CRANE, Ind. – Crane Army Ammunition Activity brought together military logistics experts March 20-24 for a week-long shipping drill designed to test its ammunition supply chain and ensure the depot at Naval Support Activity, Crane, remains ready to safely and rapidly deliver munitions to America’s Warfighters.
The need to provide a ready supply of ammunition during a crisis has remained constant from 1977, when CAAA was founded during the Cold War-era to continue the Navy’s legacy of handling munitions at the Navy base, to the current era where asymmetrical wars involving smart munitions are fought against terrorists. Nearly every year of those four decades has brought unique challenges to logistics personnel at CAAA to reduce costs and improve efficiencies while still ensuring the depot maintains the flexibility to surge operations when needed to maximize its shipment of ammunition to the Joint Force.
“It’s important to exercise our surge capability so we are able to support Warfighter readiness when called upon,” Crane Army’s Depot Operations Director Matthew McGowen said.
CAAA hosted visitors from the headquarters of Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, which coordinates the delivery of equipment and supplies wherever Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen are deployed, and Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point, the Army’s key deep-water shipping facility on the Atlantic Coast, to observe the outload exercise.
CAAA operators packed approximately 150 steel shipping containers with ammunition for the exercise, which utilized real-world shipping operations. Operators then blocked and braced, inspected and sealed the containers before shipping them by rail to the personnel at MOTSU, who will transfer them onto ocean-going vessels for Warfighters overseas.
“The exercise helps validate our capabilities to serve the Warfighter when needed,” McGowen said.
Evaluators from Joint Munitions Command, which manages the Army’s ammunition production sites and depots, used the drill to validate Crane Army’s logistical process maps by conducting time studies of the data captured during the exercise. This data can also drive efficiencies in Crane Army’s shipping and receiving operations so that ammunition can be rapidly delivered when needed on time, every time.
“This outload exercise gives CAAA the opportunity to measure our actual container loading output against our plan,” said Norman Thomas, Crane Army’s deputy to the commander. “Our workforce have shown again that they can exceed all expectations and have done so safely, efficiently, effectively and at best value to provide strategic readiness to the warfighter.”
Established Oct. 1977, Crane Army Ammunition Activity produces and provides conventional munitions requirements in support of U.S. Army and Joint Force readiness. It is one of 14 installations of the Joint Munitions Command and one of 23 organic industrial bases under the U.S. Army Materiel Command, which include arsenals, depots, activities and ammunition plants.