The commander of the Army’s Pueblo Chemical Depot, Colorado, received a suspension from his leadership role amid an ongoing investigation, Army officials confirmed.
Col. Jason Lacroix, who led the depot for nearly two years, was suspended earlier this month pending an internal investigation, Justine Barati, a spokesperson for the Army’s Joint Munitions Command, confirmed to Military Times. Details as to why the investigation is taking place were not immediately available.
The installation’s deputy commander, Sheila Johnson, is now in charge, Barati said, adding there has been no impact to the depot’s operations.
Pueblo Chemical Depot is one of two remaining Army installations in the United States that stores chemical weapons, the other being Blue Grass Army Depot, Kentucky.
The Colorado site originally stored more than 2,600 tons of mustard agent in projectiles and mortar rounds and expects to completely destroy its remaining stockpile this year, according to the program office that oversees the process.
Lacroix became the 39th commander of the installation in June 2021, according to a bio shared by the depot. Prior to serving at Pueblo, he was a senior military advisor for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction in Washington, D.C. Before that, he served as a plans officer with Army Futures Command.
Lacroix did not immediately respond to a request for comment via social media.
Jonathan is a staff writer and editor of the Early Bird Brief newsletter for Military Times. Follow him on Twitter @lehrfeld_media
