Like many current and former military installations, McClellan is working through a process of clean up that will leave the area clear of the old or corroded munitions that currently keep even the most avid cross-country hiker or nature enthusiast on the pavement.

McClellan has a rich military history dating back to the Spanish American war when the Choccolocco foothills attracted interest as an excellent background for artillery firing.

The War Department formally established Camp McClellan in 1917 as a training site for soldiers that would soon be mobilized for WWI. It was redesignated Fort McClellan and became a permanent post in 1929. Until its closure in 1999 those that trained at McClellan, including nearly 500,000 soldiers during WWII, fired most every type of munition and explosive into the Choccolocco hills.

As part of the early transfer agreement, the JPA manages the cleanup process. With nearly 100 years’ worth of small arms munitions, hand grenades, rockets, projectiles, mortars, and rifle grenades to clean up, it is no wonder that it is a slow and careful process. I asked Cecil for a primer on UXO. He told me first that I needed extensive training and safety awareness before even thinking about UXO cleanup. I assured him that I only wanted to think about it from a completely safe location.

The cleanup process has 7 primary steps and includes many smaller steps. To the casual observer several time-consuming steps show no visible progress, but are necessary to the process nonetheless.

Step #1: Determine the ultimate land use. The depth of remediation will vary according to the planned end use and site-specific data if it is available. In areas at McClellan that will undergo redevelopment the sites are being 'cleared to depth' which is the depth at which there is no further electronic indication of any munitions. This determination was a major component of the base master plan.

Step #2: Determine the boundaries of the areas to be investigated and remediated. This step involves not only identification of the general area, but also physically locating and marking the corners of each grid (typically 4 grids of 100-feet by 100-feet to 1-acre). Since no other clearance has been completed, the survey team must also be aware of possible ordnance on or near the surface. To help in this process, an advanced handheld metal detector known as a Schonstedt is used to locate objects that may not be readily visible.

After this initial survey, the area is surface cleared to remove any UXO items located and also remove all surface metal trash and debris, once this is completed, a grubbing crew is then sent in to remove thick vegetation.

Step #3: Determine the type of known or suspected UXO. Sleuthing out the answers to this step requires skills worthy of the best crime solvers or most patient historian. Records of training activities, locations and possible munitions were not necessarily kept with future cleanup in mind. Specific army records may have moved with the company, or may have been lost or destroyed.

To anyone that likes to explore our Alabama woods, it is immediately apparent that this probably sounds much easier than it actually is. Kudzu, privet, briars, slopes and trees can make walking in a simple straight line a test of will and determination. This survey may be completed with the handheld Schonstedt or with the larger EM61 that is pulled on a cart.

Step #5: Remove or neutralize the UXO. In practice, this step is ongoing throughout the entire process. Part of the removal process is identification of the ordnance. Dummy rounds were often colored differently from live rounds, but time spent in our damp Alabama climate often eliminates this means of identification. Other physical cues can be used to separate dummy from potentially live rounds, but if there is any doubt, the item is detonated in place. Potentially live rounds are not moved, but exploded where they are found.

Step #6: Document the process. This is another ongoing step that is invisible to the casual observer, but accurate documentation assures that every step is completd and no areas are missed. Documentation may not have been much of a concern when those first rounds were fired into McClellan’s hillsides, but that is not the case with UXO work. Each step is carefully documented and areas are checked and rechecked. With 12,000 acres to clear of UXO, this is a big job.

Step #7: Once the contractor has completed the clearance procedures, the area is turned over to Matrix Environmental Services where the land under goes Quality Assurance inspections prior to acceptance as completed.

If land uses change after the UXO remediation is complete, then additional remediation may be necessary.

L. Bundy -3/2/2007