41-409: Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD) is a U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command storage facility for conventional munitions and chemical weapons . The facility is located in east central Kentucky , southeast of the cities of Lexington and Richmond , Kentucky . The 14,494-acre (58.66 km) site, composed mainly of open fields and wooded areas, is used for munitions storage, repair of general supplies, and
82-432: A 45-degree angled surface. Houtsma then took the specifications over to the production facility and requested they design a dimensioning style so the rail could be easily produced and inspected. The factory recognized the similarity of the purposed rail interface to the existing rail design on 105 mm howitzers , so they chose to scale down the howitzer rail design and co-opted the production and inspection procedures. It
123-581: A closer relationship between the JMC, Program Executive Office-Ammunition and the Army Research Development and Engineering Center. The JM&L LCMC, headquartered at Picatinny Arsenal , New Jersey, and has a 10-person staff that integrates the efforts of PEO-Ammunition, JMC, and ARDEC. JMC has a partnership with the ARDEC and PEO-Ammunition to manage ammunition over its life cycle. ARDEC, which
164-664: A countermeasure to the Iraqi SCUD missile . In 1992, Picatinny Arsenal was tasked to develop a standardized mounting system after the U.S. Army was dissatisfied with the products on the market. The Picatinny team was headed by mechanical designer Gary Houtsma (who was awarded the Order of Saint Maurice Award in 2014 for this contribution ), who took the measurements from about twenty different Weaver rail products from weapons bunkers at Picatinny (and even local sporting goods stores) and came up with an average set of numbers set on
205-419: A rather depressed area in 1941. Many of the residences housed military families until the early 2000s (decade); the last were demolished in 2007. Near Parker Road is property acquired from the estate of John E. Larson for $ 16,000.00. The purchase price included 24 acres (97,000 m ) of land. Another former Spicertown property consisting of 12 acres (49,000 m ) cost the government $ 19,769.00. Property on
246-406: A research and development facility in the years between the two world wars. Major accomplishments of this period included better methods for storing smokeless powder , improved processing of cyclonite (more commonly called RDX), and the discovery of a new explosive, then known as haleite but later known as Ednatol . (The discoverer was George C. Hale, the arsenal's chief chemist.) Over the years,
287-558: A result of a full-scale Congressional investigation, Congress directed the establishment of the Armed Forces Explosives Safety Board to provide oversight on every aspect of explosives under the control of the US Armed Forces. In 1960, the army resumed control of land it had given the navy, bringing the installation to its current size and shape. The primary transportation in the early days of
328-691: A training ground for service members. BGAD was established in 1941 and began operations in 1942 as an ammunition and general supply storage depot, Blue Grass Ordnance Depot. In 1964, it merged with the Lexington Signal Depot in Avon, Kentucky , to become the Lexington-Blue Grass Army Depot. The Lexington facility was selected for closure under BRAC (Base Realignment And Closure); after it closed in September 1999,
369-466: Is headquartered in New Jersey and has an office on Rock Island Arsenal, is the research and development arm. PEO-Ammunition and its project managers are the ammunition life cycle managers and are responsible for acquisition of ammunition. JMC manages the ammunition plants and has the responsibility for storing and shipping the ammunition to wherever in the world it is needed. JMC is the logistics arm of
410-623: Is part of the Army's Chemical Materials Activity , headquartered in Edgewood , Maryland . The demilitarization of the chemical weapons is the responsibility of a third organization, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA). BGAD provides munitions, chemical defense equipment, and ammunition support to the joint warfighter. It is the Department of Defense's primary center for surveillance, receipt, storage, issue, testing and minor repair for
451-632: Is responsible for the creation of tools, equipment, and procedures for US Army EOD personnel. Some of their more recent inventions were the use of weapons on a robot platform and the SWORDS robot. Their building has been recently renamed in honor of one of their deceased soldiers, SFC Scott "Smitty" Smith, who was killed in Iraq in July 2006. Prior to the American Civil War gunpowder was stored by
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#1732779541984492-641: Is the center for the DOD's research, development and acquisition of guns and ammunition, with a workload more than an order of magnitude greater than any other DOD facility in this area. It also is home to the DOD's single manager for conventional ammunition. Since 1976 the Army conducted numerous environmental studies on Picatinny; in March 1990 it was declared a superfund and placed on the National Priorities List . 176 sites are to be addressed under
533-869: Is the headquarters of the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center . It is known for developing the ubiquitous Picatinny rail , as well as being the Army's center of expertise for small arms cartridge ammunition. The facility was founded in 1880 as the Picatinny Powder Depot . Soon afterward, the Navy acquired a portion of the arsenal to establish the Lake Denmark Powder Depot , later known as Lake Denmark Naval Ammunition Depot . It manufactured gunpowder until after World War I , at which time
574-585: The M65 atomic cannon 280mm howitzer known as " Atomic Annie "). When war broke out again, it gave troops in Vietnam a complete family of 40 mm ammunition for grenade launchers and helicopter gunships. In 1977, the Army recognized Picatinny's leadership in weapons and munitions development by headquartering its Armament Research and Development Command (ARRADCOM) at the arsenal and giving it responsibility for developing small caliber weapons and munitions. In 1983,
615-621: The Middle Forge Tract because of the forge located there during the Revolutionary War, became the central area of the arsenal. In 1880 and 1881, the government also purchased tracts from Uel H. Wiggins, Edward C. Fiedler and other, Henry and Michael Doland, and John E. Kindred. These initial purchases, including the Middle Forge Tract, covered 1,866.13 acres (7.5520 km ) and cost a total of $ 62,750.00. At
656-727: The United States Army at various powder facilities throughout the eastern United States. Many of these facilities were located in the South and were confiscated by the Confederate States of America at the beginning of the war. The federal government began looking for a central storage depot to be located near the large cities of the northeast. The United States War Department established the Dover Powder Depot on September 6, 1880. Four days later, it changed
697-625: The 1960s, Picatinny was the site of the United States' Army Munitions Command. After World War II , Picatinny refocused its efforts on developing new weapons and munitions. Its support to the American forces in Korea included an improved bazooka and an illuminating rifle grenade. In periods of peace, the arsenal made important contributions to progress in the areas of radar , pyrotechnics, missiles, time fuzes, and nuclear munitions (including
738-669: The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission findings [REDACTED] This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Army Picatinny Arsenal The Picatinny Arsenal ( / ˈ p ɪ k ə t ɪ n i / or / ˌ p ɪ k ə ˈ t ɪ n i / ) is an American military research and manufacturing facility located on 6,400 acres (26 km ) of land in Jefferson and Rockaway Township in Morris County, New Jersey , United States, encompassing Picatinny Lake and Lake Denmark . The Arsenal
779-536: The Army altered the name to the Picatinny Arsenal and established its first powder factory on the site. While continuing to produce munitions , the arsenal moved into research and development work with the start of a school to instruct officers in weaponry sciences in 1911, the establishment of testing and control laboratories during the World War I era, and the beginning of a small, experimental plant for
820-599: The Army continued to make small land purchases to round out arsenal boundaries, but the next major expansion came in 1941, just before the United States entered World War II. At this time, the Army purchased the land between the Cannon Gates and the present main entrance near Route 15 . This included Spicertown, an unincorporated village in Rockaway Township. Spicertown had declined from a relatively thriving 19th-century community of small but profitable farms to
861-605: The Army disestablished the Armament Research and Development Command and Picatinny became the home of the Armament Research and Development Center (ARDC). In 1986, the name again changed to the "Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center" (ARDEC). In 1991, during the Persian Gulf War , Picatinny Arsenal provided support in their development of the Patriot Missile warhead that was used as
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#1732779541984902-719: The Chemical Defense Equipment Program. BGAD maintains and supports CDE stocks for deploying units and homeland defense forces, and is a training site for reserve component and other deploying units. Capabilities include: industrial services support; ammunition maintenance, renovation, disassembly and demilitarization; thermal arc coating for Air Force bombs; water washout facility with flaker belt; molten salt research and development; ultrasonic testing for mortar ammunition; chemical material surveillance; quality assurance and joint logistics support; and ammunition life cycle management. The depot also serves as
943-488: The JM&;L LCMC. JMC operates a nationwide network of installations and facilities where conventional ammunition is produced and stored. Production and Storage Production Storage Training and Special Services While all JMC facilities are government-owned, contractors operate the 10 production-only facilities and Hawthorne Army Depot. The following installations closed on or before 2011 as part of
984-630: The JMC. The headquarters on Rock Island Arsenal is responsible for munitions production (ammunition plants) and storage (depots) facilities in 16 states. JMC employs 20 military, over 5800 civilians and 8300 contractor personnel. Of these approximately 14,000 personnel, more than 650 work in the headquarters on Rock Island Arsenal. JMC has an annual budget of 1.2 billion dollars. JMC provides bombs and bullets to America's fighting forces – all services, all types of conventional ammo from 2,000-pound bombs to rifle rounds. JMC manages plants that produce more than 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition annually and
1025-707: The United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center became a center under the new Army Future's Command and became known as the Combat Capabilities Development Command - Armaments Center (CCDC-AC). In 1891, the navy acquired 317 acres (1.28 km ) of the arsenal to establish the Lake Denmark Powder Depot, later known as the "Lake Denmark Naval Ammunition Depot". On July 10, 1926, lightning struck one of
1066-603: The United States chemical weapons stockpile. Beginning in June 2019, destruction of the Blue Grass chemical weapons stockpile, in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention , was begun, starting with mustard gas. Operations concluded in 2023. Nerve agents were planned to be treated using a technology known as neutralization followed by supercritical water oxidation . This is a different method than
1107-629: The arsenal is just a memory with only a disused stub line into the arsenal and scattered traces of the once busy narrow gauge railway. Some of the remaining track has been covered with macadam and turned into pedestrian walking paths. Base Realignment and Closure, 2005 directed the department of defense to establish Picatinny as the DOD specialty site for guns and ammunition, and to relocate Navy technical experts to Picatinny. It recommended: This recommendation realigned and consolidates those gun and ammunition facilities working in weapons and armaments research, development and acquisition. Picatinny Arsenal
1148-807: The arsenal was by rail. The early Wharton & Northern Railroad (succeeded by the Jersey Central ) was laid from Wharton to Green Pond through the heart of the valley in which Picatinny Arsenal now resides. This line connected the various railroads serving the Wharton area with the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad at Green Pond. Picatinny maintained as much as 49 miles (79 km) of its own narrow and standard gauge Picatinny Arsenal Railroad to service its many transportation needs (fuel, raw materials, ammunition, etc.) for almost every manufacturing and warehouse building. Today, rail service through
1189-453: The depots that store the nation's ammunition for training and combat. It is responsible for the management and accountability of $ 26 billion of conventional munitions and stores $ 39 billion of missiles. The Joint Munitions and Lethality Life Cycle Management Command (JM&L LCMC) is one of four life cycle management commands in the Army. Its role is to integrate significant elements of acquisition, logistics, and technology, fostering
1230-448: The design and development of artillery ammunition in 1919. In 1921, the arsenal took over responsibility for experimental work on fuzes . On July 10, 1926, lightning struck a Navy ammunition warehouse and started a fire. As a result, several million pounds of explosives detonated over a period of two or three days. This left not only structural devastation, but military and civilian casualties as well. The value of ammunition destroyed
1271-414: The disposal of munitions. The installation is used for the storage of conventional explosive munitions as well as assembled chemical weapons. The depot primarily is involved in industrial and related activities associated with the storage and maintenance of conventional and chemical munitions. The tenant organization, Blue Grass Chemical Activity, is responsible for the chemical weapons stored at BGAD. BGCA
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1312-511: The explosives storage structures during a thunderstorm and started a fire. As a result, several million pounds of explosives detonated over a period of two or three days. Captain Otto Dowling , USN was in charge at the time, and received a Distinguished Service Cross for his handling of the situation. This caused $ 47,000,000 in damage, massive structural devastation (187 of 200 buildings destroyed), and military and civilian casualties. As
1353-646: The facility also began producing heavy munitions and grew more involved in research and development activities. During World War II Picatinny was a major large-caliber-round loading plant with 18,000 employees. Today, the facility develops new technologies for the US Armed Forces and builds various munitions , weapons and armor systems. Picatinny Arsenal is also home to the US Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Directorate . This group
1394-407: The few facilities with the ability to manufacture munitions, it employed 18,000 people and ran three shifts turning out bombs and artillery shells . However, it still had its research triumphs, especially the development of a delay fuze for skip bombing and special bombs for dams and oil fields. It also pioneered production processes later transferred to munitions manufacturers around the country. In
1435-537: The incineration that is used at the larger stockpiles. 37°41′53″N 84°13′19″W / 37.698°N 84.222°W / 37.698; -84.222 Joint Munitions Command The Joint Munitions Command (JMC) is the latest in a series of commands since World War II that have managed the ammunition plants of the United States . Since 1973, those commands have been headquartered on Rock Island Arsenal . Brigadier General Gavin J. Gardner commands
1476-575: The name to the Picatinny Powder Depot "after the Lenape -named peak overlooking the old forge, loosely translated to mean 'rugged cliff by water' or 'water by the hills.'" A deed dated June 26, 1880 records the first land purchase for the future Picatinny Arsenal. George E. Righter transferred 1,195.8 acres (4.839 km ) centered on Lake Picatinny to the United States government in return for $ 35,874.00. This area, afterwards known as
1517-399: The opposite side of Parker Road was acquired from Helen Jane Larsen with 1.5 acres (6,100 m ) for $ 10,534.00, as well as the former home of Clarence and Agnes Burdette, constructed around 1919. At the time, the government appraiser praised the landscaping and the grassy knoll location. World War II interfered with the arsenal's efforts to concentrate on research and development. As one of
1558-554: The remaining facility received its current designation. BGAD is housed on 14,594 acres (5,906 ha) with 1,153 buildings, 902 igloos and storage capacity of 3,233,598 square feet (300,411.1 m). BGAD is currently working with state and federal regulators on environmental remediation . The installation is in compliance with all state and federal laws and regulations. BGAD stored a small stockpile of chemical agents, comprising 523 short tons (474 t) of nerve agents GB (sarin) and VX , and mustard gas , or about two percent of
1599-416: The same time, the government gave $ 200.00 to Lewis Spicer and his wife for a 50-foot (15 m) strip on which to construct a road from Spicertown to the powder depot. In 1891, the army transferred 315 acres (1.27 km ) bordering Lake Denmark to the navy. The arsenal was located in a valley between two sets of hills that might shield the surrounding countryside from any accidental explosions. In 1907,
1640-722: Was adopted and fielded in 1995 with the designation MIL-STD-1913 , dated February 3, 1995. In 2007, Picatinny Arsenal's largest tenant, ARDEC, received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award . In 2010, Picatinny Arsenal developed the M855A1 EPR round, an environmentally friendly, improved version of the M855 5.56x45mm standardized ammunition. In 2014, Picatinny Arsenal obtained its first all-female command pairing, with Lt. Col. Ingrid Parker and Sgt. Maj. Rosalba Dumont-Carrion. In 2019,
1681-698: Was the equivalent of a billion dollars in present-day terms. As a result of a full-scale Congressional investigation, Congress directed the establishment of the Armed Forces Explosives Safety Board to provide oversight on every aspect of explosives under the control of the US Armed Forces. The review led to creation of a remote, safe depot to serve the West Coast , which became the Hawthorne Naval Ammunition Depot in Nevada, opened in 1928. The arsenal continued to realize its potential as