 Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Putnam, Operations Manager, and I am your Master of Ceremonies this morning. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Small Market and Stand-alone Military Medical Treatment Facility Organization Change of Directorship Ceremony. The host for today's ceremony is Lieutenant Ronald J. Place, Defense Health Agency Director. Today, you will witness a time-honored tradition as Major General Shana Wojak relinquishes her authority as the Defense Health Agency Small Market and Stand-alone Military Medical Treatment Facility Organization Director to be your General E. D. McCombs. D. McCombs. Please stand for the arrival of the official party and remain standing for the playing of our national anthem and the invocation delivered by Chetlin D. Dean Acres. Here are our nation's colors and pray for your blessing on our leaders and on this change of directorship ceremony of the Small Market and Stand-alone Military Medical Treatment Facility Organization. Like in life, change is to better our lives, but it is a process. We ask that this change lead to provided strategic primary care in the resiliency of our warriors, civilians, and their families. Specifically, we pray for Major General Wojak as she relinquishes this directorship and bring your dear General Cox as he assumes it. Please be with their spouses, Curt and Kathy, as they have been and are becoming a part of this SSO family. We ask for your blessing to continue to bless our service members, their families, and our nation. In your holy name we pray. Amen. Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. Please join us in recognizing some special guests and attendants today. Command Sergeant Major Michael Gregg, Senior Enlisted Leader Defense Health Agency. Major General Shana Wojak, Director, Small Market and Stand-alone Military Medical Treatment Facility Organization, and her husband, Mr. Kurt Wojak. Chief Master Sergeant Paul A. Ellis, Senior Enlisted Advisor, Small Market and Stand-alone Military Medical Treatment Facility Organization. Brigadier General E. Darren Cox, Deputy Director, Small Market and Stand-alone Military Medical Treatment Facility Organization, and Commanding General Medical Readiness Command West, and his wife, Dr. Kathleen Cox. Command Sergeant Major Timothy J. Sprunger, United States Army Command Sergeant Major for Medical Readiness Command West. Dr. Brian C. Lyne, Defense Health Agency Assistant Director, Healthcare Administration. Sergeant Major Irvin Fantroy, Senior Enlisted Leader, Healthcare Administration, Defense Health Agency. Brigadier General Robert K. Bogart, Air Force Air Combat Command, Surgeon General. Rear Admiral Matthew Case, Tidewalker Market Director, Naval Medical Forces Atlantic Commander. Brigadier General Deidre S. Tehan, Commanding General, Brook Army Medical Center, excuse me, San Antonio Deputy Market Director. Chief Master Sergeant Kenya Williams, Air Force Chief Medical Enlisted Force Development, and other distinguished guests, including MTF directors, senior enlisted leaders, and our community and government partners. Thank you for your attendance. The Defense Health Agency was established on October 1, 2013 as a combat support agency, serving the combatant commanders in the military departments with a stated mission of managing common health care services across the Department of Defense. In December 2016, the Defense Health Agency's responsibilities were expanded by federal law and the Secretary of Defense to include responsibility for directly managing military medical treatment facilities and synchronizing health care delivery in military communities and markets. This responsibility includes integrating the delivery of better health care to active duty service members and military families in both military medical treatment facilities and in the civilian community. It also includes the responsibility of standardizing health care delivery processes across the military health care system, the small market and standalone military medical treatment facility organization, and intermediate management organization is responsible for providing health care delivery to an eligible population of 240,000 Army, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force beneficiaries across 32 states in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Altogether, the small market and standalone military medical treatment facility organization consists of 17 small markets and 41 standalone military medical treatment facilities with an annual budget of $2.5 billion. Today's event is an historic milestone. This ceremony marks the first change of directorship since the official establishment of the Defense Health Agency's small market and standalone military medical treatment facility organization. At this time, it gives me great pleasure to introduce our host for today's ceremony, the director of the Defense Health Agency, Lieutenant General Ronald Place. Thanks, Colonel Putnam, and good morning, everyone. A special thanks, really, to Curt and Kathy, recognize what this means for both of your families. Both today is a ceremonial day, but really, the investment of your families writ large in all that you have done for between the two of them. I'm not going to say how many decades, but decades and decades and decades and your support for them shouldn't go unnoticed by all of us. So thanks for being here. Flag officers, senior listed leaders, ladies and gentlemen, friends and family, good morning to all of you. I'm really honored to be with you here in person and for those who are joining virtually. Thanks for tuning in, because there's really a lot to celebrate today. Just under a year ago, in a building not that far from here, I was in San Antonio helping Major General Wojac celebrate the establishment of the small market and standalone military treatment facility organization, better known as the SSO. Now, that moment was a true milestone, at least I believe so, in military health care. But today, what we're celebrating is what the SSO has become. Small, but mighty. The mission of the SSO is as complex as its full name is long. And consider that the largest of our direct reporting markets and General Wojac and I both know what that's like, because we were both there, but the largest of our direct reporting markets is less than 35 MTS. The SSO, when you count all the child demuses, in particular for the hospitals, 140 MTS. The depth and breadth is just staggering. The SSO accounts for just over a quarter of all healthcare encounters in the military health system. And the team that leads the SSO is diverse and dispersed. In fact, the original staff came from MTFs all across the United States and one staff from Cuba, offering their diversity of perspectives, diversity of experiences, and diversity of talent, often unborrowed time. So what the SSO team accomplished in less than one year is truly nothing short of spectacular. It boggles the mind, in fact. The drive necessary to make the SSO come alive was exemplified by its first leader, Major General Shadow Wojac. Now, based upon the limited details that I've just mentioned, I think that we can all agree that we couldn't pick just anybody for the job. It's a nuanced mission, and frankly, it's innovative. And the additional challenge of moving forward with an organization like the SSO in the operative environment, not the test environment, is that, for the most part, it couldn't fail in that initial rollout. The innovation came at a time when change was required. And it had to be carried out without any deviation from the great outcomes and the readiness those outcomes afford to our country. So during the thick of the MHS transformation, the design of the SSO was one of the most contentious and complicated tasks. And anyone who participated in the work that happened in the greater DC area knows just what I'm talking about. And unlike the relatively tidy construct of large markets, the entities that are part of the SSO started with more distinctions than they did cohesions. Yet somehow, the SSO still needed to ensure the benefits of standardization and integration that the market construct was designed to deliver. Our big promise with markets was to improve the delivery of coordinated health care. Not only to deliver on our main mission, that being readiness that we all support, but also because we know, as medical professionals, that standardization and integration makes care much better for our patients. And it makes transitions easier for our patients and for our staff. Shan, of all people, you knew this was no small task. To vastly oversimplify, you were asked to follow your superb leadership of the national capital market with a very different, yet similarly, can't fail mission. You are entrusted to demonstrate a new way of operating military health care in uncharted territory. Through your leadership, you've demonstrated the success of the SSO model, operationally and culturally. Today, the SSO has headed the game in the military health system pursuit to live and breathe high reliability. And that doesn't happen by accident. We're not watching what your team did to move HRO principles and put them into action. The SSO, unlike a lot of places in the military, had no history to rely on. No set tradition, no existing culture, and certainly no established formulas for success as a teaming organization. It is by design an amalgam of so many histories, so many traditions, and so many different perspectives. But rather than fight those challenges, you embrace them as an asset. The relationships you've built with MTF directors, installation commands, and external partners is what will fuel the SSO for years to come. Whether intentional or not, every one of our directors who is the first to lead in this new model becomes an emblem of what integrated leadership can look like for military health care. They establish the initial benchmark and set the tone for the culture. Shenier contributions to the SSO proved its concept and demonstrated the values that a more integrated military health system can bring. High quality, high reliable integrated care in a complex system of military medical facilities. I'm personally grateful that you accepted the job and you did it all under a microscope, starting with the borrowed staff, during a pandemic with evolving and growing threats around the world. All of us should recognize the enormity of that accomplishment. So, Shannon, thanks for making this leadership opportunity so successful for military health care and for the SSO team, and for really living the vision to improve our system of care. At the pinnacle of an already superb career, you played a significant role in this chapter of change for military medicine. As you turn the page to your very near retirement, we wish you great health, great happiness, and continued success in all that you and Kurt choose to do. Breeder General Darren Cox, congratulations and welcome. As deputy director at the SSO, you've had a front row seat in this innovative organization for the last few months, and I know that we couldn't leave the organization in better hands. I know you'll build upon the legacy of Major General Wojak and the Defense Health Agency as an entity is here to support you and your team. To everyone gathered here today, thanks again for allowing me the opportunity to celebrate with you. God bless all of you, along with the staff and patients of the SSO. God bless our service members deployed in harm's way, and God bless America. We will now execute the change of directorship. The very soul of a military unit is symbolized by the colors under which it fights, for it records the colors of the past, stands as a guardian over its present destiny, and ensures inspiration for its future. History dictates that the color party leads the unit into battle. Instructions given to the color bears historically state when in action resolve not part with the colors, but instead with your life. The colors serve as a proud emblem of our history, and the ceremonial passing of the colors signifies the transferring of authority and responsibility from one director to another. Senior enlisted personnel are traditionally the keeper of the colors. Chief Master Sergeant Ellis, the senior enlisted advisor for the small market and standalone military medical treatment facility organization passes the colors to Major General Wojcik for the last time, thus relinquishing responsibility of the colors. Major General Wojcik passes the colors to Lieutenant General Place, symbolizing that her duties are now complete as the small market and standalone military medical treatment facility organization director. Lieutenant General Place passes the colors to the incoming director, Brigadier General Cox, thus signifying the assumption of duties, responsibility, and authority as director, small market and standalone military medical treatment facility organization defense health agency. By authority of the director, the defense health agency, the undersigned responsibilities as director, small market, and standalone military medical treatment facility organization, defense health agency, effective 29 September, 2022, signed Lieutenant General Ronald Place. The senior enlisted advisor returns the colors to the display of colors, thus assuming responsibility for the flag that represents fellow service members. Ladies and gentlemen, Major General Shana M. Wojcik. General Place, bear with me, just you just got a few more minutes with me, that's all. How's everybody doing? General Place, thank you. I thank you, everyone, for being here today. Can you see me okay? I could get on the stool, but I'm very, if I fall off of it, that will, we're live streaming, I think, so I don't want to fall off the stool. It's interesting, I was telling Kurt last night that I started here 36 years ago, and this is a full circle story. I started here 36 years ago over at Lackland. I actually graduated basic training. They let me graduate. I could walk and chew gum and salute, and I'm ending my career here, too, so I couldn't be happier. You guys know that General Place just said it. We were certified nearly just a year ago next week, actually. When I got here, it was definitely Wojcik party of one. I went over here to Kelly, and I think Mr. Hess let me in the front door, and things kind of took off from there. General Place, I really don't, I know it's a big footprint, but I really didn't feel that over this last year as much as it sounds large, but it's really been a fun experience. Very challenging, but a great experience. I enjoy working with the MTS. I enjoyed putting the staff together. I just enjoyed putting policies, communication, developing a number of communications and operations, and it was so much fun to me to learn the various MTS. You're around for 36 years, and you think you know all of these facilities, and then you learn the Space Force, and right when you learn Space Force, they change all the names, and they call it something different, and then I learned a lot about the Army, and I learned the cultures of the Navy, things I had no idea existed in my 36 years, and then in the midst of putting this office together, we were also doing MHS Genesis across our footprint, and all of us were in various stages of MHS Genesis, and then you throw in some realignment of personnel and property, and then some email conversions, and oh by the way, we have some very, very old buildings in our footprint. So if it isn't an HVAC, a fire panel, or something burning down or blowing up, Dr. Lyon knows it's an exciting infrastructure that we have in aging, and then at the same time, trying to put an office here together that didn't previously exist, and we didn't know exactly what it would look like, and like General Place said, everyone had an opinion, and everyone definitely had a perspective of what it should be. Is it 600, 500, or is it in my case less than 50? You pick that FTE number. What does it take to take care of this many facilities? And we're still in the midst of figuring that out. We still don't know that we've got the right number, but we're getting there. We don't know exactly what right looks like, but we're getting there. And at the time, we really didn't know what our demand signal was. So not only putting this together, but typically you go on historical information. You go on historical data, year over year and what it takes, and we just really didn't know that. And again, a lot of folks had a lot of opinions on what they thought it was. And then of course I would welcome them to come to San Antonio and show me, because it was ever-evolving. I wanna take the time to really, first, thank you everyone that put this event together. This looks fantastic. This is a new space for us. It's a new building, if you haven't guessed already. And this is a DHA conference area, so this was no small feat putting this together. So Commander Sammons and the entire group that did this, thank you. It really did a fantastic job. But I know we have several MTF directors here today. And I really, really want to applaud you, what you do and you too have been in the midst of change. You have, this is in my opinion, you have been very patient. You've been very flexible. You've been very amenable to adapt and overcome to this new environment that you're in also. And at the same time, running your MTFs. And I just wanna encourage you just to stay focused on the fact that we're gonna keep changing. This footprint could even change and the MHS will change over a period of years. But I wanna encourage you to continue to focus on your organizations on that high reliable care and those outcomes. And I just wanna say thank you from the bottom of my heart for working with me. And it's truly been a pleasure. And I understand your job is not easy and we're not making it easier even going into this next year. But I really wanted to say thank you to the MTF leaders that you just knock it out of the park every time. But so appreciative and so appreciative you worked with me this last year as well. To the SSO staff is interesting. You know, when you interview folks for a job, you really don't, it's hard to really get them oriented to this isn't a turnkey organization. It's never existed before. So if you're a person coming into an organization that's not comfortable without a manual or a checklist or a way to do something, this may not be your place. This may not be your place. And so we're bringing employees in and really explaining this isn't turnkey. We were truly building the plane in flight. And I think we're still building the plane. And then I try to be joint service but I know we build the ship at sea. And so Kurt and I were trying to think what's the army analogy of doing something in motion? We couldn't figure that out. Is it a tank or something like that? I stuck with planes because Kurt's a pilot. I just felt that was the right thing to say. But I know with the SSO staff there's been days of frustration, days of confusion. And we could all agree that we have moved very, very quickly. We've moved very quickly. And I think I really got a lot of you out of your comfort zones. And that's fun to me. It's fun to get out of my comfort zone. And I know that I've done that to the staff here. And that we keep changing nearly on a daily basis. But I want you to remember, you've been part of something great. You've been part of something bigger than yourselves. And I always want you to focus why are we here and what are we doing? And if you keep that focus that you're doing something larger than yourselves, I think that constant ebb of change will feel a lot better. But you are responsible for so many successes that we've had here. And we've had many. We just finished our year-end review. And I think that it's really, it's nice to look back to really see what you've accomplished in this last year. So I encourage all of you to read that and take a look at it. Because really the successes have been many. And so for those in the SSO staff, those that came in with the motivation, the energy, the willingness to roll your sleeves up, for those of you that came in with a great attitude and a positive spirit, for those of you that came to the workplace to be accountable, to inspire a culture of engagement, diversity of thought, and for building others up. For those of you that came to this organization to make a real difference, not just for yourselves, but for the greater good for a much larger purpose. I thank you. Thank you to all of those that did that. So appreciative. And I also, especially when I think of Mr. Stringer, I don't know where he is. He's got to be somewhere close and in chief. And I couldn't have done this. You've been my day-to-day foundation and strength and purpose as well. So I want to say especially thank you to you too. Dr. Lyon. Dr. Lyon, I think everybody knows Dr. Lyon. I want to say, sir, thank you for your support, your guidance. You're an incredible example for other leaders to follow. You share a passion like I do. You move quick like I do and fast and on the go. And you care what I care about. And it's our MTFs. It's our soldier, sailors, and airmen and our patients. And you really do set the bar pretty high. So sir, thank you for all that you've done. You have passion. Captain Farrell. Captain Farrell is our behind the scenes. If you haven't noticed, she just kind of pops out of nowhere and things just happen. She's been doing this back in Falls Church now. I've known her for a few years and I was working with her pretty closely in the NCR. She's behind the scenes constantly making things happen, not just with the SSO. I mean, every day that there was something to fix, something broke or I needed something, you can always rely on her to connect the dots, connect the relationships and get things moving when you couldn't physically do it here in San Antonio. And I know Captain Farrell, you have worked diligently, not only just with the SSO, but with all of the direct reporting markets, getting them transitioned as well as the DHARS. And I know that I couldn't have done this job without you. So thank you. Thank you so much. And thank you, she's a resource person. So she finds resources and they just appear in San Antonio. You've sent Mrs. Scoffrey down. It's just been a huge asset to the SSO and Ms. Julian and just the multiple folks that have come down to help us grow and help us evolve. So thank you, Captain Farrell. There's a couple of folks not here today, but I'm gonna, I'll have to say it anyway, Mr. Flanders. And I think a lot of you know Mr. Flanders, he was really my day one person when we showed up at the building. You know, we didn't have computers. We, you know, I know a lot of the SSO staff that got here earlier. We didn't have computers, we didn't have phones. There's a lot of things that we just take for granted. And Mr. Flanders, as usual, sees a larger picture. Again, just a phone call and just helping us get operational. Even at that level, it was just great to see. And Mr. Flanders also sees a larger picture and not just his own real estate. I really, truly couldn't have done that without him. I wish Mr. Goodman was here. Ms. Clude, you're gonna have to pass this on. You all know, if you met, everybody know Mr. Goodman for a show of hands, we can all, yeah. The MCF director's like, oh yeah, we know Mr. Goodman. He aspires to be his alter ego. And I think we can all agree his alter ego is the Grinch. And, but this just isn't true about Mr. Goodman. He too is very passionate. He too cares deeply about what we're trying to accomplish in the military health system. He cares passionately about our successes at all levels. And if it wasn't Mr. Goodman, again, just a phone call away for a resource, a need, and he too always saw the larger picture. He's responsible for us being in this building today. And again, a problem solver and one of those individuals that understands the needs and the resources required to execute a mission. I wanna thank the Air Force, and this is in no particular order, so nobody get offended. The Air Force Navy and the Army. Or we can go Army, Navy Air Force, Navy, Army Air Force. So there's no, I don't wanna play favorites at all. But I wanna say thank you so much for sending the military resources that we desperately needed here in this office. And I gotta tell you, you have sent your aid team and I'm so appreciative of that. We truly, we don't have a lot of military billets, but we have a few mighty military billets. And our typical military, they come in and they don't have a manual either. They don't have a checklist. They come in, they hit the road running. And we have had some junior officers come in over the summer that have just knocked it out of the park. I think our 07s, we're gonna have to up our game because our junior officers are truly, truly impressive and could not be more appreciative. So thank you for sending those billets my way. Lou, Tenant General Place. This is our second or third go-around. I'm gonna get the flags right, maybe at my retirement ceremony. But thank you, thank you, sir. It's been an honor to serve in this position and to have your confidence. I simply could not have done it without that. It's been an incredible honor to serve under you, to serve with you. And thank you for your mentorship, your leadership and your support of this mission here in San Antonio. Thank you, sir. Kurt, front row up here, he's my rock and I just can't, this is, I'm doing good today because usually I forget him completely when I, you know, you get time and vision. And I completely, he gave me a pair of diamond earrings at one of these hoping that I would say something and completely, completely forgot him. He didn't even get an honorable mention at the, and my son kept going like this to me like, mom, you know, and I still didn't get it. So Kurt, thank you. I know this hasn't been easy. He's got a lot of Southwest points now and so it'll be good to get home but I think that he's smiling to get me home as well. So thank you, Kurt, for all of your support. I know a lot of you, does anybody here know John Maxwell? Then I met Church one time. Just a great guy, great on leadership. Actually very funny. Does anybody know Ron White, the comedian? Don't be embarrassed. But John Maxwell, if you ever heard him talk or if you ever met him, he's like Ron White's Christian brother. But I like John Maxwell. He does, you know, I'm not really into goofy sayings but one thing I saw this, that he has said this a few times, a great leader's vision comes from passion, not their position. A great leader's vision comes from passion, not their position. And you know, in our world, in our industry, in the military, that's pretty counterintuitive because we're all about positions and we have rank and we have structure. But I truly believe in what we're doing. I truly believe in what we're doing. I would not have taken the job for the position. I took the job for the passion because I'd really, really believe in where we need to go and what we need to accomplish. I truly do. And it's all about my passion where I wouldn't be here. You know, these positions that we're in are very fleeting. You're here one day and gone the next. They're very fleeting. Rank is fleeting. Everything that we do, it's tomorrow. It could be a lot different or gone. And so I encourage all of us that to have a little passionate skin in the game and no matter what you do. And I think that when you do that, it really makes it all worthwhile. And this has been extremely worthwhile, extremely worthwhile to me. So another thought out there is that every time a new leader comes into an organization, you're like hope just walked in the door. New leaders bring hope, right? Hope just walked in the door. Every leader should bring in new hope. They should bring in new ideas, new energy, new motivation, new perspective. And I know that without a doubt, General Cox will do just that. He will do just that, sir. I know that he's gonna come to this organization and he's just gonna take it right to the next level. It'll be fantastic. And I'm excited to hear. I'm gonna go buy a pair of red shoes when I leave because now I get to take this uniform off and wear what I want. But sir, I just know you're gonna do a great job and really take this to the new level. So there's some good news here, General Cox. I'm a size six and a half shoe. That's it, it's tiny. You got little, little shoes to fill. Little shoes. There's a rainbow at every little shoes to fill. So sir, I'm so happy for you and Dr. Cox. Thank you so much for being here today as well. So it's a pleasure to hand this flag over to you today. Thank you. Thank you very much, ma'am. Ladies and gentlemen, the director of Small Market and Standalone Military Medical Treatment Facility Organization, Brigadier General E. Darren Cox. Well, good morning, SSO. General Wojac, that's a tough act to follow. Thank you very much. Well, good morning everybody. It's certainly wonderful to see everyone assembled here and it's a great day to be part of the military health system and celebrate the first ever change of directorship for the SSO. To our distinguished visitors, community leaders and partners, friends of the DHA and family members here, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to be here for this historic moment. You honor us with your presence. Lieutenant General Placer, thank you for the trust and confidence you've placed in me to continue to lead the SSO forward. A special thank you, I'm not gonna forget my spouse, although I have done that before as she will attest. A special thank you to my wife, Dr. Kathleen Cox, who's always given me steadfast support and who, along with our two sons, Adam and Caleb, has sacrificed much over my military career. I also wanna recognize the folks who had dignity, professionalism and a speedy court at this ceremony. Thank you to the U.S. Air Force Band of the West, the Met Sea Color Guard, and Medcom's Chaplain, Dean Akers. A ceremony like this does not happen without a great deal of planning and effort. So a special thank you to Commander Sammons, Chief Mass Sergeant Ellis, and everyone at the SSO who helped organize this event. Also here today, whether in person or virtually, are the leadership teams from our 17 small market and 41 standalone medical treatment facilities. I trust you will let your staff know how much they are valued for the tireless work they do to provide world-class healthcare across our 32 state footprint and Guantanamo Bay Cuba. I look forward to serving with you as we continue our vital mission of providing healthcare delivery, force health protection, and strategic medical readiness as a combat support agency. Thank you for all for what you do each and every day to make a difference for our service members, their family members, and our retirees. Lieutenant General Place, I heard and acknowledge your charges today. We will continue to embrace the vision of the military health system transformation. The SSO team will diligently work every day to achieve our mission with caring professionalism while we keep our DHA priorities of great outcomes, a ready medical force, satisfied patients, and a fulfilled staff at the forefront of all we do. We will remain steadfast in our mission focus as an integral part of the military health system and its future. Major General Oyek, ma'am, thank you for the tremendous work setting up the SSO, literally by yourself at first, setting the conditions for success and leading with excellence through certification as an intermediate management organization and the establishment ceremony last December. What you and your team have done and what you've been able to accomplish in such a short period of time, especially in the setting of operational missions and COVID-19, is nothing short of remarkable and is a testament to your selfless service, your leadership, and your dedication to our personnel and our patients. Thank you again, literally a historic endeavor. Today, the SSO, as noted, serves hundreds of thousands of active duty service members, their families, and our retirees and comprises more than 25% of the DHA outpatient workload and almost 20% of the inpatient beds. I am in awe of the tremendous accomplishments and responsibilities of this organization and pledge to work every day to sustain its support to our MTFs and to our patients. Change is inevitable, but one constant is the healthcare we provide for the less than 1% of our nation's population who have signed on the dotted line and who risked their lives for the betterment of our great United States. These men and women pledge their lives to protect our country. They deserve no less than our very best. There is no greater honor than to serve those who serve our nation. Thank you for your attendance today. You honor the men and women of the SSO by your attendance. Thanks very much. Thank you Brigadier General Cox. Will the guests please rise? Chaplain Acres, will you now deliver the benediction? Please receive this blessing, this benediction. Blessed is the leader who knows where to go, why to go there, and how to get there. Blessed is the leader who knows no discouragement. Blessed is the leader who knows how to lead without being a dictator. Blessed is the leader who leads for the good of the most concerned, not for personal gratification. Blessed is the leader who develops leaders while leading. Blessed is the leader with a head in the cloud and feet on the ground. Blessed is the leader who considers leadership an opportunity to serve. Amen. Thank you Chaplain Acres. Ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing for the playing of the joint service medley and remain standing for the departure of the official party. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's ceremony. Please join Brigadier General Cox and his wife Dr. Kathleen Cox at the front of the room for the receiving line. Afterwards you are invited to join Brigadier General Cox in the second floor break room located behind you to the back left corner of the room for reception with light refreshments.