PUEBLO CHEMICAL DEPOT, Colo –
Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services recently aided the Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant in Colorado by disposing of simulated munitions rounds in preparation for the site's scheduled closure.
According to Brent DuBois, quality assurance specialist (ammunition surveillance) with the Program Executive Office Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives, the simulated munitions turned over to DLA Disposition Services are entirely inert; they never contained energetics or chemicals.
DuBois said inert munitions were used to test equipment design and systemization, for acceptance testing, and for workforce training at the Pueblo site.
“We are at the end of our mission,” DuBois said. “We are no longer destroying chemical weapons, so we no longer have a need for these items.”
The storage facilities used to warehouse the simulated munitions will be returned to the Pueblo Chemical Depot, which was marked for closure through the Base Realignment and Closure process. The storage facilities will eventually be made available to the local community.
DuBois praised the efficiency of DLA’s disposal process.
“We send it to DLA Disposition Services, since they are the disposal authority for all of DoD,” said Juan Garza, government property administrator and plant clearance officer for the Army Contracting Command at Pueblo.
Garza emphasized that with DLA support, he can be assured of the agency’s adherence to all DoD standards and regulations for property disposal.
“We are at the tail end of a BRAC installation,” Garza said. “If DLA wasn't there, I would be a one-man gang; I would have to manage my own disposal program. Clearly, I'm not staffed like they are, so I'm glad they're there.”