 O say can you see by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched at the guylight's last gleaming, And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there, O say does that star-spangled banner O say can you see by the dawn's early light, O say does that star-spangled banner As we celebrate the promotion of Major General Christopher Lanieve to the rank of Lieutenant General, this day highlights your grace and your mercy in his life as well as your persistent calling on his life to continue to serve our army and to lead our formation at greater levels of responsibility in the most strategic setting in our world today. We ask that you would faithfully endow Chris with continued wisdom, discernment, and strategic foresight to lead as you have called him to do. We also ask that you would bless Kim as she so ever faithfully stands by his side, being the strength she has always been every single day of their marriage. And we ask that you bless their children, Caitlyn and Nick, not only his children, but soldiers of our great army, as they support their father while serving our great army and our great nation. Lord, this is the day which you have made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it, and may we forever rejoice in the incredible day that this day, as soon to be Lieutenant General Christopher Lanieve, is promoted to lead. Father, we ask this blessing in your Mr. Holy and Precious Name, amen. Well, how was everybody doing today? So it started off a little cloudy, but the good Lord shines on paratroopers. And I do believe we have well in excess of two, three thousand foot ceilings, maybe a four-knot breeze. So, Chris. Cleared hot the jump, sir. Cleared hot. What do you think, Ricky? You ready to go? Well, thanks to everybody for being here today. What a great day and we're going to honor team Lanieve. I know General Ellison is probably en route. Keith Kellogg, we're yet. Sir, thanks for being here. Great to see you again. And for all the other folks that have been here, I do want to recognize our director of the army staff. And for those that haven't figured out, Laura is the finest director that we have on the army staff. She is simply amazing. But for all the other army folks that came out, thanks so much. So promotion to Lieutenant General, I'm going to talk about it here in a little bit, but it's a big deal. It's the first time you actually get an appointment. Your last promotion was to two-star. But here's what I would tell you. The job that you just gave up, and this is why I'm going to thank you up front, the job you just gave up is the best job you'll ever have. So everything you do from here, it's for free. Did he tell you that part of it? He did. I'm well aware. Okay. Well, thank you doubly. Thank you. But it's about service, sacrifice, giving back. And thanks for doing this. You didn't have to. I remember General Murray told me many years ago when you walk off that field at Fort Liberty, Fort Bragg, just keep going, never look back because it'll never get any better. Well, five years later, probably hadn't got any better. But again, thanks for doing this. But I do want to start with Kim. I didn't realize that you guys have been married for 33 years. You met at the University of Arizona. We were just talking about that. It's where I was born. So we have a little bit of, and you were also a 13 Bravo started off as a private. So private to general. Now three starts pretty amazing. But 33 years, you've been an amazing friend, you've been an amazing spouse, you've been an amazing mom friend to everybody in here. I'm going to have a quote a little so you're going to hear the goat greatest of all time. So that that's going to come out here in a little bit later. But Kim, everything that you have done for on behalf of the army and for Chris and your family, for all the people that you've touched, the lives that you've helped, the volunteering that you've done, the thousands of hours, we can't thank you enough for all of that. I think if I ever write 16 PCS moves, eight deployments, that's probably at least five or six years. And that doesn't count all the time in the field. So all counted of those 33 years, you've probably been with Chris, maybe half of that. And so you've kept the whole household running and doing all the amazing stuff. And we just can't thank you enough for agreeing to stay on agreeing to continue to now go to Korea, which is another almost hardship kind of move. But thanks for all of that. And we're blessed to have you on the team. Also because you know, it's kind of service runs in the in the in the family, but Caitlin and Nick, they're two children, one captain, one lieutenant, Caitlin is assigned to the US space ops in the first multi domain task force, working for burning Harrington and other fellow paratrooper that we all love and adore. Nick is down in the Falcons doing great stuff. He's a company XO and the White Falcons getting after it. We are still going to continue to talk. And when you get to the advanced course, your follow on him, though I know as much as you want to come back and be an all American, we'll continue to stay in touch. But thank you both for your service for raising your hand. We all came in at a time of peace. You came in at a time of war and conflict. And that says a lot about who you are and the family that you grew up in and can't thank you enough for your for your service. Chris also has a couple of his brothers here. We have Dr. Ralph and Carol and Eve from Tennessee and Dr. Matt and Dana Lenny from Pennsylvania, both doctors. So Chris, I'm not sure you and I went off the rails, but is that what it was? Where's the law enforcement guy you were talking about earlier that's been in Arizona, kept you out of jail for four years. Sir, what's your name? What's your name, sir? Well, thanks for being here. Thanks. And you are clearly the reason why Chris is still in uniform today. And if you want to tell us all some stories a little bit later, no, sir, we're all a game. But thanks for everybody else that's here because there's a lot of friends and family that have been part of team Lynn Eve and they did not get here alone. A lot of the mentors and the friends that are here, none of us get here alone. But thanks to everybody else that has done that. Let's talk a little bit about Chris. I've known Chris for a long time, but I'm going to tell a couple of stories in particular one about 6th January and one about Sudan that was just remarkable. But everything that Chris has done, everything he's touched, every place he's commanded, every place he's led. He has succeeded. He's done well. He's inspired. He has motivated people. He is just one of those people when you talk inspirational leadership. He is one of those that is the epitome of it. But this is for you, Nick. So he's been light. He's been heavy. He's been airborne. He's been to Fort Hood, Fort Ord, Fort Bragg, Fort Bliss, did an ROTC assignment. So he's been on the institutional side, been on the Army staff, been to Fort Drum, been to Fort Campbell, and that doesn't count all the other schools that are in there. So he's served in just about every one of our military formations. He's served at the enterprise level. He served at the trade-off level. And that is one of the reasons why we're going to promote him to three-star because of his background, what he's done, and his amazing career. But probably what most sets him apart, beyond all the commands that he had, is he wanted probably our Army's premier trainers. We chose him to be the commander of Ops Group at the Joint Readiness Training Center, and we also chose him to command 7th ATC over in Europe. Outside of the National Training Center, now the up-and-coming JPMRC out in the Indo-Pacific, when you have those two back-to-back assignments, there's not anything in the world that's going to make you a better trainer than what he was able to do there. And so for that, when you look at what everything is going on, I'll talk about where he's headed here to Korea, but it absolutely sets him up, not only to be able to train our forces to make sure that they are ready to go, but our partners that are over there in South Korea as well. So we absolutely made the right choice in ensuring that you could be able to do this. So a couple of stories. So for those that want to flash back to 6th January, a couple of years ago, when we had a little bit of chaos here in the Capitol, people forget that over the course of seven days, we brought into the National Capital Region 26,000 National Guardsmen from 50 states and all four territories. You couldn't probably do that with an active duty division. Chris Lanieve was our operations director inside the G357 at the time, and he was at the center of all of that. Him and Abat, would you call him, the band of eight Mary men that were down in the National for that entire time. And we stayed at that 26,000 level for several months to make sure that the Capitol was going to be okay. But he was the one, he was the heart, he was the soul, I was the joint staff at J3 at the time, and so I got to watch it. And he was the one that single-handedly almost made sure that our Capitol was going to be safe during that timeframe. And so well done on that particular endeavor. The other one that comes to mind, again, watching this from afar on the joint staff, when Sudan began to fall apart, I think probably if you count back four or five years, you know, in the history of the 82nd Airborne Division, there's been a lot of close to no notice deployments, but there's been more in the last five or six years now than we've ever seen in the history of the 82nd Airborne Division. So when Chris was in command of the 82nd, Sudan was falling apart. AFRICOM was doing what they needed to do to make sure that that situation was there. But when 18th Airborne Corps, the 82nd and our National Mission Force showed up to be able to deal with that particular problem, that's when we knew everything was going to be okay. Chris and C.D. Donahue and that entire enterprise single-handedly after we got folks out of the embassy, it was planes, trains and automobiles for buses. We had to move them from the center of the country to a port, get on another port or on a boat, get them to another port. And you want to talk about a dog's breakfast, which you guys made it look easy at least from this level. And so a testament to you, your leadership, what the 82nd Airborne Division and the 18th Airborne Corps stand for. And I can't thank you enough for everything that you did there. There was a whole bunch of other things that he did while he was in command. In addition to taking, you know, flash forward a little bit prior to that, I think you were the only one to take command in overseas, correct? Even when Ridgway and Gavin swapped out, didn't they? That's the only other time. That's the only other time? Sure. But when he took command, it was right after February-March timeframe of 2022. And we know we surged at the time, we surged the rest of 5th Corps, the 82nd, two-fold divisions, three additional brigades over there. And in that, Chris switched out with Chris Donahue, who then went up and took 18th Airborne Corps. So well done there. So what's up with the Pittsburgh? I know you're from Pittsburgh, but there's a couple of data points in here in terms of those that came in in your year group, a little over 5,000, those that are going to be three stars, something about you probably had a higher chance of becoming a three-star other than the Steelers going to the Super Bowl. Is there any truth to that? Oh, Laura, we got another Steeler fan right here. Hurtful and churrilous, sir. Donahue is not here, you guys would be gang Russian, it would be all over for me. Anyway, but the only reason why I bring that up is kind of going back to the importance of three-star. You really are figuratively and literally going to work for free between now and the rest of the time you're in uniform. The other thing that's significant about it is we don't promote people to three-star unless they have four-star potential. It's not to say that you'll be a four-star, but if you're going to promote somebody to be a three-star on the United States Army, that means that you've got four-star potential. It's also an appointment. If you come out of your job for more than 60 days, guess what? You go back to being a two-star. You have to go through a process at the back end of this thing that says, yes, I have validated this individual, has served successfully and honorably at that rank, and Congress actually gets a vote in terms of whether you're going to be able to retire at that rank. It is a big deal to get to promote it to three-star, and there's only a handful out of any given group of that 5,000 he started with. There's six of them. Pretty profound and a testament to you, your family, and everything that you've done over the course of your 30-plus years in uniform. As I think about Chris, when we think leaders, we talk competence, character, and commitment, and he has all those, that and many, many more. But the things that always come to me is I think about Chris and all the things that he has done. It's compassion, a genuine love of soldiers and humility. That's the three that really rise to the top as I think about you and who you are as a person and as a leader. So after 34 years, and I don't think that counts your enlisted time, that's probably a little bit on top of that. I can't be more humble and proud of the fact that I'm standing here with you to be part of this great day for you and your family, and I think it's time that we throw those three stars on you. You ready? Yes, sir. Okay, let's do it. Publish your orders after we get them up here. Would the Leneve family please join General Mingus and Major General Leneve in front of the flags? Please remain seated during the publishing of the orders. Attention to orders, the President of the United States has proposed special trust and confidence in the patriotism, valor, fidelity, and abilities of Christopher C. Leneve. In view of these qualities and his demonstrated potential for his responsibility as a federal promoter from Major General to Lieutenant General by order of the Secretary of the Army. Replacing the jacket rank is Major General Leneve Spouse, Kim, and General Mingus. Replacing the epaulets are his daughter Captain Caitlyn Leneve and his son, First Lieutenant Nick Leneve. You got it right. Presenting his garrison cap is Caitlyn and Nick. For those that have never seen how stars work, the ones on the epaulet, the stars point towards the head, the ones on the hat, or the head gear they point up. So we probably need to turn that around. I didn't mean to call you out. I apologize Caitlyn. That was not scripted. Just practice for you someday. General Mingus will now present promotion certificate to Lieutenant General Leneve. I think most understand the significance of the oath. We try to, most promotion ceremonies and most events like this to kind of reaffirm the oath and what it stands for. We're one of the few institutions, organizations as a profession that take an oath to an idea. They take an oath to the Constitution of the United States, not an individual, not a person in office, but it is to an idea, and the idea is that which our country is all about. It starts with our profession and what that profession is all about, our values and our ethics. It's about leaders that have, that I talked about, character, competence, and commitment, and organizations that have a climate, culture, and identity that transcends from private to general. And that's what this oath is all about. And so as I reread and Chris reaffirms his oath, I'd ask you to quietly inside reaffirm it yourself, state your name, Army of the United States, Constitution of the United States, against all enemies born and invested, against all enemies born and invested, that I'll bear true faith, I'll bear true faith, and allegiance to the same, and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely, I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation, without any mental reservation, or purpose innovation, or purpose innovation, and that I will well and faithfully, that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties, discharge the duties of the office on which I'm about to enter. I'm the office upon which I'm about to enter. So help me God. So help me God. Right here. All right. Thank you, General Mingus. Ladies and gentlemen, Lieutenant General Christopher C. Laney. My mom couldn't be here today, but you're going to see her face because I'm probably going to cry sooner or later. And it's this terrible thing she's given us. But I'll end up looking just like her in a couple of minutes. Thank you all for coming. First and foremost, I want to thank God for being so faithful and truly knowing the path that I'm supposed to go on, even whenever I thought he was absolutely crazy. Many times I thought about doing something else, anything else. And for whatever reason, he's kept me in. And I just really thank him. Sir, I've worked in the building three times. I know how hard and time consuming your job is. As the OD, I spent a lot of time in your office. So one, you're welcome for getting you out of the building. Thank you. Thank you for taking the time today. It's special being promoted by, you know, somebody like General Mingus. But in this audience today we have a grouping of former All-American Sixes. And there's, I know General Nicholson later, but it's just amazing to be part of that club, especially with a Hall of Famer back here, General Kellogg. General Nicholson is a Hall of Fame. And we got a future Hall of Famer. It's our major All-American nine. Lamarque Nules will be inducted this year. So it's just awesome to have just heroes to take part in this. So that, I know how hard it is to get out of going to. Thanks for coming and for for just a team across the board. Just mean so much, Trevor. Remember years ago, we were in CGSC and you said in the light course, you said, you were talking about the division. I was like, hey, what division are you talking about? You were right and I was wrong. So awesome. You and your wife are amazing examples for selfless service. So I've got a former star major of the Army's wife here. He's been such a great friend of Kim. Thanks for coming today. It really means a lot. And I just saw you in Korea. We just passed each other in the hallway. So it's great. Thanks for you and your husband coming. I got a lot of friends here today. A lot of old friends and a lot of new friends and really signifies really the journey. Brian Seastone knew me before I even joined the Army. Thank God I knew him because I probably wouldn't be able to get in the Army without him. I have Barry Jones. We stood right next to each other in the basic course. I got you through Ranger school. Probably not you graduated before me. But you, Keith Pellegrini and it's just awesome to have you here. Pete, always faithful. Just those deep conversations about God in the box and how we ended each rotation has always been a joy to be friends with you and your family. Brian, you've never missed anything. Thanks for coming. Really absolutely appreciate it. LaMarque and your wife. So Sergeant Major Knowles not only getting inducted to the Hall of Fame. He should have been inducted a long time ago because he was my battalion Sergeant Major and got me through that. Just an awesome honor to be friends with you for life and everything. Marty, having you here and the new Dr. Schweitzer just graduated five days ago, six days ago, something like that. It's pretty awesome to have. I get a bunch of people that serve with me in different units. Eric and Todd Brose in command of the mighty Falcon Brigade. Ricky Taylor getting ready to go off here on a joint assignment that will be the cog. Mighty Loose. I can't believe you're still here. If you're OD there's something going on in the world you're supposed to be at. So it's just awesome to have you here. Team Six. Raise your hands. Team Six, you all know who you are. I've been Team Six, you know, prior, present. Thanks for coming up. It really means a hell of a lot to me. My brother is going to miss you. Yeah. So there's a reason we did this here today. There's a stump over here right over there that when my kids would come, when we were stationed here and the kids would come in and out, we'd always end our runs. You know, up this hill we'd throw up and then we'd go over to the stump. And we'd had some great conversations at the stump about life. And we always ended up there. It didn't matter if it was Caitlyn that came in or Nicholas that came in. We always ended up on that stump. Matter of fact, in that stump, real small ceremony during COVID, I got promoted to two star. They couldn't come for that, but they were able to watch it long distance. That stump in this field just is incredible to look over. A city that is so great that sometimes it can prevent so much pain at other times, but it's what we all serve. So that's why if you were all wondering why we would do it out on this beautiful field, that's why. Okay, I'll try to get through this. So Matt and Ralph, Carol, thanks for coming. Means a lot. You know, we don't talk a lot, you know, we're spread out. It's been, I think we were talking about this last thing, it might be about five years since you and I've seen each other last. You need a haircut. But it's great to have you here. We had a big joke in the family. He's the war hero. He was a doctor dead storm. So he always told me, hey, you don't need to do this. We only need one war hero in the family. So it's great. And thanks for what you two represent to me. It's good to the kids. So I got, it's so kind of, it's pretty cool. I gave you two story about my kids, but just to know just how proud I am. The other day, Caitlin wanted to show me something at her work. I was a visitor in Seattle. And the things she asked me first just kind of took me back by surprise. And I realized, you know, how old I actually am. Before she said, hey, I can take you to this, she wanted me to send her my security clearance to know what level it was. She can see if you know, she can show so proud of what you've done in your career and what you're working on and on the cutting edge of technology that you're at. But more importantly, the leader that you are and the compassion that you show and the love that you have for your soldiers and the love they have for you. They are always talking about you. Everywhere I've gone to visit you, whether it's Alaska or Italy or now in Seattle, your soldiers always talk about you. And it's awesome. Absolutely awesome. Nick, he told me a long time ago, he's never going to join the army. I was like, great, I got one, always have an air and a spare. And he was going to be the air, you know, because I figured he'd make a lot of money to be able to support us. And then he joined the army. You never, you never know pride that you have in kids like I have in these two. But the boss talks about the Sudan mission, the officer that walked me to the plane that was running the operations at Green Ramp that night with my son. Now, what he said to me as we were closing the door was, don't leave me. A couple of months later, I had just an incredible opportunity. He jamped me and then he threw me out of an aircraft. And then we've got to jump together, you know, a little bit after that, which is actually a pretty interesting experience. He told me I fell pretty fast. So I've been on a diet ever since. It's been absolutely awesome, not only to be your father, but to also serve with both of you and to see the passion that you have. The same thing I said about Caitlyn, I've heard firsthand about Nick. And it's not easy being in the same division. We didn't want it to work out that way, but it just did. And every time somebody talked about Nick, he always told me about how great of a leader he was and how much he took care of the paratroopers, which says a hell of a lot about you as a human being. Kim, thanks for saying yes. You didn't have to. The army has been ups and downs for us. This last couple of months have been probably the hardest that we've ever gone through with just the changes and everything. But just the energy that you have for this next assignment and the excitement that you talk about, one more adventure, maybe another adventure we're going to go on, has kept me grounded. You've always been there for the kids. We call her hashtag pit crew because she takes care of everything. You are the most amazing best friend that I could possibly have asked for. So thank you for everything you've done for me. So for everybody else, God bless you. God bless the army, sir. Again, thank you for this. And thank you for the weather holding out. Green light, go. Here we go. Thank you, General Lee. Ladies and gentlemen, please stand and join in the singing of the Army Song led by Staff Sergeant Keaton Webb. The words to the Army Song can be found on the back of your program. March along, sing a song with the army of the free. Count the brave, count the true, who have fought to victory. Proudly proclaim, first to fight for the right and to build the nation's might. And the army goes rolling along. Proud of all we have done fighting till the battle's won. And the army goes rolling along. And it's high, high, hey, the army's on its way. Count off the cadence loud and strong. For where we always know that the army goes rolling along. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's ceremony. We are invited to congratulate Lieutenant General Lanieve and his family in the receiving line. Thank you for attending.