ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – The U.S. Army’s only mobile medical laboratory welcomed a new commander during a change of command ceremony on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, Sept. 7.
Col. Dubray Kinney, Sr., assumed command of the 1st Area Medical Laboratory from Col. Matthew J. Grieser during the widely attended ceremony.
Headquartered on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the 1st AML “Mad Scientists” are part of the 44th Medical Brigade and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, the U.S. military’s premier multifunctional CBRNE formation.
American Soldiers from 1st Area Medical Laboratory deploy as a unit or in task-organized teams to perform surveillance, laboratory testing and health hazard assessments of environmental, occupational, endemic disease and CBRNE threats to support force protection and Weapons of Mass Destruction missions.
Activated in 1942, the 1st Area Medical Laboratory has served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan. Soldiers from 1st AML deployed to help contain the Ebola outbreak in Liberia in 2014 – 2015. The 1st AML was also the first Army unit to deploy to U.S. military installations overseas during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Col. Michael F. Belenky, the commander of the Fort Liberty, North Carolina-based 44th Medical Brigade, hosted the ceremony. Belenky thanked and congratulated Grieser for his successful command tour.
“As the commander of the Army’s only expeditionary and tactical medical laboratory, your outstanding leadership, pursuit of excellence and intense dedication to mission readiness have directly contributed to the success of the 1st AML,” said Belenky, a native of Arnold, Maryland.
Belenky praised Grieser for his efforts to build partnerships around the world during visits to South Korea, Poland, Germany, Romania, Canada and Australia.
A native of Mulino, Oregon, Grieser will retire from the U.S. Army early next year.
During his 32 years in uniform, Grieser has deployed to Afghanistan four times and Iraq five times and has also served in Haiti, Panama and New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
Grieser said the highlight of his command tour had been serving alongside the Mad Scientists as they innovated and tackled challenges daily. Grieser said that 1st AML is a team of teams with Soldiers who constantly seek to deepen their expertise and master their profession.
Soldiers from 1st AML routinely share their expertise on endemic and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) threats with allies around the world.
Kinney started his U.S. Army career as a combat medic before becoming a commissioned Medical Service Corps officer.
A graduate of the University of Maryland at Eastern Shore, Kinney has deployed to Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I can’t help but feel humbled and privileged that a poor kid from the inner city in Washington, D.C., who was raised by a single mom is blessed to make it this far,” said Kinney. “Only in America and only in God’s country could this happen.”
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