Photo By Marshall Mason | Brig. Gen. Daryl O. Hood (left), the commanding general of the 20th Chemical,...... read more read more
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ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – The U.S. military’s premier all hazards command presented its fourth commanding general with the Defender of Liberty Award during a ceremony on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, Jan. 31.
The 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command selected retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Leslie C. Smith as the 2022 Defender of Liberty.
The Defender of Liberty Award is presented to leaders who have made a significant impact on the U.S. military’s only multifunctional and deployable CBRNE command.
In 2019, retired Vice Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Richard Cody became the first recipient of the award for authoring the memo that led to the creation of 20th CBRNE Command while serving as the deputy chief of staff of the Army for operations and plans.
The command selected retired Maj. Gen. John C. Doesburg as the 2020 Defender of Liberty. As the former commanding general of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command and the U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command, Doesburg championed the establishment of the command.
The 2021 Defender of Liberty was retired Maj. Gen. Keith R. Wendel. As the second commanding general, Wendel shepherded the command from initial operational capability to full operational capability during his tenure.
Headquartered on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the 20th CBRNE Command is home to 75 percent of the active-duty U.S. Army’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) specialists and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians, as well as the 1st Area Medical Laboratory, CBRNE Analytical and Remediation Activity, five Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Coordination Teams and three Nuclear Disablement Teams.
Soldiers and Army civilians from the 20th CBRNE Command deploy from 19 bases in 16 states to take on the world’s most dangerous hazards in support of joint, interagency and allied operations.
Brig. Gen. Daryl O. Hood, the current commanding general of 20th CBRNE Command, hosted the event during the annual commander’s conference.
Hood thanked Smith for his role in leading the one-of-a-kind command.
Smith is a pioneer in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps. A veteran of Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Smith commanded the 83rd Chemical Battalion, 3rd Chemical Brigade and U.S. Army CBRN School.
Smith was one of the longest serving commanding generals in the 18-year history of the 20th CBRNE Command. He also previously served as the command operations officer.
As commanding general, Smith led the 20th CBRNE Command to full operational capability as a Joint Task Force-WMD Elimination Headquarters in 2007. The deployable and multifunctional headquarters was mandated by the 2006 Defense Quadrennial Review.
Smith also championed changing the command’s name from the 20th Support Command (CBRNE) to the 20th CBRNE Command to reflect its multifunctional mission more accurately.
Following his tenure at 20th CBRNE Command, Smith was promoted to major general and became the first U.S. Army Chemical Corps officer to command the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence on Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
Smith was later promoted to lieutenant general and served as the 67th U.S. Army Inspector General, another first for a Chemical Corps officer.
After retiring from the U.S. Army, Smith continued to support the 20th CBRNE Command by conducting numerous professional development sessions.
“His efforts have led to a better military, working hard to improve the organization not just for any of us, but for future military leaders as well,” said Hood.
Smith encouraged the 20th CBRNE Command leadership to never underestimate the criticality of their mission. He also emphasized the important role that leaders have in forging the Army of 2030.
“It’s not about what your branch is, it’s not about what your organization is. It’s about what difference are you making for our Army and really it’s about what difference are you making for our nation,” said Smith.
“You, every day, are changing lives and you only get a snapshot of time to do it in,” said Smith. “My challenge to you is every day that you take the time to make sure the organizations that I serve in, whether I’m a staff officer or I’m a commander, to make them different, to make them better, because that’s what we are called to do.”
| Date Taken: | 01.31.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 01.31.2023 15:42 |
| Story ID: | 437564 |
| Location: | ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 255 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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