Brian Hill
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (May 31, 2022) Maneuver Support Center of Excellence leaders announced the 2021 instructors of the year and the 2022 civilians of the year during a ceremony May 26 in Lincoln Hall Auditorium.
Maj. Gen. James Bonner, MSCoE and Fort Leonard Wood commanding general, thanked the award winners, their families and everyone who made the ceremony possible.
“At Fort Leonard Wood, we develop leaders, and we drive change,” he said. “Between our schools, brigades and our inter-service partners, we train over 76,000 service members and civilians annually. We conduct over 200 courses across multiple disciplines to instill values, skill, character and competence.”
The only way to accomplish this mission, Bonner said, is through “the care and the leadership of our instructors and civilian employees.”
“Our instructors of the year have distinguished themselves above their peers,” he said. “They set the example within their organizations by serving as subject matter experts within their fields and using their knowledge and experience to shape the future leaders of our Army.”
Bonner called Army civilians essential to the MSCoE “team of teams.”
“They keep the mission running by managing the training that occurs on post, developing and integrating capabilities and caring for the Fort Leonard Wood team,” he said. “The unwavering commitment of our civilians immensely contributes to the mission success.”
Military instructors of the year were presented the Army Commendation Medal and civilian instructors of the year received the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service.
The 2021 awardees included:
In the officer category:
Capt. Lawrence Lincoln, U.S. Army Engineer School
Capt. Jonathan Bradshaw, U.S. Military Police School
Capt. Douglas Hamberger, U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School
In the warrant officer category:
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Gerardo Figueroa, USAES
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jennifer Nims, USAMPS
In the NCO category:
Staff Sgt. Thom Vendl, MSCoE
Sgt. 1st Class Oscar Galdamez, USAES
Air Force Tech. Sgt. David Infante, USAMPS
Sgt. 1st Class Cristopher Garcia, USACBRNS
In the civilian category:
Jonathan Patton, USAES
Jonathan Zoerhof, USAMPS
Brandon Wagner, USACBRNS.
The civilians of the year received awards in four categories aligned with the MSCoE Enduring Priorities — each with three levels of award. The winners received a desktop award to display in their workspace.
In the Develop Warrior Leaders category:
Foundational: Jamie Smith, 31st Engineer Battalion
Advanced: Lisa Jarrett, MSCoE
Strategic: Lynn Richardson, USAMPS
In the Readiness, Train and Prepare category:
Foundational: Thomas Santos, 35th Engineer Battalion
Advanced: John Miller, Homeland Defense and Civil Support Office
Strategic: John Rose, MSCoE
In the Improving Force Capabilities category:
Foundational: Edwin Lavant, 3rd Chemical Brigade
Advanced: Steven Lincoln, 169th Engineer Battalion
Strategic: Larry Lazo, USACBRNS
In the Caring for the MSCoE Team category:
Foundational: Timothy Ruck, USAMPS
Advanced: Timothy Davis, 3rd Chemical Brigade
Strategic: Scott Langley, USAMPS.
A video of the entire ceremony is available to view on the Fort Leonard Wood Facebook page.
-30-
About Fort Leonard Wood
Fort Leonard Wood is a thriving and prosperous installation that has evolved from a small basic training post 80 years ago to a premier Army Center of Excellence that trains nearly 80,000 military and civilians each year.
Fort Leonard Wood is home to the U.S Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and three U.S. Army schools: the U.S. Army Engineer School; U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School; and the U.S. Army Military Police School. In addition to training engineer, CBRN and military police specialties for the Army, Fort Leonard Wood also provides gender-integrated in-processing and Basic Combat Training for new Soldiers.
Fort Leonard Wood also hosts and trains with the largest Marine Corps Detachment and Air Force Squadron on any Army installation as well as a large Navy construction detachment.
More information about Fort Leonard Wood is at: https://home.army.mil/wood/index.php/about/mission