INTRODUCTION
As an ammunition inspector in a surveillance position, you may be required to draft an SOP for renovation and
maintenance of ammunition. This will require you to research the proposed work, and to determine the methods
and procedures to assure safety standards are not violated. By reviewing a similar SOP, you can develop a draft
SOP for the proposed work.
You must have a written SOP before doing any work involving ammunition and explosives. SOPs should be
written in a format which provides all information necessary to complete the assigned job. Effective Army
writing techniques will be used by all personnel. SOPs will be clear, concise, and specific. There should be no
doubt as to intent, meaning and purpose of the SOP. SOPs will be prepared in language intelligible to personnel
required to use them. When indigenous personnel are employed in explosives operations, the SOP will be in
English and in language the employee understands. Specific safety requirements, inspection requirements, and
foreman responsibilities will be listed at the step in the SOP to which they apply. The SOP should address the full
planning sequence of the operation, and it should answer the following:
What is to be done.
How the work is to be done.
Who is to do the work.
Where the work is to be done.
Before drafting the SOP, you must contact the maintenance officer and find out exactly what type of maintenance
is to be performed and on what type item of ammunition. The maintenance officer will have a properly validated
work authorization, an endorsement to an Ammunition Condition Report (DA Form 2415) or a letter of
authorization which is an approval for the unit to perform the required maintenance on a specific item of
ammunition. An assignment sheet should be prepared by the maintenance officer when a validated work
authorization does not furnish sufficient information. The assignment sheet is a form of work order to be used
within the organization and provides for, but is not limited to, the following:
1. The scope of the maintenance operation.
2. The lot number and quantity of rounds (items) to be processed.
3. The lot number(s) and quantities of replacement parts or components to be used.
4. Special instruction on inspection, operations hazards, and disposition of unserviceable components
resulting from the operation.
5. The operations required to process the materiel, e.g. replacing parts, painting, changing nomenclature,
adding suffixes to lot numbers, and preparing ammunition data cards.
6. Listing of materials to include quantity to accomplish the maintenance operation such as paint,
handling material, tape, etc.
The maintenance officer should have a Depot Maintenance Work Requirements (DMWR) for the specific items
requiring maintenance. This document will give you specific instructions on the methods, and sequence of how
the operation should be performed. It should be noted that DMWRs are prepared by the U.S. Army Armament
Materiel Readiness Command for a variety of installations operating on a comparatively large production basis.
The manner in which the field unit does the work may be different from the manner in which an established depot
does the same work. A DMWR received in the field will serve as a guide for you and the maintenance officer
when writing a draft SOP.
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