Photo By MATTHEW SHARMAN | This commemorative series highlights the stories of the Blue Grass Chemical Activity...... read more read more
This commemorative series highlights the stories of the Blue Grass Chemical Activity workforce with personal accounts, reflections, and experiences with the sunsetting organization and its contribution to destroying the chemical weapons stockpile. This article turns back time to nearly the beginning of the organization with retired Colonel Mark Weitekamp, the second BGCA commander in history. His perspective highlights BGCA's infancy and the beginning of chemical demilitarization in Kentucky.
The Blue Grass Chemical Activity supported the delivery of chemical munitions to the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant for destruction. It was also responsible for safely and securely storing the chemical weapons stockpile at Blue Grass Army Depot. BGCAPP destroyed the last chemical weapon in storage at BGCA on July 7, 2023. On August 9, 2023, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons verified that no chemical munitions remain in storage at BGCA.
Name: Retired Colonel Mark Weitekamp
Current Duty Title: Contractor at Applied Research Associates doing studies for the Department of Homeland Security
Time at BGCA: 2 years at Blue Grass Chemical Activity (BGCA) from 1996-1998.
Job Duties: Overseeing the direction and mission of BGCA as the organization began to stand up and form partnerships.
View of BGCA's Mission: Well, when I was there, we were strictly focused on the safe and secure storage of chemical weapons. During this time, the Army tried not to conflate the Blue Grass Army Depot's mission and our mission. Looking at the mission now, I think it was critically important. One can have different opinions about destruction and how it should have been done and look at a wide range of solutions to that problem. Ultimately, the most important thing was keeping the community safe.
The Early Days: I was the second commander. The organization was relatively new, and we went through some growing pains. We had to adapt to many things because it was all new, and there was no other existing framework. It was the very beginning of Chemical Weapons Convention Treaty interactions, which also brought on exciting and challenging aspects. Everything was in flux, just precisely how things would be positioned and new processes for everything. We were still in a primary storage mission, but the CWC changed the way the Army looked at chemical weapons. When I first arrived, the munitions were slated for incineration, but obviously, all that changed. That change was mainly community-driven, and it was an interesting time with the discussions that went back and forth. It was a time of uncertainty as there was no uniform opinion within the depot or the chemical activity of the groups against incineration.
Favorite Part of Working at BGCA: I had the pleasure of working with some great people. I enjoyed the challenges and the opportunity to keep the workforce and community safe.
Experience with Chemical Weapons: I went to graduate school, received a master's degree in physics, and was successful in several operational units in the Army. However, I never had any direct hands-on experience with chemical weapons before taking command. Granted, at this time, it was a new concept regarding how demilitarization would be done.
Greatest Accomplishment at BGCA: We were the first U.S. chemical activity that underwent a CWC inspection. Although that was a very stressful time, I learned a lot, and we passed, but because we were first, there was nothing to look back on for experience. We had all these other locations dying to know how our inspection went because it was new to everyone.
Post-BGCA: I went to the Pentagon as part of the Army staff. My secondary specialty was nuclear weapons and nuclear weapon effects, so I focused on that for two years and then went to the Department of Energy U.S. Army element. There, I worked in an organization that managed research and development for what essentially became Homeland Security. I was with them when September 11 occurred, and life got busy after that. I retired from the military in 2002 and went to work for a private sector company that conducted research, not technical research, that supported the Department of Homeland Security before it was known as such. When the DHS was heavily involved with biodefense, I changed companies to my current company. The work has been roughly the same in various roles.
An Important Lesson: A crucial experience during conversations with the community regarding munition destruction that has helped me through the rest of my life and career was when the leadership at the time said, "Look, you don't have to agree with the opposition completely, but you do have to engage with them." People with different opinions, or stakeholders in this instance, need to be heard, and relations will improve. You may even gain a different perspective.
Plans for the Future/Final Thoughts: I plan to continue supporting DHS and training my dogs, which I may do more often when my eventual retirement happens. I enjoyed my time at BGCA and have stayed in touch with a couple of people who worked there. I also made some friendships within the state administration I still maintain today. It was definitely a learning experience.
| Date Taken: | 01.08.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.12.2024 13:16 |
| Story ID: | 465991 |
| Location: | RICHMOND, KY, US |
| Web Views: | 62 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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