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STATEMENT BY THE UNITED STATES ARMY:
THE HONORABLE CLAUDE M. BOLTON, JR
ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE ARMY
ACQUISITION, LOGISTICS, AND TECHNOLOGY

 BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
SUBCOMMITTEE ON TERRORISM, UNCONVENTIONAL THREATS AND CAPABILITIES
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ON CHEMICAL DEMILITARIZATION

  OCTOBER 30, 2003  

Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, I am Claude Bolton and am grateful to have the opportunity to address this committee.  As the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology and Army Acquisition Executive, I am responsible to the Acting Secretary of the Army and to the Defense Acquisition Executive for the execution of the Chemical Demilitarization Program.  I consider it an honor to serve in this capacity and to lead the program at this critical juncture when operations have just begun or soon will begin at most of the destruction facilities.  

Be assured that I am fully committed to successful implementation of the Chemical Demilitarization Program.  I am also committed to ensuring that the public, the Congress, the Secretary of the Army, and other senior Department of Defense leadership have timely, accurate information about the progress of the Program.

This past February, the Secretary of the Army transferred the secretariat-level oversight and overall program responsibility from the Assistant Secretary of the Army, Installations and Environment (ASA(I&E)), to the Assistant Secretary of the Army, Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)).  With that transfer, the former Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization organization was merged with the former Soldier Biological and Chemical Command storage and security organization into a new organization, the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency, headed by Mr. Michael Parker.  This organization is jointly overseen by the ASA(ALT) and the Commanding General, Army Materiel Command, General Paul Kern.  Under the new organizational structure, I retain overall program responsibility and will maintain oversight over all phases of the program.  With this reorganization, I am confident that we are moving forward with an organizational structure that enables us to safely and efficiently rid the nation of these outdated weapons.                             

As you are aware, last year's Defense authorization act mandated that the program continue to be managed as a major defense acquisition program.  Be assured that I intend to strictly adhere to this direction.  In addition to maintaining emphasis on cost, schedule and performance, as well as safety, I will ensure that Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA)-certified acquisition professionals participate fully in the management of the program throughout its life cycle. 

The mission of the Chemical Demilitarization Program is to destroy all U.S. chemical warfare materiel while ensuring maximum protection to the public, Program personnel, and the environment.  This is an exciting and successful time for the Program.  I am proud to inform you that our first destruction facility on Johnston Island , in the Pacific successfully destroyed over 2,000 tons of agent, completing its mission in November of 2000.  A closure ceremony for that facility will be held next month to commemorate the end of our mission in the Pacific.  In addition,  we have three plants in operation, destroying the nation's stockpile of chemical agents and munitions, and expect to have three of our five remaining sites operational by the end of next year.  We also have made tremendous strides in community protection in the past few years, ensuring the local communities are fully prepared.  Each day a chemical destruction facility operates, the threat posed to the public by continued storage is reduced.  The danger of continued storage of these agents and munitions is the impetus that drives the Program forward; the safety of American citizens is the paramount concern for the Army, and indeed, all in attendance today.

Since the U.S. Chemical Demilitarization Program began, we have safely destroyed over 26 percent of the nation's stockpile of lethal chemical agents and munitions, which originally included over 31,000 tons of chemical agent.  We are proud of the progress to date, but the true challenges are just beginning.  With the commencement of destruction operations across the United States , we will continue to rely heavily on the professionalism of our talented workforce to to perform their duties in a safe and expeditious manner.

Presently, incineration facilities for chemical weapons destruction are operating at Tooele , Utah and Anniston , Alabama and a neutralization facility is operational at Aberdeen , Maryland .  Our incineration facilities at Umatilla, Oregon and Pine Bluff , Arkansas are complete and undergoing systemization.  These facilities are scheduled to become operational in calendar year 2004.  The Pine Bluff , Arkansas facility was completed ahead of schedule and under budget; we have truly learned from the past to better our approaches.  Construction is nearly complete at our neutralization-based facility located at Newport , Indiana .  The two remaining stockpile sites at Pueblo, Colorado and Blue Grass, Kentucky have selected technologies under the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives Program and will use neutralization followed by bio-treatment and Super Critical Water Oxidation, respectively. 

I would like to reiterate that our paramount objective is to reduce the risk to the communities surrounding chemical storage sites as we safely eliminate the United States stockpile of lethal chemical agents and munitions.  We are also committed to meeting the United States ' obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and will continue to explore any available means to accelerate the destruction of the nation's stockpile safely and effectively.

In closing, Mr. Chairman, I ask for your continued support of this critical national program.  That support will demonstrate our commitment to both the communities surrounding our storage sites and our international partners.  Thank you for the opportunity to present my statement to you and to members of your Committee.  I look forward to responding to your questions. 

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