Lessons from the North: Canada's Privatization of Military Ammunition Production
Abstract
The U.S. Army owns more than a dozen plants that today manufacture ammunition, ammunition components, and other ordnance materiel such as gun tubes and gun mounts. Some 70 completely private plants, at which the Army spends roughly two-thirds of its ammunition dollars, complement this government-owned base. In contrast, during the period 1965-86, Canada privatized all its government-owned munitions plants, achieving beneficial results. This report is a companion to Rethinking Governance of the Army's Arsenals and Ammunition Plants, a report published by the RAND Corporation's Arroyo Center (Hix et al., 2003b). That report recommends that the Army privatize most of its government-owned ammunition plants and divest of two of its arsenals. This case study addresses the applicability of Canada's experience should the United States decide to follow the Canadian example by privatizing its ammunition plants along the lines of RAND's earlier recommendations. Familiarity with the earlier report is essential to a thorough appreciation of the context in which this case study's findings and recommendations are made.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA426609
Entities
People
- Bruce Held
- Ellen M. Pint
- W. M. Hix
Organizations
- RAND Corporation