All of the GB nerve agent chemical munitions that once filled 44 storage igloos at Anniston Army Depot are now safely and forever destroyed. We promised, in the earliest days of the Army’s chemical weapons disposal program and again when we started disposal operations in August 2003, that the job would be done in a safe, but timely manner.

We have delivered on our promises.

The residents in this area deserve no less.

Management cannot and should not claim sole credit for the accomplishments of the Anniston Chemical Activity (ANCA) and at the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (ANCDF).

The ANCA and ANCDF team of government and contractor employees safely moved and destroyed 142,428 chemical munitions without an accident. They operated the equipment to ensure 96,246 gallons of GB were safely incinerated. They were ever vigilant and proactive to ensure their work site, families, friends and neighbors, as well as the environment, were all safe despite the risk that GB has posed by its very existence in storage here.

The Anniston team of chemical munitions storage specialists and demilitarization professionals are now preparing for the second disposal campaign. They are working hard to clean up any residual GB contamination at the facility and to install rocket-handling equipment and VX monitoring equipment to allow safe processing of the VX munitions. VX disposal operations should begin this summer.

We are proud of our work force. We take pride in the accomplishments we have collectively achieved. We thank the community for its continuing support. And we renew our commitment to operate the ANCDF in a safe and efficient manner as we dispose of the stockpile.

Also, the community is invited to visit or call the Anniston Community Outreach Office at 238-0120 for answers to questions or to arrange for project briefings.

Timothy K. Garrett is site project panager for the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility. Robert C. Love is project manager with Westinghouse Anniston.