U.S. Army Chemical Materials ActivityU.S. Army Chemical Materials ActivityU.S. Army Chemical Materials ActivityU.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity
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Materiel Assessment Review Board (MARB)


Overview

The U.S. Army Recovered Chemical Materiel Directorate (RCMD) provides centralized management and direction to the Department of Defense for assessment and destruction of recovered chemical warfare materiel (RCWM) in a safe and environmentally sound manner. Chemical warfare materiel is most commonly recovered during range-clearing operations and environmental remediation efforts on active military installations and formerly used defense sites where manufacture, testing and disposal of chemical materiel took place. Recovery sites may also include land turned over to other government agencies and land transferred to private ownership.

In January 1995, the U.S. Army established the Materiel Assessment Review Board, or MARB, to make decisions regarding recovered items with unknown fills. Many munitions and containers recovered from old burial sites at these installations lack historical records and identifying marks due to age and condition. This makes identification difficult and requires the use of non-intrusive methods to identify the item, its fill and explosive configuration. The MARB makes the definitive identification of the item’s contents for the Department of Defense.

MARB membership
The MARB is composed of nine voting members, several permanent non-voting members and ad hoc members representing subject matter experts in chemical warfare from various Army organizations, including: Army Materiel Command, Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) and its Chemical Biological Center (CBC), Chemical Materials Activity (CMA), RCMD, Forces Command and its 20th CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives) Command, CBRNE Analytical and Remediation Activity, 48th Chemical Brigade, 52nd Ordnance Group and 71st Ordnance Group. The director of CMA appoints a representative of RCMD and of the 20th CBRNE Command to co-chair the board. The co-chairs select individuals to fill positions on the board and invite ad hoc attendees as necessary.

MARB roles and responsibilities
RCMD maintains written records for and funds MARB activities and required responses. These activities may include providing protective equipment, communications equipment, travel and any equipment necessary to safely and properly perform the mission related to recovered items containing an unknown fill.

RCMD deploys transportable equipment and qualified personnel to safely perform on-site response when items with an unknown fill are recovered. The assessment technologies provide the MARB with critical information regarding the item’s contents and explosive configuration.

Assessment and review process
The Army is committed to accurately assessing and classifying recovered materiel and providing maximum protection to workers and the public, while complying with all applicable environmental rules and regulations.

View, Print or Download Fact Sheet

RCMD Fact Sheets

  • RCMD Operations at Pueblo Chemical Depot (PCD)

  • High Energy X-ray Generator

  • Single CAIS Access and Neutralization System (SCANS)

  • RCMD Operations at Dover Air Force Base

  • German Traktor Rockets at Pine Bluff Arsenal

  • RCMD Lifecycle of Deployment

  • Video: RCMD at PBA, PBEDS Campaign One

  • Characteristics of Mustard (Blister) Agents

  • RCMD Operations at Pine Bluff Arsenal (PBA)

  • Chemical Agent Identification Sets Bottle Holder for EDS (Poster)

  • Pine Bluff Explosive Destruction System (PBEDS)

  • What are Chemical Agents and Chemical Weapons?

  • Munitions

  • Chemical Agent Identification Sets

  • Transportable Detonation Chamber (TDC)

  • Raman Spectrometer

  • Multiple Round Container (MRC)

  • Managing Secondary Waste

  • QL (Diisopropyl Aminoethylmethyl Phosphonite)

  • Interim Holding Facility (IHF)

  • Digital Radiography and Computed Tomography System (DRCT)

  • DF (Methylphosphonic Difluoride)

  • Chemical Weapons Destruction Expertise

  • Phosgene Carbonyl Chloride

  • Mobile Munitions Assessment System (MMAS)

  • Magnetic Induction Decontamination System (MIDS)

  • Large Item Transportable Access and Neutralization System (LITANS)

  • Former Production Facilities Demolition

  • Portable Isotopic Neutron Spectroscopy (PINS)

  • Explosive Destruction System (EDS) Overview

  • RCMD Overview

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  • Home
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U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity
Mountain

The mountain has been an element that has graced many of the past depot emblems, representing Pike’s Peak.

Missile

The Pershing Missile in the center represents one of the most prominent missions of the depot in the 1980s.

Hawk

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.

Insignias

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.

Colors & Text

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.

Motto

The motto translates to “A Common Good.”

Sun

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.

Wheat

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.

Eagle

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).

Olive Branch

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.

Octagon

The octagon alludes to the eight original chemical weapons stockpile storage sites in the United States.