 Good afternoon and welcome to joint-based San Antonio Fort Sam Houston's retirement ceremony, host above the United States Army Medical Center of Excellence. The host for today's ceremony is the commanding general of the Medical Center of Excellence, Brigadier General Clinton K. Murray. The co-host is the Command Sergeant Major of the Medical Center of Excellence, Command Sergeant Major Victor J. Legion. Distinguished guests in attendance today include the Honorable Diana Denman, President Reagan Appointee, Mr. Joseph Bray, civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army, Colonel Mark Eastackel, Commander, Brooke Army Medical Center, Joint Base San Antonio, CW5 retired Candy Martin, distinguished quartermaster. Other key leaders, family members and guests, thank you for honoring the retirees with your presence here today. I ask that you please stand for the Plain of our National Anthem by Fort Sam's own 323rd Army Band and remain standing for the invocation given by Command Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel Michael W. Spikes of the United States Army Medical Center of Excellence. Please join me in prayer. Heavenly Father, we have gathered today to honor the service and sacrifice of these men and women who have dedicated their lives to the defense of this nation. We are sincerely grateful for all they have done as stewards of the profession of arms. They have defined themselves as true American patriots by their acts of selflessness, humility, boldness, courage and discipline, and in their footsteps they leave a legacy of honor and integrity for others to follow. And so it is with grateful hearts that we bid them farewell and ask that you would bless the road that lies before them and their families who have also served and sacrificed so much. Give them health, happiness and prosperity as they embrace the life that awaits them. When they reflect on their years of service, may those memories be gilded as with the finest gold. We pray, Lord, that in addition to these who are here today to mark their retirement, you would continue to bless those who are still serving, especially those who may be serving in harm's way today. Guard and protect our nation and those who have chosen to serve in her defense. In your gracious and merciful name I pray. Amen. Please be seated. At this time, a flag detail from the Army Medical Center of Excellence will perform a flag folding ceremony, a special tribute to our retirees. When observing an honor guard during the folding of the flag, you may notice how the particular process results in the flag being folded 13 times. You may have thought this symbolized the original 13 colonies. However, each step has a separate and very distinct meaning. The first fold of our flag is a symbol of life. The second fold represents the 50 states of the United States of America. The third fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veterans departing our ranks who gave a part of his or her life for the defense of our country to attain peace throughout the world. The fourth fold represents loyalty. In the words of Thomas Payne, these are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in the crisis, shrink from the service of their country, but he that stands by it now deserves the love and thanks of a man and woman. The fifth fold is a tribute to our country. In the words of Stephen Decatur, our country, in her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right, but right or wrong, our country. The sixth fold is for where our hearts lie. It is with our heart that we pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The seventh fold is attributed to our armed forces, for it is through the armed forces that we protect our country and our flag against all her enemies, whether they be found within or outside the boundaries of our republic. The eighth fold is a tribute to selfless service. Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. John Fitzgerald Kennedy. The ninth fold is a tribute to womanhood, for it has been through their faith, love, loyalty, and devotion that the character of the men and women who have made this country great has been molded. The tenth fold is a tribute to the father, for he too has given his sons and daughters for the defense of our country. The eleventh fold is inscribed on the statue of liberty. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these the homeless tempest toss to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door. The twelfth fold represents the quality. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The thirteenth and final fold is for when the flag is completely folded. The stars are uppermost reminding us of our national motto, and God we trust. After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it takes on the appearance of a cocked hat, ever reminding us of the soldiers who served under General George Washington and the sailors and marines who served under Captain John Paul Jones, who were followed by their comrades and shipmates and the armed forces of the United States, preserving us the rights, privileges, and freedoms we enjoy today. All our honored retirees, please stand. This flag is a true emblem of our unity, power, and purpose as a nation. Accept it, protect it, and be ever mindful that the young men and women that you have trained, led, and inspired throughout your outstanding careers will follow in your footsteps and defend this flag with equal pride. Honored retirees, please be seated. Today we pay special tribute to eight soldiers upon their retirement. The retirement ceremony is a time-honored tradition. In days gone by when a soldier retired, their entire regiment turned out to honor them with a farewell review. Joint-based San Antonio of Fort Ham Houston continues many of these customs today. During today's ceremony, each soldier will receive a number of items, a United States flag, a soldier for life with Pelton, and a certificate of retirement which reads, from the armed forces of the United States of America, to all who shall see these presents, greetings. All retirees having served faithfully and honorably are retired from the United States Army, signed Randy A. George, General, United States Army Chief of Staff. Retirees will also receive a certificate from the Commander-in-Chief which reads, I extend my personal gratitude and the sincere appreciation of a grateful nation to you for your patriotic service to our country. Your bravery and dedication in our armed forces helped protect your fellow Americans during the focal moment in our history and contributed to a world of greater security and growing prosperity. Your devotion to duty, honor, and country, and keeping with the long traditions of the finest military in the world, embodied the American ideal of selfless service, our nation owes you an incredible debt. Your commitment and example you set will inspire future generations to serve with pride and keep our country secure. You represent the best of our nation and I join our fellow Americans in saluting your honorable service. I wish you happiness and success in your next chapter, signed Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Commander-in-Chief. Spouses will receive a certificate of appreciation from the United States Chief of Staff of the Army. The certificate reads, To all who shall see these presents, greetings on the occasion of the retirement of your spouse from the United States Army. You have earned grateful appreciation for your own unselfish, faithful, and devoted service. Your unfailing support and understanding helped to make possible your spouse's lasting contribution to the nation, signed Randy A. George General, United States Army Chief of Staff. Retiree children will receive a BRAT certificate of appreciation. BRAT stands for Boldness, Responsibility, Adaptability, and Tolerance. The certificate reads, For distinguished and steadfast support of your parent upon the occasion of his or her retirement from the United States Army. Your understanding, patience, and endurance of the many absences and your family's many moves underscore your own selfless service and sacrifice to our great nation. Missed birthdays, holidays, school, and sporting events are the price of life as an Army family member. For this, you should be justifiably proud as we are all proud of you. Thank you for all you've done and will continue to do for our nation, signed John R. Evans, Jr., Lieutenant General Commanding. Will Brigadier General Clinton K. Murray and Command Sergeant Major Victor J. Largione please come forward. Headquarters, Department of the Army, Special Orders by Order of the Chief of Staff, United States Army General Randy A. George. The following personnel of the Department of the Army are retired. Colonel Leon E. Hooten retires after 29 years of service. At the time of his retirement, he served as a Senior U.S. Army Reserve Advisor, Headquarters Support Company, U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence, Joint Base San Antonio, Fort St. Houston, Texas. Colonel Hooten receives a Certificate of Retirement from the Chief of Staff of the Army and a Soldier for Life Lepelpin for his 29 years of faithful service to the nation and the United States Army. Miss Heather M. Hooten receives a Spouse Certificate of Appreciation from the United States Army Chief of Staff. Children Kai Kilcriz Hooten and Ariel Nicole Hooten receive their Brat Certificate of Appreciation. After retirement, Colonel Hooten and family will make their home in San Antonio, Texas. Our nation proudly salutes Colonel Leon E. Hooten, United States Army, retired. Lieutenant Colonel Andrea C. Acosta retires after 20 years of service. At the time of her retirement, she served in the Protection Directorate, United States Army North, Joint Base San Antonio, Fort St. Houston, Texas. Lieutenant Colonel Acosta receives a Certificate of Retirement from the Chief of Staff of the Army and a Soldier for Life Lepelpin for her 20 years of faithful service to the nation and the United States Army. Lieutenant Isabella A. Alonso receives the Brat Certificate of Appreciation. After retirement, Lieutenant Colonel Acosta and family will make their home in San Antonio, Texas. Our nation proudly salutes Lieutenant Colonel Andrea C. Acosta, United States Army, retired. Lieutenant Colonel Aaron Lozano retires after 27 years of service. At the time of his retirement, he served as the Chief of the Advanced Leadership Division, U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence, Joint Base San Antonio, Fort St. Houston, Texas. Lieutenant Colonel Lozano receives a Certificate of Retirement from the Chief of Staff of the Army and a Soldier for Life Lepelpin for his 27 years of faithful service to the nation and the United States Army. Miss Maria Nicole Lozano receives a Spouse Certificate of Appreciation from the United States Army Chief of Staff. Children Erin Victoria Lozano, Christian Noel Lozano, and Julian Daniel Lozano will receive the Brat Certificate of Appreciation. After retirement, Lieutenant Colonel Lozano and family will make their home in San Antonio, Texas. Our nation proudly salutes Lieutenant Colonel Aaron Lozano, United States Army, retired. Lieutenant Colonel James B. Giddens retires after 24 years of service. At the time of his retirement, he served as the Army Reserve Consultant for Behavioral Health to the Office of the Surgeon General as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee. Lieutenant Colonel Giddens receives a Certificate of Retirement from the Chief of Staff of the Army and a Soldier for Life Lepelpin for his 24 years of faithful service to the nation and the United States Army. Miss Claudia Giddens receives a Spouse Certificate of Appreciation from the United States Army Chief of Staff. After retirement, Lieutenant Colonel Giddens and family will make their home in Shreveport, Louisiana. Our nation proudly salutes Lieutenant Colonel James B. Giddens, United States Army, retired. Lieutenant Colonel Glenny Z. Curtis retires after 23 years of service. At the time of her retirement, she served as the Director for the Practical Nurse Program, Brook Army Medical Center, Joint Base San Antonio, Fort San Houston, Texas. Lieutenant Colonel Curtis receives a Certificate of Retirement from the Chief of Staff of the Army and a Soldier for Life Lepelpin for her 23 years of faithful service to the nation and the United States Army. Colonel Steven Scott Curtis receives a Spouse Certificate of Appreciation from the United States Army Chief of Staff. Children Alexia Zo Curtis and Steven Scott Curtis, Jr. will receive the Brat Certificate of Appreciation. After retirement, Lieutenant Colonel Curtis and family will make their home in New Bromphills, Texas. Our nation proudly salutes Lieutenant Colonel Glenny Z. Curtis, United States Army, retired. Lieutenant Colonel Gamble L. Money retires after 25 years of service. At the time of his retirement, he served as a Deputy Engineer United States Army North Joint Base San Antonio, Fort San Houston, Texas. Lieutenant Colonel Money receives a Certificate of Retirement from the Chief of Staff of the Army and a Soldier for Life Lepelpin for his 25 years of faithful service to the nation and the United States Army. Ms. Megan Money receives a Spouse Certificate of Appreciation from the United States Army Chief of Staff. Children Sage Elise Money and Hope Elizabeth Money will receive the Brat Certificate of Appreciation. After retirement, Lieutenant Colonel Money and family will make their home in San Antonio, Texas. Our nation proudly salutes Lieutenant Colonel Gamble L. Money, United States Army, retired. Major James W. Jones retires after 38 years of service. At the time of his retirement, he served as a Lead Defense Support for Civil Authority's Exercise Planner, United States Army North G7 Joint Base San Antonio, Fort San Houston, Texas. Major Jones receives a Certificate of Retirement from the Chief of Staff of the Army and a Soldier for Life Lepelpin for his 38 years of faithful service to the nation and the United States Army. Ms. Andrea Jones receives a Spouse Certificate of Appreciation from the United States Army Chief of Staff. After retirement, Major Jones and family will make their home in Wembley, Texas. Our nation proudly salutes Major James W. Jones, United States Army, retired. Staff Sergeant Juan Urbina retires after 20 years of service. At the time of his retirement, he served as the Honors Section Operations Noncommissioned Officer in Charge for the JBSA Fort San Houston Funeral Honors Platoon, Headquarters Support Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, U.S. Army North, Joint Base San Antonio, Fort San Houston, Texas. Staff Sergeant Urbina receives a Certificate of Retirement from the Chief of Staff of the Army and a Soldier for Life Lepelpin for his 20 years of faithful service to the nation and the United States Army. Ms. Dava Marie Urbina receives a Spouse Certificate of Appreciation from the United States Army Chief of Staff. Children Trinity Renee Urbina, Orin Isaiah Urbina, Adelina Rose Urbina and Phoenix David Urbina will receive the Brat Certificate of Appreciation. After retirement, Staff Sergeant Urbina and family will make their home in San Antonio, Texas. Our nation proudly salutes Staff Sergeant Urbina. United States Army, retired. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome today's guest speaker, Commanding General, United States Army Medical Center of Excellence, Brigadier General Clinton K. Murray. If that doesn't put a smile on your face, I don't know what does. Isn't that just awesome? So it truly is an honor to be here today. These events are so special. I think they mean so much to not only retirees, but I think they mean so much to all of us, not only in uniform, but out of uniform, because it really reflects who we are, right? So I'm going to start off by just thanking the folks who put this on. These are not easy to do, to say the least. You know, that amazing, fold-flagging, flag-folding ceremony. It really reflects who we are, right? It talks about our sprita corps. It talks about the profession we come from. It really represents something more. And you're part of that. You're part of the Army profession, so congratulations. You really deserve it. I love doing three ceremonies. One are the enlistments, or the first time you come into the Army, because it's when you first raise your hand and you take an oath. You take an oath to the Constitution, really something bigger than you, right? Something that reflects more in this world than I don't think any of us fully appreciate. And what it really is about is selfless service, and you're just starting that career of leaning into selfless service. The second ceremony I love doing are actually promotions, because you get to reflect and talk about people's past performance, but really promotions are about future potential. So you get to sort of challenge them, to lead and live into that potential. But I love these ceremonies, because not only did I get to watch you take an oath, I got to see you live into that selfless service. You got to watch you lead into that potential and be successful. But really, this is about saying thank you. Thank you for all that you did. Thank you for all your sacrifice. Thank you for all your hard work. And there's two groups I think we always have to really pause and think. One are your friends and families. The friends and your colleagues is the primary, and the family is the secondary thing. The primary, because truthfully you would not be here as a soldier without someone coaching you, teaching you, mentoring you, and sponsoring you along the way. So if you have a chance to go back and talk to those coaches, teachers and mentors, tell them thank you. Tell them, great job, because you've had an incredibly successful career. And that other group we have to say thank you to are the families. You saw that up here. Amazing families. When we deploy, or we go into harm's way, or we're staying late in a hospital, or we're working crazy hours, we know we're safe. We know what we're doing. The family doesn't. The number of moves are required to make. The challenges they have, they didn't sign up for that. They just got it along the way. In that commitment and that dedication, really, thank you. Thank you for doing that, because the soldiers are successful because of you. Without that support, this would never happen. So let's say thanks to the family and those friends and those colleagues. So we have an incredible group of eight people. Hopefully you've had a chance to sort of read through what their history is. We have over 206 years of experience sitting on that edge. When you lose 206 years of experience, the Army pauses a second, right? That's an awful lot of the profession that isn't moving forward. And you hope they've coached, teach, mentored, and sponsored the next generation to be successful. And I'm sure they have. And if you look and see where they've been, we have folks that have been in Europe. We have been folks that have been in Asia. We've had folks in the Congo. We've had folks in Saudi, in Qatar, in Kuwait. But what defined most of us was actually the global war on terrorism. Our experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, I think it changed us as individuals. I think that changed us collectively, and I think it changed us as an Army. But you stewarded the profession during that time. You helped it grow in the right direction. So thank you. Thank you for being that steward of a profession, going through probably one of the most dynamic times we've seen and the changes we've seen that we've not experienced since probably the Vietnam War. So congratulations. Congratulations for stewarding the profession in an incredibly challenging time. And the reason I say profession is because profession is a very special word that we should focus on. Profession is a group of people that are dedicated and trained to something very specific. And that's who you are. And professions actually are really unique because we are internally motivated. You're not motivated by money. You're not motivated by certificates. We do it, but that's not really why you show up. You're not motivated by a ribbon. It's internally driven. And professions actually monitor themselves. They fix themselves. They teach themselves. They control themselves. And I think there's the most noble profession we have is the profession of arms, specifically the Army profession. So thank you for being part of that. And it's incredibly successful. And I always put the profession of arms, specifically the Army profession, on the back of the soldier's creed. I'm not going to ask you to say it because that's a little stressful, right? So if you read the first line, it's, I am an American soldier. It's actually the first and the last line. The second line is I'm a warrior and a member of a team. That's what you've been. You've been a warrior and a member of a team. The third line is I serve the people of the United States. It goes back to that initial oath that you take to the Constitution. And you live the Army values. And folks that retire actually know how to live the Army values. And then my favorite line is the second to the last. So I'm a guardian of freedom in the American way of life. Just let those words just sort of rattle around in your head. I'm a guardian of freedom in the American way of life. That is really special. Thank you. Thank you for being part of that. There's a couple quotes that I love. One is by Sir Isaac Newton. So the guy described gravity and rotation of the planets. And he said, if I have seen further, it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants. As you retire, you're the shoulders we've been standing on. You're the one that has been picking us up, putting us on your shoulder and occasionally shoving us a little bit higher to see more. So thank you. Thank you for being those giants so that we can see further, really push that Army profession into the next space. So thank you. And my other quote that I really appreciated at times like this is Dr. Seuss, who else would you quote, right? So sometimes you don't know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory. You'll have lived a lot of moments. And now you have a lot of memories of your time in the Army. You're now transitioning. You're going to San Antonio. You're going to New Braunfels. You're going to Wemberley. You're going to Houston. Some of you are going to Shreveport and also Chile for six months a year, I heard. So you're going to have new moments and you're going to have new memories. And I read what you all were describing that you were going to do. Some of you are going to continue to serve in your communities. All of you are sort of recommitting to the family. Some of you want to join the National Guard, which confused me a little bit, but okay. Some of you just want to sleep for 30 days, which I thought was awesome. And then some of you wanted to figure out what you were going to do when you grew up. I think you're there. I'm sorry. You're past the kid stage. You're not going to get a brat certificate. But again, you're going to have these new moments. You're going to make these new memories. But don't ever forget your Army moments and your Army memories. It's an incredible profession. You're always a part of that Army profession. You were always a soldier for life. And thank you. Thank you for all that you do and all that you will continue to do for our Army moving forward. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, please remain seated for the playing of Old Soldiers Never Die and Old Lang Syne. At this time, all honored retirees, please report to the stage for a final roll call conducted by Command Sergeant Major Victor Lerzion. Colonel Leon Houdin. Here, Sergeant Major. Lieutenant Colonel Andrea Acosta. Lieutenant Colonel Aaron Lozano. Here, Sergeant Major. Lieutenant Colonel James Giddens. Lieutenant Colonel Glennie Curtis. Lieutenant Colonel Gamble Money. Major James Jones. Staff Sergeant Juan Urbina. Ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the playing of the Army song. The words are printed on the last page of your program. We invite you to sing along. Please be seated. This concludes today's ceremony. Thank you for attending. Please come forward to thank the retirees for their service to our great nation.