Apr. 11, 2001
By Joseph Bonfiglio
A U.S. Army unit which played an instrumental role in the destruction of chemical weapons in the Pacific passed an historic landmark today.
The U. S. Army Chemical Activity Pacific (USACAP) held a Chemical Surety Decertification ceremony at its headquarters on Johnston Island, a small isle about 850 miles southwest of Hawaii.
Lt. Gen. Edwin P. Smith, United States Army Pacific commander, presented the unit with the U.S. Army Superior Unit Award.
The ceremony honored the unit for the successful completion of its thirty-year Surety Mission to safely store, secure, transport and account for chemical weapons on the remote island.
USACAP’s chemical surety mission was a U.S. Army system of safety and security measures designed to protect the Pacific community and environment plus all the workers on Johnston Island by ensuring that chemical disposal operations were conducted safely, that chemical agents were stored securely and that personnel met the highest standards of reliability.
From 1971, when Operation Red Hat moved chemical weapons from Okinawa to Johnston Island, until November 2000, when the last chemical weapon was destroyed, USACAP performed its mission without a single serious incident, said Lt. Col. John Esce, USACAP executive officer.
The unit’s outstanding attention to detail ensured the safety of the workforce and Pacific community and the integrity of the environment, according to Esce.
"This accomplishment was made possible by a true team of USACAP soldiers, airmen, federal civilian employees and dedicated private sector contractors who served their country selflessly while working at a remote and isolated location away from their loved ones for extended periods of time," said Col. Steve Brooks, USACAP commander.
USACAP supported the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS) plant on Johnston Island since the plant became operational in 1990.
These two units combined efforts to safely destroy more than 400,000 rockets, projectiles, bombs, mortars, ton containers, and mines, according to the JACADS Project Manager, Gary McCloskey.
"JACADS also destroyed more than 2,000 tons of chemical agent in the form of nerve agent (GB, also known as Sarin, and VX) and blister agent (HD). Our 100 percent destruction of Johnston Island’s stockpile adds up to almost seven percent of the nation’s original total stockpile," said McCloskey.
JACADS was the nation’s first fully integrated facility designed specifically for the disposal of chemical weapons.
The JACADS plant was the first site of nine U.S. chemical weapons storage and demilitarization facilities to eliminate its chemical weapons stockpile in accordance with the international Chemical Weapons Convention Treaty of 1997.
USACAP is the first and only military unit in the United States Army to execute this mission and be decertified from a Surety Mission, according to Esce.
According to Esce, USACAP's 30-year history of sustained excellence in chemical weapons storage and demilitarization is unprecedented and sets the standard for the eight other U.S. chemical weapons stockpile sites and the world.
JACADS was the only U.S. chemical weapons storage site where soldiers and Department of the Army civilians were responsible for the accountability, security, storage, and transport of chemical munitions. All other sites are run only by contractors.
"The accomplishments of JACADS and USACAP are truly unique and set the standard for all other signatories to the Chemical Weapons Convention Treaty," said Esce. "The safe elimination of chemical weapons on Johnston Island has opened a new era for a world free from chemical weapons."
"The soldiers and contractors who have safely destroyed the chemical weapons on Johnston Island should be extremely proud of their accomplishment. This is an historic event that will improve the security of the United States and provide hope for the rest of the world that the 21st century will be safer for our children and grandchildren," said Army Lt. Gen. Paul Kern, the Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology.
During the ten years of chemical weapons demilitarization, all processes were continuously monitored and improved to enhance safety for workers, the community, and the environment.
Johnston Island, part of Johnston Atoll, is also part of a thriving wildlife sanctuary that boasts abundant sea birds and marine life.
The lessons learned on Johnston Island are being applied to the Army's other disposal facilities thus ensuring the continued safe destruction of chemical weapons.
These same lessons are being offered to other world nations in their efforts to destroy their chemical weapons stockpiles, according to Esce.
Since all chemical weapons were destroyed last year, USACAP has been focusing its attention on closing its facilities, turning in its equipment and standing down all the personnel related to the USACAP mission.
Working in cooperation with several federal oversight agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the federal government is now in the process of closing down the JACADS plant.
The future disposition of the island will be determined by several federal agencies including the Department of Defense, the EPA and the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Part of the process leading to closure will include disposing of miscellaneous secondary waste that was produced during disposal operations.
Closure is scheduled to take up to 29 months.