20th CBRNE Command

U.S. Army Chemical Corps Soldiers recently worked with joint and interagency partners to support the wildfire response mission in Southern California, Feb. 12 - 17. Soldiers from the 172nd Chemical Company (Hazard Response) and the 21st Chemical Company (Hazard Response) joined together with Sailors, Marines and Airmen under the command of U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Task Force-Civil Support to remove hazardous waste from debris ridden homesites in California. The team cleared more than a thousand burned homesites of more than 5,000 articles of hazardous material. Read full story: https://lnkd.in/eJkj7Rim #MakingaDifference #FreedomsGuardian #LibertyWeDefend

U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians recently trained together to confront and defeat explosive drones. Army EOD technicians from the Fort Johnson, Louisiana-based 705th Ordnance Company (EOD) and EOD Airmen from the Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana-based 2nd Civil Engineering Squadron, EOD Flight, conducted training on Unmanned Aerial Systems at the Joint Readiness Training Center. Capt. Joel A. Greene, the commander of the 705th EOD Company, said the training improved the capabilities of both units. Read full story: https://lnkd.in/eqBeSY5r #EOD #USArmy #USAirForce #FreedomsGuardian #LibertyWeDefend

A U.S. Coast Guard captain recently championed “intrusive leadership” at the premier U.S. military Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) command on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Marcus A. Canady, the Coast Guard chair and military instructor at the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, spoke at a leadership professional development course at the 20th CBRNE Command Headquarters, Feb. 27. Canady emphasized the importance of growing and developing people while accomplishing the mission. Read full story: https://lnkd.in/eUZQiv8x

An Explosive Ordnance Disposal-qualified U.S. Army Chemical Corps officer was recently inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame for his heroic actions during a mission in the Vietnam War. Capt. Frederick P. Smith saved a helicopter crew when tear gas canisters (CS) that were being used to force the enemy out of hiding started to go off in the helicopter. Smith made the ultimate sacrifice to save the remaining seven Soldiers on the UH-1 Huey. Read full story: https://lnkd.in/gSApepES #AmericanHero #EOD #ChemicalCorps #FreedomsGuardian #LibertyWeDefend

A retired U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal colonel dedicated his three-decade career to eradicating explosive threats to the American people and the warfighters who defend them. Retired Col. Paul R. Plemmons commanded Task Force Troy, the joint, interagency and multinational task force that confronted and defeated tens of thousands of Improvised Explosive Devices during the Iraq War. In 2006, Plemmons led the task force that included more than 1,400 U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force EOD technicians who responded to IED calls across Iraq.?Read full story: https://lnkd.in/eTR5sMbF #Legends #EOD #Leadership?#FreedomsGuardian #LibertyWeDefend

Highly specialized units from the U.S. military’s premier Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command trained for nuclear forensics missions at Exercise Prominent Hunt in Schenectady, New York, Jan. 27 - 30. 20th CBRNE Command Soldiers from a Nuclear Disablement Team and a CBRNE Response Team validated their readiness to serve on the National Technical Nuclear Forensics Ground Collection Task Force. Led by the FBI, the NTNF Ground Collection Task Force gathers and packages samples of radioactive fallout that enable partner agencies to determine the source of the radiation. Read full story: https://lnkd.in/eTcM2_Cr #ExerciseProminentHunt #USArmy #USAirForce #FreedomsGuardian #LibertyWeDefend

The 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command selected Retired Col. Raymond Van Pelt, a U.S. Army Chemical Corps officer, as the 2024 Defender of Liberty. The Defender of Liberty award, established in 2019, is given annually to leaders who have made a significant impact on the command. Retired Vice Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Richard Cody was the first recipient of the award in 2019 for authoring the memo that led to the creation of the 20th CBRNE Command while serving as the deputy chief of staff of the Army for operations and plans. Retired Maj. Gen. John C. Doesburg was the 2020 Defender of Liberty and the 2021 Defender of Liberty was retired Maj. Gen. Kevin R. Wendel. Retired Lt. Gen. Leslie C. Smith was the 2022 Defender of Liberty. Command Sgt. Maj. Kenneth Graham, the command’s fifth senior enlisted leader, was the 2023 Defender of Liberty. Brig. Gen. W Bochat, the commanding general of the 20th CBRNE Command, presented the award to Van Pelt at a ceremony in Belcamp, Maryland, Feb. 12. Van Pelt was one of the principal architects behind the establishment of the 20th CBRNE Command and Joint Task Force Weapons of Mass Destruction-Elimination. Van Pelt served in the Army for 30 years before spending another eight years as an Army civilian at the 20th CBRNE Command. Van Pelt currently serves as a deacon at the Saint Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Aberdeen, Maryland.

The U.S. Department of Defense’s premier Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command selected a retired U.S. Army Chemical Corps colonel who helped to forge the command as the 2024 Defender of Liberty. The 20th CBRNE Command recognized retired U.S. Army Col. Ray Van Pelt with the prestigious award. Brig. Gen. W Bochat, the commanding general of the 20th CBRNE Command, presented the award to Van Pelt at a ceremony in Belcamp, Maryland.?Read full story: https://lnkd.in/edYHk2Vf #ColRayVanPelt #DefenderofLiberty #MakingaDifference #FreedomsGuardian #LibertyWeDefend

A U.S. Army 1st lieutenant recently managed the logistical requirements for a major homeland response exercise. 1st Lt. Brandon Gude served as the battalion logistician for the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 2nd Chemical Battalion during the Defense Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) Response Force (DCRF) exercise. A Military Intelligence officer, Gude is branch detailed to the U.S. Army Chemical Corps. Read full story: https://lnkd.in/gdbTFQpt #Leadership #MakingaDifference #logistics #FreedomsGuardian #LibertyWeDefend

A U.S. Army Ranger-qualified Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer recently added a Sapper tab to his uniform. 1st. Lt. Jack Bordes, the executive officer for the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment of the 192nd Ordnance Battalion (EOD), graduated from the elite Sapper Leader Course on Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Bordes was inspired to attend the Sapper Leader Course by 1st Lt. Tyler L. Wetzel, a U.S. Army Combat Engineer officer and platoon leader in the Fort Liberty, North Carolina-based 57th Sapper Company (Airborne) “Rough Terrain.” Read full story: https://lnkd.in/ezby3R-E #SapperLeaderCourse #EOD #BeAllYouCanBe #FreedomsGuardian #LibertyWeDefend