PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-601
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 601
DECEMBER 2002
Operator and crew maintenance is usually limited to unpacking, repacking,
inspecting, cleaning, and repairing packing material. The appropriate ammunition -
10, -12, or -20 series TM will provide a Maintenance Allocation Chart (MAC) for
authorized field inspection, care, and maintenance.
Ammunition does not always survive movement or storage in the best condition.
ASP personnel must ensure that ammunition is issued in proper working order. Part
of this responsibility includes reporting any and all firing restrictions, which will be
noted on the DA Form 581 with the ammunition issue.
After issue, it is up to you and your unit to inspect and care for the ammunition.
Other than the allowable repackaging and maintenance instructions listed in the
MAC charts, unserviceable ammunition should be returned to the ASP.
Small arms ammunition—
especially operational loads—
may have loose bullets or bullets
pushed too far into the cartridge
case. This ammunition shouldn’t
be used, so turn it in and draw
new ammo. Obvious damage such
as dents, cracks and bulges in car-
tridge cases also require turn-in.
For larger ammunition, slight
dents or bumps may be OK if the
round seats correctly. Incidental/
minor damage to surface areas of
items such as mine or grenade
cases is acceptable if the internal
components or fuze cavities are
not affected. The same applies to
rust and corrosion.
PS 601
35
DEC 02
Maintenance and Inspection
Keep all ammunition unitized and palletized as long as possible to allow for quick
loading by material handling equipment.
When ammunition is kept packed,
it also prevents exposure to the ele-
ments. This is especially true of
material packed in barrier bags or
sealed metal containers. Be sure to
return desiccant to airtight containers
as soon as possible.
Don’t be rough when opening and
closing ammunition boxes. Being
careful protects you, the ammunition,
and the box for later reuse.
Save your ammunition packaging! Place inner packing inside the outer pack,
close the box and save it. There’s a good chance you’ll need to reuse it.
Make sure repackaged ammunition has the right stock number, lot/serial number
and quantity marked on the container. Identification markings on boxes and con-
tainers are extremely important, so protect the integrity of the markings
when repacking.
Check cartridges
for mis-seated
bullets
Small cuts or dents
OK if round seats
correctly
Clearly mark
the quantity
on the box and
place it at the
front of the
stack so that
it’s the first
used.
To minimize
accountability
errors in
multiple packs
of ammunition,
have only one
box that’s less
than full
per lot.
34
Be careful
when
opening
ammo
boxes
All this
rain has
ruined
my
ammo!
My
ammo
is
snug
and dry!
Hey, some
of these
bullets are
corroded!
We'd better
turn this lot
in and get
some more!
Unpacking/Repacking
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