ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – Members of the largest veterans caucus in the nation met with veterans and military retirees at the headquarters for the U.S. Army’s premier Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, Nov. 2.
The senators, delegates and staff members from the Maryland House and Senate held the meeting at the 20th CBRNE Command Headquarters a week before Veterans Day.
Members of the caucus visited the headquarters on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the nation’s oldest continuously operating proving ground.
The Veterans Caucus group from the Maryland State Legislature was led by Maryland Sen. Johnny Salling and Maryland Del. Mike Rogers.
Maj. Gen. Robert L. Edmonson II, the commanding general of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) and the senior mission commander for Aberdeen Proving Ground, and Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Conaty, the CECOM senior enlisted leader, accompanied the Veterans Caucus.
Edmondson thanked 20th CBRNE Command for hosting the event.
Col. Gregory P. Hirschey, the deputy commander for the 20th CBRNE Command, and Command Sgt. Maj. Dave Silva, the senior enlisted leader, represented the command at the headquarters.
The 20th CBRNE Command is the only multifunctional command of its kind in the U.S. military. The deployable 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 Teams and three Nuclear Disablement Teams.
American Soldiers and U.S. Army civilians from 20th CBRNE Command deploy from 19 bases in 16 states to confront and defeat the world’s most dangerous hazards.
Created in 2004, the Maryland Veterans Caucus studies, develops and promotes legislation to improve quality of life for veterans.
The caucus works with the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Veterans Caucus discussed a wide variety of state legislative initiatives designed to help veterans and military retirees in Maryland.
The issues addressed during the meeting ranged from state taxes on military retirement pay to school equivalency standards for students transferring from other states.
"I've learned more today than I ever have before about the veterans’ initiatives in Maryland," said Chuck Grady, a Havre de Grace, Maryland, native and retired Army officer who serves as the 20th CBRNE Command Secretary for the General Staff.
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