PCAPP Map
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In May 2006, “US Chemical Demilitarization: Expansion and Update” explained the underlying structure of the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency’s programs to safely store and dispose of chemical weapons. The CMA is responsible for a number of locations, each of which has its own prime contractor. Prime contractors hold the design, build, operation and closure portions of the contract, while subcontractors to the prime contractors vary by site. “Nerve Gas Stockpile Destruction at NECD in Newport, IN” shone a spotlight on one site’s efforts and contracts.

The U.S. Army’s Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado is another such site, which currently stores 2,611 tons of mustard agent contained in 155mm and 105mm artillery shells, and 4.5” mortar shells. Decontamination is supervised by the PM Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA), using a biochemical process rather than incineration; the CMA is still responsible for safe storage until the munitions can be decontaminated. This article discusses mustard agent’s effects and place in the history of warfare, and takes a look at the efforts underway to destroy the Pueblo stockpile between 2015-2023. An effort that recently featured a contract worth over half a billion dollars…

• Mustard Gas: A Quick Primer
• The Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP)
• Contracts and Key Events
• Additional Readings
  
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NECD
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During the 1960s, the Newport Chemical Depot (NECD) in Indiana produced the nerve agent VX until a unilateral decree halted American (but not Soviet) production and transportation of all chemical weapons. In the aftermath of 9/11, the US Department of Defense re-evaluated their chemical weapons disposal program, looking at where they might accelerate destruction of the USA’s stockpile in order to remove potential targets.

The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency has a number of storage and disposal sites, each of which has its own prime contractor. Prime contractors hold the design, build, operation and closure portions of the contract, while subcontractors to the prime contractors vary by site. This post covers the still-ongoing work at Newport, Indiana. The following is a list of the prime contractors at each CMA disposal site:

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Meridian Medical Technologies Inc. in Columbia, MD received a maximum $49.1 million firm fixed price contract for nerve agent antidotes, morphine and related medical services and supplies.

Work will be performed in Columbia, MD and in Missouri on behalf of the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Federal Civilian Agencies. There was originally one proposal solicited with one response, and the contract will end on March 31/09. The contracti will be managed by the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA (SPM200-05-D-0010).

How do you train militaries and public agencies for the challenges and scale of nuclear, chemical, or biological (NBC) attacks or outbreaks, without creating unacceptable levels of disruption in society’s daily workings during the exercise? The US military has similar scope and space problems for other military exercises. Its solution is a combination of live training, virtual simulators et. al., and “constructive” environments. That last piece of the puzzle integrates the live and virtual efforts in an imaginary world, and provides status reports to commanders.

Right now, the “live virtual constructive” training environment for NBC operations appears to be falling short of its goals. To fix this, Cubic Applications, Inc. in Lacey, WA received a not-to-exceed $16.3 million cost-plus-fix-fee contract. They will provide investigative research and analysis, explore emerging technologies, and develop proof-of-concept/ prototype solutions to the shortfalls in realistic Nuclear, Chemical and Biological training. The goal is to create “a single, more realistic operational and training environment for the Live Virtual Constructive.”

Work will be performed in Shalimar, FL and is expected to be complete in May 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $2 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via a Broad Agency Announcement, with 1 offer received by The Naval Air Warfare Center, Training Systems Division in Orlando, FL (N61339-08-C-0024).

Science Applications International Corporation recently announced an indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity, joint services contract from the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN)—Installation Protection Program (IPP). The program was initiated in December 2003, and is managed by the Joint Project Manager Guardian (JPMG) for the Joint Program Executive Office (JPEO) for Chemical and Biological Defense, and the goal is to ensure that American military installations can continue operating after being hit with CBRN weapons.

The concept is nothing new. After all, that very motivation is what spurred the creation of the ARPANet – now the Internet. In Europe, NATO’s reliance on nuclear deterrence rather than conventional military parity made military operations in a nuclear environment a certain planning scenario. Meanwhile, Soviet doctrine emphasized heavy front line and second echelon use of chemical weapons in a major war’s opening offensive phases, forcing corresponding bio-chemical preparations. Biological weapon defenses were considered a secondary aspect, but that conceit was shaken after advanced, treaty-breaking Soviet biological weapons programs came to light through the post-Soviet revelations of scientists like Dr. Ken Alibek.

The need for JPMG’s IPP is nothing new, therefore. What has changed is the depth profile of the threat. A Soviet strike on the Pentagon would almost certainly have triggered global thermonuclear war, in a way that chemical or even nuclear strikes across and behind the front lines in West Germany and the Netherlands likely would not. On the other hand, it’s quite possible to launch a strike against the Pentagon in the modern era, using supported organizations that confer deniability. With the notion of restrictions on targets or means destroyed by 9/11’s example, modern planners are faced with a growing threat in the new era that extends to a much wider range of military installations.

SAIC worked with JPMG on the original contract, and the new contract has a one year base period of performance plus 4 one-year options, with a contract ceiling value of $500 million if all options are exercised. SAIC will provide program management and execution of all phases of the IPP’s design, purchases, integration and fielding. They will then support the system’s architecture, training and exercises, and logistics, while providing technical expertise, equipment, and services to meet current program requirements. Work will be performed primarily in Abingdon, MD.

Chemical demilitarization
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Parsons Infrastructure & Technology Group in Pasadena, CA received a $154.3 million increment as part of a $1.04 billion cost-plus-award-fee contract for continued chemical agency neutralization operations leading to the closure of the Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility, IN. Work is expected to be complete by May 31, 2009. There were 32 bids solicited on March 9, 1998, and 2 bids were received by the U.S. Army Sustainment Command in Rock Island, IL (DAAA09-99-C-0016).

Our “US Chemical Demilitarization: Expansion and Update” article discussed some of the procedures and contracts at Aberdeen, MD, which is another US Army Chemical Materials Agency site.

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Unloading… carefully
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In a recent post, DID noted that Bechtel National Inc. in San Francisco, CA had received a delivery order amount of $27.6 million as part of a $315.6 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for activities to facilitate future closure of the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (ABCDF). Yet Bechtel also received a recent contract $94.3 million delivery order amount as part of a $409.9 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract “for construction of a chemical demilitarization facility at Aberdeen Proving Ground.” What’s going on?

DID got in touch with the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency, and Public Affairs Officer Jeff Lindblad offered some clarifications:

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Chemical demilitarization

Bechtel National Inc. in San Francisco, CA received a delivery order amount of $27.6 million as part of a $315.6 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for activities to facilitate future closure of the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility. Work will be performed at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD and is expected to be complete by April 30, 2006. This was a sole source contract initiated on June 24, 2005 by the Army Field Support Command, Rock Island, IL is the contracting activity (DAAA09-02-G-0005).

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Ammo turbulence
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The ability to use open-source operating systems like Linux with “clusters” of computing hardware that include many commodity components has really changed the supercomputing landscape. Complex physics-based problems that are three dimensional and time-dependent are especially difficult, and benefit greatly from the additional computing power per dollar that’s rapidly becoming available. This has had a significant impact in sectors like movies and TV, energy, and pharmaceuticals – not to mention the defense industry.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) recently placed an order with Linux Networx for 5 supercomputers as part of the Technology Insertion 2006 (TI-06) initiative. They are part of a broader effort to modernize the US DoD’s computing capabilities, by providing the supercomputer services, high-speed network communications, and expertise for U.S. Defense laboratories. The recipients, and the type and capabilities of the systems they received, are detailed below:

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Parsons Infrastructure & Technology Group in Pasadena, CA received a $197 million modification to a cost-plus-award-fee contract for continued chemical agent neutralization operations. Work will be performed in Newport, IN and is expected to be complete by May 31, 2009.

There were 32 bids solicited on March 9, 1998, and two bids were received by the U.S. Army Field Support Command in Rock Island, IL (DAAA09-99-C-0016). The core contract was for $295.5 million, and involved a cost-plus-award-fee contract for the design, construction, operation, and closure of the Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility at the Newport Chemical Depot in Newport, IN. That contract ended on December 16, 2005.

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