REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – While their workplace isn’t a battlefield, the consequences of error are just as severe.
“If we don’t do our jobs effectively, people die,” said Susan Hamilton, without sugarcoating a word.
Hamilton is the program manager for the Facility Explosives Safety Mandatory Center of Expertise—better known as FES MCX—at the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville. She leads a team of engineers and technical experts whose work, though mostly done behind computer screens and via spreadsheets and technical documents, plays a critical role in munition facility safety.
The field of explosives safety is a relatively young science. It was born in 1926 from disaster—when lightning struck the Lake Denmark Powder Depot in New Jersey, setting off a chain of explosions that leveled buildings, killed dozens, and injured hundreds. The chaos lasted three days.
Congress responded by establishing what would become the Department of Defense Explosives Safety Board (DDESB), tasked with ensuring that kind of devastation never happened again.
Today, the FES MCX in Huntsville is on the front lines of that prevention effort. Officially designated an MCX in 2018, the center reviews the design and construction of any USACE project involving ammunition or explosives—from munition plants to storage depots and missile maintenance facilities.
Despite its importance, explosives safety isn’t something engineers learn in college. There are no degree programs. Instead, the knowledge is passed down through experience and mentorship. Most FES MCX team members are trained in engineering, chemistry, or physics—and then shaped by field work and technical review.
They pore over blueprints, check protective construction specs, calculate explosive quantity distances, and ensure that safety features like lightning protection, fire suppression, and blast-resistant structures are up to code.
“On any given day, we’re tracking about 200 projects,” Hamilton said. “We have to review and sign off on every single one.”
One recent example is the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, near Burlington, Iowa.
Members of the FES MCX team reviewed the design of isostatic presses used there to pack explosives into shell casings. The goal was to ensure that, if the worst happened—a detonation inside the plant—the damage would be contained and lives saved.
“We’re making sure that munition lethality is limited to enemies of the U.S.,” Hamilton said.
They also worked on a groundbreaking design with the Air National Guard to streamline missile maintenance operations on space-constrained installations—many ANG units operate adjacent to small commercial airports.
“That review process usually takes a year or more,” Hamilton said. “We got it done in three months.”
Not all their work is digital. Some of it is hands-on—and partially underground.
The FES MCX teams are also responsible for inspecting aging earth-covered magazines (ECMs)—buried bunkers built to store munitions. Many of these structures date back to World War II and are now more than 80 years old.
Joshua Umphrey, a structural engineer with FES MCX, spends over 60 days a year inspecting these bunkers. Armed with concrete core drills and structural checklists, his team searches for cracks, spalling, and other concrete degradation that could compromise safety.
“It’s like performing a physical exam on a bunker,” Umphrey said. “We’re looking at the health of the structure— what needs fixing, and what it would cost.”
Umphrey’s work connects directly with researchers at the Engineering Research and Development Center who use cutting-edge simulations and material testing to evaluate blast impact and structural integrity.
They partner with FES MCX personnel on the inspections and provide assistance as required.
“This job requires trust and coordination,” Umphrey said. “And when you’re dealing with explosives, you don’t get a second chance.”
From design reviews to field inspections, from legacy bunkers to future-forward facilities, the FES MCX team is bound by one mission: protect lives by preventing catastrophe.
“We know what’s at stake,” Hamilton said.
“Behind every munition storage site, every secure ammunition plant, every missile bay—there’s a team making sure nothing goes wrong.”
In their world, success isn’t measured in awards or accolades. It’s measured in silence.