20th CBRNE Command Year in Review 2016

Photo By Lt. Col. Ryan Donald | Soldiers from the 767th Ordnance Company (EOD) conduct their first collective EOD Airborne operation for the newly designated airborne capable global response force EOD support company on Sicily Drop Zone on Nov 3.  

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MD, UNITED STATES

12.20.2016

Courtesy Story

20th CBRNE Command

From the CG's desk:

As I sit here and reflect on this past year, I can’t help but feel as if 2016 flew by. From the second week in January to the middle of December, it feels as if this command was in a full sprint. Now as we come to the end of the year, we can take time with our families and loved ones to reflect on this past year and be proud of what we have done and what we have to look forward to in 2017.

I cannot tell you how fortunate I am that each of you is part of the 20th CBRNE Command family. The talent and expertise you bring to this command are unmatched in any other unit in the Army. I truly mean that.

We have a lot to be proud of this past year; individual accomplishments as well as collective achievements. Each time we called on you, you answered the challenge and stepped up.

I want to highlight a few individuals for their incredible personal achievements:

• Capt. Taylor Duren was the first EOD officer to earn the MacArthur Leadership Award
• Sgt. Christian Feist was named the JBLM Chaplain Assistant of the Year.
• Spc. Ingoo Kwak earned the coveted Expert in Competition for Marksmenship. He is only one of 1,740 soldiers who have earned this honor since the badge was introduced in 1903.
• Sgt. Jacob Meinders and Spc. Kyle O’Day earned the title of 2016 20th CBRNE Command Best Warriors.
• SSG David Mensink, from the 789th EOD CO at Ft. Benning, was awarded the Soldiers Medal for his heroic actions on an EOD Response mission.
• SSG Nickolas Gordon and SSG Mercedes Smith were inducted into the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club.

We have also had outstanding team and unit achievements and recognition this past year. To highlight a few outstanding achievements:

• Staff Sgt. Jason Fedak, SPC Lauren Caldwell, and SPC Blake White, from 722nd EOD CO, 192nd EOD BN, 52nd EOD GP, worked together earned the title of the HQDA 2016 EOD Team of the Year.
• 172nd CBRN Company earned the Sibert Award for the best chemical unit in the Army.
• 1st Area Medical Laboratory received the Army Superior Award for their work last year when they deployed to Liberia to help fight the Ebola virus.

Those Soldiers may have received special recognition, but it is you as a team: the Soldiers, civilians, and contractors who doing the work day in and day out that make this command so successful. You demonstrated a commitment to the overall mission that spans the globe. During 2016, our command operated on five of the seven continents. Just think about that, what other organizations other than the United States Special Operations Command do soldiers operate around the globe on a daily basis. Look at any other division in the Army; they are focused on one maybe two countries at any one time. We focus on the globe, and as always you lived up to our motto, “Anytime, Anywhere.”

In the past year we as an organization have much to be proud of:

• The 722nd and the 767th Ordnance Company (EOD) conducted the first collective EOD Airborne operation for the newly designated Airborne capable Global Response Force EOD support company.
• The 59th Hazard Response Company was the first active duty CBRN Company that trained with the New York City Fire Department Hazardous Material Team in New York City, improving our ability to support civil authorities if the call arises.
• The 797th Ordnance Company (EOD) supported the state of Louisiana in the destruction of 85,000 pounds of CBI and 40,000 pounds of M6 propellant at Camp Minden.
• Provided EOD support to the Republican and Democratic national convention as well as to over 435 VIPPSA missions during FY16.
• Nuclear Disablement Teams and CBRNE Response Teams certified as part of the National Technical Nuclear Forensics mission during the Prominent Hunt exercises in Philadelphia and Tampa, working in a direct support role to the DHS and FBI.
• Successfully restationed the 22nd CBRN Battalion and its subordinate elements to US Forces Command installations across the United States at Fort Bliss, Fort Stewart, and Fort Hood.
• Eighth Army certified the command as Joint Task Force-Elimination during Ulchi Freedom Guardian 2016; the first certification for the command since 2009. We also certified as the Combined Joint Task Force-Elimination with our Republic of Korean allies.
• The 63d, 79th and 184th EOD BN along with multiple EOD COs, platoons and teams deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
• The 764 Ordnance Company (EOD) completed 416 missions, cleared more than 8,500 miles of road in Afghanistan and cleared 12,255 pounds of explosive hazards and unexploded ordnances in just nine months.
• 52nd EOD Group successfully stood up Task Force Atlas in Kuwait, providing expertise for Operation Inherent Resolve on three main areas: attack the network, training the force, and defeat the device. A CBRNE Coordination Element also deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. Following a successful and productive nine months, 52nd EOD Group conducted a transfer of authority to 71st EOD Group who assumed the Task Force Atlas mission in November.
• CARA deployed a Mobile Expeditionary Laboratory to the CENTCOM Theater of Operations with a mission to analyze samples of suspect chemical and biological agents at the field confirmatory and theater validation levels.
• Our EOD companies set the standard for Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) and counter-IED training in Africa. The EOD teams conducted training on the elimination of landmines, the disposal of explosive remnants of war, and the management of national ordnance stockpiles. US Army Africa is seeking approval to increase from a company-sized mission to a battalion-sized mission allowing the increase of the capacity and capabilities of the armies on the African continent.

The above list is just a small fraction of what we as a command do every day.

I am humbled to serve with each of you. You make me proud every day when I come to work and can represent you to the myriad of senior leaders around the world. I wish each of you in the 20th CBRNE Command a blessed holiday season; look forward to seeing you in 2017 and continued service with you.

Please in the comment section let me and everyone else know of the accomplishments you and your unit have made this past year.

• Date Taken: 12.20.2016
• Date Posted: 12.20.2016 11:12
• Story ID: 218230
• Location: ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MD, US
• Hometown: ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MD, US
• Hometown: FORT BELVOIR, VA, US
• Hometown: FORT BLISS, TX, US
• Hometown: FORT CAMPBELL, KY, US
• Hometown: FORT CARSON, CO, US
• Hometown: FORT CAVAZOS, TX, US
• Hometown: FORT DRUM, NY, US
• Hometown: FORT IRWIN, CA, US
• Hometown: FORT JOHNSON, LA, US
• Hometown: FORT LIBERTY, NC, US
• Hometown: FORT MOORE, GA, US
• Hometown: FORT RILEY, KS, US
• Hometown: FORT SILL, OK, US
• Hometown: FORT STEWART, GA, US
• Hometown: JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US