WEBVTT 00:00.923 --> 00:03.167 - [Arthur] Hundreds gathered on the D.C. Army Drill Floor 00:03.167 --> 00:05.865 to witness the officer's saber pass from outgoing 00:05.865 --> 00:08.355 Command Chief Warrant Officer Janice L. Fontanez 00:08.355 --> 00:11.166 to incoming Command Chief Warrant Officer Michael R. Jewett. 00:11.166 --> 00:13.567 ^During the D.C. National Guard Command Chief Warrant Officer 00:13.567 --> 00:16.551 ^Change of Responsibility Ceremony on May 7th. 00:16.551 --> 00:18.590 It was the height of Fontanez's career. 00:18.590 --> 00:20.755 She was a key advisor to the Commanding General, 00:20.755 --> 00:24.181 tasked with enhancing Army mission by fostering leaders 00:24.181 --> 00:26.671 and developing technical experts through mentorship, 00:26.671 --> 00:29.326 advice, and counsel, the technical foundation 00:29.326 --> 00:30.743 of the U.S. Army. 00:30.927 --> 00:32.604 - [Speaker] She aggressively tackled all aspects 00:32.604 --> 00:35.103 of warrant officer readiness which led the D.C. National 00:35.103 --> 00:38.453 Guard to rising from the bottom five to the top three. 00:38.453 --> 00:40.581 - [Arthur] Over the course of 41 years, Fontanez, 00:40.581 --> 00:43.537 who enlisted in 1975, rose from the enlisted ranks 00:43.537 --> 00:45.825 of the Women's Army Corps to the position of 00:45.825 --> 00:48.523 Command Chief Warrant Officer in a much different Army. 00:48.523 --> 00:52.690 ^- I believe firmly that it is the work of women like 00:53.429 --> 00:57.596 ^CW5 Janice L. Fontanez who proved that we could get 00:58.060 --> 01:02.227 after it, male or female, we could get the job done. 01:03.050 --> 01:05.293 So I just want to take a second to give you a 01:05.293 --> 01:08.271 round of applause because the Army is where it is 01:08.271 --> 01:11.590 right now because of you, and others like you 01:11.590 --> 01:15.507 who proved that it can be done, and it doesn't, 01:15.794 --> 01:19.103 it's not good (mumbles), so thank you, CW5 Fontanez. 01:19.103 --> 01:21.153 (applause) 01:21.153 --> 01:23.272 - [Arthur] At the podium, the Athens, Georgia native, 01:23.272 --> 01:25.273 who received, at times, standing ovations from 01:25.273 --> 01:27.766 former colleagues seated in the audience, 01:27.766 --> 01:30.018 recounted her over four-decade journey. 01:30.018 --> 01:32.768 ^- 41 years, nine months, 16 days. 01:33.656 --> 01:35.860 ^(laughter, applause) 01:35.860 --> 01:38.606 - [Arthur] She also recounted her contributions to mission. 01:38.606 --> 01:41.773 - We did real computer work back then. 01:41.880 --> 01:44.614 I programmed Fortran, COBOL, assembly language, 01:44.614 --> 01:48.781 C, C++, AWK scripting, Oracle DBA, and SQL. 01:50.838 --> 01:54.678 So we were real, for you guys that use the GUI interface, 01:54.678 --> 01:56.561 we were doing the real assembly language. 01:56.561 --> 01:58.485 We were counting zeroes and ones. 01:58.485 --> 02:00.984 - [Arthur] And contributions to women, to include serving 02:00.984 --> 02:04.590 as a proponent for current and aspiring women leaders. 02:04.590 --> 02:06.229 - How great is that? 02:06.229 --> 02:09.249 Empowering women taking, running that unit. 02:09.249 --> 02:11.499 (applause) 02:12.270 --> 02:15.296 ^- She has not given up, she is passing on the torch 02:15.296 --> 02:17.385 ^to somebody else that can do just as well 02:17.385 --> 02:18.973 ^as she's done or better. 02:18.973 --> 02:22.890 - Maya Angelou said it best, "My mission in life is not 02:22.890 --> 02:26.002 "merely to survive, but it's to thrive. 02:26.002 --> 02:30.169 "And to do so with some passion and some compassion, 02:31.062 --> 02:33.479 "some humor, and some style." 02:34.694 --> 02:37.603 This signal officer's signing off the net, 02:37.603 --> 02:40.270 Janice out, thank you very much. 02:41.198 --> 02:42.388 - [Arthur] Reporting from the D.C. Armory, 02:42.388 --> 02:44.477 I'm Technical Sergeant, Arthur Mondale Wright, 02:44.477 --> 02:48.644 ^113th Wing, Public Affairs, D.C. Air National Guard.