FORT RILEY, Kan. -- Firefighter Adam Rothgeb and Sgt. Johnny Cornejo, both of the Directorate of Emergency Services, were selected as Employees of the Month for October and November respectively during the Garrison Awards Ceremony at Fort Riley Garrison Headquarters Dec. 15.

Rothgeb was selected from a field of four candidates including Deane Anderson, Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation; Todd Dies, Resource Management Office and Joshua Kegley, Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security.

Cornejo was selected from a field of three candidates including Brenda Switzer, DFMWR and Larry Taggart, DPTMS.

Also recognized was Taylor Ferrarin of DFMWR, who received the Department of the Army Achievement Medal for Civilian Service for service to the directorate from January 2017 through September 2017.

Rothgeb corrected an information shortfall that affected over 1,400 fire hydrants at Fort Riley; Ogden, Kansas; and Junction City, Kansas. He assumed the responsibility of contacting public works to update location information for the hydrants for mutual aid response information. In doing so, he corrected water requirements for high priority and high hazard facilities thus insuring accurate information was presented for a fire department risk assessment survey.

"We have map books with hydrant locations," said Fire Chief Ric Seward, Fort Riley Fire and Emergency Services. "And if the hydrant location isn't accurate then the map book isn't accurate. And in the event of a fire, if the locations aren't accurate you're starting off on the wrong foot in a fire because you're establishing your water supply based on that map. So send a fire engine company to the wrong end of the building and you just set yourself up for failure. Now some those hydrant locations were off only a few feet but Adam's the kind of guy, with attention to detail, he wanted to pinpoint the exact location. And he did the same thing with Junction City and Ogden so, for our mutual aid response, if we are going to a structure fire we have that accurate information and the crews in route have that information."

While serving as Visitor Control Center supervisor, at approximately 12:50 p.m. Nov. 22, Cornejo took action that allowed VCC operations staff to process 151 access passes in approximately two hours, all with proper vetting.

The action came after Cornejo recognized visiting family members coming to the post on Thanksgiving weekend would overwhelm the staff. He notified DES leadership and recommended an authorization for special access procedures and subsequent reassignment of personnel to maximize throughput capabilities.

"His feat on the 22nd, to put into perspective, when we had the Victory Fest we planned for that event and we had three additional personnel on shift," said Mark Dombrowski, Security Branch Chief, DES. "He was able to surpass the expectations that they had (at Victory Fest)."

Then Dombrowski said to Cornejo, "we're privileged to have you on board and appreciate everything to do."

According to the citation that accompanied her award, Ferrarin was presented the Department of the Army Achievement Medal for Civilian Service "for her exceptional service to the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation from January 2017 through September 2017. Her willingness to step up to the challenge led to her coordinating the biggest festival ever held on Fort Riley. Her leadership and attention to detail were instrumental in the huge success of Victory Fest 2017 and for the Soldiers, families and local community members."

The citation was signed by Garrison Commander Col. John D. Lawrence.