Richmond Register
May 14, 2003

Officials take tour of depot

By Jodi Whitaker

Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, getting permission to take civilians on tours of the Blue Grass Army Depot hasn't been an easy thing for officials to do.

But because of the recent change in local elected offices and the pending demilitarization of chemical weapons stored at the depot, letting civilians know what's going on at the depot is something officials say is important.

Local elected officials, staff members and guests from Berea, Richmond and Madison County were invited Tuesday to participate in tours of the facility. Tours continue today.

On the tours, participants are able to see just what the missions of BGAD and Blue Grass Chemical Assembly are and what will happen with stockpile disposal and ongoing depot operations. The tours also give participants a view of the grounds and the area where the demilitarization facility will be built.

"This isn't the Blue Grass secret place," said Blue Grass Army Depot Commander Col. Martin Jacoby. "We want to make everyone understand what goes on here."

Jacoby said he also wants everyone to understand long after the chemical weapons stored at the depot are gone, the facility itself will still stand.

"We don't have anything to hide," Jacoby said. "We want to be good neighbors."
The group received briefings from Jacoby and BGCA Commander Lt. Col. Dennis Cantwell, followed by a tour and description of the operations in the depot's Emergency Operations Center.

The group then toured the grounds of the depot, seeing first-hand the security around the chemical weapons igloos, the spot of land where the demilitarization facility will be built and the steps taken to insure the safety of the weapons, both chemical and conventional, stored at the depot.

Berea City Council member George Wyatt said he was glad to get the opportunity to tour the facility, something he hasn't done for years.

"I felt like I needed to be familiar with the lay of the land and how the operations here worked," Wyatt said. "I hadn't seen the EOC before. That was a very learning experience."

Jodi Whitaker can be reached at jwhitaker@richmondregister.com.