Workers began clean-up efforts to close the explosive ordnance disposal range at Kirtland AFB, N.M., announced base officials last week. Since the mid 1990s, agencies including local law enforcement and the nearby Sandia National Laboratories have used the range to detonate or burn everything from small-arms ammunition to rocket motors, according to an Aug. 23 Kirtland release. Open-burn disposal ceased in 2008, but open-detonation work continued until the range permit came due in 2010. The New Mexico Environmental Department reissued Kirtland’s permit, but with “significant practical and fiscal requirements that made implementation infeasible,” states the release. Due to these new requirements, Kirtland officials notified the environmental department “of its intent to immediately halt treatment activities” and close the range, states the release. Contractors have begun removing equipment and metal debris to clear the way for final cleanup and remediation. (Kirtland report by Cole Crosgrove)
Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich assumed command of U.S. European Command on July 1, taking over the key assignment as the U.S. and its allies contend with a resurgent Russia and a grinding war in Ukraine.
