Federal officials, family members and other well-wishers gathered Nov. 15 to celebrate the retirement of Michael S. Abaie, the man responsible for guiding the U.S. program to successfully destroy the remaining declared U.S. chemical weapons stockpile.

“His effective leadership, decision-making and stakeholder management positioned the department to accomplish the challenging task of eliminating an entire class of weapons, an accomplishment that served to increase U.S. standing and credibility worldwide,” said the Honorable Deborah G. Rosenblum, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs, who hosted the event at Myer Auditorium, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. “Mike’s knowledge, expertise and advice to me throughout this project together has been invaluable.”

“Really, I was actually stunned by the complexity of the task when I saw it,” said the Honorable Douglas R. Bush, Assistant Secretary of the Army, Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, when describing his introduction to the program. “He made it look easy, but I know it wasn’t. Mike, I couldn’t be more proud of you and your team and the work you did for our country.”

Abaie will retire Nov. 24 with nearly 38 years of federal service, including tenure as program executive officer for the Assembled Chemical Weapons Program from 2018 to 2023, which included safe destruction operations and segue into closure of the destruction facilities in Colorado and Kentucky. For his efforts, Abaie was awarded the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal signed by the Honorable Christine E. Wormuth, Secretary of the Army.

“Mr. Abaie applied innovative approaches and exceptional executive leadership to accelerate the safe destruction of more than three thousand tons of chemical agent for the United States two months ahead of the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty commitment date and five months ahead of public law requirements,” according to Wormuth.

Rosenblum also noted Abaie’s previous service as Director of the Engineering Directorate at the former U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, and his leadership roles within the Joint Chemical and Biological Defense Program and Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical Biological Defense, including Product Support Manager for the Joint Portfolio. Abaie also served as the Program Manager for the U.S. Navy-led Chemical and Biological Defense Program, Deputy Joint Program Manager for Collective Protection and the Joint Program Manager for Collective Protection.  

“I have really had the pleasure of working with a lot of great team members,” Abaie said. “No one can do it all by themselves. The great things you have heard about ACWA – it wasn’t me. It was the great team who did it. With all the programs I’ve worked with, it really takes a group of diverse individuals with different backgrounds and a different knowledge base to come together and focus on a single mission and get that job done.”

Abaie recognized his family during his speech by saying how proud he was of his grown children, Sierra and Zach, and credited his wife Maureen with being the rock through his entire life.

“She helped balance me throughout my career, and especially during the five years with ACWA,” Abaie said. “It was truly demanding on her.”

Bush presented Maureen Abaie with a letter of appreciation on behalf of the Army in recognition of her support.

Abaie also received the Award for Outstanding Service in the Senior Executive Service, letters of recognition from members of the Maryland congressional delegation and the Harford County executive, and a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol in recognition of his retirement.