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Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)
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      Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)


      Mission: The safe elimination of chemical weapons at Pueblo and Blue Grass by Sept. 30, 2023

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      Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP)

      BGCAPP is safely destroying the chemical weapons stockpile currently in storage at the Blue Grass Army Depot near Richmond, Kentucky.

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      Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP)

      PCAPP is safely destroying the chemical weapons stockpile currently in storage at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado.

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New Deputy Manager Destroyed First and Largest U.S. Chemical Weapons Stockpiles

Published: August 13, 2015 | Category: PCAPP News, People
Gary McCloskey joined the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) team on May 23, 2015, as a deputy project manager for AECOM. He will manage PCAPP operations, maintenance and support activities.

Gary McCloskey joined the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) team on May 23, 2015, as a deputy project manager for AECOM. He will manage PCAPP operations, maintenance and support activities.

More than half of the operators at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) have experience destroying chemical weapons, including Pueblo’s newest leader. Gary McCloskey led efforts to not only eliminate the largest, most diverse chemical weapons stockpile in the country – he also managed the destruction of the first stockpile site in U.S. history.

McCloskey, who brings decades of chemical demilitarization experience, said he recognizes he’s part of a highly-qualified team.

“The team assembled to execute the project is extremely talented,” said McCloskey. “We will go into operations with 60 percent of our operational workforce having been involved at chemical agent operations at some combination of the seven other facilities which have completed operations and closure.”

At PCAPP, McCloskey will focus on the integration of all efforts necessary for the safe, secure and environmentally compliant destruction of the Pueblo chemical weapons stockpile, associated explosives and waste.

McCloskey is also responsible for developing staff by providing mentoring, developmental assignments, educational and training opportunities. “We have excellent programs which encourage both employee and management involvement in keeping our people safe, and we need to continue to build on this foundation as we transition into agent operations,” McCloskey said.

“While we have legacy facility issues to resolve, our people are ready to start destruction activities and will begin operations at the highest level of readiness in program history,” McCloskey said.

Weapons in the Desert

Workers at the Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Utah prepare to destroy a ton container filled with mustard agent in May 2011. The disposal facility formally closed in 2013, after eliminating more than 13,600 tons of chemical agent.

Workers at the Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Utah prepare to destroy a ton container filled with mustard agent in May 2011. The disposal facility formally closed in 2013, after eliminating more than 13,600 tons of chemical agent.

McCloskey transitioned to Pueblo by way of the Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (TOCDF) at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah. In 2013, the facility formally closed upon safely destroying more than 1.1 million munitions and more than 13,600 tons of chemical agent, representing 43 percent of the nation’s original stockpile.

McCloskey was the vice president and general manager of Critical Installation Management of AECOM Management Service Group at the site. While his primary role was managing the Defense Materials, Inc., operations and maintenance contract, McCloskey was also the principal author of the TOCDF mustard agent processing strategy designed to minimize potential emissions.

The Early Years

McCloskey was born in New York and was the son of a sharecropper on a dairy farm. He has a master’s degree in safety engineering from Texas A&M University and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic University in New York.

His journey to PCAPP is not his first connection to Colorado. “In the 1973, ‘74 timeframe, I had some preliminary association with disposal activities taking place at Rocky Mountain Arsenal [Commerce City], working mostly in exposure reporting and investigation,” McCloskey reflected. “After working in the munitions production business for 11 years, I accepted a position at Johnston Atoll.”

Agent on the Island

The Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System was the United States’ first full scale chemical weapons disposal facility, built in 1985 on Johnston Island.

The Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System was the United States’ first full scale chemical weapons disposal facility, built in 1985 on Johnston Island.

Located 800 miles southwest of Hawaii, Johnston Atoll was the Army’s first full-scale chemical weapons disposal facility and the first U.S. site to complete its chemical weapons disposal mission.

McCloskey worked as the site project manager for Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS), overseeing systemization, operations and the eventual facility closure. When JACADS finished, McCloskey retired from the government.

More PCAPP People Articles

  • Colleen Brisnehan, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment hazardous waste program manager, is the newest appointed member of the Colorado Chemical Demilitarization Citizens' Advisory Commission.

    Colorado Commission Welcomes New Member

    Published: May 4, 2022
  • Todd Ailes is the new Bechtel Pueblo Team project manager at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

    New Bechtel Pueblo Team Manager Takes Helm

    Published: November 18, 2021
  • Redevelopment CEO Appointed to Colorado Advisory Commission

    Redevelopment CEO Appointed to Colorado Advisory Commission

    Published: October 28, 2021
  • Drew Norton, ordnance technician, left, and Jeff Mecomber, instruments and control technician, pose for a photograph after making a toxic area entry together at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

    Mentorship Critical to Pueblo Plant Maintenance

    Published: August 30, 2021
  • Belts equipped with a bag of practice hoses are used by beginning Demilitarization Protective Ensemble entrants to simulate the hose change process.

    Worker’s Innovation Streamlines Toxic Area Entry Training

    Published: July 29, 2021
  • Mark Honnen, an Air Force veteran and deputy chief of staff to Colorado Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera, is the newest member of the Colorado Chemical Demilitarization Citizens' Advisory Commission.

    Colorado Governor Appoints New Advisory Commission Member

    Published: April 8, 2021
  • Toxic Material Handlers from the Pueblo Chemical Depot load a pallet of munitions onto a Modified Ammunition Vehicle, or MAV.

    Toxic Material Handlers Keep Up with Demand

    Published: April 6, 2021
  • Colorado Congress Members Tour Pueblo Plant

    Colorado Congress Members Tour Pueblo Plant

    Published: February 12, 2021
  • Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Automation Specialist Wendell Savage teaches the Training Facility robot about the new Drained Munition Weight Station. Later, the lessons were applied to the plant’s Munitions Washout System.

    Pueblo Plant Worker Instrumental in Campaign Success

    Published: February 2, 2021
  • From left, Ken Harrawood, project manager, Bechtel Pueblo Team, Walton Levi, site project manager, Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, and Col. Michael Cobb, military commander, Pueblo Chemical Depot, give the Pueblo City Council a briefing Oct. 15, 2019, on the status of the destruction of the stockpile of mustard agent-filled munitions.

    Plant, Depot Officials Keep Local Governments Briefed on Stockpile

    Published: November 20, 2019
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PCAPP People Videos

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Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)