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ABERDEEN, Md. —The Aberdeen IronBirds, a Baltimore Orioles farm team, hosted its annual Military Appreciation Night at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium on the Army’s 249th birthday, June 14, 2024. The festivities included giveaways and several educational displays to give the community a glimpse of some of the state-of-the-art technology used by military organizations.
In keeping with the night's theme, hundreds of attendees signed a giant birthday card at the stadium entrance. Local mascots, APG’s Col. Baldwin, the Ironbirds’ Ripcord and Ferrous, Aberdeen High School’s Deen, and Swan Creek School’s Binx, participated in the festivities by signing a small Army Birthday poster for attendees featuring the mascots.
A highlight of the festivities included military vehicles from the 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives Command; U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity; U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command; U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command; a helmet car from APG Garrison, a crash truck from the Directorate of Operations, and the Harford County Link Bus.
Additionally, Meg Holahan and Rich Wallace, with the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense demonstrated an augmented reality training device for attendees. This high-tech device allows Soldiers to train with each other in different parts of the world.
Recognizing those who serve
During the opening ceremonies, the stadium played an Army birthday video and two people representing the Tragedy Assistance Program threw out ceremonial first pitches.
On the field, 20th CBRNE Command’s Commanding General Maj. Gen. Daryl Hood welcomed the crowd, leading them in a round of applause to celebrate the Army’s Birthday and to thank past, present and future service members.
“Your sons, your daughters, your brothers and sisters, there are so many who have raised their right hands to serve, and I really appreciate that,” he said.
He also recognized the Gold Star family members and the 29 TAPS members who served as special guests that evening.
Then Hood threw a ceremonial first pitch to Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly.
After the first pitch, Master Sgt. German Sanchez, from the 20th CBRNE Command, sang the national anthem.
At the bottom of the third inning, an Army birthday cake was cut by Brig. Gen. Ed Barker, Program Executive Officer for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors, and the audience sang Happy Birthday. After Barker cut the cake, volunteers from the Association of the United States Army and the APG Community Spouses Club passed out cupcakes in front of the giant birthday card.
At the bottom of the fourth inning, the APG Soldier of the Year Spc. Nikolas Henderson, a medical laboratory specialist with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, was recognized as the “Hometown Hero.”
“It is nice to be recognized, because we don’t always get that recognition, Henderson said about the positive response he and other service members received that evening. “It is a good morale boost for us, as service people. Seeing all those people cheer for me, just then, was heartwarming.”
Attendee Dave Goff, an Army Vietnam veteran, said he enjoyed seeing the military vehicles during the event as he reflected on his time in the service. He said he had many friends who served in the Vietnam War, and his father served in World War II.
“Ordinary guys do extraordinary things,” he said as a tribute to his loved ones who served.
U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command Community Relations and Executive Services Chief Becca Kidd thanked the members of the APG workforce who contributed to the community-building event.
“It’s always a special opportunity for our APG workforce to be able to demonstrate to our community the extraordinary work we prove on the installation day-in and day-out,” Kidd said. “But to have the opportunity to celebrate our Army’s birthday with over 6,000 fans was the icing on the cake.”
For more photos, visit https://www.flickr.com/photos/usagapg/albums/72177720318208318/ and https://www.flickr.com/photos/cecom/albums/72177720318193439
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