LESSON
AMMUNITION MAINTENANCE
MQS II Critical Task: 03.4010.01-0008
OVERVIEW
LESSON DESCRIPTION:
In this lesson you will learn the basic requirements of planning for the care, preservation, and maintenance of
ammunition.
TERMINAL LEARNING OBJECTIVE:
ACTION:
You will be able to describe maintenance levels, determine scopes of maintenance
required, formulate a maintenance line SOP, and design a maintenance line layout.
CONDITION:
You will require only the material contained in this subcourse.
STANDARD:
Evaluate the planning of the care, preservation and maintenance of conventional
ammunition.
REFERENCES: The material contained in this lesson was derived from the following publications: DA
PAM 738-50, SB 742-1, TM 9-1300-206, TM 9-1300-250, and TM 43-0001-47.
INTRODUCTION
The Ammunition Stockpile Reliability Program, as well as reports of ammunition problems received from
the field, result in ammunition that must be suspended or restricted. Permanently suspended ammunition
requires some action before it can be released. The repair equipment, as well as requirements for
modification, conversion, or demilitarization, make it necessary to establish an ammunition maintenance
program. Care and preservation is the term commonly used to describe that portion of Direct Support
maintenance that includes such functions as repalletizing, repackaging, and minor rust removal. This is
normally a function that can be accomplished prior to issue of the item. Care and preservation would not
require the addition of a lot suffix or change in the National Stock Number. Care stresses protection, and is
performed at the serviced unit (the using unit) and the Magazine Storage Area (MSA) or Ammunition Supply
Point (ASP). Ammunition is one of the basic commodities used by the Army, and while its maintenance is
addressed in several Army maintenance publications, there are some aspects of the process which set it apart
from other commodities.
There are two primary reasons to perform ammunition maintenance: environmental deterioration and
obsolete material. Munitions can be rendered unserviceable due to environmental conditions such as
excessive heat, cold, or moisture. If so, proper care and preservation may be as simple as removing rust,
cleaning the items, repacking them, and/or repalletizing the packaged or repackaged items. Obsolete
materiel may require more extensive maintenance such as fuze replacement, propellant and cartridge case
replacement, or reboostering.
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