WEBVTT 00:00.130 --> 00:02.241 Ladies and gentlemen , welcome to the 00:02.241 --> 00:04.352 retirement ceremony in honor of Chief 00:04.352 --> 00:06.408 warrant officer . Five robert C pits 00:06.408 --> 00:09.340 the third the host for today's ceremony 00:09.350 --> 00:11.780 is the deputy Chief of Staff G . Four . 00:11.880 --> 00:14.180 Lieutenant general Charles R . 00:14.180 --> 00:17.070 Hambleton . We are honored to have 00:17.080 --> 00:19.413 several member of Chief Warrant Officer . 00:19.413 --> 00:21.469 five pits family members present for 00:21.469 --> 00:24.440 today's ceremony . His wife Patricia , 00:25.530 --> 00:28.190 mother in law , Angela Zampa . Ready 00:29.080 --> 00:31.420 daughter angie with husband Hugo 00:31.420 --> 00:35.100 Ramirez , son . Andrew Pitts with 00:35.100 --> 00:38.980 fiancee Majda cd nephew , 00:39.510 --> 00:43.460 Filippo Piloto Uncle the honorable 00:43.550 --> 00:46.920 dr roger bird , Aunt April 00:46.920 --> 00:50.110 Leeson and cousins wanda with husband 00:50.120 --> 00:52.930 retired Navy veteran Marvin Abercrombie 00:52.960 --> 00:55.970 and their son Logan and Rachel warden 00:55.980 --> 00:58.540 with fiance Kalinowski . 01:00.680 --> 01:02.736 We would also like to welcome all of 01:02.736 --> 01:05.000 the general officers , senior executive 01:05.010 --> 01:07.220 service members , Officers , 01:07.230 --> 01:10.650 noncommissioned officers , soldiers And 01:10.650 --> 01:12.810 R . G four employees who are present 01:12.920 --> 01:15.960 and those attending virtually . We 01:15.960 --> 01:18.016 thank you all for taking time out of 01:18.016 --> 01:20.127 your day to be with us to honor Chief 01:20.127 --> 01:21.904 warrant officer . Five pits the 01:21.904 --> 01:23.904 official party for today's ceremony 01:23.904 --> 01:26.071 consists of Lieutenant general Charles 01:26.071 --> 01:28.390 R . Hambleton , Deputy Chief of Staff G 01:28.390 --> 01:32.120 four And Chief Warrant Officer 01:32.120 --> 01:35.610 five Robert C . Pits the 3rd 02:03.280 --> 02:05.050 cheap cheap 02:25.840 --> 02:26.840 huh ? 02:32.860 --> 02:33.860 Okay , 02:37.430 --> 02:37.800 15 03:09.030 --> 03:11.197 ladies and gentlemen , please rise for 03:11.197 --> 03:13.141 the entrance of the official party 03:13.141 --> 03:15.363 followed by the playing of the national 03:15.363 --> 03:17.197 anthem and the opening prayer by 03:17.197 --> 03:18.252 chaplain gun lee . 05:00.000 --> 05:02.111 Ladies and gentlemen , please join me 05:02.111 --> 05:06.040 in prayer . Lord , our God 05:06.050 --> 05:08.660 whose word declares to everything . 05:08.660 --> 05:11.300 There is a season and a time for every 05:11.300 --> 05:14.380 propose a time to reap and a time to 05:14.380 --> 05:17.320 sow a time to plant and a time to 05:17.320 --> 05:21.170 uproot a time to love show us what time 05:21.170 --> 05:23.337 it is for each of us and what we ought 05:23.337 --> 05:26.170 to do to find your will and to fulfill 05:26.170 --> 05:29.720 your propose for our lives Lord , our 05:29.720 --> 05:32.040 God Grant to each of us here a full 05:32.040 --> 05:34.320 measure of grace and charity and are 05:34.320 --> 05:36.420 dealing with one another . When we 05:36.420 --> 05:38.309 learned that whoever would be the 05:38.309 --> 05:40.780 greatest among us must be servant of 05:40.780 --> 05:43.760 all God . This morning we gathered to 05:43.760 --> 05:46.730 say farewell to a great friends , Man 05:46.730 --> 05:50.030 of God . A proud soldier shed of five 05:50.040 --> 05:53.670 robert c pits dirt who have labored 05:53.670 --> 05:55.730 tirelessly on behalf of our nation's 05:55.730 --> 05:58.210 army with his faithful service for the 05:58.210 --> 06:01.610 past 35 years . Lord , we thank you for 06:01.610 --> 06:04.490 his ultimate sacrifice for his elevated 06:04.490 --> 06:06.880 the patriot gin and his witness to 06:06.880 --> 06:09.940 values that are everlasting as he makes 06:09.940 --> 06:12.070 his transition from the army into 06:12.070 --> 06:14.580 civilian life . Oh God , please go with 06:14.580 --> 06:16.720 him and continue to demonstrate your 06:16.720 --> 06:19.380 love and care for him and his family . 06:19.390 --> 06:22.710 Where he faces decision giving vision 06:22.860 --> 06:25.420 when you face his travel and relocation , 06:25.430 --> 06:28.360 give him safety and finally , dear God , 06:28.370 --> 06:30.830 give him and his wife , Patricia . 06:30.840 --> 06:34.170 Pleasant days as only you can provide . 06:34.180 --> 06:37.230 I pray this in your most holy name . 06:37.240 --> 06:37.980 Amen . 06:43.980 --> 06:45.980 Please be seated and you may remain 06:45.980 --> 06:48.313 seated for the duration of the ceremony . 06:50.850 --> 06:53.090 Today we will experience one of the 06:53.090 --> 06:54.860 oldest and most tradition rich 06:54.860 --> 06:56.971 ceremonies in the United States Armed 06:56.971 --> 06:59.660 forces . This ceremony honors service 06:59.660 --> 07:01.716 members as they retire from long and 07:01.716 --> 07:03.716 honorable careers in the service to 07:03.716 --> 07:06.000 their nation Today . The United States 07:06.000 --> 07:08.222 Army honours Chief Warrant Officer five 07:08.222 --> 07:10.333 pits the third on the occasion of his 07:10.333 --> 07:12.444 retirement . After more than 35 years 07:12.444 --> 07:14.590 of dedicated service and selfless 07:14.590 --> 07:17.240 service to our nation . Ladies and 07:17.240 --> 07:19.670 gentlemen is now my distinct honor and 07:19.670 --> 07:21.750 privilege to introduce the United 07:21.750 --> 07:24.110 States Army Deputy Chief of Staff G 07:24.110 --> 07:26.820 four , Lieutenant general Charles R . 07:26.830 --> 07:27.830 Hambleton . 07:35.750 --> 07:37.806 Well , good morning everyone . How's 07:37.806 --> 07:41.110 everybody doing ? Uh , I had 07:41.880 --> 07:44.370 doing the prayer chaplain great job by 07:44.370 --> 07:46.481 the way . Thank you very much . Let's 07:46.481 --> 07:50.460 give him a big hand as 07:50.460 --> 07:52.460 you were reading through the pair , 07:52.460 --> 07:54.404 There was a little heavy breathing 07:54.404 --> 07:57.990 going on to my left . Uh , a little 07:58.000 --> 08:00.030 reality setting in here of the 08:00.030 --> 08:04.030 retirement . Exactly changing colors on 08:04.030 --> 08:07.890 me there . So I got you , you got 08:07.890 --> 08:10.057 it like you've been doing great this , 08:10.057 --> 08:12.470 so you're good . Okay , so again , good 08:12.470 --> 08:15.040 morning to everybody and I really want 08:15.040 --> 08:18.660 to thank you for joining me as we honor 08:18.670 --> 08:21.960 chief pitch And uh , and thank him for 08:21.960 --> 08:25.330 well over 35 years of dutiful service 08:25.330 --> 08:28.640 to our army and this nation . And so I 08:28.640 --> 08:30.800 do see a lot of friendly faces out in 08:30.800 --> 08:33.022 the audience that I recognized from the 08:33.022 --> 08:35.700 G4 and really beyond this crowd as well , 08:35.710 --> 08:38.340 uh , which I know is a true testament . 08:38.350 --> 08:41.100 Uh , two chiefs character and then 08:41.100 --> 08:42.822 people just want to gather and 08:42.822 --> 08:44.920 celebrate his accomplishment . Mr 08:44.920 --> 08:47.253 Morris . Thank you for being here today . 08:47.253 --> 08:49.380 Good to see you back in the G4 and 08:49.390 --> 08:51.334 you're working over some important 08:51.334 --> 08:53.557 things over another area operations . I 08:53.557 --> 08:55.723 really appreciate you being here . I'd 08:55.723 --> 08:57.946 like to send a warm welcome to robert's 08:57.946 --> 09:00.168 family joining us today . So I've got a 09:00.168 --> 09:02.390 long list , I don't feel rushed , I got 09:02.390 --> 09:04.446 to spend some time with the family . 09:04.446 --> 09:06.612 I'm gonna reflect on that a little bit 09:06.612 --> 09:09.270 as we talk through this and and and so 09:09.280 --> 09:12.130 patty , his wife who I got to meet as 09:12.130 --> 09:14.130 well who has served as a child care 09:14.130 --> 09:17.260 provider for the better part of 30 09:17.270 --> 09:20.730 years . And she's currently working in 09:20.730 --> 09:22.786 the U . S . House of Representatives 09:22.786 --> 09:25.008 Child Care Center just across the river 09:25.008 --> 09:27.720 on capitol hill . So thank you so much 09:27.730 --> 09:28.790 what you do . 09:32.040 --> 09:34.660 We know just with our own kids . This 09:34.660 --> 09:37.910 could be exhausting work but for 30 09:37.910 --> 09:39.854 years I feel like I have a special 09:39.854 --> 09:43.560 medal or something just uh just for 09:43.560 --> 09:45.616 you . So thank you for what you do . 09:45.616 --> 09:47.727 And we talked about how important the 09:47.727 --> 09:51.290 family is uh , today and um and then 09:51.290 --> 09:53.670 Patti , I know you and robert met Of 09:53.670 --> 09:56.920 all places and an Italian disco tech 09:56.930 --> 09:59.550 back in 1988 . I'm sure you had the big 09:59.560 --> 10:02.680 bell bottom shoes or pants on the big 10:02.680 --> 10:05.670 collar with the jacket and you know his 10:05.670 --> 10:08.590 love at first sight . Although he 10:08.590 --> 10:10.812 forgot to ask for the number at the end 10:10.812 --> 10:12.757 of the evening But she was able to 10:12.757 --> 10:15.860 track him down over a cup of coffee and 10:15.860 --> 10:17.916 things . See I'm getting a thumbs up 10:17.916 --> 10:20.138 from the front row here and the rest is 10:20.138 --> 10:22.950 history as they say . So 35 years plus . 10:22.960 --> 10:26.330 Uh that's huge thank you guys and thank 10:26.330 --> 10:29.460 you . And uh so sitting alongside 10:29.460 --> 10:33.410 Patty is the matriarch and that's 10:33.410 --> 10:37.240 Angela Zan Paretti , 10:37.330 --> 10:40.930 his mother in law . And so she is 10:40.940 --> 10:44.680 a World War Two survivor who held from 10:44.680 --> 10:48.600 Italy's beautiful veneto province , so 10:48.600 --> 10:52.500 grassy and when 10:52.500 --> 10:55.440 she came into the office , you know , 10:55.440 --> 10:57.551 she was , you could tell she was very 10:57.551 --> 10:59.770 thankful about me doing the ceremony 10:59.770 --> 11:02.910 today . But really , I 11:02.910 --> 11:05.280 think more than likely she reflected 11:05.280 --> 11:09.170 back to that Liberation time . Uh , you 11:09.170 --> 11:11.740 know , back in World War Two and 11:11.740 --> 11:14.090 certainly recognize the uniform because 11:14.090 --> 11:16.146 if you think about it , this was the 11:16.146 --> 11:19.840 uniform that Patton was wearing . And 11:19.840 --> 11:22.590 uh as he rolled in and liberated . So 11:22.590 --> 11:25.560 again , thank you for being a great 11:25.560 --> 11:27.671 family . Thank you very much Grassi , 11:27.671 --> 11:27.510 Thank you 11:33.370 --> 11:37.050 Angela Ramirez , his daughter alongside 11:37.060 --> 11:40.940 husband Hugo who are doing very well 11:40.940 --> 11:43.470 down in Tampa florida . So this is 11:43.470 --> 11:45.414 probably cold weather for you here 11:45.414 --> 11:47.700 today . They're going yes , thank you 11:47.700 --> 11:50.290 for being here . Andrew his son 11:50.290 --> 11:53.790 alongside his fiancee . Uh Miss 11:53.790 --> 11:57.210 du mr . Okay . And 11:57.210 --> 11:59.377 Andrew lives in all places . You would 11:59.377 --> 12:01.380 never guess where Italy 12:02.920 --> 12:05.087 Rutgers graduate doing some great work 12:05.087 --> 12:06.809 there . Artisans . So I really 12:06.809 --> 12:08.809 appreciate you being here as well . 12:08.809 --> 12:11.031 Also joining us from the great state of 12:11.031 --> 12:14.190 Georgia is the honorable dr roger Bird . 12:14.200 --> 12:15.970 His uncle and former state 12:15.980 --> 12:17.980 representative in Georgia's General 12:17.980 --> 12:20.200 assembly and alongside him his wife 12:20.210 --> 12:22.210 april . Thank you for being here as 12:22.210 --> 12:25.990 well . Uh Filippo I get that . Right , 12:26.000 --> 12:29.030 okay , nephew . So again , I'd like to 12:29.030 --> 12:30.974 have a long list . I'm not leaving 12:30.974 --> 12:33.030 anybody out . I don't feel rushed at 12:33.030 --> 12:35.197 all . Want to his cousin alongside her 12:35.197 --> 12:38.170 husband Marvin , a Navy veteran and 12:38.170 --> 12:40.820 their son , Logan and Rachel his cousin 12:40.820 --> 12:44.280 alongside her fiance is it ? We've 12:45.280 --> 12:49.140 get that close . Not even close . 12:49.140 --> 12:53.100 Okay . What ? Yeah , but anyway . And 12:53.100 --> 12:55.950 so chief comes from a rich lineage of 12:55.950 --> 12:58.690 military service which I got to 12:58.690 --> 13:00.634 recognize this this much . It's so 13:00.634 --> 13:02.690 important . It's a it's a story here 13:02.690 --> 13:04.870 and then you can see why how we wound 13:04.870 --> 13:08.320 up with a chief pitch 35 years later . 13:08.970 --> 13:11.440 And so again . He comes from a long 13:11.440 --> 13:14.210 line of military service . His 13:14.210 --> 13:18.020 grandfather and a World war two 13:18.020 --> 13:20.640 veteran . Benny Bird 13:21.170 --> 13:24.060 paratrooper , aerosol qualified near 13:24.060 --> 13:26.770 and dear to my heart , chief had the 13:26.770 --> 13:28.881 privilege of serving in South Korea . 13:28.881 --> 13:30.770 Not far from where Benny made the 13:30.770 --> 13:33.550 ultimate sacrifice as a prisoner of war . 13:34.800 --> 13:36.911 During this , during the korean war . 13:37.120 --> 13:39.120 His other grandfather , robert pitt 13:39.120 --> 13:42.460 senior also served in World War Two in 13:42.460 --> 13:45.630 the Navy . His uncle Woodrow . You 13:45.630 --> 13:47.852 guessed it also served during the World 13:47.852 --> 13:50.980 War World war as a paratrooper and was 13:50.990 --> 13:53.212 detained as a prisoner of war in a Nazi 13:53.212 --> 13:55.434 concentration camp not far from chief's 13:55.434 --> 13:59.360 first duty station in Vicenza paul . 13:59.360 --> 14:01.416 Byrd another Chief's uncle served in 14:01.416 --> 14:03.249 the korean war where he made the 14:03.249 --> 14:05.360 ultimate sacrifice as well as when he 14:05.360 --> 14:07.582 when he was a prisoner of war . So it's 14:07.582 --> 14:09.416 no hyperbole to say that reading 14:09.416 --> 14:11.582 through robert's family history in our 14:11.582 --> 14:15.120 military is an exercise in gratitude 14:15.140 --> 14:17.630 and humility and we're all indebted to 14:17.630 --> 14:20.120 the bird and pits families for the 14:20.120 --> 14:23.690 combined service to our country . And 14:23.690 --> 14:26.840 it doesn't stop there , robert's father , 14:26.930 --> 14:29.580 robert Jr , who is unable to join us 14:29.580 --> 14:31.880 today as a Vietnam veteran who set the 14:31.880 --> 14:34.910 path for chief service . We're surely 14:34.910 --> 14:37.990 grateful for his own robert's mother , 14:38.380 --> 14:41.650 Connie , who has since passed in chief . 14:41.650 --> 14:44.060 I'm positive that she's got the best 14:44.060 --> 14:46.880 seat in the house today and smiling 14:46.880 --> 14:50.490 down from above and to all the roberts , 14:50.490 --> 14:53.430 family past and present . Thank you so 14:53.430 --> 14:55.597 much for guiding as we talked about in 14:55.597 --> 14:57.819 office and supporting robert throughout 14:57.819 --> 15:00.150 his army career . I certainly believe 15:00.150 --> 15:02.490 serving our country is a humbling and 15:02.490 --> 15:05.140 selfless act , but it sometimes comes 15:05.140 --> 15:07.620 with a selfish tendencies that are most 15:07.620 --> 15:09.980 often shouldered by the ones we wish to 15:09.980 --> 15:13.540 serve love and care for the most our 15:13.540 --> 15:15.830 families . I know robert's time in 15:15.830 --> 15:19.510 uniform has been enjoyable , formidable 15:19.620 --> 15:21.870 and a tribute to his father and both 15:21.870 --> 15:24.580 grandparents , robert's family has then 15:24.580 --> 15:26.660 supported him . Both sides of the 15:26.660 --> 15:29.120 equation past generations have 15:29.120 --> 15:31.176 instilled in him the desire to serve 15:31.176 --> 15:34.040 while the president has enabled that 15:34.040 --> 15:36.096 very service throughout his career , 15:36.130 --> 15:39.310 constant moves , long hours 15:39.320 --> 15:43.150 deployment , You name it . Our parents , 15:43.700 --> 15:46.630 our wives , husbands sons , 15:47.240 --> 15:49.710 daughters toughed it out so we can 15:49.710 --> 15:52.940 continue to do what we do and love and 15:52.940 --> 15:55.162 let's give them a big round of applause 15:55.162 --> 15:57.051 for robert's outstanding family . 16:05.220 --> 16:07.980 So chief , I'll say this . There are 16:07.980 --> 16:10.310 people on this earth who were in one 16:10.310 --> 16:14.210 way or another born to serve . You're 16:14.210 --> 16:16.490 certainly one of those people and 16:16.490 --> 16:18.546 you've done such with an exceptional 16:18.546 --> 16:21.170 talent and candor . Now chief is a 16:21.170 --> 16:23.840 native of Hazleton Georgia , just a few 16:23.840 --> 16:27.430 miles 100 miles south of uh , of 16:27.440 --> 16:30.710 savannah . He enlisted in the army back 16:30.710 --> 16:33.940 in 1987 is a light wheeled vehicle 16:33.940 --> 16:37.060 mechanic . He became a warrant officer 16:37.060 --> 16:40.330 in 1995 . After just under eight years , 16:40.680 --> 16:42.791 I've enlisted some of which we know I 16:42.791 --> 16:44.736 got some warrants sitting out here 16:44.736 --> 16:46.624 today in warrant years . That's a 16:46.624 --> 16:48.990 pretty short time throughout his career . 16:48.990 --> 16:51.101 Complete deployments to Afghanistan , 16:51.610 --> 16:54.010 Iraq , Bosnia 16:54.980 --> 16:57.700 Liberia and served in various 16:57.700 --> 17:00.770 assignments to include us special 17:00.780 --> 17:04.150 operations command here in the G ford . 17:05.200 --> 17:08.060 He's become just a critical member of 17:08.060 --> 17:09.750 our field member of our field 17:09.750 --> 17:11.660 maintenance division for army 17:11.660 --> 17:14.750 regulations to maintenance optimization 17:14.760 --> 17:16.816 without , within our E . R . P . S . 17:17.300 --> 17:19.078 His work has ensured the army's 17:19.078 --> 17:21.300 maintenance policy is integrated across 17:21.300 --> 17:23.467 all the greater sustainment enterprise 17:23.740 --> 17:25.962 warrant officers in the army are called 17:25.962 --> 17:28.129 to be technical experts in their field 17:28.470 --> 17:31.090 And we as service , we rely on their 17:31.090 --> 17:33.360 knowledge for well over 100 years . 17:34.350 --> 17:36.110 Well not only has chief been a 17:36.120 --> 17:38.350 technical expert , he's had the 17:38.350 --> 17:41.730 opportunity to command as well . Not 17:41.730 --> 17:43.841 many warrant officers , even the ones 17:43.841 --> 17:46.008 sitting here today could claim that as 17:46.008 --> 17:48.230 one of their major major achievements . 17:48.230 --> 17:50.230 And I could tell when he said in my 17:50.230 --> 17:52.063 office , it was one of his proud 17:52.063 --> 17:53.841 accomplishments that he had the 17:53.841 --> 17:56.570 opportunity uh to command . And the 17:56.570 --> 17:58.792 fact that he was picked to command over 17:58.792 --> 18:01.740 many others is a real testament to your 18:01.740 --> 18:05.660 true grit Character and the value 18:05.670 --> 18:08.740 you bring not only to the G four team 18:08.750 --> 18:11.870 but to the army . So I know Robert will 18:11.870 --> 18:14.860 succeed in whatever he undertakes as he 18:14.860 --> 18:17.027 enters the next stage of his life . We 18:17.027 --> 18:19.082 spent some time talking about that a 18:19.082 --> 18:22.560 little bit about chapter two And uh you 18:22.560 --> 18:24.560 know , at one point , you know , he 18:24.560 --> 18:27.970 shared a story with me about how he , 18:27.980 --> 18:30.100 he tried to retire 14 years ago 18:31.720 --> 18:34.280 and he got called in by a flag officer , 18:34.280 --> 18:38.010 won't call his name and the flag 18:38.010 --> 18:40.066 officer explained him or the general 18:40.066 --> 18:42.066 officer explained him . You have so 18:42.066 --> 18:44.177 much more to give , I think something 18:44.177 --> 18:46.066 that got on his burger out of his 18:46.066 --> 18:48.250 saddle a little bit and he decided he 18:48.250 --> 18:52.000 was gonna retire . And that 18:52.000 --> 18:54.167 particular general officer so much saw 18:54.167 --> 18:56.370 so much value and his potential and 18:56.370 --> 18:58.370 where he could go and what he could 18:58.370 --> 19:00.910 bring to the big army at large . So you 19:00.910 --> 19:03.280 would think that may be within a couple 19:03.280 --> 19:05.447 of years of that retirement , he would 19:05.447 --> 19:07.750 have retired . But here , we are 14 19:07.750 --> 19:11.050 years later and his words , he said it 19:11.050 --> 19:13.440 was in the blink of an eye . That's how 19:13.440 --> 19:16.730 fast it went by . So thank you and 19:16.730 --> 19:18.730 thank you guys for helping him make 19:18.730 --> 19:20.930 that decision to stand for another 14 19:20.930 --> 19:22.940 years . And we've all benefited 19:22.950 --> 19:25.930 especially in G 44 M and the G four and 19:25.930 --> 19:29.270 the army at large for what you bring to 19:29.270 --> 19:31.900 the table . He's proven himself as an 19:31.900 --> 19:34.390 expert leader , dedicated to both his 19:34.390 --> 19:37.240 technical craft and the people turning 19:37.240 --> 19:40.000 to him for mission guidance . The army 19:40.000 --> 19:42.167 builds itself and we talked about this 19:42.167 --> 19:44.222 as a people first organization and I 19:44.222 --> 19:46.580 can't really think of no better example 19:46.590 --> 19:49.360 of this mantra . Embody day in and day 19:49.360 --> 19:52.350 out than cheap . It's chief . I wish 19:52.350 --> 19:54.350 you all the best moving forward . I 19:54.350 --> 19:56.461 believe I speak for everyone here and 19:56.461 --> 19:58.628 we got that . We got a full house when 19:58.628 --> 20:00.628 I say thank you for all that you've 20:00.628 --> 20:03.170 done for the army , what you've done 20:03.170 --> 20:06.260 for your family and the United States 20:06.260 --> 20:08.770 of America . And thank you so much for 20:08.770 --> 20:11.490 letting me be a part . You had many 20:11.500 --> 20:13.790 folks you could have chose to do this 20:13.800 --> 20:15.633 for letting me be a part of your 20:15.633 --> 20:19.080 special day . So chief join me up here 20:19.090 --> 20:21.670 on stage as we honor you and your 20:21.670 --> 20:23.892 family this morning . Army Strong thank 20:23.892 --> 20:24.892 you very much . 20:32.270 --> 20:34.700 Thank you sir C . W five pits will now 20:34.700 --> 20:36.533 be presented the legion of merit 20:36.533 --> 20:38.533 received certificates of retirement 20:38.533 --> 20:40.533 from the armed forces of the United 20:40.533 --> 20:42.422 States of America certificates of 20:42.422 --> 20:44.589 appreciation from the President of the 20:44.589 --> 20:46.422 United States , the Secretary of 20:46.422 --> 20:48.422 Defense , the Secretary , Chief and 20:48.422 --> 20:50.589 Sergeant Major of the Army , the Chief 20:50.589 --> 20:52.700 of Staff of the Army , the Vice Chief 20:52.700 --> 20:54.700 of Staff of the Army and the United 20:54.700 --> 20:56.756 States flag . The Department of Army 20:56.756 --> 20:58.756 Certificate of Appreciation will be 20:58.756 --> 21:01.700 presented to his wife , Patricia . The 21:01.700 --> 21:03.811 legion of merit is presented to C . W 21:03.811 --> 21:06.033 five pits for exceptionally meritorious 21:06.033 --> 21:08.200 service while performing duties as the 21:08.200 --> 21:10.367 senior ordinance logistics officer for 21:10.367 --> 21:12.700 the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff . 21:12.700 --> 21:15.100 G four . C . W five Pit service and the 21:15.100 --> 21:17.156 G four has been characterized by the 21:17.156 --> 21:19.322 highest levels of personal integrity , 21:19.322 --> 21:21.433 devotion and leadership to the army's 21:21.440 --> 21:23.440 field maintenance mission . He is a 21:23.440 --> 21:25.273 consummate visionary officer , a 21:25.273 --> 21:28.350 skilled , dynamic , bold leader and a 21:28.350 --> 21:31.150 soldier soldier . C W five pits 21:31.150 --> 21:32.650 commitment to excellence , 21:32.650 --> 21:34.970 extraordinary achievement , devotion 21:34.980 --> 21:37.570 and exemplary performance of duty are 21:37.570 --> 21:39.737 in keeping with the highest traditions 21:39.737 --> 21:41.848 of military service and reflect great 21:41.848 --> 21:44.510 credit upon himself . The Office of the 21:44.510 --> 21:46.900 Deputy Chief of Staff G four and the 21:46.900 --> 21:50.280 United States Army signed Charles R . 21:50.280 --> 21:54.160 Hambleton , Chief of Staff G four and 21:54.160 --> 21:55.438 the United States Army 22:16.910 --> 22:19.760 General Hambleton will now present 22:20.420 --> 22:23.310 mrs Pitts with the headquarters 22:23.930 --> 22:26.041 Department of the Army Certificate of 22:26.041 --> 22:29.230 appreciation . Sure , 22:33.090 --> 22:35.510 the certificate reads , this is to 22:35.510 --> 22:38.250 certify that mrs Patricia pits on the 22:38.250 --> 22:40.194 occasion of the retirement of your 22:40.194 --> 22:42.361 spouse from the United States Army has 22:42.361 --> 22:44.472 earned grateful appreciation for your 22:44.472 --> 22:46.790 own unselfish , faithful and devoted 22:46.790 --> 22:49.100 service . Your unfailing support and 22:49.100 --> 22:51.370 understanding helped to make possible 22:51.380 --> 22:54.450 your spouse's lasting contribution to 22:54.450 --> 22:55.450 the nation . 23:00.000 --> 23:02.020 Thank you . Mrs Spence . Please be 23:02.020 --> 23:03.020 seated . 23:10.680 --> 23:12.791 C . W five Pits will now be presented 23:12.791 --> 23:14.569 the certificate of retirement . 23:20.720 --> 23:23.210 The certificate reads , this is to 23:23.210 --> 23:25.450 certify that Chief warrant officer five 23:25.460 --> 23:28.090 robert C pits the third having served 23:28.100 --> 23:30.620 faithfully and honorably is retired 23:30.620 --> 23:32.842 from the United States Army on the 31st 23:32.842 --> 23:36.110 day of january 2023 signed Chief of 23:36.110 --> 23:38.990 Staff of the Army . General James C . 23:39.000 --> 23:39.740 McConville . 23:42.770 --> 23:43.430 Mhm . 23:55.340 --> 23:57.950 At this time , General Hambleton will 23:57.950 --> 24:00.870 present CW five pits with certificates 24:00.880 --> 24:03.540 of appreciation from the president of 24:03.540 --> 24:04.651 the United States . 24:24.090 --> 24:26.034 No , thank you . It's a big deal . 24:26.500 --> 24:30.090 President the Secretary of 24:30.090 --> 24:33.320 Defense here . 24:35.250 --> 24:38.970 Mhm . The 24:38.980 --> 24:40.424 chief is well connected . 24:43.820 --> 24:46.760 The Secretary , Chief and Sergeant 24:46.760 --> 24:49.220 Major of the Army 25:00.740 --> 25:01.470 got coins . 25:03.610 --> 25:07.590 The Chief of Staff of the Army . Yeah , 25:12.220 --> 25:14.220 I don't have a cheese coin . That's 25:14.220 --> 25:15.220 pretty good . 25:18.890 --> 25:21.140 And the Vice Chief of Staff of the 25:21.140 --> 25:24.950 Army , 25:30.410 --> 25:33.570 let's go , Oh 25:35.050 --> 25:37.520 General Hambleton is presenting CW five 25:37.530 --> 25:39.586 fits with the coin in recognition of 25:39.586 --> 25:41.530 excellence throughout his military 25:41.530 --> 25:41.500 career 25:53.420 --> 25:55.730 as a symbol of a grateful nation . It 25:55.730 --> 25:58.030 is a tradition for the United States 25:58.030 --> 26:00.440 military to present an american flag to 26:00.440 --> 26:02.551 a service member upon the occasion of 26:02.551 --> 26:04.551 their retirement to commemorate the 26:04.551 --> 26:06.662 years of selfless service . They have 26:06.662 --> 26:08.880 dedicated to their country . This flag 26:08.890 --> 26:11.112 which you have so proudly served and so 26:11.112 --> 26:13.590 honorably defended is a true emblem of 26:13.590 --> 26:16.560 our unity , our thoughts , our power 26:16.570 --> 26:19.390 and purpose as a nation accept it , 26:19.640 --> 26:22.040 protect it , guard it and never 26:22.040 --> 26:24.151 remember that the young men and women 26:24.151 --> 26:26.390 you have trained , guided and inspired 26:26.430 --> 26:28.652 will follow in your footsteps and serve 26:28.652 --> 26:31.740 and defend it with equal pride At this 26:31.740 --> 26:34.490 time . C . W . five pits is presented 26:34.490 --> 26:36.660 with the United States flag which was 26:36.670 --> 26:40.550 flown over the Pentagon on one October 26:40.550 --> 26:40.960 2022 . 27:17.780 --> 27:19.447 Thank you General Hambleton . 27:21.210 --> 27:24.580 Ladies and gentlemen , I present chief 27:24.590 --> 27:26.830 warrant Officer five robert C pits . 27:26.830 --> 27:30.330 The third United States Army retired . 27:31.330 --> 27:31.980 Oh 27:39.460 --> 27:41.590 wow , it just got real . 27:43.000 --> 27:45.780 Alright , long time coming . Um 27:46.740 --> 27:48.920 35 years . Okay so I think I'm gonna 27:48.920 --> 27:51.580 start right here with take present my 27:51.580 --> 27:54.410 wife and my family with uh flowers and 27:54.410 --> 27:56.400 gifts . 28:06.540 --> 28:07.020 Sure , 28:24.640 --> 28:27.050 good thank you . 28:57.780 --> 28:58.760 Okay 29:01.770 --> 29:04.220 okay let's see what we're gonna do here . 29:04.650 --> 29:06.872 First thing I'm gonna put my spectacles 29:06.872 --> 29:10.660 on . Alright , so hey , 35 29:10.660 --> 29:12.771 years , I want to thank everybody for 29:12.771 --> 29:14.938 coming here today . Uh you know I have 29:14.938 --> 29:18.120 most of you know me actually all know 29:18.120 --> 29:21.090 me because you didn't know me but you 29:21.090 --> 29:23.201 guys know I can be a little emotional 29:23.201 --> 29:25.146 sometimes when I get serious about 29:25.146 --> 29:27.810 heavy things . 35 years . Pretty heavy . 29:27.810 --> 29:30.660 So uh so to help me out and maybe not 29:30.660 --> 29:32.660 get too emotional , you know I came 29:32.660 --> 29:34.771 with my my kit here . I got my speech 29:34.771 --> 29:37.140 and I got my uh I got my give him 29:37.140 --> 29:39.380 enough and on time . Uh you know , 29:39.390 --> 29:42.160 picture here , make sure I'm focused on 29:42.160 --> 29:44.104 my logistics . And then I got this 29:44.104 --> 29:46.104 picture of Chief of where's he at ? 29:46.104 --> 29:48.160 He's out there somewhere . And every 29:48.160 --> 29:50.160 time I get a little emotional , I'm 29:50.160 --> 29:52.160 gonna look at chief of some co back 29:52.160 --> 29:54.382 when he was defending the hot gates and 29:54.382 --> 29:58.220 we're gonna , you know , I 29:58.230 --> 30:00.341 told you I was gonna do that . Okay . 30:00.341 --> 30:02.452 So anyway , I just wanna , you know , 30:02.452 --> 30:04.508 I'm trying to keep it a little light 30:04.508 --> 30:06.674 here and not get too emotional , but I 30:06.674 --> 30:09.680 do want to like um recognize a last 30:09.680 --> 30:12.000 minute addition to our group here . My 30:12.000 --> 30:14.990 brother uh , scotty came up , you know , 30:17.090 --> 30:20.010 thanks Ben . And 30:23.330 --> 30:25.870 so I thank you all for attending today . 30:25.880 --> 30:28.860 Um I want I want to start by thanking 30:28.870 --> 30:30.926 Lieutenant General Hambleton , sir , 30:30.926 --> 30:33.037 thank you for taking your time out of 30:33.037 --> 30:35.092 your busy schedule . I think if most 30:35.092 --> 30:37.050 people really knew what what our 30:37.050 --> 30:39.217 general officers have to do on a daily 30:39.217 --> 30:41.328 basis , you would be just amazed that 30:41.328 --> 30:43.720 they can uh keep up that pace of 30:43.720 --> 30:45.831 engagement , after engagement , after 30:45.831 --> 30:47.998 engagement , after decision , decision 30:47.998 --> 30:51.200 decision . And uh I know it was , you 30:51.200 --> 30:53.200 know , being surrounded here in the 30:53.200 --> 30:55.340 pentagon by the top army brass . It 30:55.340 --> 30:58.360 generates a lot of requirements . So I 30:58.360 --> 31:00.870 appreciate you taking time out of your 31:00.870 --> 31:03.037 busy schedule to put people first . Uh 31:03.037 --> 31:04.759 that's one thing about General 31:04.759 --> 31:06.926 Hambleton . Uh the one thing I do know 31:06.926 --> 31:09.037 about him , he puts people first . Uh 31:09.037 --> 31:11.203 And that's that's pretty much been the 31:11.203 --> 31:13.148 message that he came in with . Put 31:13.148 --> 31:16.090 people first . Also want to express my 31:16.090 --> 31:18.680 sincere gratitude to the S . E . S . S . 31:18.690 --> 31:21.780 Um They were able to attend my boss . 31:21.780 --> 31:23.836 Mr Morris , thank you sir for coming 31:23.836 --> 31:26.230 here today . I don't know if dr Ramdas 31:26.230 --> 31:28.410 made it or uh I don't see him in the 31:28.410 --> 31:31.570 crowd , but uh also I just want to 31:31.570 --> 31:33.900 thank all the SCS is Dr Ram this Mr 31:33.900 --> 31:37.260 Morris , Mr thurston . Um And uh Mr 31:37.260 --> 31:40.910 Bechtel and um just like the general 31:40.910 --> 31:43.077 officers , they're extremely busy , so 31:43.077 --> 31:45.188 if they wanna , you know , put people 31:45.188 --> 31:47.600 first and have an opportunity to you 31:47.600 --> 31:49.711 know , do something outside of work , 31:49.711 --> 31:51.711 their their traditional work , they 31:51.711 --> 31:53.933 have to make the time to do it . So I'm 31:53.933 --> 31:56.100 glad sir that you made time to be here 31:56.100 --> 31:59.790 today , and it means a lot , so to Mr 31:59.790 --> 32:02.012 thurston , uh he's not here today , but 32:02.012 --> 32:04.179 I'm gonna say this anyway for everyone 32:04.179 --> 32:07.740 sir . Um I had an engagement here with 32:07.740 --> 32:09.907 the G four back when I was over at the 32:09.907 --> 32:12.073 Corps of Engineers . Uh We were we had 32:12.073 --> 32:15.330 a Gs 15 which was our director with our 32:15.330 --> 32:17.470 logistics director over there , so we 32:17.470 --> 32:19.526 come over here , we kind of like a d 32:19.526 --> 32:21.692 are you , for you , for you that don't 32:21.692 --> 32:23.914 know the D . R . Us or small units that 32:24.580 --> 32:26.747 uh you know , they don't really have a 32:26.747 --> 32:29.280 big command leadership in the logistics , 32:29.280 --> 32:31.336 they normally have like a if they're 32:31.336 --> 32:33.558 lucky they got a Colonel , you know and 32:33.558 --> 32:37.260 or a Gs 15 and we came over here 32:37.270 --> 32:39.560 and we had an engagement staff to staff 32:39.560 --> 32:41.560 meeting Mr Bechtel . I saw him this 32:41.560 --> 32:43.671 morning before he came in , I thanked 32:43.671 --> 32:45.338 him already but um he led the 32:45.338 --> 32:48.320 engagement and uh I just remember mr 32:48.330 --> 32:51.060 uh dr nelson Williams was there and Mr 32:51.060 --> 32:53.450 thurston , he was a GS 15 , he was 32:53.450 --> 32:56.140 there and they followed up many times 32:56.140 --> 32:58.251 after our meeting and he just made me 32:58.251 --> 33:00.473 realize that hey , you know , we're all 33:00.473 --> 33:02.640 one team , right , even though we just 33:02.640 --> 33:04.830 a D . R . U the G . Four made time for 33:04.830 --> 33:07.790 us . So we should never discount the 33:07.790 --> 33:09.890 impact of that out to the field , 33:09.900 --> 33:12.720 making time and engage in their their 33:12.720 --> 33:14.776 issues . And I'll be honest with you 33:14.776 --> 33:17.680 sometimes we did come up with some some 33:17.680 --> 33:19.791 things we probably could have handled 33:19.791 --> 33:22.350 our levels you know ? But uh but at 33:22.350 --> 33:25.090 least we had an ear , you know , and we 33:25.100 --> 33:27.433 know that sometimes that's all it takes . 33:27.433 --> 33:29.750 So I want to thank Mr thurston for that 33:29.760 --> 33:33.680 and um you know , the definition of a 33:33.680 --> 33:36.900 team is to achieve a larger product uh 33:36.910 --> 33:39.790 together than what you could with all 33:39.790 --> 33:41.901 the some of your individual efforts . 33:41.901 --> 33:45.010 So the team aspect of it has always 33:45.010 --> 33:48.570 been very important to me and 33:48.580 --> 33:51.550 before I think anyone else , I wanna 33:51.550 --> 33:54.190 give a shout out to Lieutenant Colonel 33:54.190 --> 33:58.040 Garcia , sir , thank you ? And they put 33:58.040 --> 34:00.151 this thing together , Him and Colonel 34:00.151 --> 34:02.850 Harrington and Colonel Fulton 34:03.960 --> 34:07.060 and the Major , and I'm telling you um 34:07.070 --> 34:09.126 there's a lot of goes into something 34:09.126 --> 34:11.292 like this , getting all these people , 34:11.292 --> 34:10.960 so let's just give them a round of 34:10.960 --> 34:13.200 applause . Okay , They really good 34:14.650 --> 34:16.650 and when uh when they told me we're 34:16.650 --> 34:18.761 gonna do this in the pentagon , I was 34:18.761 --> 34:20.706 kind of skeptical , I was like , I 34:20.706 --> 34:20.200 don't know if we're gonna be able to 34:20.200 --> 34:22.533 get all these people in here , but look , 34:22.533 --> 34:24.533 everybody made it and uh I think it 34:24.533 --> 34:26.700 came out great and that's just because 34:26.700 --> 34:28.811 of your hard work , sir , thank you , 34:28.811 --> 34:30.756 okay , And then um um I'm gonna be 34:30.756 --> 34:32.978 short , there's no way I can recap a 35 34:32.978 --> 34:36.080 year career in the matter of , you know , 34:36.080 --> 34:39.350 a few minutes , um I probably forgot 34:39.350 --> 34:41.690 more than 35 years than I could give 34:41.700 --> 34:43.700 and if we stayed here all day and I 34:43.700 --> 34:45.811 forgot a lot because I'm getting kind 34:45.811 --> 34:47.922 of old and I got that crs thing going 34:47.922 --> 34:49.922 on , but we won't talk about that , 34:49.922 --> 34:52.990 okay ? And then uh I always , I always 34:52.990 --> 34:55.150 think about Chief something , okay , 34:56.490 --> 34:59.330 so uh I wanna start back before I came 34:59.330 --> 35:01.330 in the army , you know , back in my 35:01.330 --> 35:03.441 formative years and I got a lot of my 35:03.441 --> 35:05.552 family here and I want to go back and 35:05.552 --> 35:07.663 revisit my grandfather for a minute , 35:07.663 --> 35:09.830 wait a minute , wait a minute , wait , 35:10.360 --> 35:11.110 oh , 35:14.830 --> 35:17.270 so we had a lot of World War Two 35:17.270 --> 35:21.060 veterans in our family . Mhm . 35:25.070 --> 35:27.600 Somebody asked me this morning said , 35:27.600 --> 35:29.767 hey why did you go out and buy the new 35:29.767 --> 35:32.240 uniform ? You know we got the blue 35:32.240 --> 35:35.040 uniform . It's a they're starting to 35:35.040 --> 35:37.110 phase it out now . We've got several 35:37.110 --> 35:39.670 years before the sun sets and I had one 35:39.670 --> 35:40.670 of them , 35:47.520 --> 35:48.990 chief . Anyway , 35:51.240 --> 35:53.840 but anyway my grandfather , we used to 35:53.840 --> 35:55.951 sit out behind the house when I was a 35:55.951 --> 35:58.062 child , you know , we used to sit out 35:58.062 --> 36:01.810 there and I come from a rural area 36:01.820 --> 36:04.560 of southeast Georgia is uh 36:04.570 --> 36:07.130 unincorporated area . It's called Snipe 36:07.130 --> 36:10.840 spill it . The name of it really really 36:10.840 --> 36:13.007 fits . I had a snipe hunt when I was a 36:13.007 --> 36:15.580 kid . Right ? Uh I think it's Uncle Ben 36:15.580 --> 36:18.310 done that one to me . But anyway uncle 36:18.310 --> 36:21.080 Roger here . Uh he knows all about it . 36:21.080 --> 36:23.890 He did too . But anyway um you know you 36:23.890 --> 36:26.057 sit out there and we look at the stars 36:26.057 --> 36:28.112 and we you know we talked about life 36:28.112 --> 36:30.334 and he was a farmer . So he worked like 36:30.334 --> 36:32.557 a hebrew slave man . I'm telling you he 36:32.557 --> 36:35.440 was up before the sun , he take a nice 36:35.440 --> 36:37.551 long nap at lunchtime . And I want to 36:37.551 --> 36:39.662 tell you all the americans got it all 36:39.662 --> 36:41.829 wrong , a nap at lunchtime . It's good 36:41.829 --> 36:44.051 for you , okay . Some people just think 36:44.051 --> 36:46.162 you should work all day and you never 36:46.162 --> 36:46.020 get a break , but you really got to 36:46.020 --> 36:48.110 take a break at lunchtime . But he'd 36:48.110 --> 36:50.332 take a break at lunchtime and then he'd 36:50.332 --> 36:52.666 go work till the sun comes down , right . 36:52.666 --> 36:54.832 And then he'd come back in and we'd go 36:54.832 --> 36:57.054 out and we'd have dinner and go out and 36:57.054 --> 36:59.277 sit and talk sit on the stars . And the 36:59.277 --> 37:01.443 only place where I saw stars that were 37:01.443 --> 37:03.666 as incredible as what it used to be out 37:03.666 --> 37:05.777 there uh back before you know , urban 37:05.777 --> 37:07.554 build up and everything started 37:07.554 --> 37:10.740 happening was when I was in Afghanistan 37:10.750 --> 37:12.694 and Pat knows about that one . Pat 37:12.694 --> 37:14.639 Milton . We've seen some stars out 37:14.639 --> 37:17.360 there buddy , but really , you know , 37:17.360 --> 37:20.560 that's kind of , you know when when 37:20.560 --> 37:24.360 your when your uncle Woodrow and 37:24.360 --> 37:27.550 uncle Jim and uncle , you know , 37:27.560 --> 37:31.360 um your uncles are all talking 37:31.360 --> 37:35.070 about their experiences in the war . 37:35.900 --> 37:38.380 Um It kind of starts uh 37:39.540 --> 37:43.380 sitting in about the importance . 37:52.490 --> 37:56.460 Anyway . Anyway , um so it was 37:56.460 --> 37:58.790 my uncle , my grandfather , he didn't 37:58.790 --> 38:01.170 actually die as a prisoner of war , but 38:01.170 --> 38:03.570 he did get wounded twice in World War 38:03.570 --> 38:05.681 Two . And he had the purple heart for 38:05.681 --> 38:09.050 that . And uh it was my uncle paul 38:09.060 --> 38:12.960 that passed in Korea as a 38:12.970 --> 38:16.920 prisoner of wars . And So in a way 38:16.930 --> 38:19.041 my career has come a full cycle . You 38:19.041 --> 38:21.152 know when I when I joined the army in 38:21.152 --> 38:24.770 1987 , I was like I wanna be an 38:24.780 --> 38:26.502 airborne , I wanna jump out of 38:26.502 --> 38:28.669 perfectly good airplanes . That's what 38:28.669 --> 38:30.780 I want to do in my life . That sounds 38:30.780 --> 38:33.690 hula and it was , I'm telling you jimmy 38:33.690 --> 38:37.320 knows and we jumped out of perfectly 38:37.320 --> 38:40.870 good airplanes and I said that's my 38:40.870 --> 38:43.037 first criteria . My second criteria is 38:43.037 --> 38:45.259 I need to go to Italy , I want to go to 38:45.259 --> 38:47.314 ITaly because you know Uncle Woodrow 38:47.314 --> 38:49.426 and talk about Italy a little bit and 38:49.426 --> 38:51.760 uh he got me thinking I'm like I think 38:51.760 --> 38:53.910 I'd go to Italy and then finally just 38:53.910 --> 38:55.854 to make the cycle totally complete 38:55.854 --> 38:57.521 because I'm really about like 38:57.521 --> 38:59.688 connecting dots , you know , I like to 38:59.688 --> 39:01.854 connect the dots . I said I'm gonna be 39:01.854 --> 39:04.021 a mechanic because I knew a little bit 39:04.021 --> 39:06.243 about being a mechanic , you know I was 39:06.243 --> 39:08.466 going to school and I was trying to get 39:08.466 --> 39:10.577 my business degree but I like turning 39:10.577 --> 39:12.743 ranches , you know that was my thing . 39:12.743 --> 39:12.700 So I came I was like if you can make me , 39:12.710 --> 39:14.877 if you make me airborne you can get me 39:14.877 --> 39:17.099 into the into Italy and you can make me 39:17.099 --> 39:19.490 a mechanic , I'll join and man they did 39:19.490 --> 39:21.930 it , I couldn't believe it . But anyway 39:21.940 --> 39:24.990 I got to go to Italy and I got some 39:24.990 --> 39:27.157 folks that I served with in Italy here 39:27.157 --> 39:29.430 paul and lisa and I got a Colonel de 39:29.430 --> 39:31.720 ville , my G four over in the U . S . 39:31.720 --> 39:34.360 Army Africa , he's here today , Mr 39:34.360 --> 39:37.410 Deville and sir I appreciate your 39:37.420 --> 39:39.420 coming here today because you had a 39:39.420 --> 39:42.740 great impact upon me uh developing as a 39:42.740 --> 39:46.020 senior , you know , so I have a lot of 39:46.020 --> 39:48.187 people in here that have impacted upon 39:48.187 --> 39:50.580 me . I have rob Cantor right over there . 39:50.590 --> 39:54.070 He was , he was in my first squad . He 39:54.070 --> 39:56.070 and I are battles forever . 40:01.050 --> 40:03.570 So , uh , a lot of people impacted upon 40:03.570 --> 40:06.480 me at various stages of my 40:06.480 --> 40:09.800 career and uh , it just seemed like I 40:09.800 --> 40:11.856 always found the right person at the 40:11.856 --> 40:14.070 right time to help me get to the place 40:14.070 --> 40:16.014 I needed to be , you know , when I 40:16.014 --> 40:18.237 showed up as a warrant officer . Well , 40:18.237 --> 40:20.348 first of all I had to learn how to be 40:20.348 --> 40:22.514 an N . C . O . Because all of us , N . 40:22.514 --> 40:24.292 C . O . S are all of us warrant 40:24.292 --> 40:26.459 officers . We start out as N . C . O . 40:26.459 --> 40:25.730 S , right . So we got to learn how to 40:25.730 --> 40:28.090 be the backbone , the backbone of the 40:28.090 --> 40:30.368 army guys . There's a lot of N . C . O . 40:30.368 --> 40:32.479 S out there and they're the ones that 40:32.479 --> 40:34.646 gets it done . And son kite back there 40:34.646 --> 40:36.920 in the quarter , I came out as a brand 40:36.920 --> 40:40.260 new minute like green behind the ears . 40:40.260 --> 40:42.320 Airborne paratroopers showed up at 40:42.320 --> 40:44.820 mechanized field artillery . I didn't 40:44.820 --> 40:47.042 know what mechanized was . I can't even 40:47.042 --> 40:49.209 spell it . Who I find , I found , uh , 40:49.209 --> 40:51.320 I found a specialist Sean kite at the 40:51.320 --> 40:53.542 time . He's , I think he , I think he's 40:53.542 --> 40:57.450 a sergeant now . Um , but , but Sean 40:57.450 --> 40:59.660 was a great soldier . I just want to 40:59.660 --> 41:02.160 tell you . I mean just like Cantor is 41:02.160 --> 41:04.493 always gonna be my battle . That's what , 41:04.493 --> 41:06.660 that's one of my first my squad when I 41:06.660 --> 41:09.350 had my squad . So Sean thanks for 41:09.350 --> 41:11.294 coming man . You know , they had a 41:11.294 --> 41:13.406 hurricane , he's from Fort Lauderdale 41:13.406 --> 41:15.461 area . They had a terrible hurricane 41:15.461 --> 41:19.360 down there . But you know Sean 41:19.360 --> 41:21.471 was the first time that I had to like 41:21.471 --> 41:23.638 grab my moral courage and do something 41:23.638 --> 41:27.350 crazy . I was 85 I had to stand up to 41:27.360 --> 41:29.550 the Sergeant major , the command 41:29.550 --> 41:32.400 Sergeant Major . Because come to find 41:32.400 --> 41:34.870 out , some people have to shave more 41:34.870 --> 41:38.030 than once a day and Sean is one of them . 41:39.740 --> 41:41.880 So we had been on a 21 day victory 41:41.880 --> 41:44.102 focus . We were out there in the middle 41:44.102 --> 41:47.280 of Fort Stewart for 21 days with no 41:47.280 --> 41:49.870 shower and today we're rolling in were 41:49.870 --> 41:51.940 lined up at the Morrison areas are 41:51.940 --> 41:55.490 major descended upon Sean And he lit 41:55.490 --> 41:57.601 him up and they wanted me to give him 41:57.601 --> 41:59.768 put him for an Article 15 . I was like 41:59.768 --> 42:01.990 no way man , that's a solid troop right 42:01.990 --> 42:04.212 there , I'm not gonna do it . And I had 42:04.212 --> 42:06.434 to write this essay and after they read 42:06.434 --> 42:08.434 my essay they told me we can't give 42:08.434 --> 42:10.657 this to the Sar Major . I said well sir 42:10.657 --> 42:12.657 we're not giving the market 15 . We 42:12.657 --> 42:14.823 didn't get one . That was it . So Sean 42:14.823 --> 42:16.990 thanks for coming man . It means a lot 42:16.990 --> 42:19.460 to me and I wish Ron was here but I 42:19.460 --> 42:22.860 talked to him and he's good . Okay 42:22.860 --> 42:26.430 so once I started progressing I found a 42:26.430 --> 42:28.290 good first Lieutenant bar He's a 42:28.290 --> 42:30.457 colonel now . I don't know , I thought 42:30.457 --> 42:32.623 he was gonna be here . He's not here , 42:32.623 --> 42:34.679 he's probably busy . He um colonel , 42:34.679 --> 42:36.734 he's Colonel Barnwell now but he was 42:36.734 --> 42:38.957 first lieutenant Barnwell when I got to 42:38.957 --> 42:41.179 fort Bragg . He really the first person 42:41.179 --> 42:40.370 that brought me in and showed me what 42:40.370 --> 42:42.537 right looks like as an officer because 42:42.537 --> 42:44.759 I was still kind of green and as a as a 42:44.759 --> 42:46.926 wobbly one , I was still thinking like 42:46.926 --> 42:49.259 an N . C . O . And acting like an N . C . 42:49.259 --> 42:51.481 O . And he was like look come on let me 42:51.481 --> 42:51.180 let me tell you how you do this , let 42:51.180 --> 42:53.360 me let me try , let me try to mentor 42:53.360 --> 42:55.900 you a little bit and I let him and um 42:55.910 --> 42:57.910 he showed me what right was looking 42:57.910 --> 43:01.110 like . So I appreciate him . We had uh 43:01.120 --> 43:04.230 lunch together about a month ago , two 43:04.230 --> 43:06.960 months ago , about two months ago and 43:06.970 --> 43:09.670 it was really it was really just great . 43:09.680 --> 43:12.170 He was we were laughing about how 43:12.170 --> 43:15.320 things come around you know ? But my um 43:16.440 --> 43:18.384 but I just wanna tell you guys all 43:18.384 --> 43:20.496 something , I'm gonna make it kind of 43:20.496 --> 43:22.662 short and I'm gonna wrap it up because 43:22.662 --> 43:21.990 I know you guys don't wanna hear about 43:21.990 --> 43:25.410 my entire 35 year military career but 43:26.430 --> 43:28.380 I want to say that you know uh 43:30.290 --> 43:32.460 just like that that that sky full of 43:32.460 --> 43:34.700 stars that I used to look at 43:41.590 --> 43:44.110 everybody in this room is kind of like 43:44.110 --> 43:46.960 a star in the sky to me . 43:48.440 --> 43:51.850 That's you guys . I would be 43:51.860 --> 43:54.070 here if it wasn't for you 43:55.100 --> 43:57.740 and don't look at me funny , 43:58.920 --> 44:01.087 I wouldn't be I wouldn't be here if it 44:01.087 --> 44:03.309 wasn't for you . And I hope that I have 44:03.309 --> 44:05.460 also imparted something to you 44:05.460 --> 44:08.010 throughout my military career or that 44:08.010 --> 44:10.232 you will remember me and something good 44:10.232 --> 44:12.350 that I did or you know , even some of 44:12.350 --> 44:14.350 the bad things that happened , they 44:14.350 --> 44:16.572 were all teaching points . So there was 44:16.572 --> 44:18.683 always something good about it . Even 44:18.683 --> 44:20.739 if it was it bad you got to remember 44:20.739 --> 44:22.961 that . You know , hard times don't last 44:22.961 --> 44:25.128 but hard people do . So whatever don't 44:25.128 --> 44:27.128 kill you , makes you stronger . You 44:27.128 --> 44:29.350 know that I believe in that . So I just 44:29.350 --> 44:31.406 wanna thank you all for being my sky 44:31.406 --> 44:33.461 full of stars . And if you ever need 44:33.461 --> 44:35.860 anything from me , I'm always chief . 44:36.920 --> 44:39.410 But you can just call me Mr After after 44:39.410 --> 44:41.410 a couple of couple of a couple more 44:41.410 --> 44:43.688 weeks I'll be out of here . But anyway , 44:43.688 --> 44:45.799 I'm looking forward to chapter Two as 44:45.799 --> 44:47.854 well . And I hope to see some of you 44:47.854 --> 44:50.077 around by the way , you guys are all my 44:50.077 --> 44:52.077 like 2nd 3rd order links on uh on a 44:52.077 --> 44:54.077 linkedin . Right ? So I'm trying to 44:54.077 --> 44:57.130 network unemployed currently . 44:57.140 --> 45:00.990 Uh Scott . Thank you for 45:00.990 --> 45:03.400 coming to buddy . That's another one of 45:03.400 --> 45:06.650 my soldiers . CW four Scott Subotica . 45:07.390 --> 45:09.557 I'm telling you I was blessed . I just 45:09.557 --> 45:11.668 got blessed with all the right people 45:11.668 --> 45:13.779 at all the right times and that's why 45:13.779 --> 45:15.779 I'm here today . Some of its luck . 45:17.840 --> 45:20.173 That's all I have and thank you so much . 45:20.173 --> 45:22.173 We're gonna have a reception in the 45:22.173 --> 45:24.340 back after this . I hope you guys will 45:24.340 --> 45:26.396 all stay around . I'm gonna put some 45:26.396 --> 45:26.360 coins on the back table back there . 45:26.370 --> 45:28.840 Guys grab a coin , take a coin . I'm 45:28.840 --> 45:31.062 gonna put some pictures back there that 45:31.062 --> 45:33.400 you can take as little Mementos . You 45:33.400 --> 45:35.567 know , if you want it , grab it , take 45:35.567 --> 45:39.300 it and that's all I have . Thank you 45:39.300 --> 45:42.790 sir . Chief 45:43.780 --> 45:46.850 Thank you chief . It just isn't done . 45:48.530 --> 45:50.890 Thank you . 45:54.500 --> 45:57.540 Right , thank you sir . 45:58.970 --> 46:01.130 It was tough stuff I got there . 46:02.720 --> 46:04.776 Ladies and gentlemen , please remain 46:04.776 --> 46:06.831 standing for the playing of the army 46:06.831 --> 46:08.942 song . You can find the words printed 46:08.942 --> 46:10.609 on the back of your program . 46:21.810 --> 46:25.410 Seeing us the army 46:25.410 --> 46:28.870 of the free count the break 46:31.920 --> 46:34.530 who have fought to victory 46:35.860 --> 46:38.710 were in the army and proud of our name . 46:39.790 --> 46:42.720 We're the army and proudly proclaimed 46:43.490 --> 46:46.410 first to fight for the ride and to 46:46.420 --> 46:49.420 wield the nations and the army goes 46:49.420 --> 46:53.390 rolling along , proud of all we have 46:53.400 --> 46:55.760 done . Fighting till the battle's won 46:55.930 --> 46:58.750 and the army goes rolling along 46:59.850 --> 47:03.150 and it's high , high . The army is on 47:03.150 --> 47:06.130 its way . Count off the cadence loud 47:06.130 --> 47:09.780 and strong where we go . 47:10.630 --> 47:13.340 You will always know that the army goes 47:13.340 --> 47:14.500 rolling along . 47:17.430 --> 47:19.541 Ladies and gentlemen , this concludes 47:19.541 --> 47:21.708 our ceremony following family photos , 47:21.708 --> 47:23.541 we invite you to come forward to 47:23.541 --> 47:25.708 congratulate C two B five retired pits 47:25.708 --> 47:27.930 and mrs pits in the receiving line that 47:27.930 --> 47:30.041 will form to my left . Additionally , 47:30.041 --> 47:32.263 as stated refreshments are available in 47:32.263 --> 47:34.263 the back of the room . At this time 47:34.263 --> 47:36.208 we'll see W5 retired pits . Family 47:36.208 --> 47:38.374 members , please join him on stage for 47:38.374 --> 47:40.486 photographs . Thank you for attending 47:40.486 --> 47:42.597 today's ceremony and have a wonderful 47:42.597 --> 47:43.700 Day , Army 47:43.700 --> 47:47.380 Strong .