FORT RILEY, Kan. -- The 172nd Hazard Response Company at Fort Riley was recently awarded the 2016 Maj. Gen. William L. Sibert Award in the active- duty category at the 2016 State of the Regiment Ceremony at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, June 24.
The award is an annual acknowledgement of the best chemical units in the Army. The competition is broken down into three categories -- active duty, Reserve and National Guard. The objective is to recognize excellence in the Chemical Corps and to reinforce mission readiness and organizational excellence.
Companies from across the Chemical Corps submit a packet to be reviewed by a panel led by Brig. Gen. James Bonner, commandant of the U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School and chief of chemical. The packet includes many of the unit's accomplishments including weapons qualifications, Army physical fitness test scores, major training events and maintenance.
Bonner presented the award to Capt. Ben Hormann, former commander of the 172nd HR Company, and 1st Sgt. Toby Shirley. Although Hormann relinquished command of the unit the last week of May, he accepted the award on behalf of the unit because he was part of the extensive process.
Earning this achievement took a high level of commitment from the Soldiers of the unit.
"The resilient Soldiers of 172nd Hazard Response Company completed a year of training, which included two Combat Training Center Rotations at the National Training Center and the Joint Readiness Training Center," Shirley said. "It has been an extremely busy year with a nonstop OPTEMPO (operation tempo). The Gladiators are as motivated as ever to see that all their hard work earned the Sibert Award."
Hormann said these accomplishments, as well as the amount and kind of training the Soldiers performed, made them stand out among the other chemical companies. He said the Soldiers in the unit completed an emergency deployment readiness exercise in Salina at the National Guard's training area called Crisis City in the last year.
"We went there and deployed our capabilities. It's unique because it's pretty difficult to move active-duty vehicles on the road and I've never seen another chemical company do that kind of training," Hormann said. "This shows them they didn't do all that training in vain and we're trying to get them ready for anything."
Shirley added this is a huge accomplishment the unit should be proud of.
"The Soldiers know what an honor it is to receive this award," Shirley said. "When I told the unit in formation that we were named the 2016 recipients everyone began clapping and cheering. Being part of a Sibert Award organization is truly a major highlight for every Soldier's career in the unit."
Hormann and Shirley said this award sets a standard going forward.
"The 172nd Hazard Response Company is formally recognized as the best CBRN unit in the Army," Shirley said. "The Soldiers know what it took to get to this point and want to maintain this excellent reputation. Every CBRN unit is looking at us to uphold the high standards and discipline it took to earn the Sibert Award. The competition is very tough and it takes an entire year of training events to build a competitive packet. It isn't an option to take a knee because we received this award. The hard work must continue."
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