ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND (APG), Md. - The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity (CMA) conducted a Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) challenge inspection training exercise at APG Sept. 13-15 to demonstrate its readiness to fulfill CWC Treaty requirements.
The exercise also exhibited CMA's commitment to preparedness and protecting national security, as well as the organization's unwavering support of Army readiness throughout the force.
"APG is the home of Army chemical and biological defense research," said Col. James Reckard, CMA Director. "This training exercise allows us to build readiness for an inspection and demonstrate full treaty compliance."
A CWC challenge inspection is a short-notice event that could potentially occur at any Army facility. CMA, headquartered in the Edgewood Area of APG, is responsible for training and staffing a service assistance team that can support challenged installations in accordance with the Army's challenge inspection plan.
"Our treaty team is running this exercise to train our installation assistance team on actions to take should a challenge inspection occur," said Crystal Legaluppi, CMA Chief of the Center for Treaty Implementation and Compliance. "APG provides a realistic scenario for an unannounced inspection due to the lab requirements to conduct research in support of national defense."
Several organizations and offices participated in the exercise, including the APG Operations Center, Army G-3/5/7 and the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command's Edgewood Chemical Biological Center.
CMA is responsible for the Army's implementation of the CWC Treaty, which is overseen by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and seeks to rid the world of the threat chemical weapons pose to international security.
"As the Army's implementation agent for the CWC Treaty, I welcome any opportunity to train for an inspection," Reckard said. "These exercises help improve our readiness."
The United States, one of the first countries to sign and ratify the CWC, has been a State Party since 1997. The treaty requires States Parties with chemical weapons or chemical weapons production facilities to destroy them in an environmentally safe manner. The chemical stockpile previously stored on APG was destroyed in 2006.
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