UMATILLA, OR-- The Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot is under new leadership. His name is Lt. Col. Kris Perkins.
He's the 35th commander in the Depot's 68 year history. Perkins assumed command after an elaborate ceremony that paid tribute to the past commander, Lt. Col. Bob Stein.
Perkins could be the last commander at the Depot. Nearly two-thirds of the chemical stockpile has been destroyed, and the Depot could close entirely by 2011. That is, of course, assuming all the mustard agent has been taken care of.
Here are some words from the new commander: "I look forward to our continued success at Umatilla as we move down the road to a safe completion of our Mustard Agent Campaign.
As the Depot commander, I look forward to continuing the great partnership already established between the team at Umatilla and the local communities, again as we move forward to completing our campaign and future closure of re-use of this facility."
