NEWPORT CHEMICAL DEPOT, Ind. - The U.S. Army held a Deactivation Ceremony as a sign all activities required to close the Newport Chemical Depot (NECD) have been successfully completed. Located in Newport, Ind., this is the first full installation closure for the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency (CMA).
"Today marks a significant achievement for CMA that would not have been possible without the expertise of past and present employees," said CMA Director Conrad Whyne. "I am extremely proud and grateful for the hard work and dedication the Newport team has put forth through all projects on this site."
Workers, past and present, as well as members of the public, watched the casing of NECD's colors, a symbolic ceremony in which the depot flag is rolled up and cased, signifying the official deactivation of the installation.
NECD was established in 1941 as the Wabash River Ordnance Works.
Multiple military defense projects occurred on the depot grounds, from the production of RDX, Heavy Water and TNT, as well VX nerve agent production, storage and its ultimate destruction at the Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility.
"Safety has always been the cornerstone of our projects at Newport and will be our lasting legacy.
We built, operated and now closed this depot with safety as the top priority," said NECD Commander Lt. Col.
William Hibner.
The Army did not have future missions planned for the grounds, so the NECD was placed on the Base Realignment and Closure list in 2005 and will be turned over to a caretaker organization later this summer.
"Our deactivation marks the end of our official history. However, it is also a step forward for the history of CMA, the Army and the country," Hibner added.
The remaining CMA storage facilities are located in Anniston, Ala.; Pine Bluff, Ark.; Umatilla, Ore.; Tooele, Utah; Pueblo, Colo. and Richmond, Ky.
NECD photos and ceremony coverage can be found on the CMA Web site at http://www.cma.army.mil/newportcompletion.aspx.
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