Press Release
☷Area firefighters among 37 honored at Fort Hood ceremony
U.S. Army ( By Press Release office)
May 06,2022
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Soldiers with Tiger Team , 1st Squadron , 3rd Cavalry Regiment , receive the Volunteer in the Communities team award during the Phantom Warrior Awards ceremony in the Lonestar Conference Center at Fort Hood , Texas , May 3 . FORT HOOD , Texas - The applause was deafening as members of the Fort Hood community gave a standing ovation to the agencies that assisted Fort Hood during its fire - fighting efforts from March 23 to April 4 , during the Phantom Warrior Awards ceremony here , May 3 . “We , Fort Hood , could not have done it ourselves . It was a team effort of experts coming in from around the state that helped us to contain the fire , ” said Maj . Gen . Steven Gilland , III Corps and Fort Hood deputy commander . “These emergency management teams and these first responders that came up here , there’s a lot of them that are volunteers , doing it on their own time . When you think about that , they’re putting their lives at stake as volunteers . We can’t thank you enough and we greatly appreciate it . ” After handing out the special recognition awards to those who supported the Fort Hood wildfires , the general shared exactly how much their efforts helped . “This is just a representation of the number of units , detachments , volunteer fire departments from around the area that showed up at Fort Hood , ” Gilland said after presenting the special recognition awards . “This wasn’t just overnight . These teams came and stayed . In the end , there were about 12 days of non - stop activity , ” “We’ve had a long - running partnership with Fort Hood and we’re always glad to help them out , ” said Caleb Thyer , a senior firefighter with Balcones Canyonlands National Wild Refuge , who assisted with the fire - fighting efforts . “We were here on that Sunday , plugged in and started to do burnouts , trying to get some fire backing ahead of the fire , ” he said . “We also helped patrol the fire line and make sure it stayed within the fire lines . ” Fort Hood hosted the Phantom Warrior Awards for the first time since 2019 at the Lone Star Conference Center . Formerly known as the Hood Hero Awards , the quarterly ceremony recognizes individual and team contributions to Fort Hood . Thirty - seven awards were presented to 17 individuals and 20 teams . “It’s very special . I don’t do it ( volunteer ) to get something out of it , I just do it to help out , ” said Sgt . Anna Verdin , a behavioral health specialist with Carl R . Darnall Army Medical Center , who received the award for Volunteer of the Quarter . “I like helping out people . It makes me feel appreciated . ” Meanwhile , Headquarters and Headquarters Company , 11th Corps Signal Brigade was honored with the Excellence in Education Unit of the Quarter . For the betterment of the Soldiers in the unit , unit leaders coordinated with the Fort Hood Soldier Development Center to help raise the Soldiers’ general technical , or GT score , on the Armed Forces classification test . The Basic Skills Education Program , a refresher course designed to help Soldiers raise their GT score , was provided to the unit . A high score is necessary for Soldiers looking for that next big career advancement , such as applying for the Green - to - Gold program or the warrant officer school . “They all did excellent , ” exclaimed 1st Sgt . Rodrick Williams , first sergeant of HHC , 11th Corps Signal Brigade , about the Soldiers who completed the course . “It was awesome and I hope to see more units go through the program , ” he said . On behalf of Lt . Gen . Pat White and Command Sgt . Maj . Cliff Burgoyne , III Corps and Fort Hood command team , Gilland thanked everyone for coming out to support the awardees . He said the ceremony was about recognizing service , excellence , commitment , stewardship and support .
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