Adjutant General lieutenant colonel retires from premier U.S. military CBRNE formation

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - A U.S. Army Adjutant General Corps lieutenant colonel completed her career at the headquarters for the U.S. military's premier Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) command on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, Nov. 22.

Lt. Col. Valerie Knight, the former assistant chief of staff for personnel (G1) and secretary of the general staff for the 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, was recognized for her 21 years in uniform during a widely attended ceremony.

Brig. Gen. W Bochat, the commanding general of the 20th CBRNE Command, hosted the retirement ceremony.

Bochat said retirement ceremonies recognize not only the military retirees, but also the many people who supported them throughout their career.

"The retirement ceremony is not only about you, but also about everyone who invested in you and believed in you," said Bochat. "Less than one percent of the nation has served or is serving, and that is a really big deal."

A native of Sumter, South Carolina, Knight was commissioned into the Adjutant General Corps through the Reserve Officers Training Corps in 2003 after earning her Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from Newberry College.

Knight earned her Master's Degree in Human Resources from Oklahoma University.

During her last assignment, Knight managed personnel plans, programs and policies for the multifunctional and deployable 20th CBRNE Command that has units on 19 bases and 16 states.

She then served as the secretary to the general staff, during which she coordinated command group operations and administrative actions for the command.

Headquartered on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the 20th CBRNE Command is home to 75 percent of the active-duty U.S. Army's Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear specialists, as well as the 1st Global Field Medical Laboratory, CBRNE Analytical and Remediation Activity, Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordination Teams and Nuclear Disablement Teams.

Soldiers and Army civilians from the 20th CBRNE Command take on the world's most dangerous hazards in support of joint, interagency and multinational operations.

Knight is a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

From Fort Stewart, Georgia, to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Belgium, Knight served in a wide variety of Army formations across the nation and around the world during her more than two decades in uniform.

Knight thanked her family and friends in attendance for their support throughout her career.

Knight said it was an honor and privilege to wear her nation's uniform and to have the opportunity to write her own chapter in the storied history of the U.S. Army.