WEBVTT

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- Date of deployment to Afghanistan from Fort Bliss is

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in the early part of December 2017,

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where they will conduct Operation Freedom Sentinel

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until they return in the fall of 2018.

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Brigadier General Louis Wilham serves

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as the Adjutant General of Oklahoma.

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As such, he's the senior leader of both the Oklahoma Air

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and Oklahoma Army National Guard,

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and the senior military advisor to the governor.

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Ladies and gentlemen, it's my honor to introduce

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Brigadier General Louis Wilham,

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the Adjutant General of the state of Oklahoma.

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(applause)

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- Good morning.

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Thank you all for being here today.

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I'd really like to first off start

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by thanking the pastor and the staff here

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at the First Baptist Church in Moore.

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Please give them a round of applause

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for all the hard work they've done.

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(applause)

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And also, as always, like to thank the members

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of the 145 Army Band for being here this morning

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to make a huge difference in our ceremony,

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so thank you guys.

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(applause)

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Also like to extend a thanks to our state legislators

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that are here today, representatives

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from our congressional delegation,

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and I'd also like to make a special welcome

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to our former Oklahoma National Guard Members,

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special guests, friends, and most importantly,

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the Soldiers of the 1st and 180th Cav

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and their families and friends as well.

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On behalf of Governor Mary Fallin,

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thank you all for being here today.

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(applause)

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I've been the Interim Adjutant General now

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for a little over two months,

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basically just keeping the seat warm for General Thompson.

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But, in that time, I've had the opportunity

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to represent the governor and the great men and women

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of the Oklahoma National Guard at many events,

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but none of them more important than this one

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that we have here this morning,

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preparing the 1st and the 180th Cavalry

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to go back to Afghanistan.

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Though some of the lineage and history

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of the 180th is outlined in your programs,

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and I'm sure the Soldiers in front of you today are aware

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of the history, I'm gonna go over a couple of things

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just to highlight some of their tradition of excellence.

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The 180th traces its lineage back to World War I.

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This year we're commemorating the 100th Anniversary

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of the U.S. entering World War I.

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The 180th, then known as the 142nd Infantry,

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was involved from the start

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with two Oklahoma Soldiers receiving the Medal of Honor

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for their extraordinary efforts in combat.

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After World War I, the 142nd was re-designated

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as the 180th, and part of the 45th Infantry Division.

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When the division deployed to World War II,

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the 180th was there as well, this time with five

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of its Soldiers earning the Medal of Honor

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for their heroic efforts.

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Then, when the 45th Infantry Division was mobilized

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and deployed for service in Korea,

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the 180th was also there.

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This time they involved in combat operations,

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lasting over 400 days.

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Things slowed down a little bit after that,

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but 48 years later, they mobilized and deployed

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as part of the Multinational Force Observers mission

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in Sinai in 2002.

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It was shortly after this mission

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when the first 180th Soldiers started mobilizing

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and going to Afghanistan in 2003.

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Individual Soldiers and separate companies

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of the 180th have deployed to Afghanistan

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in 2003 to 2004, and again in 2006 to 2007.

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Additionally, the 180th has seen its Soldiers deployed

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to Iraq and Kuwait on more than one occasion,

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and of course throughout their history,

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they have supported numerous state active duty missions,

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supporting our communities here in Oklahoma

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with various issues, especially after tornadoes,

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and even to assist during Hurricane Katrina

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and Rita relief in New Orleans.

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So for the Soldiers today,

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that lineage in history comes with a heavy burden.

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As you deploy to Afghanistan, you carry with you

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over 100 years of 180th history,

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over 240 years of Army history,

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and over 380 years of National Guard history.

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So when you're conducting operations,

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you may reach back to that history and tradition

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for inspiration, but as is normally the case,

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it will probably be your fellow Soldiers

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and the thoughts of your families and friends

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that are here today, that will inspire you the most.

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To honor all of them, I need you to remember

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and to keep those things close which we hold dear.

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The Warrior Ethos, the Soldier's Creed, the NCO Creed,

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and we as an army and as a society, we demand

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and expect you to live up to the Army values:

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loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service,

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honor, integrity, and personal courage.

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We expect you to do that always, in everything you do,

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everyday, during this deployment and after.

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Ladies and gentlemen, the Officers in this formation

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have sworn to support and defend the Constitution

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and to well and faithfully discharge their duties.

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The Soldiers in front of you have sworn

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to support and defend the Constitution

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and to obey the legal orders of the Officers.

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These are sacred trusts,

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and we trust our Officers to lead, to plan and manage.

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We trust our NCO's, the backbone of our Army,

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to train and develop Soldiers and to implement our plans.

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And we trust our Soldiers to execute those plans.

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Together, this team is a vital part of the best military

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in the world, and you should be extremely proud of them all.

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That's an applause line.

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(applause)

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Because I had to tell you that,

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obviously I'm not a great speaker,

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so take it for what it's worth.

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(laughter)

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The leadership team of Lieutenant Colonel Urrutia

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and Sergeant Major Apala have built here is stellar.

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If I had a son or a daughter, a brother or sister,

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or a spouse that was deploying to Afghanistan,

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there's not a group literally anywhere in the Army

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that I would rather have them go with.

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The staff, commanders,

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and first sergeants are all outstanding.

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Can I get a hooah from the Soldiers?

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- [Soldiers] Hooah!

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- All right.

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My wife tells me not to do this,

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but I'm gonna go off script here

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so we'll see how well this works.

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Private First Class Adkissom,

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from Troop A, are you here?

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Adkissom?

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(soldiers responding)

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He's not here?

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(laughing)

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Is he here?

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- [Soldier] He's here.

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- Come up here.

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And Sergeant First Class Zink.

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If you're here, I need you to come up here.

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You guys say Adkissom is here, but I don't see him moving.

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(soldier responding)

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All right, First Sergeant, this is your first test of,

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your first test of accountability.

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Number one importance in the Army is accountability.

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Adkissom's gotta be here because I was told he was here.

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I may be pronouncing his name wrong.

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(crowd murmuring)

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Alpha, bravo, charlie.

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Sergeant Zink, come on up here.

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- [Zink] Sir.

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- Hooah.

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Hey.

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What I was gonna say was this is a good representation

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of the guard from A to Z, Adkissom to Zink.

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(laughing)

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(applause)

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So all of you husbands out there, listen to your wives

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when they tell you things, okay?

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(laughing)

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Do not go off script.

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The other thing I was gonna talk about,

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whenever you find Private Adkissom,

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he may be a PV2 by the time you find him,

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(laughing)

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and he may no longer be the youngest Soldier

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on this deployment, but, Private Adkissom,

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wherever he is, he's 18 years old, youngest Soldier

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on this deployment, and he joined when he was 17.

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Sergeant First Class Zink may or may not be the oldest

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Soldier on this deployment, but he also joined

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when he was 17, and this is what the guard is about.

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We bring people along from a very young age

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to a little bit older age,

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and not that there's anything wrong with that.

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Present you with a coin, brother.

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- Thank you, General.

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(applause)

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- And I'm sure that Adkissom is stuck in traffic,

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but I've got a coin for him too.

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But the key is, we need people

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like Sergeant First Class Zink

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to take care of those Soldiers,

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and we rely on all of them to do that for us.

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Now I'll go back on script, thank you.

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The 180th's nickname,

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approved by the Army Center of Military History,

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is Oklahoma Warriors.

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Their motto is spelled out in the Choctaw language

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on their crest, translates to Ready in War or Peace,

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I can't think of a more fitting motto

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for the warriors in front of us today,

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ready in war or peace.

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Once again, our country is asking them to mobilize

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and deploy during a period of war,

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and they have answered the call.

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Of course as you all in the audience,

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family members, friends, loved ones, employers,

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and fellow Soldiers know, they don't answer the call alone.

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You all, together, share this burden with them,

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and you all together are sacrificing just as they are.

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When they answer the call to the country, we all sacrifice.

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So thank you all for sharing this burden with our Soldiers.

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I look forward to seeing everybody here again

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when we welcome these warriors home,

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ready in war or peace, always ready, always there.

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(applause)