Keeping the base armed, ready

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Joseph Park
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  A single shop at Malmstrom Air Force Base, made up of nine people, is responsible for every bullet, grenade and explosive on the base, totaling more than four million individual items. That shop is Ammo. They order, inspect, maintain and keep accountability of every round.

Senior Airman Issac Newton, 341st Munitions Squadron stockpile surveillance munitions inspector, said there’s a large variety of munitions here at Malmstrom.

“Conventional munitions consist of all small arms, including 5.56, 7.62, 9 mm, .50 caliber, and then we have the 40 mm grenades,” Newton said. “We have stun grenades, smoke grenades, riot control grenades and linear shaped charges – anything that will explode or go boom, as they say, that is non-nuclear, we have.”

Ammo orders and maintains the munitions, distributing them out to the appropriate units around the base.

Senior Airman Audrey House, 341st MUNS operations stockpile supervisor, said they follow a process to ensure units gets the munitions they need.

“When security forces needs munitions, they send us a request of what they need and how many,” House said. “We approve that for them, so they can come pick it up and use it. I maintain accountability for 27 munitions custody accounts, including explosive ordnance disposal, honor guard, tactical response force, armory and others.”

Along with maintaining the accounts, ammo also inspects the munitions, ensuring the base is always ready for any contingency.