Anniston Army Depot

Anniston Army Depot (ANAD) is a major United States Army facility fulfilling various depot operations. Primary missions are the repair of tracked vehicles and storage of chemical weapons (Anniston Chemical Activity). The depot is located in Anniston, Alabama.

The depot employs over 2,000 people and covers convert|25|sqmi|km2|0 of land. Tanks and other equipment are repaired and tested there, but historically Anniston's main role has been as a major munitions storage site, since WWII. Anniston is one of seven depots in the United States where chemical weapons are stored(7.2% of nation's chemical weapons stockpile) [ [http://ludb.clui.org/ex/i/AL3136/ Anniston Army Depot ] ] . Much of the stockpile was in M55 rockets armed with Sarin, VX nerve agent, as well as shells armed with mustard gas. The last M55 rockets were destroyed in March 2007 [ [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-09-stockpile_N.htm Last VX rocket in Ala. stockpile destroyed - USATODAY.com ] ] , leaving artillery shells and land mines armed with VX and mustard.

ANAD is the only depot capable of performing maintenance on heavy-tracked combat vehicles and their components. The depot is designated as the Center of Technical Excellence for the M1 Abrams Tank and is the designated candidate depot for the repair of the M60 Patton tank, AVLB, M728, M88 Recovery Vehicle and M551 combat vehicles [ [http://www.annistonarmydepot.net/ AnnistonArmyDepot.net - The Fastest Growing Military Directory on the Web! ] ] . After the Iraq War, over 1,000 M1 tanks, howitzers and other armored vehicles were stored awaiting re-engineering [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/04/AR2006120401347.html U.S. Army Battling To Save Equipment - washingtonpost.com ] ] .

ANAD is under command of the US Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM), although other operators on the facility include the Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office, Department of Army Center of Military History, Health Services Command, and Soldier and Chemical Biological Command [http://odcmp.com ODCMP] Civilian Marksmanship Program] .

References

External links

* [http://www.anad.army.mil Official US Army's Anniston Army Depot Website]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/anniston.htm Brief at Global Security]