Fort Leonard Wood’s Annual Chemical Regimental Corps Week Ends Friday

Thursday was a big day for the Army Chemical Corps and the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear School at Fort Leonard Wood.
In celebration of the Chemical Corps’ annual week, corps members
heard the State of the Regiment reports, attended the Regimental Honors Ceremony, which provided the opportunity to recognize individuals who have served the Chemical Corps with distinction, and attended the annual Green Dragon Ball Thursday evening.
The event began with a recognition of this year’s Best CBRN Warrior Competition winners: 1st Lt. Connor Macky and Staff Sgt. Joseph Feola, with the 95th CBRN Company at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
The three-day competition, held in April, pitted 27 two-person teams in competition on technical and tactical tasks, ranging from land navigation and expert Soldier skills, to written exams and site characterization and decontamination techniques.
Next, the Chemical Corps inducted four Soldiers into the Honorable Order of the Dragon. These individuals included 1st Sgt. Nekoesha Taylor, and Sgts. 1st Class David Arnold, Chris Jones and Rebecca Trigg.
The Sibert Award was then presented to the top companies in the active Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve, and the top-performing team or detachment across all components.
This year’s winners included the 10th Chemical Company, from Fort Carson, Colorado, in the active category; the 272nd Chemical Company, from Reading, Massachusetts, in the National Guard category; the 320th CBRN Company, from Fort Totten, New York, in the Reserve category; and the 82nd Chemical Reconnaissance Detachment, from Fort Carson, Colorado, in the team or detachment category.
The Distinguished Member of the Corps Award was also presented during the ceremony to retired Brig. Gen. William King IV, who served more than 30 years on active duty and continues to support CBRN modernization in the private sector.
Lastly, the Chemical Corps inducted two individuals into its Hall of Fame, reserved for individuals who have “made a legacy of landmark contributions and the most significant actions to the overall history and traditions of the Chemical Corps.”
This year’s inductees included Capts. John Beek and Jerry Denny, who, along with fellow Chemical officer Capt. Paul Bowman — himself, a 2010 Hall of Fame inductee — died when their helicopter crashed while they were assisting in the capture a North Vietnamese Army bunker complex in 1970, South Vietnam.