950-1500 meters. This method can also succeed when the mortars are task organized under a platoon for security purposes, and establish a mortar firing position in the vicinity of that platoon’s objective release point (ORP).