DoD Biometrics Task Force dedicates Camp Dawson Building to Guardsman

BTF Deputy Director accepts plaque commemorating SSgt. Gene Arden Vance, Jr. at building dedication.

At a small ceremony on Aug. 21, the West Virginia Army National Guard hosted the Ribbon Cutting and dedication of the Department of Defense Biometrics Task Force Gene Vance Biometrics Experimentation Center at Camp Dawson, West Virginia.

Staff Sergeant Gene Arden Vance, Jr., a West Virginia National Guardsman called up to serve with the 19th Special Forces Group, was killed in action May 19, 2002, in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. He was the first West Virginia National Guardsman to die on active duty since World War II. A plaque honoring his life and service was presented to the BTF and will hang in the Crystal City conference center, while a statue honoring their fellow soldier will reside in Major General Allen Tackett’s office in Charleston, W.Va. He and Brigadier General James Hoyer presided over the ceremony.

The ceremony took place on site at the end of the late summer Tactical Network Topology (TNT) exercise—the largest attended TNT event yet. BTF Deputy Director CAPT Mike Lilienthal accepted the plaque on behalf of the BTF, recognizing the sacrifice and bravery of SSgt. Vance.

BTF Concepts & Technologies Branch Chief Kris Indseth (r) makes opening comments and introduces WV Brig. Gen. James Hoyer.

 The Gene Vance Biometrics Experimentation Center will house the biometrics experimentation capabilities and communications vehicle and will be the staging point for future TNT and similar biometric experimentation events.

Camp Dawson was established on May 7, 1909, when the West Virginia State Legislature authorized the purchase of 196 acres of land on Dunkard Bottom along the Cheat River in Preston County. The camp was named in honor of William M. O. Dawson, a native of Preston County, who served as Governor from 1905 to 1908. Troops have been training at Camp Dawson since the summer of 1909, and many of the various components of active and reserve forces continue to use what has grown into a more than 4,000 acre training center today. The BTF will now have a permanent residence on the Camp.