McAlester ammo plant gears up for wartime production

Wednesday, November 27th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) _ At a compound the size of the District of Columbia, workers at the government's primary bomb-making facility are working at a stepped-up pace to produce the more than 100 types of explosives used by the military.

As tension between the United States and Iraq has increased, the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant has been hiring more workers and is foregoing its usual two-week Christmas break in production and beginning a swing shift schedule it hasn't used full time since the Vietnam War.

Workers at the plant in rural southeastern Oklahoma pack bomb casings with explosive powders, making, as they put it, the part that goes ``boom.''

On Air Force bases and naval destroyer ships, some of the bombs will be fitted with a guidance system, known as a Joint Direct Attack Munition kit, made by Boeing in St. Charles, Mo.

The 2,000-pound bombs fitted with JDAM kits have been a favorite U.S. weapon in the war in Afghanistan. They are highly accurate and can be released from war planes at a great distance, affording more safety for pilots.

``With the JDAM kit they're using more of them than we thought they would,'' said Army Col. Jyuji Hewitt, the McAlester plant commander.

The plant is now replenishing its stock supply to make up for shipments to the armed forces. At the height of a conflict, it must be able to send 400 20-foot-long containers of bombs to the military every day for a month.

Artillery shells for the Army's howitzer guns are assembled here as well as the penetrator bombs used recently in blasting the maze of caves in Afghanistan. The plant also assembles the Harpoon Warhead and other long-range missiles.

The plant was built in 1943. During World War II, the Oklahoma countryside was a prime location for a factory to build bombs. It was isolated and far from the threat of German forces on the East Coast and Japanese foes on the West Coast.

Bomb-making production lines are scattered across the wooded acreage, where herds of white-tailed deer and flocks of wild turkeys roam. During hunting season, hunters who have passed a background check can hunt on the grounds with bow and arrows or shotguns.

The plant is the area's largest employer, employing roughly 1,000.

The starting wage for an explosives worker is $11.22 an hour _ a good wage in rural Oklahoma _ and few special skills are required for most starting positions. Some workers drive more than an hour to get here.

Carol Honeywell, 55, quit her job as a registered nurse to work at the plant after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. She had also worked there during the Vietnam War.

``I just felt like I wanted to do something to try to help,'' Honeywell said. ``To think that America would be attacked on its own soil ... you want to get involved and help.''

She is part of a crew that makes practice bombs used in target practice. New hires start out here, working with inert materials. They progress to working with live explosives, a welcome activity since working with live explosives pays more.

``I'm glad to do it and be part of the civilian army,'' said new hire Greg Breshear, 35. ``I really feel like I'm serving my country.''