Dear Editor,
As the munitions officer at HQDA, G-37/Training Ammunition (TRA), I – along with my team – wanted to share some thoughts on your recent article “Ammunition: Don’t Waste it!”
There are always many questions about how training ammunition requirements are developed and resourced. A common myth is that the Army is short munitions. The fact is, the Army has enough inventory to meet all weapons qualification needs.
Here’s another myth: If you don’t use 100 percent of the training authorization, you will get less next year. This is not the case. The lower usage rate is used at HQDA for making funding recommendations but aren’t used for resourcing ammunition at the unit level. Usage rates will change from year to year based on the training plan and unit manning.
TRADOC proponent schools develop unit weapons training strategies. The weapons training strategy is validated by the Army Munitions Requirements Council of Colonels and becomes the official Army training munitions requirement. This process has been successful since 1982.
Our goal here at HQDA G-37/TRA is to resource 100 percent of the munitions training requirement to major commands to distribute to their subordinate commands. The Total Army Munitions Information System (TAMIS) generates training requirements based on the unit’s MTOE and approved weapons training strategies in accordance with DA PAM 350-38,
Standards in Weapons Training (commonly referred to as STRAC strategy). HQDA G-37/TRA, in coordination with the ammunition community and major commands, conducts the semi-annual Munitions Requirements and Distribution Process (MRDP) to identify munitions requirements and stockpile availability to meet requirements for the upcoming fiscal year. Once the MRDP is complete, the major commands are responsible for distributing munitions to their subordinate commands based on training requirements in TAMIS.
HQDA G-37/TRA uses the approved weapons training strategies and not historical execution when resourcing the annual requirement at the MRDP. If units are resourced below their STRAC strategy, then they need to work through their chain of command to request munitions to support their training.
Mr. Bullet
HQDA G-3/5/7
Munitions Management Division
Editor’s note: Thanks for the clarification on ammo allocations.