FORT RILEY, Kan. -- A pair of awards earned by Fort Riley's Logistics Readiness Center staff have placed the LRC among the elite logistics organizations across the Army.
The LRC team was presented the Spearhead of Logistics, Chief of Transportation, Best of the Best Deployment Award and the Chief of Staff Army Deployment Excellence Award, both for 2015.
Maj. Gen. Edward M. Daly, commander of the Army Sustainment Command, presented the awards to LRC members at a ceremony in 1st Infantry Division headquarters Aug. 24.
The delegation joining Daly included Col. Eric Shirley, commander, 407th Army Field Support Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas, Command Sgt Maj. William Venus, senior noncommissioned officer for the 407th AFSB and Lt. Col. Brian Beiner, commander of 407th AFSBn-Riley.
Also in attendance was Maj. Gen. Wayne W. Grigsby Jr, 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley commanding general, and Command Sgt. Maj. Joseph Cornelison, 1st Inf. Div. senior noncommissioned officer.
The Fort Riley garrison command team of Garrison Commander Col. John Lawrence and Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. James Collins were also onhand.
The awards were presented to Scot Bird, installation transportation officer, Scott Arcuri, freight chief, and Matt Holloway, unit movement supervisor, on behalf of their LRC team. The LRC director is Larry Githerman.
The two awards together signify that Fort Riley's LRC is consistently a top performer.
This year marks the fifth time in the past eight years the Fort Riley LRC has won the Chief of Staff Army Deployment Excellence Award. The LRC earned it in 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2014.
The other award -- the Spearhead of Logistics, Chief of Transportation, Best of the Best Deployment Award in the large installation category -- has never been presented to an installation the size of Fort Riley. Past awardees have all been smaller units.
"A smaller unit is far easier to move than a large one," Bird said. "We could move 20 or 25 people without any trouble at all. But when you're are talking about entire brigades or a whole division, the job becomes far more difficult."
In comments to Grigsby and Cornelison, Daly reaffirmed ASC's support for the 1st Inf. Div.
"I want to reiterate the Army Materiel Command's commanding general's intent that we are absolutely unequivocally and without doubt dedicated … to supporting you," Daly said.
The Army Materiel Command is led by Gen. Dennis Via. The ASC is one of 10 subordinate commands of AMC, the motto of which is "If a Soldier drives it, flies it, wears it, shoots it, communicates with it or eats it, AMC provides it."
"To Larry Githerman and Scot Bird, I want to say that I appreciate your leadership at the LRC," Daly said. "These awards don't come by chance. They come from great leadership. I also want to thank the LRC team members who are here today. I want you to stand and be applauded for the work you did to earn this award."
Daly said the LRC staff was to be commended for their unwavering support of the 1st Inf. Div. both now and in the future.
"You all are absolute superstars," Daly said. "I compare you all to linemen in a football game. You rarely hear their names, but just try to execute a fight without them. You are worth your weight in gold."
The staff of the LRC also coordinates with all manner of civilian transportation outlets to ensure thousands of pieces of equipment and tens of thousands of Soldiers get to the theaters of engagement and protect American interests.
"We can't do what we do without them," Grigsby said, of the LRC staff and the rest of the Department of the Army civilians on Fort Riley. "This all ties to readiness. And I'm always trying to get the message out there. Readiness. People. Training. Equipment on-hand and equipment readiness. It all ties together. And every day we place an awful lot of responsibility on them to fulfill the needs that we often take for granted. But we can't do what we do without them. Like their creed says, they provide stability and continuity for the Army during war and peace. They work behind the scenes to allow American Soldiers to fulfill our purpose: closing with, and destroying our enemies wherever they may be. They do this graciously because they embody the 1st Infantry Division spirit of being humble professionals."
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