1980
FY 80 The HELLFIRE and Ground Laser Designators (GLD) project offices were formally merged on 1 October 79 into the HELLFIRE/GLD Project Office.
FY 80 The Department of the Army (DA) decided against an Improved DRAGON missile product improvement program (PIP) in October 79, instead electing to use funds to develop the Advanced Medium Antiarmor Weapon System (AMAWS).
FY 80 The Weapon Systems Management Directorate (WSMD) gained management responsibility for the 2.75-Inch rocket system and the U.S. Army Missile Command (MICOM) portion of the Surface Launched Unit, Fuel Air Explosive (SLUFAE) Mine Neutralization System (launcher, ancillary equipment, rocket container and integrated logistics system). The SLUFAE functions were transferred in October 79 from the Advanced Systems Concept Office (ASCO) to WSMD's REDEYE Division, which was renamed the REDEYE/SLUFAE Division.
FY 80 A ten-man Iranian Air Force fact-finding team visited U.S. government and contractor facilities in October 79 to determine the status of the Iranian Improved HAWK program. The Iranian team asked for recommendations on reestablishing their air defense capabilities, which the Army planned to present to the Iranian Air Force's Chief of Staff.
FY 80 After the reestablishment of MICOM, the Readiness and Research and Development (R&D) Procurement and Production Directorates were consolidated into the new Directorate for Procurement and Production (D/P&P).
FY 80 DA agreed in November 79 to support the start of a development effort for the AMAWS as a replacement for the DRAGON system.
FY 80 President Jimmy Carter signed legislation in November 79, sponsored by the Alabama Congressional delegation, authorizing the Secretary of the Army to transfer over 300 acres of Redstone Arsenal land to the Alabama Space Science Exhibit Commission (ASSEC) for future expansion of the Alabama Space and Rocket Center. The land would also be used by the city of Huntsville for building recreational facilities.
FY 80 Moslem revolutionaries seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on 4 November 79 and took the occupants hostage. The U.S. Department of State formally directed the suspension of the Iranian HAWK FMS program. MICOM had no further communications with the Iranian Air Force. The Iranian equipment being held in the United States was placed in segregated storage in U.S. Army depots, and all contracts pertaining to the program were terminated. A legal decision that the equipment was Iranian owned and should not be diverted stopped attempts to use these assets to satisfy other customer requirements.
FY 80 The General Support Rocket System (GSRS) was redesignated the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) on 16 November 79 in order to be compatible with the name already established by the European allies. The GSRS Project Office became the MLRS Project Office effective with the redesignation.
FY 80 The Missile Minder/Air Defense Tactical Data Systems (MM/ADTDS) was redesignated the Air Defense Command and Control Systems (ADCCS) Project Office.
FY 80 Raytheon stopped producing DRAGON missiles.
FY 80 During the period from November 79 to February 80, four modified NIKE HERCULES missiles provided target support in the last of a series of ten PATRIOT development tests started in FY 79. The 4th Battalion, 62d Air Defense Artillery (ADA), Fort Bliss, Texas, launched the target from White Sands Missile Range (WSMR). After the last test flight, the ground support equipment was deactivated in March 80, and the launch team was disbanded.
FY 80 The Civilian Personnel Office (CPO) became a separate organization independent from the Personnel, Training and Force Development Directorate.
FY 80 The Operations Security (OPSEC) program at MICOM became fully operational.
FY 80 The DA Select Committee made a major decision that the Improved HAWK (IHAWK) would remain in the field until the end of FY 89.
FY 80 As a result of President Jimmy Carter's peace initiatives in the Middle East and the Camp David Peace Accord signed by the leaders of Egypt and Israel, the United States instituted the Egyptian Security Assistance Program.
FY 80 Deployment of the AH-1S modernized COBRA helicopter to U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) units began.
FY 80 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ministers formally approved the basing of the PERSHING II missile system in western Europe.
FY 80 The Sacramento Army Depot was selected as the maintenance depot for the ground laser locator designator (GLLD) and the laser target designator (LTD), the first precision laser designators fielded in the Department of Defense (DOD).
FY 80 After the completion of a 50-month engineering development program, the Defense System Acquisition Review Council (DSARC) approved the cannon launched guided projectile COPPERHEAD for production.
FY 80 Phasedown of the SHILLELAGH/M551 SHERIDAN to a residual fleet of 140 vehicles was completed. A total of 54 SHILLELAGH missile systems remained in service at Fort Bragg with the 82d Airborne Division's tank battalions. The Arkansas National Guard at Camp Robinson was using another 12 systems. The remaining systems were held in stock.
FY 80 The first approved foreign materiel sales (FMS) cases for the STINGER were received when Germany signed three FMS cases totaling $1.8 million for test hardware, technical training, and technical assistance.
January 80 Procurement actions for the 2.75-Inch Rocket (HYDRA-70) transitioned to the U.S. Army Armament Materiel Readiness Command (ARRCOM). MICOM also retained management responsibility for the total system.
January 80 The driver safety training facility at Redstone Arsenal became operational. Regulations required that all individuals involved in a moving violation or accident, take a remedial driver training course offered by the Safety Office's Driver Improvement Program. Individuals receiving traffic violations after attending the remedial course could have their on post driving privileges suspended for a minimum of 3 months.
January 80 General Dynamics Corporation delivered the first STINGER air defense weapon to come off the company's pilot production line.
January 80 SFC Vera Campbell was the first woman to achieve warrant officer rank while at Redstone Arsenal.
January- March 80 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a contract to New World Research for the first major local archaeological study since the 1930s. Undertaken on the eastern boundary of Redstone Arsenal, the cultural resources reconnaissance effort involved a 7-mile long corridor, extending in length from Martin Road to the Tennessee River. In width the corridor ran from 1 mile on either side of the installation's east boundary. The study involved the location of significant historic or archaeological sites on the arsenal to determine if they might be affected by potential dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) cleanup solutions in the area of Huntsville Spring Branch. Representatives from the Louisiana firm discovered 16 new archaeological sites. The significant sites found included a prehistoric Indian village and an ancient burial site.
January-March 80 PATRIOT Operational Test (OT) II took place with a 70-move maneuver phase, a historical 50-aircraft "small war" tactical exercise, and nine modular digital guidance firings. Many air defense firsts were demonstrated, including live fire of multiple simultaneous engagements and battalion level triangulation of stand-off jammers.
2 January 80 The Infantry Manportable Antiarmor Assault Weapon System (IMAAWS) Management Office (Provisional) was established because of Army infantry's urgent need for a DRAGON replacement. System management functions were transferred from ASCO.
2 January 80 The MICOM Commander directed that the Corps Support Weapon System (CSWS) management function be transferred from ASCO to a provisional division in the LANCE Program Office, effective this date. CSWS was being designed to replace the LANCE missile system. It evolved from the Assault Breaker technology demonstration program sponsored by the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that began in 1977 to investigate concepts which could provide the Army with the capability to detect, acquire and engage second echelon mobile targets by indirect guided missile fire.
3 January 80 DA's Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations approved the consolidation of training and audiovisual support activities under a single manager in the Redstone Arsenal Support Activity (RASA). This entailed the transfer of graphics and audiovisual functions from the U.S. Army Missile and Munitions Command and School (MMCS).
21 January 80 The first permanent Alcohol and Drug Control Officer (ADCO) joined the staff of the Human Resources Development Office. Three interim ADCOs had filled the position since May 1978.
February 80 The U.S. Army Development and Readiness Command (DARCOM) resource self-help/affordability planning effort (RESHAPE) Concept Plan was a 5-year productivity improvement plan designed to provide a way to meet the shortfall in the DARCOM baseline manpower requirement for peacetime workloads.
February 80 The IMAAWS Management Office assumed management responsibility for the DARPA Tank Breaker program, excluding funding control.
February 80 The Center for Disease Control (CDC) released the results of an 8-month study on the effects of high levels of DDT found in some Triana, Alabama, residents and local commercial fishermen. The study revealed that the Triana residents had the highest known levels of DDT in their systems of any group in the nation. However, the residents' DDT contamination could not be linked to any sickness or disease.
The same study also revealed the presence of high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), another chemical compound, in the blood of some of the people tested. Although widely used for years as insulators and heat exchange agents in electrical capacitors and transformers, the use of PCBs in new products was banned in 1977 because the chemical could be a cancer-causing agent. The discovery of PCBs in the blood tests triggered a widespread hunt for possible PCB sources on Redstone Arsenal and in the city of Huntsville. The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) search, aided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Army, revealed no major point of contamination in the area. Moreover, CDC found no evidence of illness caused by the PCBs in those Triana residents who had been tested. Nevertheless, the EPA directed the Army, Marshall Space Flight Center, and the city of Huntsville to continue their search for low-level contamination sources and to correct them.
February 80 Anthony Earl Hall, son of PVT 1 and Mrs. Earl Hall, was the first baby delivered at Fox Army Hospital. He was also the first child born on Redstone Arsenal since 1974, when the old post hospital's Obstetrics and Gynecology clinic closed.
19 February 80 President Jimmy Carter awarded the PERSHING II program the BRICK-BAT (DX) rating on the Master Urgency List, the highest national priority granted to a system.
21 February 80 The Director of Requirements, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, changed the name of the system from AMAWS to Infantry Manportable Antiarmor Assault Weapon System (IMAAWS).
25 February 80 The Redstone Arsenal Support Activity's Internal Security Division merged with the MICOM Headquarters Security Office to form the new Internal Security Directorate, reporting directly to the MICOM Chief of Staff. The new organization combined Provost Marshal, security, and intelligence functions.
29 February 80 About 110 MICOM civilian employees, many of them high-level managers, retired on this date in the largest one-time exodus of Army personnel at Redstone Arsenal since the Von Braun team transferred to NASA in July 1960.
March 80 The DRAGON weapon system was relegated from project management status to Level II management.
March 80 After it approved a CSWS Mission Element Need Statement (MENS), put together by the user and developer communities, DA submitted the document to DOD. The latter agency returned the MENS in August 80, and expressed concern about roles and missions compatibility with the Air Force as well as the need for more planning on rationalization, standardization, and interoperability (RSI). The Army revised the MENS in September 80.
March 80 MICOM successfully completed a three-flight demonstration program at White Sands Missile Range to prove out the Simplified Inertial Guidance Demo (SIG-D) technique.
March 80 Old buildings in the 3400 area of Redstone Arsenal were demolished in preparation for the construction of a new $7.3 million barracks complex on the site. The new complex would have four buildings, each housing 550 enlisted soldiers. The demolished structures were part of the World War II-era facilities used for making munitions. The walls of the old plants had been especially constructed to confine an explosion to a single compartment if one occurred.
24 March 80 The U.S. Army began preparing for the transfer of the Test, Measurement, and Diagnostic Equipment (TMDE) calibration and repair support mission from FORSCOM and the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) on 1 October 81. As part of the transfer preparations, the Army expanded the TMDE calibration and repair responsibility assigned to MICOM and the U.S. Army Metrology and Calibration Center (AMCC) to include command and control of secondary reference laboratories and transfer teams located at six U.S. Army Depot Systems Command (DESCOM) depots.
31 March 80 Effective this date, MICOM lost the Motion Picture/Television Production Division and related production acquisition functions of RASA. These missions, along with 19 civilian personnel spaces, were transferred to the Defense Audiovisual Agency in Washington, D.C. Operations not involving production acquisition remained with RASA.
31 March 80 The Lance Project Management Office was terminated, and the LANCE missile transferred to Level II management. The LANCE Division was established in WSMD the following day (1 April 80).
31 March 80 DARCOM approved MICOM's transfer of DRAGON management from the TOW/DRAGON Project Office.
April 80 The TOW/DRAGON Project Office was redesignated as the TOW Project Office, following the termination of project management for the DRAGON weapon system. The DRAGON weapon system was relegated to Level II management in WSMD.
April 80 A federal judge dismissed the DDT contamination suit by the State of Alabama against the Army and approved the terms of a settlement negotiated out of court. Under terms of this settlement, the Army agreed to abide by the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System that EPA issued in 1979 for surface water treatment at Redstone Arsenal. In addition, the installation would continue and complete the Army Corps of Engineers' investigation of the magnitude of the DDT contamination problem off Army property. The settlement also recommended that CDC continue its health study on residents of Triana, Alabama, and others who might have been affected by DDT contamination. The state agreed never again to sue the Army on the DDT discharge from Redstone.
April 80 The last phase of the DDT cleanup operation at the former Olin manufacturing site, started in August 79, was completed under a $160,000 contract with Ashburn and Gray. In this final phase of the $1 million program, the contaminated sediment was removed from the DDT wastewater channel and buried in the hazardous waste landfill. Work began later on the construction of a storage area for hazardous wastes to comply with the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act.
April 80 A new MICOM policy required all employees to clean off their desks at the end of the working day. The "clean desk procedure" was established to help prevent security violations that could have resulted from poor housekeeping.
April 80 The Huntsville Board of Education asked the city government to begin formal action to annex Redstone Arsenal, which they believed would make it possible for the city to collect some taxes on post if federal aid were cut off.
April-June 80 Operational tests on the HELLFIRE missile were conducted at Hunter-Liggett Military Reservation, California.
1 April 80 MICOM established an ad hoc RESHAPE Committee to provide concepts, detailed analyses, assessments, comments, and implementation plans for the command's portion of the DARCOM RESHAPE study program. It was disbanded on 8 May 80 and replaced with one chaired by Dr. Richard G. Rhoades, who was the director of the Propulsion Laboratory in the Army Missile Laboratory (AML).
1 April 80 After the termination of LANCE project management, MICOM established the CSWS Project Office (Provisional). The CSWS in its nuclear role was designed to perform the same missions as the LANCE, with less manpower and simplified support equipment.
1 April 80 WSMD's new DRAGON functions were incorporated into the renamed DRAGON/ SHILLELAGH/ Land Combat Support System (LCSS) Division. 11 April 80 As part of a DARCOM test to assess the benefits of combining these functions under a single manager, the Equal Opportunity Office was placed under the operational control of the MICOM Equal Employment Opportunity Office.
21 April 80 The newly established IMMAWS Development Project Office assumed the functions of the IMAAWS Management Office (Provisional). It also took on expanded functions associated with the development project officer role.
29 April 80 The Army announced the selection of the Vought Corporation, Dallas, Texas, as the prime contractor for final development of the MLRS.
May 80 A DSARC III decision approved entry of the MLRS program into a maturation phase in which development and low-rate production would be pursued concurrently. This approach differed significantly from traditional acquisition strategy because accelerated design maturity would be accomplished during the validation phase, which preceded the maturation contract award. Immediately following the DSARC III determination, MICOM awarded three separate contracts to the Vought Corporation for completion of the development (maturation) effort, preparation of manufacturing facilities, and initial low-rate MLRS production.
May 80 DA decided to accelerate the phase-out of the M6DA2 Sheridan tanks from the active Army inventory. These were the launch platform for the SHILLELAGH missile.
May 80 DOD banned the use of chlordane, a pesticide used in termite control, in quarters with concrete foundations that had forced air heating and cooling ducts cast into or below the slabs. RASA was directed in 1982 to test 40 quarters in the family housing area with this kind of construction for possible chlordane contamination. Air samples indicated that there was no chlordane hazard.
29 May 80 MICOM assumed responsibility for operational control of TMDE calibration and repair support in the far Western Pacific and Western Command Logistics Support Center.
June 80 As part of Redstone Arsenal's continuing effort to keep its airfield up-to-date, the old air traffic control tower was torn down to make way for a new structure.
July 80 An agreement to transition the AN/TSQ-73 Missile Minder from the U.S. Army Communications Research and Development Command (CORADCOM) to MICOM was finally reached after 2 years of negotiations and 20 months after the system was first deployed to U.S. forces. Included in the transfer were missions associated with the AN/TSQ-73, Short Range Air Defense Command and Control (SHORAD C2), the software support center at Fort Bliss, Texas, and the Tactical Air Control System/Tactical Air Defense System (TACS/TADS) effort.
July 80 Some workers in Building 5681 reported smelling chemical odors. Dust samples of the underground area of the building revealed the presence of small amounts of DDT, chlordane, and benzene hexachloride. Originally built in World War II as a mustard gas production plant, 5681 was never used for that purpose. From 1949 to 1952, however, the John Powell Company used the northern end of the building as a facility for grinding and mixing DDT made at another site on the arsenal as well as for processing chlordane, dieldrin, benzene hexachloride, and other crop poisons. Dust sample findings and subsequent air sample tests completed in 1980 indicated that the insecticide wastes posed no health hazards. As a precautionary measure, however, the Facilities Engineering Division performed a "janitorial type" cleaning under the building.
July 80 The first German citizen, Yvonne Zehrmann, was born at Fox Army Hospital. Her father was a student at MMCS located on Redstone Arsenal. The newborn actually held dual citizenship (United States and Federal Republic of Germany) until she turned 18, at which time she had to choose between the two nations.
20 July 80 After receiving approval from the MICOM Commander on 9 June 80, ASCO was realigned and redesignated the Future Weapon Systems Directorate (FWSD) on this date. This action was taken to streamline and reduce the size of the organization as well as to align the various team elements with the mission areas being analyzed.
21 July 80 The MICOM RESHAPE Planning Committee was terminated and the Comptroller was designated as the focal point for implementing, monitoring, and coordinating all RESHAPE actions.
23 July 80 The governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France signed a formal declaration of intent to participate in the concept definition phase of the terminal guidance warhead (TGW) program. The primary mission of the TGW would be to provide rapid fire, non-nuclear capability to destroy a wide spectrum of stationary and moving, medium hard to very hard, armored targets. The declaration required that the TGW be jointly developed, with active participation by industries of all four nations.
31 July 80 MG Robert L. Moore became the eighth MICOM commander, succeeding MG Louis Rachmeler who retired after 37 years of military service.
31 July 80 After he assumed his new position, the MICOM Commander verbally ordered that the name of the IMAAWS Development Project Office be changed back to the IMAAWS Management Office (Provisional).
August 80 Because of funding concerns, DARCOM and MICOM decided to defer start of the Multipurpose Lightweight Missile System (MLMS) program. Despite user support for the MLMS, the MICOM Commander could not consider any major MICOM commitment to MLMS until technical and contractual problems with the basic STINGER were resolved.
7 August 80 The Secretary of Defense approved the Army's recommendation for MLRS to enter the maturation/low-rate production phase with one contractor.
25 August 80 The Operations Analysis Office (Provisional) was established to serve as the principal staff element for the Command Group on all management matters, including control and integration of the overall command matrix management philosophy and productivity initiatives affecting command resources through the RESHAPE program.
September 80 The Improved TOW (ITOW) program was redefined to include both the ITOW and TOW 2 missiles.
September 80 Deployment of the non-nuclear LANCE was completed. Six battalions in Europe and two at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, had both a nuclear and non-nuclear capability.
September 80 The preliminary report of the $1.5 million engineering and environmental study on the DDT problem at Redstone Arsenal was released this month. Prepared by Water and Air Research, Incorporated for the Mobile District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the 1000-page report described six alternatives for removing more than 800 tons of DDT from the Huntsville Spring Branch and Indian Creek.
The cheapest proposal permitted the "natural restoration" of the area. At a cost of about $600,000 annually to test and monitor, this solution would take years to become effective and would result in continued environmental contamination for the area. The other five proposals would involve some dredging of the creeks and swamps in the contaminated area at costs ranging from $68 million to $137 million. In addition, four of these proposals would require a rerouting of the Huntsville Spring Branch. Although these five proposals would take 2 to 5 years to complete, they could result in the removal of up to 99 percent of the DDT residue from the environment.
However, the environmental impact of all five "action" plans, particularly those involving the rerouting of Huntsville Spring Branch, would be severe. Extensive permanent changes would be made to the wildlife and aquatic habitat of the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge acreage located within the arsenal. Depending on the dredging alternative selected, the swamp bordering the Huntsville Spring Branch could become either a lake or dry land. The study did not include restoration costs for the affected areas.
The task force created to oversee the cleanup effort met on 10 September 80 to discuss these alternatives, but no recommendations would be made until after a public meeting scheduled for December 80.
September 80 DOD's Defense Acquisition Review Council announced its decision to begin PATRIOT production.
28 September 80 The first planned RESHAPE action to be completed involved the consolidation of engineering functions under MICOM's Army Missile Laboratory (AML) on this date. The Engineering Directorate was abolished as a separate command element and its functions were merged with the Systems Engineering Directorate of AML. At the same time, the Chief Engineer position was discontinued and the mission was transferred to the AML Director. These changes eliminated duplication of functions and fragmentation of engineering responsibilities.
30 September 80 Phase II of the MICOM reorganization, which had started with the U.S. Army Missile Readiness Command/Missile Research and Development Command (MIRCOM/ MIRADCOM) merger on 1 July 79, was completed. The dual command structure was realigned in a two-step process designed to minimize personnel turbulence while achieving the desired manpower and management efficiencies. The first step entailed the consolidation of functionally similar or duplicate elements into the merged command structure, which became operational on 7 October 79. This was followed by other realignments to streamline and optimize the consolidated command in accordance with the DARCOM approved organizational concepts.
October 80 MICOM agreed to be the pilot command for one of two profit sharing tests, a supporting program of RESHAPE. This innovative concept involved the creation of a "pot" of funds that could be used by the manager to increase the productivity of his organization.
October-December 80 The U.S. Army announced plans to study over 10,000 jobs done by federal civilian workers and soldiers to see if work could be performed as well and at less cost by contractors. At Redstone Arsenal, the study included RASA's installation support and physical security functions, which involved 658 civilian and 42 military positions. Positions at MMCS, Fox Army Hospital, and the MICOM Security and Management Information Systems Directorates were also being reviewed.
1 October 80 With the completion of LANCE missile production in September 80, the Michigan Army Missile Plant (MAMP), Warren, Michigan, became excess to MICOM's needs and was transferred to the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Command (TACOM) effective this date. Formerly the site where the Vought Corporation produced the LANCE missile, all of the LANCE production equipment was removed from the plant. All of the tooling necessary to produce repair parts for the missile was transferred to a Vought facility near Dallas, Texas, for any future production to support the system until 1990. Fueling operations at Anniston Army Depot (ANAD) were also closed.
1 October 80 The ADCCS Project Office was transferred from CORADCOM to MICOM.
1 October 80 MICOM formally assumed the TMDE support mission with the activation of the U.S. Army TMDE Support Activity, Pacific (USATSAPAC) headquarters at Camp Henry, Talgu, Korea. It provided total support to all general purpose TMDE used by the Army in Korea, Japan, Okinawa, and Hawaii.
1 October 80 Effective this date, the Level A calibration and incidental repair mission and related manpower resources were transferred from DESCOM to MICOM.
1 October 80 MICOM's Materiel Management Directorate assumed logistic management responsibility from ARRCOM for Sets, Kits, and Outfits (SKOs) required solely for the maintenance of missile end items. The transfer consisted of 58 major items using about 6000 component items.
31 October 80 DA terminated the contracts awarded on 12 September 80 to McDonnell Douglas Astronautics for the Tank Breaker laser beam rider concept and to Honeywell, Inc. for the STAFF concept. Letter of agreement requirements approved in February 80 had driven the designs to exceed the acceptable standards for bulk and weight.
November 80 An agreement for the transition of the standard 2.75-Inch rocket from MICOM to ARRCOM, the single manager for conventional ammunition, was finally reached this month, after more than a year of negotiations. MICOM retained management responsibility for the total system, including system integration and configuration management for Class I changes, as well as rockets under development, initial procurement of new system hardware, rocket launchers, and repair parts.
November 80 Workers in Building 5681 were possibly exposed to airborne asbestos after contractor work crews modifying the south end of the structure disturbed ceiling insulation believed to contain the potentially hazardous material. In a subsequent survey of the area, the Environmental Hygiene Agency confirmed that there had been "incidental exposure" of the workers to airborne asbestos during the renovation. Although the risk of adverse health effects posed by the relatively short-time exposure appeared to be very small, MICOM decided as a precaution to remove all of the asbestos insulation.
November 80 The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) asked the Army to conduct a 90-day assessment of the need for a medium manportable system to complement the VIPER and TOW systems.
21 November 80 The MICOM Commander approved the full release of the STINGER training and training support equipment.
December 80 The U.S. Department of Justice, representing the Army and Environmental Protection Agency, filed a DDT contamination lawsuit against the Olin Chemical Corporation, which had manufactured DDT on Redstone Arsenal between 1947 and 1970 under a lease from the Army. The lawsuit's purpose was to recoup the government's expenses in investigating and remedying the DDT contamination on the installation. In addition, four non-federal lawsuits against Olin were pending. The Army maintained that no decision on possible government funding would be made until the courts ruled on Olin's liability for the cleanup.
December 80 Toni Rinehart, a Huntsville native and an engineering assistant with General Dynamics, was believed to be the first woman to ever fire an Army missile at Redstone Arsenal. She was one of eight gunners, and the only woman.
4 December 80 The findings of the $1.5 million engineering and environmental study of contaminated lands and waters adjacent to Redstone Arsenal were discussed in a public meeting in the city of Triana. In a report prepared for the Mobile District of the Army Corps of Engineers, Water and Air Research, Inc. described six alternatives for removing more than 800 tons of DDT from the Huntsville Spring Branch and Indian Creek.
29 December 80 The Mobile District of the Army Corps of Engineers selected a DDT cleanup plan to recommend to the South Atlantic Division of the Army Corps of Engineers. The alternative that it preferred would cost about $88.9 million and would involve several steps. These steps included diverting the Huntsville Spring Branch around the most heavily contaminated area with a channel about 2.5 miles long; constructing a dike about 2.5 miles long to encircle the heavily contaminated area; dredging the lower 3.9 miles of Huntsville Spring Branch and the contaminated portion of Indian Creek from its juncture with Huntsville Spring Branch downstream to the Tennessee River; disposing of the dredged material within the diked area; and installing a permanent pumping station to remove runoff from the containment area. Although the preferred plan would not remove or isolate all of the DDT residue, it would be more effective than the other five alternatives. The recommended project would also significantly alter more than 1,000 acres of wetland, upland, and fish and aquatic habitat located on the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge
Redstone Arsenal Era:
Intro,
1980,
1981,
1982,
1983,
1984,
1985,
1986,
1987,
1988,
1989
