The individuals responsible for safely and securely storing the chemical weapons stockpile are among those recognized as the 2023 Arms Control Person(s) of the Year by the Arms Control Association.
In June 2023, the last mustard agent-filled munition was destroyed at Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado, and on July 7, the final nerve agent-filled munition was destroyed at Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, delivered by Blue Grass Chemical Activity personnel. Both BGCA, a tenant at BGAD, and PCD were responsible for safely and securely storing and delivering the munitions in the chemical stockpile, a critical part of the successful stockpile destruction. BGCA and PCD are part of the Chemical Materials Activity, which falls under the Joint Munitions Command.
Destruction of the chemical stockpile was required by the Chemical Weapons Convention, a treaty that seeks to eliminate chemical weapons.
“This is a great acknowledgement of all the hard work our teammates have done to accomplish our treaty obligations,” said Col. Ronnie Anderson Jr., JMC commander. “I am truly impressed by the collaboration and dedication displayed by those at BGCA and PCD in this effort. They showcased exceptional capabilities and committed themselves to reach a desired goal.”
Since 2007, ACA, a non-governmental organization, “has nominated individuals and institutions that have, in the previous 12 months, advanced effective arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament solutions and raised awareness of the threats posed by mass casualty weapons,” according to its website.
“We applaud the highly professional work of all the people involved in the difficult destruction of the last remnants of the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile," said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the ACA. "Their efforts bring to close an important chapter in the decades long global disarmament struggle to verifiably eliminate an entire class of weapons considered so inhumane that their use was condemned more than a century ago.
"The successful work of the people and community watchdogs in and around the Pueblo Chemical Depot and the Blue Grass Army Depot is an important reminder that even after a major treaty, like the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, is concluded, there is hard, behind-the-scenes work to be done in order to ensure full implementation and ongoing compliance,” Kimball added.
A list of all of the 2023 nominees can be found online at ArmsControl.org/ACPOY/2023.
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