Small-caliber ammunition is used in pistols, rifles, automatic weapons and machine guns. It ranges in size from 5.56mm to .50 caliber.

Medium-caliber ammunition is used in light cannons and ranges in size from 20mm to 57mm.

Large-caliber ammunition is used in tank cannons, mortars and land- and sea-based artillery pieces. It is typically 60mm or greater in size.

Ammunition is the war fighter's lifeblood. In order to live, the human body needs a constant supply of blood. It is the blood that provides each cell of the human body with the oxygen and food it needs to survive.

Keeping the blood flowing is the heart. The human body holds about 5 liters of blood of four basic types -- O, A, B and AB. The heart pumps an average of 72 times a minute, 24/7/365 for decades. Over an average person's life, the heart beats more than 3.5 billion times and pumps about 250,000 gallons of blood. Any interference with the flow of blood throughout the body and functions diminish, organs are damaged and the individual can die. The most serious danger is a heart attack, a condition when that central organ in the blood-supply system fails to function.

As important as a continuous and reliable supply of blood is to every human being, so too is a continuous and reliable supply of ammunition to the war fighter. When all is said and done, the expenditure of ammunition is the principal means by which the war fighter achieves his mission, whether it is capturing an objective, neutralizing an enemy or suppressing hostile fire.

The availability of reliable ammunition in the quantity needed can mean life itself to those in combat. The lack of ammunition, like the lack of blood flow to critical organs in the body, can result in death.

Unlike the human blood supply, which is uniform, the supply of ammunition required by the war fighters can vary over time. In wartime, the demand for ammunition rises, often dramatically. Moreover, ammunition comes in many types and varieties. For example, the U.S. military currently uses 85 different types of small-caliber ammunition, from blanks used in training to armor-piercing bullets in 11 different sizes.

There are also multiple types and sizes of medium- and large-caliber ammunition. In addition, the military is seeking to transition its ammunition supply to advanced types of propellants and explosives requiring new manufacturing procedures.

-- Part 3: Meeting the ammunition supply challenge of the Iraq war

(Daniel Goure is vice president of the Lexington Institute, an independent think tank in Arlington, Va.)

(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)

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