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JMC Commanding General Visits Crane Army Ammunition Activity

Mar 7, 2011

By Tom Peske (Crane Army Ammunition Activity)

CRANE, Ind. -- With the realization that the future business years for the Joint Munitions Command will not look as they do today, the Crane Army Ammunition Activity is actively taking steps to improve its production effectiveness and efficiency.

This commitment to modernization was a key topic of discussion Feb. 23 when Brig. Gen. Gustave Perna, commanding general for JMC and Joint Munitions & Lethality Life Cycle Management Command, toured the activity in order to gain a better understanding of its products, processes and capabilities that are vital to keeping the Warfighter supplied with ammunition.

"The underlying principle is that the way we do business today is not how we will be doing business in 2015," Perna said. He stated that in order to avoid layoffs and stay competitive, the activities and depots in JMC will need to be more efficient and effective with the money and resources they have available.

According to Perna, modernization involves three elements: safety, a quality work environment, and product enhancements. He said, "You must achieve these three things to have modernization."

Part of what puts CAAA in a good position toward building a strong future is found in its strong safety record. CAAA, which receives, stores, ships, produces, renovates and demilitarizes conventional ammunition, missiles and related components, has developed a culture of safety in order to better know and understand the dangers involved in their job and avoid them.

Perna stated that both safety and continuous improvement need to be culturally embedded into a command. CAAA Commander Col. Linwood Clark echoed that idea when he said that there is no way that CAAA can support the Warfighter without constantly thinking about safety. It is a cultural belief made evident at CAAA through its more than three million hours without a lost work day and Voluntary Protection Program Star Status.

CAAA Civilian Executive Assistant Norman Thomas provided Perna with a tour of CAAA\'s Manufacturing and Depot Operations facilities, highlighting the efforts being taken to enhance production. Through Lean Six Sigma and Value Engineering, CAAA is constantly improving the quality of work it provides.

Perna praised CAAA for its efforts and encouraged the activity to work even harder to find savings. He said, "Now we really have to dig in to save the big chunks of money and solve the hard problems."

CAAA was established in Oct. 1977 and is a tenant of the Navy Region Midwest, Naval Support Activity Crane. The Army activity maintains ordnance professionals and infrastructure to receive, store, ship, produce, renovate and demilitarize conventional ammunition, missiles and related components.