BULLET LIST


READY ACCESS TO CAPABILITIES JMC’s experience has shown the value of maintaining government-owned pro- duction capacity. For example, Holston Army Ammunition Plant, TN, produced concentrated nitric acid (c-NA), a chemi- cal used in making explosives, until 1998 in the No. 5 Magnesium Nitrate, or


“Maggie,” system. In 1999, a new contrac- tor took over operation of the facility and purchased c-NA from El Dorado Chemi- cal Plant in Arkansas more cheaply than it cost to make it. So JMC halted produc- tion with Maggie, but maintained the capability as a risk mitigation or con- tingency option in case the c-NA supply were ever insufficient.


OUT WITH THE OLD


This outdated Nitric Acid Concentration/Sulfuric Acid Concentration (NAC/SAC) facility at the 72-year-old Radford Army Ammunition Plant has been demolished. It had exceeded its projected useful life. During the latter part of that life, the facility had frequent downtime and presented significant challenges to the work environment. (U.S. Army photo)


Ten, in 2012, an explosion at El Dorado destroyed the plant’s c-NA production capabilities. No other source in the con- tinental United States could meet DOD requirements, so the U.S. Army Joint Munitions and Lethality Life Cycle Man- agement Command reactivated Maggie. Tis reactivation averted a production shutdown at the Holston plant that would have stopped the supply of high explosives needed for DOD munitions. Furthermore, it might have taken years, instead of months, to reestablish c-NA production capability.


Two-thirds


needs of the service member; to increase operating efficiencies; to improve pro duct quality; to reduce cost; to improve opera- tional safety and process reliability; to maintain


environmental compliance;


and to enhance the work environment of installation employees.


For example, Radford Army Ammuni- tion Plant, VA, needed a new acid facility for the manufacture of


high-quality 28 Army AL&T Magazine January–March 2014


nitrocellulose, the principal ingredient in the propellants used in munitions for all the services. A new acid plant built in 2010 realized cost savings in the areas of


of all ammunition end


items rely on an organic producer for at least one component, underscoring the importance of maintaining the unique capabilities of the U.S. ammunition OIB.


raw materials, energy consumption,


waste reduction, maintenance and sup- port services. Te plant also realized cost avoidances related to equipment failures, production interruptions and noncon- forming product. In addition, the level of nitrate wastewater was reduced.


For example, the nitrocellulose produced at Radford Army Ammunition Plant supports more than 80 percent of lethal weapon systems in both the heavy and infantry brigade combat teams. In fact, the plant’s nitrocellulose is the key com- ponent of all single- and multibase solvent propellants and solvent-less propellant


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