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Welcome to the AME Arms and Ordnance Portal

The Amy Museum Enterprise (AME) Chief for Arms and Ordnance provides services related to artifact collections associated with Small Arms Light Weapons (SA/LW), Ordnance, Ammunition and Explosives (AE), and Edged Weapons. The intent of the Arms and Ordnance Portal is to augment communication between the AME Headquarters and stakeholders across the AME and Army by making available a broad array of information and resources.

All questions and comments are welcome! Please explore the portal content where you will find a wealth of information regarding Arms and Ordnance.

Policy & SOP

Ordnance

Arms & Ordnance SOPs Ordnance

HQDA EXORD 238-20 Conversion and Transfer of Excess Historical Combat Equipment to OHM

The full EXORD is available on milSuite and provides details of the process: https://www.milsuite.mil/book/docs/DOC-840042

OHM Display Considerations:

Activities, units, and garrisons across the Army who obtain Organizational Heritage Materiel (OHM) IAW the HQDA EXORD 238-20 Conversion and Transfer of Excess Historical Combat Equipment to OHM, may be faced with exhibit challenges. Activities are not required to maintain OHM using professional museum standards IAW the AR 870-20 Army Museums, Historical Artifacts, And Art. However, planning ahead and preparing appropriate areas for display are essential to creating safe and historically accurate displays.

Safety:

Safety is paramount for Soldiers, families, and visitors. Signs prohibiting climbing on vehicles should be placed in conspicuous locations to prevent accidental injury to persons around vehicles. Viewer-control posts with ropes are good options to prevent access. All hatches on tracked vehicles should be secured and locked to prevent entry. Tack-welding is the most secure method. All openings should be vermin proofed to prevent nesting. Signs can be obtained/purchased through a contractor or from the local activity's graphic or sign shop. NOTE: Obtaining services related to OHM are the responsibility of the unit/recipient. The Center of Military History or Army Museum Enterprise does not provide these services.

Abatement:

If not previously performed, OHM require abatement to protect Soldiers, families, visitors, and the environment from hazardous materials. Submit a request for information regarding abatement.

OHM Care, Maintenance, and Painting:

While not required, OHM should be placed on a concrete pad engineered to move water away from the vehicle. If a concrete pad does not already exist, plan ahead with the local Logistics Readiness Center (LRC) to create a surface strong and large enough for the OHM. Erecting a protective cover against rain and direct sunlight can extend the life of OHM paint. Submit a request for information regarding concrete pad construction specifications. Placing cannon or vehicles with pneumatic tires on steel supports/mounts at the axles will prevent the tires from warping. Painting the display OHM with the correct color for the time period is important for historical accuracy. Refer to Historical Army Vehicle Paint Information for OHM . For fixed-wing and rotor-wing aircraft paint guides, refer to the U.S. Army Aircraft Paint Color Guides . When applying tactical markings, numbers, or insignia, refer to Bumper Numbers and Letters.

Collections

Arms & Ordnance Collections-Small Arms & Light Weapons

Ordnance

Arms & Ordnance Collections-Ordnance

SME Teams

Our Charge

To develop strategic cost-effective recommendations for artifacts to support formal Soldier training, research and development, and the interpretation of US Army history at AME activities, as outlined in the Collections Management Plan.

End State

An AME artifact collection that represents the materiel culture of the Army with sufficient density to support the field museums' exhibits and educational programming as well as Army research and development.

Methodology

The methodology considers items by category and seeks to answer 6 questions. The starting point is collecting everything. Then use 6 questions to determine what, and how many should be physically collected and what should be intellectually collected.

Example: There are 36 variations of the M60 tank. The AME does not need to collect every variation in the physical collection. Document every variation and collect those needed to support the end state. The remaining variants are collected by way of photographs, manuals, and other archival or file copies for what is termed "intellectual collecting.“

Develop curator studies by class, providing analysis by artifact to make a recommendation. Provide these recommendations in the studies, and distribute to all the directors.
 


Questions

For questions regarding AME Arms & Ordnance contact

Chief, Arms & Ordnance
Dieter Stenger
dieter.stenger.civ@mail.mil
(703) 805-7476 ~ Fort Belvoir
Cell: 540-604-3907
Fax: 703-805-8639

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Mailing address
US Army Center of Military History
Army Museum Enterprise
Historic Materiel Directorate
9955 Tracy Loop, Bldg 765
Fort Belvoir, Virginia 22060

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