Budget cuts, inadequate planning put munitions industrial base in peril.

• Author: Seraphin, Bob
• Position: VIEWPOINT

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno has warned about a return to the hollow Army that resulted from post-Vietnam War reductions in defense funding. He said the nation must avoid a dangerous repeat.

Another outcome that must be avoided is a hollow industrial base, particularly the ammunition base. The nation's munitions industrial base requires careful attention now to ensure its ability to meet the needs of the services in the future.

Concern over the health of the munitions industry is not new. As early as 2007, munitions professionals in government and industry concluded that reductions in defense spending were inevitable and that steps had to be taken to soften their impact. Several efforts since then have produced positive, but not decisive, results and have identified areas requiring further work.

Decision makers in the Defense Department and Congress were alerted to the risks and costs of allowing a repeat of the near collapse of the munitions industry in the 1990s. Between fiscal years 1985 and 1994, ammunition procurement declined by 80 percent. Little consideration was given to the effects of this decline on the long-term viability of the industrial base, and little planning was done to sustain the sector. In short order, 70 percent of production capability was permanently lost, along with much of a highly skilled workforce. Subsequent recovery was long and expensive.

Preparation of a "strategic master plan" was begun under the auspices of the Army's program executive officer for ammunition. The intent is to ensure the industrial base is sized and configured to meet current and future requirements. This work is ongoing.

The Army's single manager for conventional ammunition (SMCA) is responsible for procuring ammunition items that are common to the services. The SMCA, in collaboration with industry has developed management tools that are of great value in current operations.

The industrial base assessment tool and the minimum sustaining rate database are now used to analyze proposed ammunition procurement budgets. Through an iterative process, potential negative impacts on the munitions industrial base are identified beforehand. The services are thus afforded the opportunity to mitigate those impacts by adjusting budgets.

While the industry must be configured and maintained to produce munitions required for war reserve and training stocks, difficulties arise in determining those requirements. The computer-based process is...