Photo By JMC Public Affairs Office | The Joint Munitions Command, one of 10 major subordinate commands of the Army Materiel...... read more read more
The Joint Munitions Command, which is headquartered at the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois, provides the joint forces with ready, reliable, and lethal munitions at the speed of war, sustaining global readiness.
One of 10 major subordinate commands of the Army Materiel Command, JMC couldn’t complete its mission without its people, and there are over 11,000 employees across its enterprise, an additional 19 individuals don an Army uniform.
Every member of JMC has the capability to advance, but there is pomp and circumstance surrounding promotions for those in the military.
Army promotion ceremonies have a long-standing tradition within military culture and reflect the values and structure of the armed forces. While specific historical records detailing the exact inception of these ceremonies are scarce, they have been a part of military practice for many decades, if not centuries.
Two men who wear camo and represent JMC, and one who was formally associated with the command, were promoted in 2024.
On Aug. 2, Ronnie Anderson Jr., JMC’s commander, was promoted to brigadier general. Three days later, Jeffrey Campbell Jr., who served as the aide-de-camp for Anderson for 14 months, moved up a rank — from 1st Lieutenant to Captain. Lastly, Jason Knapp, JMC’s military chief of staff, was promoted from Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel on Aug. 9 at the Rock Island Arsenal Museum.
Audit Drumbeat recognizes three JMC subordinates
In March, the Army Audit Drumbeat, the quarterly newsletter of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army, recognized personnel at the Anniston Munitions Center in Alabama, Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, and Crane Army Ammunition Activity in Indiana, which are subordinates of JMC, for 100% pass rates for existence and completeness in Fiscal Year 23.
This recognition underscores the significance of audits, emphasizing their role not only in tracking progress, but also in upholding the Army's accountability for its assets, property, and equipment.
JMC puts in consistent effort to uphold audit preparedness in a dynamic environment, emphasizing the connection between accurate financial and property accountability and overall readiness.
BGAD’s testing AI software for security, protection
A revolutionary security system is undergoing a two-year testing phase at BGAD, and this year personnel there and the makers of the system software held a demonstration of its capabilities.
The system is a commercial-off-the-shelf proprietary product that is a real-time modular physical threat detection solution using artificial intelligence and deep neural learning computer vision to modernize existing electronic security systems by detecting objects/intruders, guns, fights, slips and falls, smoke and fire, facial recognition, and behavior anomalies of individuals.
The product processes camera video stream content and sends alerts to security response forces according to configurable and customizable protocols, and officials at BGAD are impressed with its capabilities.
Data and analytics tools
Like the Army, AMC, and other major subordinate commands, JMC is focused on incorporating data and analytics principles into its decision-making processes.
Understanding data is critical to enable enhanced, more accurate, and timely decision-making. The inability to aggregate, compare, and truly understand data adversely affects the ability to react and respond, and many members of JMC’s workforce have embarked on a journey to enhance and improve their data literacy.
Several of JMC’s employees have collaborated with others both inside and outside their respective directorates and divisions to self-develop data and analytics tools.
One example is the awards application tool, which ties into JMC’s strategic line of effort to retain its top talent and was developed to give Anderson a one-stop shop to see how the JMC enterprise is honoring and recognizing its employees.
Modernization efforts underway
Thanks to the Army's 15-year plan for modernizing its Organic Industrial Base, several modernization efforts have been completed, are taking place, or are planned at several of JMC’s subordinates.
Renovations are being made to the Black Beauty Reservoir at the Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada. The reservoir, which was constructed in 1952, impounds water from seven different sources out of the Wassuck mountain range immediately west of the depot. Prior to commencement of the project, the reservoir was inoperable.
The reservoir, which has a capacity of 50 million gallons, must be operational by 2027 to avoid potential loss of water rights. In the meantime, HWAD is relying on a secondary backup water source (groundwater) and an emergency intertie with the utilities of the city of Hawthorne.
All inert solid waste produced at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, located in Middletown, Iowa, just over eight miles west of Burlington, is sent to its Solid Waste Processing Center, also known as the recycling center. The facility replaced an outdated recycling center.
The new recycling center houses effective, efficient state-of-the-art equipment, and IAAAP uses that equipment to divert waste from its local landfills and repurpose materials once slated for the scrap heap.
Unused and scrap wood, for instance, is shredded and converted to animal grade bedding. IAAAP’s cardboard is compacted and recycled, as well. Via a cold compression process, Styrofoam is, too. One IAAAP production line creates 50 tons of Styrofoam annually, all of which historically went to landfills.
West Point Cadets aiding IAAAP
Cadets from the U.S. Military Academy’s Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering are involved in the Warehouse Automated Robots project at IAAAP, which is poised to bring a transformative impact on military innovation and defense strategy.
The primary objective of the WAR project is to modernize IAAAP, a facility that has operated at maximum capacity for decades. The partnership with West Point enables aspiring professionals to gain a better understanding and appreciation for the Organic Industrial Base while simultaneously providing solutions to the installation.
The project, which is funded through the 2024 academic year, seeks to automate key elements, thereby improving manufacturing efficiency and replenishing the United States' strategic reserve of 155 mm shells. With the introduction of automation, this involves streamlining processes and encompasses picking up rounds off pallets and orienting them for stamping, labeling, and machining.
| Date Taken: | 12.27.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 12.27.2024 07:35 |
| Story ID: | 488349 |
| Location: | ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL , ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 47 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Innovations and honors: Key developments for JMC in 2024, by Matthew Wheaton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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