Edgewood Chemical Biological Center

The United States Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC) is the United States Department of Defense's principal research and development resource for non-medical chemical and biological defense (CB).^[1] As a critical national asset in the CB defense community, CBC supports all phases of the acquisition life-cycle ― from basic and applied research through technology development, engineering design, equipment evaluation, product support, sustainment, field operations and demilitarization ― to address its customers’ unique requirements.^[2]

Its mission is to provide innovative chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) defense capabilities to enable the joint warfighters' dominance on the battlefield and interagency defense of the homeland.

The DEVCOM Chemical Biological Center has more than 1,300 full-time employees located at three different sites in the United States: Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland; Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas; and Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois. It has 1.22 million square feet of laboratory and test chamber space between its four research campuses.

DEVCOM also possesses a chemical munitions field operations capability. It consists of field-deployable scientists, engineers, technicians and explosives specialists with chemical/biological agent surety expertise plus unique capabilities for in situ destruction of agents. Finally, DEVCOM CBC develops smoke and obscurants technology, including synthesis, transport and dispersion.

DEVCOM CBC actively initiates agreements with industry to collaborate on applied research, product development and testing. It offers its partner companies the benefits of its intellectual property portfolio, science and engineering expertise, and its one-of-kind chemical biological research and testing infrastructure. Mechanisms for collaborative research, development and commercial production include Cooperative Research & Development Agreements (CRADAs), Letters of Intent (LOIs), Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs), Patent License Agreements (PLAs), Technology Support Agreements (TSAs) plus Memos of Agreement and Memos of Understanding.

History

As an organizational grandchild of the original Edgewood Arsenal, DEVCOM CBC traces its lineage back over a century to 1917 when President Woodrow Wilson established the site as the location for the first chemical shell filling plant in the United States. Since that time, the center has expanded its mission to include biological materials and emerges today as the nation's premier authority on chemical and biological defense.

DEVCOM CBC’s name has changed many times over the past century. The name changes were: 1918 – Originally designated the Edgewood Arsenal by the War Department 1942 – Renamed Chemical Warfare Center at Edgewood Arsenal 1963 - Named returns to the Edgewood Arsenal (both command and installation) 1977 - Edgewood Arsenal (command) disestablished, Chemical Systems Laboratory (CSL) established under Armament Research and Development Command (ARRADCOM) 1983 - Redesignated Chemical Research and Development Center (CRDC) under Armament, Chemical, and Munitions Command (AMCCOM) 1986 - CRDC redesignated Chemical Research, Development and Engineering Center (CRDEC) 1992 - CRDEC reorganized to form Edgewood Research, Development, and Engineering Center (ERDEC) under Chemical and Biological Defense Agency (CBDA) 1998 - ERDEC redesignated Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) under Soldier and Biological Chemical Command (SBCCOM) 2019 - Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center 2021- DEVCOM Chemical Biological Center

References

Sources

 This article incorporates text from a free content work. . Text taken from DEVCOM Chemical Biological Center: Facilities​, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command.