Posted on 05/28/2004 10:51:12 PM PDT by neverdem
WASHINGTON, May 28 - With the United States fighting protracted wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, its military faces a shortage of a basic necessity: ammunition.
The Army Field Support Command in Rock Island, Ill., held an "industry day'' last week to inform contractors of a vast increase in demand for small-caliber rounds, those for rifles and machine guns.
Maj. Gary Tallman, an Army spokesman, said the armed services needed 300 million to 500 million rounds this year alone, beyond the 1.2 billion already being produced, to provide enough for a military whose active-duty force had increased because of the two wars.
All production currently comes from a factory in Lake City, Mo., that is owned by the Army and managed by Alliant Techsystems, the nation's largest provider of munitions to the military. Alliant says it can expand that production, but it is not sure by how much.
In the meantime, the Army has already arranged for two contractors - Winchester, a division of the Olin Corporation, and the state-owned Israel Military Industries Ltd. - to provide an additional supply this year.
Further, in response to the Army's search for a "systems integrator'' - a general contractor - to supplement its work, at least one military contractor, the General Dynamics Corporation, has proposed overseeing a consortium of small-caliber-ammunition producers to fit the service's needs. A formal request for bids from prospective general contractors is expected in August.
Major Tallman, the Army spokesman, said the need for more ammunition had not affected troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan but instead stemmed primarily from an increase in necessary training.
But Loren B. Thompson, a military analyst with the Lexington Institute, a policy research center in Arlington, Va., said the shortage was due not just to training.
"The Army is reaching the outer limits of its ability to sustain the Iraqi operation," Mr. Thompson said. "It simply can't sustain a large-scale protracted conflict."
Mr. Thompson said that while combat troops were not currently affected by the ammunition shortage, "there could be serious shortfalls" should a conflict arise on the Korean Peninsula, for example.
Dan Carlson of the Army Field Support Command said the military ran no risk of being depleted. "We're not going to let anybody run out of ammunition," he said.
Sounds like your supply is running pretty low, better buy more!
If Ashcroft and Mueller are right, that FReeper, and the rest of us as well, might get to do just that, without ever leaving town.
Hey Travis, have a nice weekend, I'll be on a boat crusing by the Jazz festival stopping by for beers, music and maybe women. (;
After this weekend I should be checking into Betty Ford.
If you're able to lift your ammo supply, you haven't bought enough.
Pardon me, but terrorism has been employed by many historical entities.
3 entries found for terror. To select an entry, click on it. terror, reign of terror, night terror
Main Entry: ter·ror Pronunciation: 'ter-&r Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French terreur, from Latin terror, from terrEre to frighten; akin to Greek trein to be afraid, flee, tremein to tremble -- more at TREMBLE 1 : a state of intense fear 2 a : one that inspires fear : SCOURGE b : a frightening aspect c : a cause of anxiety : WORRY d : an appalling person or thing; especially : BRAT 3 : REIGN OF TERROR 4 : violence (as bombing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands synonym see FEAR - ter·ror·less /-l&s/ adjective
Main Entry: ter·ror·ism Pronunciation: 'ter-&r-"i-z&m Function: noun : the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion - ter·ror·ist /-&r-ist/ adjective or noun - ter·ror·is·tic /"ter-&r-'is-tik/ adjective
Our current enemy happens to be radical Islamic fundamentalists. We would be better off calling a spade, a spade. These clowns want to convert us or kill us.
Bush needs to rescind Clinton's Exective Edict on banning the sale of surplus ammo to us peasants.
Then they ammo companies could starting cranking out the ammo, with the knowledge that they could simply sell any extra to us peasants.
you just gave me the germ of an idea.
not quite related to this thread, but...
re: prohibitive legislature, politicians, the personal fortunes of those pols, restitution to private cits...
someone remind me to flesh this out and post it.
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