Mr. Kelso C. Horne III
Director
U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity
Director
U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity
Mr. Kelso C. Horne III is Director of the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity (CMA), and serves as the Treaty Implementing Agent for the Chemical Weapons Convention. In this capacity he also oversees the mission to manage the Nation’s stockpile of chemical weapons, assess and destroy chemical warfare materiel, and protect people and the environment.
A retired Army colonel, Mr. Horne previously served as Director of CMA while serving on active duty in the U.S. Army. His other previous military positions include: Commander, 112th Chemical Reconnaissance Detachment (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Commander, HHD, 26th Forward Support Battalion, Fort Stewart, Georgia and Iraq; and Security Transition Team 1, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan; Commander, Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas.
Other staff assignments include: Battalion Chemical Officer, 1st Battalion, 503d Infantry (Air Assault), and platoon leader, 4th Chemical Company, both at Camp Casey Korea; Battalion Chemical Officer, 3d Battalion, 3d Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina; 3d Infantry Division Artillery Chemical Officer, Fort Stewart, Georgia; Chemical Training Team Chief, later Battalion Executive Officer, 3d Battalion, 346th Infantry Regiment, Camp Shelby, Mississippi; Deputy Division Chemical Officer, 3d Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Stewart, Georgia and Baghdad, Iraq; Brigade CBRN Trainer/Brigade Plans, Future Operations & Current Operations Trainer, Operations Group, National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California; Division Chemical Officer, 10th Infantry Division (Mountain), Fort Drum, New York and Kandahar, Afghanistan; and, Chemical Organization Integrator, G37 Force Management, Headquarters, Department of the Army; and Director of Operational Protection, Eighth Army, Republic of Korea.
The product of an Army Family, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Chemical Corps in August 1993 after graduating from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Business Arts. Mr. Horne also has a Master of Business Arts from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master of Strategic Studies from the Air War College. He is a graduate of the Technical Escort School. His numerous military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit (two awards), Bronze Star Medal (four awards), and the Meritorious Service Medal (three awards).
Mr. Kelso C. Horne III
Director,
U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity
The mountain has been an element that has graced many of the past depot emblems, representing Pike’s Peak.
The Pershing Missile in the center represents one of the most prominent missions of the depot in the 1980s.
The hawk represents native depot wildlife, the present and future mission of the environmental programs, and was also the name of one of the missile systems supplied by the depot during its missile mission in the 1950s and 60s.
The branch insignia of both the U.S. Army Chemical Corps and Ordnance Corps represent the depot’s command structure through its history as both an ordnance and a chemical depot.
The colors cobalt blue and yellow gold are representative of the U.S. Army Chemical Corps. “Pueblo Depot” is representative of the installation throughout its history. “1942” is the date of establishment. “Safety” and “Service” capture the continued and historical depot missions.
The motto translates to “A Common Good.”
The rising sun denotes the dawning of a new day without chemical weapons and the organization’s mission to safely destroy chemical weapons stockpile, thus changing the future of modern warfare.
The three stalks of wheat symbolize the harvest of hope that has been secured through industry, cultivation and abundance. It also refers to the unit’s chemical/biological, smoke/obscurant and support to Homeland security industrial base missions at Pine Bluff Arsenal.
The double-headed eagle suggests the two CMA methods for stockpile chemical weapons disposal, incineration and neutralization. These methods’ roots are traced back to Project Eagle I (incinerating of mustard agents) and Eagle II (neutralizing nerve agents).
The olive branch signifies peace and the Activity’s commitment to abide by the stipulations of the Chemical Weapons Convention Treaty and assisting other nations.
The octagon alludes to the eight original chemical weapons stockpile storage sites in the United States.