89B Ammunition Supply Course students complete demolition training at Fort McCoy

Photo By Scott Sturkol | Munitions are detonated in an explosion April 17, 2019, at a demolition range on North Post at Fort McCoy, Wis. The action was part of training for the 89B Ammunition Supply Course taught by the 13th Battalion, 100th Regiment at Fort McCoy. According to course instruction, all ammunition specialists working in ammunition storage areas must know how to destroy stocks of ammunition to prevent it from falling into the hands of an enemy. They must also be able to destroy unserviceable ammunition before it deteriorates to the point of becoming hazardous to fire, store, or transport safely. This training is completed during each session of the Ammunition Supply Course. Approximately 15 course students and several instructors completed demolitions training at the range. (U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.)  

FORT MCCOY, WI, UNITED STATES

04.30.2019

Story by Scott Sturkol                                                                                         

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

Approximately 15 students and several instructors with the 89B10 Ammunition Supply Course completed training at a demolition range April 17 on North Post at Fort McCoy.

The course is taught by the 13th Battalion, 100th (13th, 100th) Regiment at Fort McCoy. Being able to complete demolition of munitions is a critical skill for 89B Soldiers, said Master Sgt. Jack Kenyon, chief instructor with the 13th, 100th.

According to course instruction, all ammunition specialists working in ammunition storage areas must know how to destroy stocks of ammunition to prevent it from falling into the hands of an enemy. They must also be able to destroy unserviceable ammunition before it deteriorates to the point of becoming hazardous to fire, store, or transport safely. This training is completed during each session of the Ammunition Supply Course.

“In this training, the students can see the actual layout of a (demolition) ring main and a line main with the actual components,” Kenyon said. “There is also no better way to get familiar with the procedures and methods than actually tying the knots, handling the explosives, detontation cord, time fuse, and igniters. It builds confidence with the student and helps solidify what they learned.

“The training also helps them understand the power of the components from the blasting caps to a 105-millimeter round and C-4 (plastic) explosive,” he said.

The four-week Ammunition Supply Course trains Soldiers who are reclassifying to the 89B military occupational specialty (MOS) — a specialty that’s in high demand throughout the Army. By Army definition, ammunition supply specialists are “Soldiers responsible for the management of ordnance to include ammunition and explosives.”

Soldiers who are 89B-qualified are tasked with receiving, storing, and issuing conventional ammunition, guided missiles, large rockets, explosives, and other ammunition and explosive-related items. During the two phases of the course, the students learn all of the entry-level basics about the course, said course manager Master Sgt. Sarah Johnson.

Phase one focuses on basic work, such as ammunition and equipment familiarization, paperwork procedures, and demolitions training, Johnson said. Phase two includes more hands-on training, such as equipment operation and use of the Palletized Load System. Upon successful completion of both phases of the course, students are awarded the 89B MOS.

Other critical skills gained by students include learning how to identify, package, store, and ship all types of ammunition. The students also become familiarized with various types of equipment that's typically associated with the 89B field, such as extreme terrain, 10,000-pound capable forklifts as well as military trucks capable of hauling ammunition.

The 89B10 class of students is one of many for fiscal year 2019 by the 13th, 100th. The unit also teaches the 89B Senior Leader Course, Advanced Leadership Course, and courses for the 89A ammunition stock control and accounting specialist MOS.

The 13th, 100th is an ordnance battalion that provides training and training support to Soldiers in the ordnance maintenance MOS series. The unit, aligned under the 3rd Brigade, 94th Division of the 80th Training Command, has been at Fort McCoy since about 1995.

Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin. The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services each year since 1984.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”

• Date Taken: 04.30.2019
• Date Posted: 04.24.2019 12:09
• Story ID: 319276
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WI, US