With its large industrial base of ammunition plants and arsenals, the Army has more ordnance manufacturing capacity than it needs. This study proposes a strategic vision for this capacity and explores four options for managing it: privatization, creation of a federal government corporation, consolidation, and recapitalization on multifunction posts. It weighs the options from different perspectives, including feasibility, economic viability, and risk posed to national interests. ISBN: 0-8330-3322-0 Price: $30.00 Page count: 350

The Department of the Army meets its materiel requirements principally through purchase from private sources. However, the Army produces certain ordnance-related items and performs some ordnance-related services in a set of arsenals, ammunition plants, other ammunition activities, and depots. The Army operates some of these facilities; contractors operate others. Although this set of facilities has been reduced since the end of the Cold War, the remaining facilities still operate at less than their full capacity today. The unused and underused capacity raises questions about how many of these facilities the Army needs, how large they need to be, and who should own and operate them. This report represents the third phase of a multiyear study that examines the Army's ordnance industrial base and makes recommendations about these issues.

The Department of the Army meets its materiel requirements principally through purchase from private sources. However, the Army produces certain ordnance-related items and performs some ordnance-related services in a set of arsenals, ammunition plants, other ammunition activities, and depots. The Army operates some of these facilities; contractors operate others. Although this set of facilities has been reduced since the end of the Cold War, the remaining facilities still operate at less than their full capacity today. The unused and underused capacity raises questions about how many of these facilities the Army needs, how large they need to be, and who should own and operate them. This report represents the third phase of a multiyear study that examines the Army's ordnance industrial base and makes recommendations about these issues.

"The Congress created the Arsenal Support Program Initiative (ASPI) to help maintain the functional capabilities of the Army's three manufacturing arsenals, which are located in Rock Island, Illinois, Watervliet, New York, and Pine Bluff, Arkansas. A primary goal of the program is to enable commercial firms to lease vacant space at the arsenals once that space has been renovated, thereby encouraging collaboration between the Army and commercial firms as well as reducing the costs the government incurs to operate and maintain the arsenal facilities. Since the ASPI's inception, a number of commercial tenants have leased unused property at the arsenals; however, the financial benefits that the program has generated for the government have proved to be small relative to the program's funding. In response to a directive from the Congress, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) conducted a 'business case' analysis of the ASPI, examining the program's costs, return on investment, and economic impact. In keeping with CBO's mandate to provide objective, nonpartisan analysis, this report makes no recommendations."--Preface.

What does the future hold for the U.S> Amry's asrsenals and ammunition plants?

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