Ammo stockpiles

[ArmySGT.]

Which brings up a related issue ... where the heck does the US store all that ammo

Presumably several places. But where

Likewise, anyone know for other countries

I imagine this is not exactly secret info, just not widely publicised or disseminated,

Phil

Alice Springs has a vast complex of ammunition bunkers for the U.S. as a contingency for a war in South East Asia. Guam hosts vast bunkers for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force.

[Legbreaker]

Alice Springs The town right slap in the middle of Australia, a thousand miles from nowhere and even further from anywhere important

[ArmySGT.]

Alice Springs The town right slap in the middle of Australia, a thousand miles from nowhere and even further from anywhere important

Yup........ vast complex of igloos...... 4-6 U.S. soldiers (Supply) assigned there. I think it is priority target for a SLBM so it is far from any population centers.

[RN7]

Yup........ vast complex of igloos...... 4-6 U.S. soldiers (Supply) assigned there. I think it is priority target for a SLBM so it is far from any population centers.

I think you might be confusing the significance of Pine Gap which is near Alice Springs by thinking or stating that it is the location of a major US weapons and munitions depot.

The US intelligence and satellite tracking station of Pine Gap is located 11 miles (18km) south-west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territiry. The reason it is located in Australia is because it controls US ISR (spy) satellites as they pass over this portion of the globe which includes China, the Middle East and the Asian part of Russia. The reason why the US established an intelligence and satellite tracking station at Pine Gap is because it is so remote and so far inland that passing spy ships cannot intercept US signal traffic.

But for what reason would the US establish a major military munitions depot at such a remote and not easily accessible location as Alice Springs when (1) there are more suitable locations in other parts of Australia, and (2) when the US already has Military Prepositioning Ship (MPS) squadron at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and at Guam in the north-western Pacific.

Also if the US has a military munitions depot in Alice Springs then the US and Australian governments would have established a logistical capacity to rapidly redeploy such weapons and munitions from Alice Springs, such as building long runways so that US heavy transport aircraft could land and take off safely. For a fully loaded heavy transport aircraft such as C-5 Galaxy or a Boeing 747 freighter to safely take off you are going to need a runway of 10,000 feet, or maybe even longer. Alice Springs Airport has two runways, the longest is 7,999 feet. The nearest suitable runway for US heavy transport aircraft in the Northern Territory is Darwin International Airport (also RAAF Base Darwin), and to a lesser extent RAAF Base Tindal in Katherine, both located at the top end of the Northern Territory and nearly 1,000 miles from Alice Springs.

[ArmySGT.]

I think you might be confusing the significance of Pine Gap which is near Alice Springs by thinking or stating that it is the location of a major US weapons and munitions depot.

The US intelligence and satellite tracking station of Pine Gap is located 11 miles (18km) south-west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territiry. The reason it is located in Australia is because it controls US ISR (spy) satellites as they pass over this portion of the globe which includes China, the Middle East and the Asian part of Russia. The reason why the US established an intelligence and satellite tracking station at Pine Gap is because it is so remote and so far inland that passing spy ships cannot intercept US signal traffic.

But for what reason would the US establish a major military munitions depot at such a remote and not easily accessible location as Alice Springs when (1) there are more suitable locations in other parts of Australia, and (2) when the US already has Military Prepositioning Ship (MPS) squadron at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and at Guam in the north-western Pacific.

Also if the US has a military munitions depot in Alice Springs then the US and Australian governments would have established a logistical capacity to rapidly redeploy such weapons and munitions from Alice Springs, such as building long runways so that US heavy transport aircraft could land and take off safely. For a fully loaded heavy transport aircraft such as C-5 Galaxy or a Boeing 747 freighter to safely take off you are going to need a runway of 10,000 feet, or maybe even longer. Alice Springs Airport has two runways, the longest is 7,999 feet. The nearest suitable runway for US heavy transport aircraft in the Northern Territory is Darwin International Airport (also RAAF Base Darwin), and to a lesser extent RAAF Base Tindal in Katherine, both located at the top end of the Northern Territory and nearly 1,000 miles from Alice Springs.

I am trying to recollect a phone conversation I had with my Branch in 2002. I could well be wrong on Alice Springs. This was for a prepositioned muntions stockpile in Australia. My request was denied, the MP position was E8 and the other personnel were Supply. There were less than 10 Americans assigned so this could well be a joint facility.

[ArmySGT.]

But for what reason would the US establish a major military munitions depot at such a remote and not easily accessible location as Alice Springs when (1) there are more suitable locations in other parts of Australia, and (2) when the US already has Military Prepositioning Ship (MPS) squadron at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and at Guam in the north-western Pacific.

Also if the US has a military munitions depot in Alice Springs then the US and Australian governments would have established a logistical capacity to rapidly redeploy such weapons and munitions from Alice Springs, such as building long runways so that US heavy transport aircraft could land and take off safely. For a fully loaded heavy transport aircraft such as C-5 Galaxy or a Boeing 747 freighter to safely take off you are going to need a runway of 10,000 feet, or maybe even longer. Alice Springs Airport has two runways, the longest is 7,999 feet. The nearest suitable runway for US heavy transport aircraft in the Northern Territory is Darwin International Airport (also RAAF Base Darwin), and to a lesser extent RAAF Base Tindal in Katherine, both located at the top end of the Northern Territory and nearly 1,000 miles from Alice Springs.

Don't try to inject logic into the U.S. Army logistics system. You will only drive yourself insane.

[dragoon500ly]

Don't try to inject logic into the U.S. Army logistics system. You will only drive yourself insane.

Amen, brother, Amen!

[aspqrz]

According to ...

http://www.anti-bases.org/campaigns/...Australia.html

... the only US facilities in Alice Springs are those that form part of Pine Gap.

There are no US logistics facilities listed - I suppose there could be small onsite ammo stores for local use, but nothing as big as you suggest ... and I seriously doubt it could be hidden well enough for these ferrets to not find out about its existence and publish it the world. After all, Australia is not the DPRNK.

A major ammo storage facility (the largest in Australia) is at Myambat (Muswelbrook, upper Hunter river valley, north of Sydney, in use since 1938), but that's ADF, not US.

Phil

[rcaf_777]

Ammo Stock Plies Before the War

Before

[rcaf_777]

Ammo Stock Plies After the War

After

[aspqrz]

That's somewhat ... cavalier ... when we had Range Days they checked the soles of our GPs to make sure no spent brass was caught in the tread 'accidentally' ...

Phil

[Legbreaker]

when we had Range Days they checked the soles of our GPs to make sure no spent brass was caught in the tread 'accidentally'

That's a bit more extreme that what we had to go through. Just had webbing ammo pouches physically searched (by an NCO simply putting his hands inside), and occasionally we'd have to empty our packs.

After we'd left the range (which usually was the local rifle clubs) there'd be a horde of civilians scouring the mounds for any brass we'd missed to reload. It was also not unknown for older worn out brass to be swapped with the "new" brass we had - as long as the weight was right....

[pmulcahy11b]

That's a bit more extreme that what we had to go through. Just had webbing ammo pouches physically searched (by an NCO simply putting his hands inside), and occasionally we'd have to empty our packs.

But god help you if they found some brass or links in your clothing or gear...they usually make you strip down to your underwear while assuming the position against the wall and insulting and threatening you the whole time. I've even seen Article 15s given out.

Now if they find a live round...well, even god cannot help you at that point!

[pmulcahy11b]

The stockpile pictures remind me of the ammo and weapon "depot" used by Sarah Connor in Terminator 2.

[Legbreaker]

All together now!

"I HAVE NO LIVE ROUNDS OR RANGE PRODUCTS IN MY POSSESSION, SIR!!!"