You may be familiar with ammunition condition code A. Condition code A (CC-A) ammo is serviceable and issuable to all customers, without limitation or restriction. Units often request CC-A ammo by default. But there are other ammunition types and codes that help ammunition supply points (ASPs) manage rounds in various conditions. You can help your local ASP by understanding the meaning of condition codes and planning training and operations accordingly. Whenever possible, request non-CC-A ammunition if it will meet mission or training needs.
According to DA PAM 742-1, Ammunition Surveillance Procedures (Nov 16), CC-B is serviceable ammunition that can be new, used, repaired or reconditioned material that is serviceable and issuable for its intended purpose; however, it is restricted from issue to specific units, activities or geographical areas by reason of its limited usefulness. Ammo that doesn’t meet a certain specification could be reclassified to CC-B with a “for training use only” restriction. Maybe the rounds aren’t good to go for a combat mission, but Soldiers can still train with the ammo effectively.
Condition Code-C ammunition is serviceable, priority-of-use ammo that’s issuable to select customers, but which must be issued before conditions A and B material to avoid loss of usable assets. CC-C usually includes small lot quantities, items with a short remaining shelf or service life or partial cans of ammo. Units receive CC-C ammo if it meets the needs of the unit to ensure that it’s fired rather than paying for storage and eventual demilitarization.
Joint Munitions Command (JMC) ammunition managers, quality assurance specialists and quality assurance engineers spend countless man-hours ensuring that ammo in any condition code will function properly. JMC will never ship ammo to a unit unless it has been determined to be reliable and safe to use.
Units conducting live fire exercises can help the Army and ASP by requesting and using CC-B and CC-C ammo. When you consider the cost of ammunition, it makes more sense to fire it than to wait until it’s unusable. This swap-out (when feasible) also frees up space in ammo bunkers, helps to use the ammo stockpile more efficiently and preserves CC-A ammo for Warfighters serving in contingency or combat missions.