News

NEW COMMANDER TAKES CHARGE

By Wes Clement/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Tuesday, July 14, 2009 11:59 PM CDT

Lt. Col. Cliff Johnston, formerly commander of Pine Bluff Chemical Activity, fulfilled his two-year assignment at the Pine Bluff Arsenal and passed the command to Lt. Col. Nathaniel Farmer Tuesday.

Lt. Col. Nathaniel Farmer addresses officials of the Pine Bluff Arsenal and related agencies Tuesday during a change of command ceremony. Farmer is now in charge of the incineration of chemical weapons at the arsenal. Pine Bluff Commercial/Wes Clement

The change of command ceremony was conducted at the arsenal in the presence of many officials, family and friends.

The Pine Bluff Chemical Activity oversees the stockpiled chemical weapons, much of which has been eliminated by incineration.

“I am very humbled to follow in his footsteps and am ready to take on the challenge of continuing this mission,” Farmer said.

Johnston’s next assignment is to serve as a chemical readiness officer at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

“My only challenge probably,” Farmer said, “will be to keep the same level of safety LTC Johnston has set and not to lower that standard.”

The new commander expressed an eagerness to pursue excellence in continuing the work of Johnston.

“This was not my largest command, and it was not my most exciting command,” Johnston said. He cited examples of having been in charge of a greater number of people and having led refugee rescues in the Caribbean.

“But, it was my most significant command for this country,” Johnston said. “We have been protecting the environment and making our community and world a safer place by destroying chemical weapons. I thank those who have worked to make this country a safer place for my children.”

“LTC Farmer, you have a very talented team here,” Johnston said. “You don’t have to tell them how to do their jobs, they already know how. They need you to lead them, to coach and mentor them.”

Farmer is a native of Kentucky. His most recent assignment was as battalion commander of the U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Conrad Whyne, director of the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. commended Johnston for the level of safety achieved under his leadership. Pine Bluff Chemical Activity’s safety record is two accidents per 200,000 man-hours, he said.

“If you look at the statistics,” Whyne said, “it’s about like working in an insurance office.” The few accidents that have occurred under Johnston’s leadership have been minor, he said, such as a worker tripping in the parking lot or getting a small cut.

“There’s nothing easy about the mission Congress has charged us with,” Whyne said. “You have placed trust in us to destroy these weapons safely, most importantly to eliminate the weapons from the region you call home.”

Whyne reported 62 percent of the original chemical stockpiled weapons have been destroyed.

Print this story   |   Email this story