Contact:
Mark York
Communications Manager
(859) 625-1291
mhyork@bechtel.com
For Immediate Release
BLUE GRASS ARMY DEPOT, Ky. – The public is invited to an event recognizing the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) team and destruction of the last chemical weapon in the declared U.S. stockpile Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 11 a.m. ET at the Armed Forces Reserve Center, 233 Battlefield Memorial Highway in Richmond, Kentucky.
Featuring a keynote address from Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, the occasion will recognize the workforce’s accomplishments and include a commemorative flag presentation to community representatives. Other elected officials and Defense Department and contractor officials from the multi-year chemical weapons destruction project are also expected to speak. The 100th Army Band and Madison Central High School Choir will perform.
Seating is limited. For more information and to RSVP, visit: www.peoacwa.army.mil/bgcapp-destruction-completion-event/. The location is wheelchair accessible. Please submit requests for sign language interpreters and other reasonable accommodations before Oct. 4, 2023, to bgoutreach@iem.com or call (859) 626-8944. A live video stream will be available on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/usaeacwa.
Attendees are prohibited from bringing weapons of any kind, to include pocketknives, alcohol or drugs, drones, and large bags or backpacks. Bags and jackets may be searched upon entry.
Starting in 2019, BGCAPP safely destroyed more than 523 tons of chemical agents stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot since the 1940s. The depot, located near Richmond, Kentucky, will continue its mission providing conventional ammunition services, chemical defense equipment management and manufacturing capabilities for the Department of Defense. The Blue Grass Chemical Activity, a tenant of the 15,000-acre depot, was responsible for the safekeeping of the portion of the nation’s chemical weapons stockpile stored at the depot. The U.S. Army and the community surrounding the depot worked in partnership to achieve the safe destruction of the Blue Grass chemical weapons stockpile.
Visit www.peoacwa.army.mil for more information.