Engineering Recognized for 10 years of Support to U.S Secret Service ChemBio Program

After ten years of supporting the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) as program manager overseeing a special chemical and biological (CB) facility, the Engineering Directorate’s support of the program has concluded with the decommissioning of the USSS’s old facility and the successful transition of the customer’s program to a new location in the Washington, D.C. area.

In recognition of Engineering’s significant contributions of expertise and support, the USSS honored several of the key ECBC individuals involved in the program at a special awards ceremony in May, held in the Berger Auditorium.

Individuals recognized included Suzanne Milchling, Director of Program Integration, formally Engineering Associate Director when she led the effort from 2002-2010. Other members of the Engineering Directorate were honored as well during the ceremony.

“One of the new monikers we are putting forth at the new facility comes from the reputation that ECBC Engineering established over the past ten years – ‘100% right, 100% of the time,’” said one USSS representative as she thanked the group of ECBC Engineering individuals gathered for the ceremony.

Although Engineering’s support of the program is concluding, the new facility will continue to be supported by the Directorate of Program Integration (DPI), who remains a key player. The Research and Technology (R&T) Directorate will also support the new facility as needed.

Key individuals from ECBC who supported the USSS program also include Bill Klein, Engineering Associate Director, who helped get the program on its feet.

“The success of the program is a tribute to all of ECBC who collaborated together across the Directorates to make the program work,” Klein said.

ECBC performed multiple functions in support of the program. The Engineering Directorate was the program manager and handled the day to day operations of the facility, including all contractors. DPI was used extensively for lab support; monitoring, filtration and environmental support; safety and risk expertise; and the decommissioning of the old facilities. R&T provided testing support and technical expertise.

According to members of the USSS program, ECBC was the best fit for the client as the Center offered the broadest range of CB expertise, the greatest number of CB facilities and a diverse workforce with extensive hands on experience in the CB area.