Military brass denied to civilians...again

[steve4102]

Military Cartridge Brass Destruction 2010 - Round 2
by
Gary Marbut, President, Montana Shooting Sports Association


The cure that was arranged by Montana Senators Baucus and Tester to fix the intended military destruction of once-fired cartridge brass last year appears to be suffering from a fatal end-run.
Interested persons will remember that a year ago, helpful intervention by Montana's senators persuaded the Department of Defense to rescind a fresh DoD directive to military installation commanders requiring them to destroy once-fired brass, prior to selling it at auction into the civilian marketplace for ammunition reloading and other purposes.
An end-run is being done around the rescinding order through quiet and sweetheart side deals with installation commanders that is being aggressively promoted by ATK.
Some characters must be introduced to explain this story. ATK/Alliant Techsystems is the defense contractor that currently has the contract to operate the Army's huge Lake City Arsenal, the last government-owned facility in the U.S. for production of small arms military ammunition. While other contracts to operate Lake City have been cost-plus, the contract ATK arranged allows ATK to retain profits of operation. Although government/private partnerships always seem to be strange creatures, the nature of the government/ATK partnership may be stranger than most.
Government Liquidation is another private entity that has an exclusive government franchise to sell surplus military equipment, from all military installations nationwide, to all bidders.
Until recently, most used cartridge brass sales were put up for public bid through Government Liquidations, bids available to scrap metal purchasers, foundries processing brass, and specialized cartridge brass processors that reconditioned millions of surplus cartridge brass for sale to commercial reloaders of civilian ammunition, and to civilians for ammunition loading. The steady supply of reloadable brass from military sources has been a sizeable and essential component of the currently stressed ammunition market in the U.S.
Although the private Government Liquidations retains a fee for the auction services it provides, the bulk of income from Government Liquidations' sales of surplus military property is directed into the U.S. Treasury, to be reallocated and appropriated by Congress, as needed.
In a recent turn, ATK has been aggressively promoting sweetheart side deals with military installation commanders for those commanders to sell used cartridge brass directly to ATK (which ATK then renders unsuitable for reloading), the income from which is deposited, NOT into the U.S. Treasury for reallocation by Congress, but into accounts controlled by installation commanders for installation operation.
ATK even provides portable equipment to demil tons of cartridge cases at the military installations, destroying the brass for reloading purposes. Because the destroyed cartridge case brass is not suitable for reloading, it cannot command a price driven by auction for the highest-value use of reloading. Military installation commanders sell the Alliant-destroyed brass to ATK at a private, non-auction, special price. Commanders are willing to accept the reduced price because the sale proceeds go to the commanders' discretionary accounts and not back to the U.S. Treasury via Government Liquidations.

Quote from ATK program sales literature:

"Payment is made to Fort Irwin not DRMO [now Government Liquidations], so Fort Irwin utilizes the money that is generated from the Recycle project for other recycling efforts."

ATK, then, ships this destroyed cartridge brass to the foundries from which ATK gets new stock for manufacturing new cartridge cases, offsetting in significant part what ATK would otherwise pay the foundries, and thereby increasing ATK's profit from operating the Lake City Arsenal.
Government Liquidations suffers a substantial decrease in business since fired military brass has long been a most lucrative product they've traditionally handled.
Meanwhile, the big losers are the U.S. Treasury (U.S. taxpayers), and civilian ammunition consumers who will see higher prices and more shortages in the ammunition marketplace from this scheme. U.S. gun owners are effectively being taxed by this scheme to provide greater profits for ATK.
There is one additional motive at work here. In part, this juicy scheme is being sold to military installation commanders with the reasoning that "We cannot allow this reloaded ammunition to fall into the hands of militias." The sell-direct-to-ATK idea is being sold to installation commanders as a way to deprive imagined U.S. civilian enemies of firepower.

Quotes from ATK program sales literature:

"Currently handling brass scrap for ATK Lake City -- for sole purpose of recycling material and preventing any reloading of spent cases by the public with military grade brass."

"Keeps Military Grade Brass from being re-loaded by unauthorized users."

"To PREVENT anyone from using your scrap ammunition components for non-military purposes." (Emphasis in the original)

"Assurability for the [military] installation, that no one can use this cartridge against law enforcement or our military personnel, by reloading the case."

It's time to cure this problem finally with congressional action. The Montana congressional delegation is spooling up to address this issue. Senators and Representatives from other states need to join the Montana delegation in fixing this problem finally with congressional direction to DoD to require that all expended military brass of civilian-useable calibers generated domestically goes through the public auction process. This will benefit the U.S. Treasury, America's gun owners, and the adequacy of the ammunition marketplace.

- End -

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
Montana Shooting Sports Association

[BillCA]

Do you have a source link for this message?

This letter doesn't appear on the MTSSA site... which given the nature of the message it would be reasonable to find it there. I can find several sources that show a form of press release, but non with links to an original source.

[goodspeed(TPF)]

Do you have a source link for this message?

Ditto. I'd like to see where this came from. Thank you. -Goodspeed

[riverwalker76]

I talked to the rep from ATK last Friday, and he mentioned NOTHING about this. He actually put me in touch with a new source for military surplus brass.

You need to investigate and get your facts straight before you go spreading old news or propaganda.

[AlaskaMike]

Some basic google searching turned up this:

http://www.progunleaders.org/ammo/

Which appears to be the same text Steve quoted. Riverwalker, you might want to hold off on the badmouthing until we get some better confirmation. If this is real, it's very possible that the ATK rep you spoke with simply had no knowledge of it.

Mike

[lgsracer]

Here is a link:

http://www.ammoland.com/2010/03/24/m...ction-round-2/

[azredhawk44]

If true, this is despicable.

ATK should lose the Lake City contract as a result.

[MTT TL]

By all means let them know how you really feel:

ATK Corporate

Corporate Headquarters
7480 Flying Cloud Drive
Minneapolis, MN 55344
Phone: 952-351-3000
[email protected]

ATK Washington D.C. Operations
ATK Washington D.C. Operations
1300 Wilson Boulevard Suite 400
Arlington, VA 22209
Phone: 703-412-5960
[email protected]

Investor Relations
ATK shareholder contact
Inquiries from shareholders, securities analysts, and others in the professional investment community
should be directed to:

Jeff Huebschen
Director, Investor Relations
Phone: 952-351-2929

Transfer agent and registrar
Shareholder inquiries concerning the transfer of shares, lost certificates, or address changes should
be directed to:

Transfer Agent and Registrar
Mellon Investor Services LLC
480 Washington Blvd.
Jersey City, New Jersey 07310
Phone: 800-851-9677
www.melloninvestor.com

Print materials request
To obtain a copy of the annual report, 10-K, 10-Q, proxy, or quarterly earnings release, contact:
ATK Investor Relations
Phone: 952-351-3059
[email protected]

ATK Armament Systems

Headquarters
ATK Armament Systems
938 University Park Boulevard
Clearfield, UT 84015
Phone: 763-712-7700
Birmingham, Alabama
ATK Integrated Weapon Systems
P.O. Box 660807
Birmingham, AL 35266
Phone: 205-402-9892
Mesa, Arizona
ATK Integrated Weapon Systems
3309 North Reseda Circle
Mesa, AZ 85215
Phone: 480-324-8600
Oroville, California
ATK Commercial Products — RCBS
605 Oro Dam Boulevard
Oroville, CA 95965
Phone: 1-800-533-5000
Lewiston, Idaho
ATK Commercial Products — CCI/Speer
2299 Snake River Avenue
Lewiston, ID 83501
Phone: 1-800-627-3640
Richmond, Indiana
ATK Commercial Products — Champion
232 Industrial Parkway
Richmond, IN 47374
Phone: 1-800-441-4971
Anoka, Minnesota
ATK Commercial Products — Federal Cartridge
900 Ehlen Drive
Anoka, MN 55303
Phone: 763-323-2300
Independence, Missouri
ATK Small Caliber Systems
Lake City Army Ammunition Plant
P.O. Box 1000
Independence, MO 64051
Phone: 816-796-7101

Federal Express Address
R.R. 7 and HIghway 78
Independence, MO 64056

St. Louis, Missouri
ATK Tactical Systems — Eagle Industries
1000 Biltmore Drive
Fenton, Mo 63062
Phone: 636-343-7547
Fayetteville, North Carolina
ATK Tactical Systems — Eagle Industries
2709 Bragg Blvd.
Fayetteville, NC 28303
Phone: 636-343-7547
Radford, Virginia
ATK Energetic Systems
Radford Army Ammunition Plant
Route 114, P.O. Box 1
Radford, VA 24143
Phone: 540-639-7631
Radford, Virginia
New River Energetics
Radford Army Ammunition Plant
Route 114, P.O. Box 6
Radford, VA 24143
Phone: 540-639-7631
Virginia Beach, Virginia
ATK Tactical Systems — Eagle Industries
1240 Perimeter Parkway
Suites 403 and 404
Virginia Beach, VA 23454
Phone: 636-343-7547
Onalaska, Wisconsin
ATK Commercial Products — Onalaska Operations
N5549 County Trunk Z
Onalaska, WI 54650
Phone: 1-800-635-7656
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
ATK Tactical Systems — Eagle International
Zona Franca Industrial Las Americas
Autopista Las Americas, Km22.
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Phone: 636-343-7547
Lares, Puerto Rico
ATK Tactical Systems — Eagle Industries
9 Urb. Villa Bornquen
Emilio Castro Street
Lares, Puerto Rico 00669
Phone: 636-343-7547
Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
ATK Tactical Systems — Eagle Industries
Nelson Colon St. #3020
Guanajibo Industrial Park
Mayaguez, Puerto Rico 00682
Phone: 636-343-7547

Better contact them all and let them know how you feel about their un-American activities. Of course since they represent almost all major ammo makers they might be too big to care.

[azredhawk44]

Winchester, Remington, Lee, Dillon.

Geez, they are huge, though. Wow. It's an intimidating contact list.

[BillCA]

VERIFY FIRST

Before we get our panties in a wad, we need to verify this first. I have sent an inquriy to MTSSA to get them to authenticate the letter. I suggest others with contacts inside ATK/Federal do the same.

Let's not perpetuate some scam.

If it's not a scam, then by all means we should start an effort to influence ATK's position.

[riverwalker76]

Here's the real scoop people.

The DoD , after the rise of the last surplus ban, decided to do a test study. They are currently in the process of TRYING what the letter has stated. They are weighing the benefits and drawbacks of such a move.

In other words ... they have a test study of a few bases, Ft. Campbell, KY is one of them, that they currently shred their brass. However, at this point it's only in the testing phases. They haven't come to a conclusion at this point. It will be several years before they decide the outcome of the STUDY.

BillCa has a good point. Don't go ranting and raving and calling ATK. This will do nothing more than make them aggravated at us. Then ... think about it ... they won't WANT to work with us as reloaders. If they do away with the surplus brass sales they won't HAVE to deal with the public. Let's not give them a reason folks. Don't go off Half Cocked!

[BillCA]

It's verified.

Riverwalker brings up a good point. If this is a study or an exercise, then writing letters to DoD is the first step. Pointing out the economic impact, especially right now, is a valid point.

Verification from Gary Marbut..........

Bill,

Greetings from Montana.

I really did write the story about destruction of military brass.

I've also posted it at:
http://www.progunleaders.org/ammo/

I own and maintain progunleaders.org and use it to conveniently post stuff with my limited Web programming skills. For the MSSA Website, I must go through our volunteer Webmaster, which is often a slow process.

BTW, I'm also an active handgunner. I shoot about 10,000 rounds annually in IPSC practice and competition and I hunt elk in Montana with a revolver. I also teach handgun self defense and have graduated over 2,500 students from classes that qualify graduates to apply for a Montana concealed weapon permit.

About the brass story, I have more information and more coming in steadily - to much to tell here and nothing to detract from or disprove the general gist of my story.

Best wishes,

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

[azredhawk44]

http://www.progunleaders.org/ammo/AT...Projects-1.pdf

Page 8 is rather insulting.

Page 11, too.

Page 21: They want to destroy ammo cans too, not just 5.56/7.62 brass.

Page 28 is also a slap.

[riverwalker76]

Well ... after reading the pamphlet from ATK I suggest you do one thing and one thing alone ......

Stop Buying ALL CCI, SPEER, RCBS, and Federal Ammunition and Components !!!

ATK is the parent company of Federal / CCI / Sierra / RCBS.


Also, this is simply a proposal. It's not a law. To be quite honest with you I don't think this would ever happen. After all ... if some of you know how the DoD operates ... a lot of people at the DoD would look at this and think that ATK was getting a little 'too big for their britches' if you know what I mean. It may be time to hand the contract back over to Remington or Winchester/Olin.

After all ... ATK's contract is up this year at Lake City, and they will be rebidding soon for who is the operator of Lake City. Keep in mind they still have a year to operate the plant after the contract is up, but they will be accepting bids for operation soon.

Someone contact Remington and Olin/ Winchester to see if they plan on rebidding for the operation of Lake City. If you notice ... I believe ATK is putting in a 'last ditch' effort in trying to make themselves look like a more 'environmentally friendly' operator thus trying to win the hearts and minds of the DoD. See my point?

This happens a lot around election time. People give out all kinds of new 'fangled' ideas that they think sound good, but it never pans out. Am I making sense?

[azredhawk44]

Sent to [email protected].

Feel free to borrow and adapt as you see fit.

To Whom it May Concern:

I'm writing to let you know that I find the following link, regarding ATK's operation of the Lake City ammunition plant, quite insulting.

http://www.progunleaders.org/ammo/AT...Projects-1.pdf

I am an avid shooter and experienced cartridge reloader. I shoot in NRA High Power competitions and I am an instructor in the RWVA Appleseed Program, and have contact with hundreds, possibly even thousands, of shooters each year who are also avid participants in firearms sports and cartridge reloaders. I depend upon the cycle of military brass being made available to the law abiding public in order to hone my skills. I have about a thousand Lake City headstamp cartridge cases in my garage right now, just waiting to be resized with my RCBS equipment and primed with my CCI primers, then topped with Sierra 69gr match bullets.

Frankly, based on this proposal that you sent to Ft. Irwin, I'll be changing my reloading recipe to use Olin/Winchester primers and Hornady 68gr match bullets, and researching Lee/Dillon/Hornady reloading equipment for future use.

I am astounded at the following language:

-Page 8: Currently handling brass scrap for ATK Lake City -- for the sole purpose of recycling material and preventing any reloading of spent cases by the public with military grade brass.
-Page 11: Reasons for Recycling Brass, item 3: Keeps Military Grade Brass from being re-loaded by unauthorized users.
-Page 21: I also object to your stated intent to destroy ammo cans. Many civilian reloaders purchase these on the surplus market for storage of reloaded ammunition.
-Page 28: To PREVENT anyone from using your scrap ammunition components for non-military purposes.

These concepts are alien to the tradition of civilian/military cooperation that makes our country great, and distinguishes us from the rest of the world.

I have participated in training of our soldiers, and been invited to train a group of Squad Designated Marksmen for the Army recently. The Army and other branches of the US Military depend upon civilian marksman proficiency and mastery in order to maintain skills and pass them on to subsequent generations that defend our country, liberty and lives.

I am letting you know that I am contacting my Senators and Congressional Representative in regards to this matter. I understand that ATK's contract to operate Lake City is up for review in the next year. I'm sure that Olin or Remington is capable of operating the facility while respecting the principles that make our country the beacon of liberty for the world.

Most sincerely,

[AZRedhawk44]
Mesa, AZ

[HiBC]

I sometimes call the ballisticians at Sierra.
I am concerned about this issue,and WILL vote with my dollar pending what is true.
I just called Sierra,and asked about this issue.I was told Sierra is not affiliated with ATK.
I can understand not doing business with a company that destroys surplus brass.
However,Sierra Bullets has served the shooting community very well .If you have mistakenly included them on a boycott list,you have hurt one of our friends.You also do not have at least one of your facts straight.
As others have said,this is serious,responding is fine,but verify first!!

It would be truly wrong to come down on Sierra if they are not part of this

[Hardcase]

From RCBS's webs site:

ATK Response to Inquiries Regarding Once-Fired Brass Cases
ATK is a strong supporter of our armed forces, the shooting sports industry, second amendment rights and all of our customers who choose to reload ammunition. In fact, ATK is a leader in the reloading market. The dated brochure and presentation have caused confusion in the marketplace and do not reflect the views of our company and will be immediately withdrawn. As a service to our military customers, we routinely handle demil operations for various munitions and respond to requests from military installations for reclamation and recycling of military items. Each contract is awarded through the military installation’s procurement process. The installations received fair value for the brass.

ATK fully supports the provision passed by Congress last year to ensure that demilitarized spent brass casings remain available for civilian use.

EDIT: Sierra has nothing to do with ATK, BTW.

[azredhawk44]

The dated brochure and presentation have caused confusion in the marketplace and do not reflect the views of our company and will be immediately withdrawn.

Unless they fired the people who wrote that brochure... they are sponsoring anti-civilian mentality in their company by continuing to employ those people.

Whomever authored and approved for distribution pages 8, 11, 21 and 28 needs firing.

I'm willing to bet that brochure slimed its way quite a ways up the executive chain of ATK before final approval.

A simple "oops, we didnt mean it, we really like your money!" doesn't cut it for me.

[David_Clark]

Confirmed, I have received same email. With, I might add. No sig line. When I can confirm this practice has indeed stopped with at least the name of a company spokesman then I will indeed cease my boycott. Until then, I know of at least one other reloader I talked to on phone today and myself who will continue boycott.

This was my response to ATK.
While I find this to be favorable response. One such is usually ended with a name such as Corporate President or Vice President.... At least customer or public relations rep. Until then my position stands. respectfully, david clark.
––––-Original Message––––-
From: ATK Corporate [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 12:35 PM
Subject: Scrap Brass Concerns

Dear valued customer:


Thank you for bringing the scrap brass program information to our attention.


ATK is a strong supporter of our armed forces, the shooting sports industry, second amendment rights and all of our customers who choose to reload ammunition. In fact, ATK is a leader in the reloading market. A dated brochure and presentation have caused confusion in the marketplace and do not reflect the views of our company and will be immediately withdrawn. As a service to our military customers, we routinely handle demil operations for various munitions and respond to requests from military installations for reclamation and recycling of military items. Each contract is awarded through the military installation?s procurement process. The installations receive fair value for the brass.


ATK fully supports the provision passed by Congress last year to ensure that demilitarized spent brass casings remain available for civilian use.


We appreciate your support of our industry

[Red_Eagle]

Let's face it, this bunch has been pretty arrogant for a long time. I got that vibe the moment I opened my speer manual for the first time. The way I see it RCBS is barely out of Lee's legue, but they seem to think they're Redding. Speer is more Hornady's peer, but from they're attitude (and prices) you'd think you were dealing with Nosler or even Swift. Unfortunately most of the really good pistol / shotgun powders in the Alliant stable. If they were counting on their rifle powders to keep them a float, they'd have been another colony of the "Hodgdon Empire" a long time ago.

[BillCA]

Offical ATK press release...


ATK Response to Inquiries Regarding Once-Fired Brass Cases

Friday, March 26th, 2010 at 7:40 am
Once Fired Military Brass Casings
ATK
MINNEAPOLIS, MN --(AmmoLand.com)- ATK is a strong supporter of our armed forces, the shooting sports industry, second amendment rights and all of our customers who choose to reload ammunition.

In fact, ATK is a leader in the reloading market. The dated brochure and presentation have caused confusion in the marketplace and do not reflect the views of our company and will be immediately withdrawn.

As a service to our military customers, we routinely handle demil operations for various munitions and respond to requests from military installations for reclamation and recycling of military items.

Each contract is awarded through the military installation’s procurement process. The installations received fair value for the brass.

ATK fully supports the provision passed by Congress last year to ensure that demilitarized spent brass casings remain available for civilian use.

Amanda Covington
ATK Armament Systems

ATK Armament Systems
Amanda Covington
Director of Communications
Clearfield, Utah
Phone: 801-779-4625

Corporate Headquarters
7480 Flying Cloud Drive
Minneapolis, MN 55344
Phone: 952-351-3000
[email protected]

Text of my email to Ms. Covington:

Sorry ATK. As much as I want to believe ATK, I find contradictions here. Claiming that the brochure doesn't represent your company's values then raises the question of how it was approved for use in the first place. Your claim to support various demil operations via each installation's procurement seems to dovetail with the brochure and not with your support of a recent law passed by Congress.

The shooting public can understand the demil of 20mm and larger brass (with the possible exception of the few owners of such historical pieces) as a general rule. But until ATK clarifies its position on demil processing of small arms brass, the shooting public will remain skeptical about the motives of ATK's efforts.

[steve4102]

The dated brochure and presentation have caused confusion in the marketplace and do not reflect the views of our company and will be immediately withdrawn.

They are going to withdraw the brochure, not stop the demolition of brass. The brochure contains language on page 8,11,21 and 28 that is offensive. They are going to remove their offending comments, that's it. Destruction of brass will continue.

[riverwalker76]

Not to offend anyone here in my wording, but ATK reminds me of the WWII Nazi Propaganda machine.

"Oh we aren't doing that. We support you!" all the while trying to figure out how to cut off your ring finger so you don't notice. That's the typical Wolves in Sheeps clothing maneuver. Coddle and nurture them until you decide to smother them in their sleep one night. Catch my drift?

[Lost Sheep]

I just read through the entire thread and here is my impression:

Everybody has incentive to destroy once-fired military small arms brass, to our detriment.

Each person is working in their self-interest. The Installaion Commander gets to keep most of the money from disposed-of materiel (this, subject to fact-checking), so if the Commander can sell scrap brass as crushed or shredded metal and keep the money for use by the installation; his base or post benefits. If he cannot sell the brass as once-fired cartridges at the base/post level, but only at the Depot level, he dosn't get to keep the money (this, subject to fact-checking). The Commander has incentive to crush the brass and sell it as plain metal.

ATK's interest is obvious. They have to melt and re-cast brass whether it was crushed or not (this, subject to fact-checking), so bidding pennies per pound for crushed brass is cheaper and more profitable than bidding dimes per pound for reloadable brass.

Malfeasance doesn't take a conspiracy for several people to cooperate in it, even with honorable intentions. Add a few anti-gun activists and you get a lot of support for destroying millions of dollars of value in this scrap brass. And that value comes directly out of the U.S. Treasury (increases the deficit), paid for by all our taxes. But no ONE PERSON in a position of control has an incentive to stop it.

Plus, Congress, lobbied by ATK has incentive to let the practice (of shredding/crushing small-arms brass) go on.

The Handgun Club of America, NRA (National Rifle Association), GOA (Gun Owners of America), etc. have incentive to lobby (everything from writing letters to actually going to Washington, DC.), but need our support, membership, donations, and ideas to do so.

So, think about it. The most effective (perhaps the only) place we can keep this brass available for civilian shooters is the Congress and Senate of the United States. November's elections are only 6 months, 5 days away


To put a finer point to it, ask yourself this question:

Assume your brand of reloading brass will be more expensive if crushing of surplus militiary once-fired brass is crushed. 25 cents apiece for rifle brass and exotic revolver (454 Casull and such), 10 cents for semi-auto brass and common revolver. If you do nothing, in a year, your brass will be more expensive by that amount. Calculate how much that will cost you. Take half that amount and buy postage and stationary. In the next five months, use up all that postage and stationary writing to your Governor (States each have a National Guard contingent) and everyone in any government you have, and newspapers, too. Take the other half and donate to a gun-rights organization.

Lost Sheep

[riverwalker76]

Here's the thing I don't get.

Right now they buy Sheet Brass from Olin/Winchester to punch out their brass.

Now follow me here ......


So, let's say they built a pot line to melt the shredded brass for recovery. That would cost ... what ... close to $2 Million for just 1 pot line.


Now ... how can they say that they are going to save money by recovering brass? They still have to pay salaries for 80+ people to run a pot line. Then they pay all of the benefits for those people.

A sheet of 10' X 8' brass for stamping cases runs around $32 a sheet. I don't know how many brass they can stamp out of a sheet, but it should be in the thousands.

How is the cost of all of the brass and metal recovery going to save them money in the long run?

Right now they are in the Black. They make a profit on the bullets when they sell them to the appropriate people.

Not to mention the fact that when they aren't producing for the military they are producing for Federal. That's the whole incentive right there.

They get to use machines that they don't have to pay to keep up, and it's 100% profit on those days. ATK is sucking on the 'Government Teat' and trying to take advantage in the process.

What you all are overlooking is the fact that Lake City is what we call a 'G.O.C.O.' facility. That's Government Owned, Contractor Operated. That means ATK doesn't have to pay for ANYTHING. They pretty much have a blank check when it comes to the operation. Let's face it ... one of these days we aren't going to need 1,000,000 rounds of 7.62 in a day. WHen that day comes .... then what?