ARMY AL&T
In a fi re during the load/assemble/pack operations for the M232A1 Modular Artillery Charge System (MACS) at General Dynamics-Armaments and Technical Products, Camden, AR, the IM features of the MACS vented the pressure from the nearly 6,000 pounds of burning propellant housed in and around the building and prevented injuries to personnel. (Photo courtesy of Project Manager Combat Ammunition Systems, Picatinny Arsenal.)
policy, procedural references, and technical information about IM policies, busi- ness rules, joint IM testing standards, and strategic planning. One of the objec- tives of the handbook was to ensure that all program management offices clearly understood the concepts and requirements associated with integrating acquisition management, assessment of ammunition programs, identification of poten- tial opportunities for IM improvement, and pre- scribed actions to develop and execute detailed plans.
The Board often educates managers and weapon devel- opers about other advisory boards and panels, with
technical advice on, support for, and approval of their endeavors to comply with IM policy. Since 1992, more than 550 munition/system program briefings (including multiple program briefings) have been presented to the Board. This number includes programs that develop and procure weapons used by the land warfighter that are under the purview of the Army, USN, USMC, USAF, MDA, and U.S. Special Operations Command. Stressing to its constituents the importance of attaining successful IM technology development, implementation, and compliance, Board members make themselves available to programs needing extra technical assistance/ guidance. To educate those who were not familiar with the IM program or the processes and requirements that support it, the AIMB served as lead for the development and revision of the DoD Acquisition Manager’s Handbook for Insensitive Munitions.
The handbook is a single-source document for acquisition managers to locate DOD and military service
which they may be required to engage over the course of their program. The AIMB chair is the Army representa- tive on the Joint Services IM Technical Panel (JSIMTP), which assists with IM technology matters regarding IM compliance of the DOD muni- tions inventory and provides technical advice/recommendations concerning IM technology to program Milestone Decision Authorities, PEOs, PMs, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Joint Staff. Whenever feasible, the AIMB encourages interaction with Army Hazard Classifiers and the DOD Explosives Safety Board in an effort to combine testing.
Impact on Soldiers The following account is from a Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, employee whose son, a mortar gunner, was trav- eling in a convoy in the Afghanistan theater of operations when one of the vehicles was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED). This story demonstrates how IM technology has saved lives and serves as reminder of the AIMB’s mission to ensure the safety
and survivability of our warfighters at home and abroad.
“I want to share my son’s experience with the 60mm mortar M768 [high- explosive cartridge] with the people who developed it,” the employee said. “When talking to my son, who is now in theater in Afghanistan, he told me that one of their trucks got hit by an IED resulting in four injuries, and one of them was badly burned. Later, they recovered the badly damaged truck. They discovered that there were some damaged M768 rounds inside the truck. They said that the fuzes on those rounds flew off, but the shell bodies were not detonated. They praised the people who developed the rounds because that might have saved the lives of injured Soldiers.”
The AIMB serves as an advocate of programs seeking to comply with IM policy and an educator on IM technology and practices. An entity whose efforts are considered significant and vital to the success of the Army’s IM endeavors, the AIMB members, with their considerable expertise, take on the added responsibility of ensuring the survivability of weapons platforms and personnel that define the AIMB. It is these experts who, when engaging their constituents, emphasize that IM is a requirement that can mitigate the severity of disaster and provide life- saving benefits.
KIRK E. NEWMAN is the AIMB Chair and is affi liated with the SMDC Technical Center in Huntsville, AL. He holds a B.S. in chemistry from the College of William and Mary and an M.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Virginia. A member of the Defense Acquisition Corps, Newman holds two patents, has authored more than 40 publications, and serves on the editorial board of the Taylor & Francis Journal, Particulate Science and Technology.
APRIL –JUNE 2010 47
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