(Feb. 2, 2007) -- Every Marine needs ammunition. On Parris Island, all ammunition requirements go through the ammunition technicians of Weapons and Field Training Battalion's Ammunition Section.
For the Marines of the Ammunition Section, their day starts before the sun even rises and ends long after it sets. The day starts when the two Marines on the morning crew, Cpls. Robert DeLuca and Alexsis Morales, ammunition technicians, Ammunition Section, leave the ammunition shed and head to the Ammunition Supply Point to process the requests for the rounds being fired that day.
Once the requests have been processed by the ASP duty, the crew picks up the needed ammunition for each range. Ninety percent of the ammunition is 5.56-millimeter rounds for the M-16A2 service rifle the recruits and Marines use on the rifle ranges. The other 10 percent consists of belted Squad Automatic Weapon and pistol rounds. The two Marines will load up to 60 cases,which each weighs 66 pounds and contains over 1,500 rounds of ammunition onto the truck each morning.
"This is the hardest part of the day," said staff Sgt. Eric Queen, the staff non-commissioned officer-in-charge and ammo chief, Ammunition Section.
Once the cases are loaded, they are delivered to the ammunition representative at each of the ranges where recruits and Marines fire more than 11.5 million rounds a year. Once the shooters have completed their firing, the shooters conduct a tedious brass and round sweep at each firing line of the ranges to collect all used and unused ammunition. The afternoon crew, Cpl. Paul Kersten and Lance Cpl. Michael Rogers, ammunition techs, then collects the remaining live rounds from each range and takes them back to the ASP where they are stored for later use.
Once the live ammunition has been returned and is secured at the ASP, the Marines ensure the cases of brass are taken from the ranges and deposited at the ammunition shed. The used ammunition cases are eventually taken to the Recycling Center aboard the Depot where they are recycled and sold to help fund the Recycling Center.
Shooters may take the ammunition on the ranges for granted when shooting during the cold-early mornings, but it is the hard work and dedication of the ASP Marines who supplies shooters with the ammunition they need to qualify of the rifle range.