Demilitarization The act of rendering something useless for any military purpose. The act of destroying the military offensive or defensive advantages inherent in certain types of equipment or material. The term includes mutilation, dumping at sea, cutting, crushing, scrapping, melting, burning, or altering; [demilitarization is] designed to prevent the further use of this equipment and material for its originally intended military or lethal purpose. The term applies equally to material in unserviceable or serviceable condition that has been screened through an inventory control point and declared surplus or foreign excess (DLA, 2004).
Disposal The elimination of rocket motors by any means, e.g., demilitarization, destruction, recycling. End of life tasks or actions for residual materials resulting from demilitarization or disposition operations (DoD, 2010). The process of reutilizing, transferring, donating, selling, destroying, or other ultimate disposition of personal property (DLA, 2004).
Off-site Disposal of rocket motors away from the Blue Grass Army Depot at a commercial or a government facility.
On-site Disposal of rocket motors at the Blue Grass Army Depot.
Separated rocket motor The entire section of an M55 rocket aft of the warhead, after separation by the rocket cutting machine. Includes the motor case, propellant, fins and various miscellaneous parts, and the fore closure.
Storage risk The risk of an adverse incident in storage. As applied to chemical weapons it refers mainly to the risk of a chemical agent leak developing. As applied to the M55 rockets it refers mainly to the risk of an autoignition event in a storage igloo or magazine due to propellant degradation.
REFERENCES
DLA (Defense Logistics Agency). 2004. DoD 4160.21-M: Defense Materiel Disposition Manual, May 28. Available online at http://www.dla.mil/dlaps/dod/416021m/guide.asp. Last accessed June 19, 2012.
DoD (Department of Defense). 2010. DENIX Unexploded Ordnance (UXO): Glossary A-D, December 22. Available online at http://www.denix.osd.mil/uxo/UXO411/GlossaryAD.cfm. Last accessed June 19, 2012.
