 Participating in today's review from left to right is the United States Army Band, Pershing's Own. Formed in 1922 by then Army Chief of Staff, General John J. Pershing, the United States Army Band is the premier band of our senior service. Pershing's Own provides musical support for ceremonies and special events in our nation's capital and throughout the United States. The United States Army Band is under the direction of Colonel Andrew Esch and led by drum major Mike Everly. Elements of the Old Guard include Bravo Company, commanded by Captain Clayton Melton and led by First Sergeant Junior Duran. Next online is Delta Company, commanded by Captain Daniel Osborne and led by First Sergeant Jason Elliman. Since the days of the American Revolution, the colors have been one of the most important elements of a military unit as soldiers kept their position in formation by dressing on the colors. At the center of our formation and bearing the national color is the nation's foremost color team, the Third Infantry's Continental Color Guard, led by Staff Sergeant Colt Stafford. Next online is Honor Guard Company, commanded by Captain Kevin Doherty and led by First Sergeant Jack Wheeler. Following is the Commander-in-Chief's Guard, hammered after the unit created by General George Washington in 1776 to be his personal guard. Commander-in-Chief's Guard is commanded by Captain Dick Tallman and led by First Sergeant Mike Lideard. The last element online, dressed in the Continental Musicians' uniform, is the United States Army Old Guard Pipe and Drum Corps. During the American Revolution, musicians wore the reverse colors of their parent infantry unit. The men and women of the United States Army Old Guard Pipe and Drum Corps maintained this tradition by wearing red coats instead of the infantry blue. The Corps is led today by Drum Major William Parks. To the right of the formation is the Presidential Salute Battery, led today by Captain Lucas Findley. And to the rear of the formation are the 56 state and territorial flags of the United States, commanded by Captain Stephen Webster and led by Staff Sergeant Zachary Howard. Ladies and gentlemen, moving into position is the commander of troops for today's ceremony, Lieutenant Colonel Allen L. Kehoe, Commander, First Battalion, Third United States Infantry Regiment, the Old Guard. Ladies and gentlemen, taking the reviewing stand are the reviewing officials for today's ceremony, General Mark A. Milley, 39th Chief of Staff of the Army, General James C. McConville, the incoming Chief of Staff of the Army, Daniel A. Daly, the 15th Sergeant Major of the Army, and Command Sergeant Major Michael A. Grinston, the incoming Sergeant Major of the Army, accompanied by the host, the Honorable Ryan D. McCarthy, Acting Secretary of the Army. Ladies and gentlemen, please stand as honors are rendered and remain standing for the invocation, given by Chaplain Major General Thomas L. Solgium, Army Chief of Chaplains. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me as I mark this occasion in a word of prayer. Almighty and everlasting God, today we ask your blessing during this pivotal transition of our Army senior leaders. In your wisdom, you have forged sentinels of character and guardians of freedom, who stand for what is right, honorable, and true. We know that we are incapable hands as the mantles of leadership are passed from General Milley to General McConville, and Sergeant Major Daly to Sergeant Major Grinston. We thank you for the support, contributions, and commitment of their devoted wives and families. Their collective investment in selfless service has blessed this generation and stands as a legacy waypoint for those to follow. Lord, empower our Army's newest senior leadership team with wisdom and insight as they lead our soldiers and families, enabling our Army to stand strong and ready. Bless our soldiers, keep them safe, home and abroad, and their families, guard and protect them. Keep the lamp of liberty burning bright upon our nation. It is in your holy name I pray, amen. Please be seated. Ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the advancing of the colors, and remain standing for the United States National Anthem. Sir, the colors are present. Please be seated. Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, Secretary McCarthy will swear in General McConville as the 40th Chief of Staff of the Army. Having been appointed the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. Having been appointed the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. Do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter which I am about to enter. So help me God. Congratulations. Thank you, Secretary McCarthy and Mrs. McConville. At this time, Sergeant Major Grinston's wife, Alexandra, and daughters, Sophia and Isabella will replace the insignia of Command Sergeant Major with the rank insignia of the Sergeant Major of the Army. The Sergeant Major of the Army's rank insignia is distinctive. Only the senior enlisted representative of the United States Army is authorized to wear it. It has the original, although slightly smaller, two stars that denote the senior enlisted person in the Army which are flanked by the American Eagle centered on the Chevron. Thank you, Sophia and Isabella. Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, General McConville will swear and command Sergeant Major Grinston as the 16th Sergeant Major of the Army. I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and allegiance to the same. I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation without any mental reservation on purpose of evasion and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office discharge the duty of the office upon which I am about to enter to help me go. Thank you, General McConville, Sergeant Major of the Army and Mrs. Grinston. Ladies and gentlemen, please direct your attention to the VIP seating areas. On behalf of the Army's soldiers, civilians, and families, a bouquet of red roses is presented to Mrs. Holly Ann Milley, wife of General Milley and Mrs. Holly Daly, wife of Sergeant Major Daly in appreciation of their support and steadfast commitment to the Army family. On behalf of the Army's soldiers, civilians, and families, a bouquet of yellow roses is presented to Mrs. Maria McConville, wife of General McConville, which signifies a new beginning and a new emerging relationship with the Army. A bouquet of flowers is also presented to General McConville's daughter, Captain Jessica Nanzer. On behalf of the Army's soldiers, civilians, and families, a bouquet of red roses is presented to Mrs. Alexandra Grinston, wife of Sergeant Major of the Army Grinston. A single rose is also presented to each of Sergeant Major Grinston's daughters, Sophia and Isabella, and to his mother, Mary, and sister, Claudia Grace. Ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the posting of the colors. Please be seated. Ladies and gentlemen, the honorable Ryan D. McCarthy. Good morning and welcome to today's ceremony. An occasion to celebrate the achievements of our Chief and Sergeant Major while also welcoming their successors, who will build upon their achievements and take the Army to new heights. I first met Mark Millie more than a decade ago when we overlapped in Secretary Gates' front office. Initial impressions were of a guy out of central casting from Boston. Fresh off a black op that no one could talk about, ACUs covered with every tab and patch you could think of who also happened to possess two Ivy League degrees. And he's been my teammate, partner and friend ever since. So I'm not exactly objective when it comes to General Millie, but any fair-minded observer would argue that his tenure as Chief has been one of the most consequential in recent Army history. Through General Millie's unyielding focus and determination and with the help from the Congress and the President, the Army went from a readiness trough to a readiness peak. From two brigades receiving highest readiness rating to more than 25. From units trained near-exclusively for their next CENCOM rotation to become proficient in the full spectrum of combat operations. But his legacy goes well beyond being the readiness chief. Under General Millie and Secretary Esper, the Army began its long overdue shift from systems designed to defeat the Soviet Union to capabilities that can conduct multi-domain operations to the most capable modern adversaries. From the iconic but aging Big Five platforms to the six modernization priorities that will define American land power for another generation. Recognizing that a 21st century modernization plan and concept of operations would be hard to achieve with a 20th century bureaucracy, General Millie stood up Army Futures Command. The biggest structural change within the service in decades. As someone who never forgets about the 242 soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice under his various commands, General Millie recognized that the Army could not repeat the institutional mistakes of the past. He made it a personal priority to stand up and support the security force assistance brigades. Recognizing whether we like it or not, the Army has not seen the last of counterinsurgency or the training and equipment mission of the Army. This occasion also does not allow enough time for the proper tribute for the service and contributions of Hollyanne Millie. Through more than 35 years and would probably seem like 35 moves, playing the primary role in raising two children, Mrs. Millie has been the general sweetheart, partner, confidant, de facto senior advisor and senior raider. Hollyanne took on the hard things, the gut-wrenching things that probably weren't in the Army's spouse's manual when she first signed up. Countless visits to military hospitals to see grievously wounded soldiers and their loved ones. Being there at Dover with the families of the fallen when the flag draped caskets come off the C-17. As a tireless advocate for Army families and doing all this while caring for her patients and the system. And her work is not yet over because as we all know General Millie may be leaving the Army as an institution but he will continue to wear the Army uniform albeit with some purple trimming as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Thanks and God bless you, Mark. The Joint Staff won't know what hit them. The elevation of James McConville provides important continuity and policy, priorities and is another Bostonian when it comes to the Red Sox and Patriots. But this transition provides also noteworthy and valuable firsts that are particularly important to the Army at this point in time. General McConville will be the first aviator to be Army Chief. Armed with a master's degree in engineering to go with decades of flying and maintaining fleets of helicopters he brings a unique understanding about how to operate and support advanced weapons and equipment. In this respect no senior officer is better prepared to lead the Army as we undertake what will be a massive and yes risky and costly transformation towards more advanced weapons and war fighting approaches. General McConville is also the first Army G1 to be elevated to the job in nearly half a century. Having gotten Army modernization off to a running at bruising start one of our next big leadership challenges will be people starting with talent management but also dealing with the serious issues related to sexual harassment, assault suicide, domestic violence and more. Lest there be any doubt General McConville brings impeccable war fighting and leadership credentials to this post. He is the distinction of being the longest serving division commander in Army history seeing the hundred first through three years and multiple combat deployments. It's not so well known but then Colonel McConville and his first cavalry division aviators played a decisive role in the battle of Fallujah in Iraq flying low and slow through withering fire and bad weather to provide support to soldiers, Marines and Iraqi security forces fighting down below. As he later told the Army historian quote if they were out there we were out there supporting him through that ordeal and other deployments was Maria McConville who for over 31 years of marriage raised three children all Army officers today and led family readiness groups at every echelon. Not as well known Maria is also a very successful businesswoman working as a dietician. I thank the McConville's for stepping forward for one last tour of duty and look forward to our continued partnership on Army priorities. As I mentioned at the outset the great leaders being celebrated and elevated today include the Army's Senior Non-Commission Officer. When Sergeant Major Daly took the post three years ago he became the youngest ever Sergeant Major of the Army and the one with the most combat deployments. And he didn't waste any time making an impression distributing a list of top 10 tips for Sergeant Major with my favorite quote I've never regretted taking the distinct opportunity to keep my mouth shut. Sergeant Major Daly will be remembered for his instrumental role in the Army's readiness gains as well as his singular role launching the NCO credentialing program which allows soldiers to gain credit that can be applied towards a college degree or job certification. Additionally, Sergeant Major Daly has a unique ability to work complex and sensitive Army issues on Capitol Hill. Time and time again his advocacy and credibility yielded a budget increase or prevented a loss of trust. Attributes that also made him such an effective communicator of the Army's story in the news media. Like the other great Army leaders being honored today Holly Daly has provided selfless service to our country. Being there when times were at their most challenging for her husband and for countless Army families. America owes the Daly's a debt of gratitude for the contributions they've made and the example they have set for others. The Army's next Sergeant Major Michael Grinston has a distinction of being a canon crewman with a ranger tab which he put to good use in Iraq when his field artillery unit like many others were turned into de facto infantry for long stretches. In fact, according to a 2005 Stars and Stripes account Sergeant Grinston became known as quote, a magnet for bombs and bullets which led to two bronze stars with valor devices. He comes to the Pentagon from being Command Sergeant Major of Forces Command which has more enlisted soldiers than any other Army organization. Sergeant Major Grinston was known there and throughout his 30 years in uniform as the upholder and enforcer of standards. Rigorous always ruthless when called for as well as should be. Alexander Grinston, the Sergeant Major's wife like so many other Army spouses born the load at home through long stretches making it possible for soldiers to do their difficult and dangerous work on behalf of the nation. We are blessed that the Grinstons are stepping up this last time as the guardian of Army standards and the guardians of the best interests of soldiers and their families. Like all great teams today the Army reloads its talent and continues the mission. So at this point I will relinquish the stage to the people who you really want to hear from this morning the great Army leaders and coming and outgoing who have graced this nation with their dedicated service. Army strong. Ladies and gentlemen, the 39th Chief of Staff of the Army General Mark A. Milley Hey, how's everybody doing today? Live it up a little bit. Absolutely unemployed, million daily on the unemployment line. That's going to be a good news story, right? And McConville's in, Grinston's in and two guys from Boston just handed off so I don't know I'm going to dispense with all the jokes we're living on time so I won't say stuff about how Chicago hasn't had a world championship in a while and Boston's got 12 in the last 20 years so I'm not going to go there on that. Now I'll leave Secretary Esper going he's doing the nation's work running in Gallivan all around the Pacific so I'll leave him alone I'm going to talk about Pennsylvania's our major so I'm dispensing with all the jokes and the interest of time for the truth I'm going to do that but I do want to thank everyone for being here we have a whole lot of folks here today we have former secretaries we've got former chiefs we've got the current chiefs we've got former vices we've got the current vice we've got lots of general sergeants majors distinguished gas friends and family most importantly we've got gold star families and we've got purple heart winners throughout the crowd and I think we should recognize those that are on the field the old guard the salute battery purging zone and the Fife and Drum Corps because they represent all that is good about America and they represent all of our army today all 1.3 million of our soldiers that wear the cloth of nations so round of applause for the soldiers on the field more than a million more than a million young men and women wear the cloth of our nations and as my time as the 39 chief of staff of the United States Army comes to a close I want to take this opportunity to thank each of you and your families for making America's Army the world's premier land force that is valued by our friends and allies and feared by our enemy and each of you here today honors the service and the sacrifice of America's Army and I thank you for coming to show that support of the 56,972 almost 57,000 U.S. military casualties that we have suffered as a nation since 9-1-1 70% of them 40,120 have been U.S. Army soldiers and many of those are buried in eternal honor only hundreds of meters away from where we all sit and stand today so your presence and your continued support those that paid the ultimate sacrifice into their families to defend the idea that is America is deeply appreciated more than words that I can ever say from a microphone so thank you all for being here four years ago we stood on this field and we knew then that the world was dangerous and complex we knew that we were engaged in a difficult and long-term struggle against terrorists in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere we knew we were simultaneously witnessing the return of great power competition with the rise of an increasingly assertive China in a dangerously revanchist Russia along with serious provocations from regional challengers in North Korea and Iran the international environment was and remains uncertain but together all of us all 1.3 million of us resolved to build the army that America needs to protect our nation we committed ourselves to rapidly improve our current readiness to set in motion the modernization of the force and to always take care of our soldiers and their families this army's fundamental task on behalf of the American people now and in the future is brutally simple and it's like no other collective human activity and that is to fight and win the unforgiving crucible and intense violent chaos of ground combat it is there in the dirt, the mud the rubble of city streets where decision and war is ultimately determined it is shaped in many domains but it is on the ground where decision and war is gained or lost and today we are marked by our soldiers and shows, officers and civilians and their families our total army stands in a much better place to assure our allies to our enemies and if necessary fight and win our first challenge four years ago was to embrace the total army that we are in fact greater than the sum of our parts that the army the Army National Guard the Army are all part of the total army and every one of them contributes fundamentally to creating that total force we are an army of 58 brigade combat teams not 31 we are an army of 18 divisions not 10 we are an army of 1.3 million from 54 states and territories not an army of 450,000 in a few big bases around the country that we help mend some of the old divisions and coalesce around our shared mission of winning in any fight as a total army and a total joint force additionally we overhaul how we prepare to fight how we train, how we recruit how we man and equip the force with extended one station unit initial training at trade-off for our infantry in a force com we increase the frequency and intensity of rotation along with increased home station training physical fitness, synthetic training we are developing cyber capabilities and network improvements recognizing that readiness in the electromagnetic spectrum in the virtual world is as important as the physical world we are improving our readiness with the activation that Secretary McCarthy pointed out about the security force assistance brigade with capable teams of world-class advisors who fight by, with and through our allies and partners alongside our elite Special Operations Forces and our extraordinary logisticians led by Army Materiel Command have increased the critical equipment and ammunition stocks to better posture our army around the world as a result of tremendous teamwork by a tremendous team unit readiness of both irregular warfare and large-scale ground combat has increased steadily I will leave it to the historians to judge what the legacy is that's left behind but none of this would have been possible without the entire total army working together uniformed in civilian soldiers and families and I am also proud of the relationships that we have developed with our partners and allies around the world many of whom are represented here today with their ATSA cadre our international alliances America's international network of alliances are one of our country's critical collective core war fighting strengths and we must sustain them and I am thankful for the great support for the members of Congress on both sides of the oil from DOD and the White House our army is in much better shape today because of our civilian leadership and the efforts of tens of thousands of people who do not and in some cases never did wear the uniform of our nation we are thankful to all of them and to be sure we have a lot of work to do we have much left on the plate in terms of readiness but we are clearly moving in the right direction at the same time that we were building readiness we also resolved to build the army that America needs in the future we recognize that the character of war was changing and driven by sophisticated capabilities like precision munitions sensors robotics hypersonic technology intelligence and many more emerging technologies we learned that the changing character of war also is driven by the long term economic shift significant demographic changes to include massive urbanization and the scarcity of resources we are witness in fact to a significant and major shift from an industrial age to a new era characterized by high speed information and disinformation and decentralized operations all amidst an environment of intense physical violence and equally damaging intense cyber attacks to meet that future challenge we made hard decisions and directed precious resources towards modernization we identified and eliminated or reallocated nearly 25 billion dollars in the army budget we scrubbed the books and made some painful decisions that will modernize and improve the fighting capability of our army into the future if we aren't better stewards of that money generously given to us by the U.S. taxpayer we will not be prepared to defend our country and we will not be ready when the bullets start to fly that process was vital to the future of the U.S. Army and it was an ultimate team effort of the total army and it must continue ruthlessly we moved that money to ensure that we are committing our duties and established Army Futures Command as a forcing function for the army to drive our collective reform and we're needed to transform what we buy in order to face off against an increasingly capable series of competitors every day our nation's adversaries are competing aggressively in all domains and Futures Command is developing a multi-domain operating concept in order to defeat the multiple layers and standoff in all of those domains while maintaining the coherence of our own formation so we have set conditions in the last couple of years to field new organizations equipment, advanced technologies and much much more to achieve overmatch on the future battlefield the hardest fight against the toughest enemy but we had to embrace that need and we have to embrace moving even faster into the future time is clicking and it's not on our side this will demand unprecedented levels of initiative and agility and it will be a total army effort but what Futures Command is doing with the cross-functional teams and the development of multi-domain operations that is just the tip of the spear for the transformation of the United States Army into a future force our army has reset readiness in the right direction we set the institution for modernization to meet the demands of significant change in the character of future war and we did that while engaging in current operations and combat in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and elsewhere and also while supporting civil authorities along the southwest border helping our fellow citizens deal with the consequences of natural disasters like hurricanes and other countries helping them deal with humanitarian threats like Ebola our army is incredible and our army is strong and our army is getting stronger and the only way to explain it is the extraordinary work of our people our men and women are on the ground in the mud walking into harm's way and defending freedom America soldiers deliver results day after day with uncommon competence character and commitment we are blessed as a nation to have these young men and women and they make all of us so immensely proud and it must always be our solemn duty to take care of them no matter what they are our nation's finest our army in my view has momentum and we need to build upon it over the next several years and we are grateful to our Congress for their determined work and we know that the United States Army is very expensive but we also know that losing a war is far more costly in short our army is on the right path we want to prevent a great power war and we want to preserve great power peace but we must do that through strength to a ready army a ready Navy that have clearly recognized capacity and capability that no enemy will ever dare to challenge the United States of America in armed conflict there are too many people to thank by name for your support to make all of this a reality but I do want to specifically thank and call out Secretary Carter Mattis, Shanahan Esper Norquist and most importantly Secretary McCarthy they along with all of their staff are critical to the positive outcomes that we are seeing in our army today and none of the execution could have happened without Allen, McConville and Martin as the Vice Chiefs of Staff of the Army with Abrams Richardson and Garrett at Forest Com driving readiness with Perkins, Townsend and Funk at Tradock initially driving the future with Murray now driving it at Futures Command and behind them all is Gus Pernar the hero of the whole thing all of them and those that they lead made it happen and the Army operates as part of a joint force we could not have done that without the tremendous support of Joe Dunford Paul Selva, Dave Goldfein John Richardson, Mike Gilday Bob Neller, Dave Berger Joe Lingell, Carl Schultz and all the combatant and component commanders all of them are a remarkable group of team-mates and it will be my lifelong friends and our Army has also gotten it right with Jim McConville and Sergeant Major Tony Grinston it is true, not fake news that Jim McConville saved my life in Baghdad one day as he rolled in in an Apache helicopter and pulled him out of a firefight and ever since that day he's told me he's regretted it so he definitely picked the right guy you know McConville is magnificent as the Vice Chief and he's a wonderful friend of mine and yes he is from the Holy Land of Boston but that was no criteria for selection McConville is one of the most courageous and thoughtful officers I have ever served with Jim's blend of battlefield experience both in the Middle East and in Washington made him the perfect officer to take over his chief he has the drive the background and the vision to make the Army even better and I know Jim McConville and his wife Maria are the best team we could hope for and Sergeant Major Grinston epitomizes the superb talent of our NCO Corps and he will be an incredible addition to the team as the Sergeant Major of the Army they are both the right leaders at the right time so congratulations to both of you in addition I want to thank the 15th Sergeant Major of the Army it's hard to imagine a better more capable senior leader than Dan Daly you have touched the lives of countless soldiers over nearly five years as our Sergeant Major of the Army thanks to both you and Holly for a lifetime of service and we wish you the best of luck in the future which you may find out soon and it takes a village to raise a general and to the director of the Army staff and the entire Army staff along with my great front office and protocol CCG and many others to all of you I say thanks for a job well done and lastly and most importantly to Holly Ann my true strength we've been married for almost 35 years now although she says it seems like a lot longer I couldn't do it without you so thank you for all you've done for me our children and for countless soldiers and families along our journey you have graciously given of yourself way more than anyone has ever recognized you have buried our dead with dignity you've comforted our grieving families you've tended to our wounded you've honored our heroes and improved the quality of life of our families throughout the world and you've raised two wonderful children who make me proud every day and all the while you get it with a dreary of humility, empathy, love and grace that few will ever know and very few could ever match thank you and thanks for signing up for another four years of self-led service to our nation as a dedicated Army spouse and you represent all of the Army spouses so thank you Holly Ann and let me close a note to our soldiers let me leave you with this final thought that on a tough day in the middle of those lonely nights when all of us have been in combat and have held the dying we all ask ourselves why we fight is it worth it is the pain worth it I can't answer that for you but I can suggest though a few things for you to consider like our Army's blood our sweat, our tears, our sacrifices that has kept our nation free for 244 years and each of you wearing the uniform of the United States Army and really the entire United States military you represent all that is good about the United States of America and you have committed to defend an idea that is an American experiment in liberty thank you thank each of you for committing your lives in your sacred honor to the defense of the Constitution of the United States and its essential principle that we are all born free and equal look around at your fellow citizens and ask if our freedom if that principle if that Constitution I think you get your answer and the answer is yes and that is the only answer we should ever give to those who lie in eternal rest at Arlington and around the world American soldiers must never die in vain their sacrifice should always have a purpose and we leaders must always use force as a last resort of realism and restraint and underwriting that realism and restraint is overwhelming military strength and our contribution as an Army is to double down our efforts in readiness and modernization to increase that strength and lethality to our force in order to maintain the great power peace that is held now for seven and a half decades the battlefield butchers bill demands no less of us so Holly Ann and I are immensely grateful and humbled to have had the opportunity to serve with giants like the soldiers and families of America's Army who sacrifice not for glory or money but for purpose far bigger than ourselves this we shall defend Army strong Ladies and gentlemen the 40th Chief of Staff of the United States Army General well good morning and thank you all for being here today thank you to Secretary McCarthy and General Milley for your kind words Secretary McCarthy you and I have worked shoulder to shoulder in the engine room over the last two years and I truly appreciate your leadership and look forward to continuing our great relationship as we lead the Army into the future and I want to personally thank General Mark Milley and his wife Holly Ann and I just want to set the record straight we have no regrets about saving his life where would our Army be today as far as readiness and modernization where were the 101st, the 10th Mountain and 3rd Corps have been without General Milley's distinguished leadership and a professional development tip if you have the opportunity to save a soldier's life take it he may be the Chief of Staff or Chairman someday I also want to thank Sardinia Major and his wife Holly for their untiring commitment to our soldiers and family Sardinia Major you are the epitome of what right looks when it comes to being a Sardinia Major and Sardinia Major Grinston it's great to have you on the team I have personally seen you operate as a command Sardinia Major in combat with 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan and I know you are absolutely the right person to serve as a Sardinia Major with the utmost excellence in professionalism many thanks to all our guests here and we'll move on and to the class of 1981 thank you for also being here thanks for being here great I'm surprised I'm here too to my wife Maria I want to thank you for the bottom of my heart I wouldn't be here without you and also want to thank all the Army spouses I want to thank my three kids for helping us out with the recruiting numbers most importantly for my kids I really appreciate you all getting full scholarships and getting off the payroll I would ask if you don't remember anything else I say today remember two things winning matters and people are my number one priority our Army serves to defend the nation when we send the United States Army somewhere we don't go to participate we don't go to try hard we go to win second place our honorable mention in combat winning matters and we win by doing the right things the right way we win with our people and that is why people matter they are the Army's greatest strength in our most important weapons system people will always be my top priority and when I talk about people I mean our soldiers from all three components I mean our families our soldiers for life our retirees and veterans we must take care of our people and provide a positive command climate where everyone treats everyone else with due respect it is our people who will deliver on our readiness modernization and reform efforts we have a sacred obligation to ensure that our units are ready, lethal and can win on any battlefield readiness is achieved by building cohesive teams a highly trained, disciplined and fit and can defeat any adversary anywhere the soldiers before us represent what right looks like the 2018 national strategy directs the Army to shift focus to great power competition we are at a flexion point we must modernize the Army in order to maintain our competitive edge it is critical that we not only deliver new equipment to the force but new concepts and processes modernization must include developing the multi-domain operations concept at echelon delivering the six modernization priorities and implementing a 21st century talent management system we cannot be an industrial age Army in the information age we must transform all our industrial age processes to be more effective protect our resources and make better decisions forward we never want to fight alone we always strive to fight and combine formations with our allies and partners who share our values and interests our allies and partners provide us a unique and powerful advantage over our adversaries and I'm committed to maintaining close relations with our allies and partners in improving our interoperability 190 campaigns stream his fly with pride from the Army's flag they represent the sacrifice of all those who have worn the uniform before men and women from all walks of life from all corners of America who sacrifices our legacy to all of us we will honor them by staying ready to answer the nation's call to duty we will defend our nation we will win thank you all for attending today all your support to the Army team please keep in your thoughts our fallen heroes gold star families and all those serving in harm's way I cannot be more proud to be a soldier and serve with the finest men and women people first winning matters we remain Army strong Ladies and gentlemen the 15th Sergeant Major of the Army Daniel A. Daly on my way up here the 39th Chief Staff of the Army reminded me to keep my remark short but being that myself and Secretary McCarthy the only two people that have unpredictable futures on this stage Chief and you used all the rest of our time I'm gonna take my time today no I will be short I promise good morning ladies and gentlemen distinguished guests families friends and most of all the great soldiers of this United States Army today is a great day to be a soldier it's extremely difficult to sum up your thoughts feelings experiences and emotions they're a single culminating event from a career that literally began from childhood and ended as the individual trusted to represent every American soldier there are so many experiences I'd love to share and so many people that deserve more than just public recognition have brought me and Holly to this point it would take hours to acknowledge the wealth, the personal investment given to me by so many people all the people throughout our career who gave an opportunity to a poor kid from a small town in Palmer and Pennsylvania the people who took a chance on me and my family who mentored me led me, followed me and most of all trusted me the lives of so many brave young Americans some of which sacrificed their lives so that we could live in a country that believes in freedom democracy prosperity and equality Holly and I are truly blessed for having the opportunity to serve alongside with and for so many great leaders community members civilians, elected officials friends and soldiers we will never be able to truly repay the debt we owe for them, for their service and sacrifice to us and this great nation but I stand before you today of someone that is humbled, honored grateful and proud proud of the men and women who had the guts to try proud of the people who stand alongside them proud of the great civilian teams that support them and the trust of the American people that have in them and although I can't recognize all those that made this day possible there are a few people present here today and a few that traveled to be with Holly and I that I'd like to call out first, both of my Chiefs of Staff of the Army, General Odierno and General Milley General Odierno gave me this awesome opportunity and General Milley he enabled and empowered me to make a difference for our soldiers General Milley and Mrs. Holly Ann thank you for giving Holly and I the opportunity of a soldier's lifetime we are truly grateful and the Milley family will always and I mean always be welcome in the great state of Pennsylvania and you'll always be welcome to stay at the dailiest state which is really just a fancy name for the spare room in our small house in the Poconos both Vice Chiefs of Staff served with General Allen and General McConville gentlemen, thank you for your mentorship and guidance your impact on our Army will be felt for many years to come the secretaries that I have served Secretary McHugh Secretary Fanning Secretary Speer Secretary Esper and now Secretary McCarthy gentlemen, thank you for all you have done to make this the best Army in the world my staff Mrs. Sorrell my exos, Sergeant Major Parson, Rose and Reebuck and all the NCOs that have served in the office of the Sergeant Major of the Army and all the non-commissioned officers of my senior enlisted council and those that support us throughout this entire service I could not have done this job without the incredible non-commissioned officer corps that is of this great service to you and what you represent every day and just a few personal guests that made the trip I have to share this with you my roommate from back when I was a very very young soldier who I have not seen for 26 years Mr. Ashley Lee thank you for being here and thanks for being a friend to a young scared kid away from home for the first time and thank you for not telling anyone and I mean anyone the stories forever some very special officers I served with throughout my career then Lieutenant Ryan Alment and now Senator Alment from the great state chief of Pennsylvania thank you for listening to my guide Senator it's probably why you are Senator today my company commanders as a first Sergeant who I was very close with then Captain Kevin Ryan now the proprietor of a brewery in Savannah called Service Brewery fittingly dedicated to those who serve the soldiers love you sir as a commander and I bet they love you even more as a brewery owner thank you for being here and Colonel Monte Rohn and his lovely bride Michelle thank you both for your continued mentorship and friendship then Captain Darren Amick who was honestly a thorn in my side as a battalion CSM but has become a true friend there is a rose for every thorn Captain today and a very close personal friend retired Sergeant Major Scott Leighling and his lovely bride Tina they've traveled all the way from Colorado to be with us in Holly and I can't thank you enough for always being by our sides God bless you my family, my mother and my brothers who I am very close with all back in my hometown of Pomeran that could not be here today but they've waited patiently Mom, I'm a little late but I'm looking forward to it my son Dakota who could not be here today because he's finishing his summer internship at NASA I'm so proud of what he has accomplished much of which was done in the absence of a father he is literally one graduate semester away from being a no kidding rocket scientist and boy am I glad he turned out okay because the last thing you want to do when you only have one is a farewell speech and last but not least my best friend in the whole world my lovely bride Holly Holly has done so much for our soldiers and families and on top of it she's put up with me for 26 years she's the primary reason I get up in the morning and the one special thing I look forward to coming home to every night I could not have made this journey with you from literally raising our son as a single mother for almost seven years in my absence taking every unit I've served in a special place to be for our soldiers and their families there are simply no words to describe the love and appreciation that I have for you for sticking by my side thank you I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you tomorrow will be a great day to be a soldier as well we are blessed with talent all across our army and there is no finer choice for a soldier and NCO than General McConville and Sergeant Bader the Army Grinstin gentlemen, General Milley and I will sleep well at night knowing that both of you such talent that we have is at the front of this formation God bless you and your families and thank you for all you have done for what and what you are about to continue to do for our great soldiers our soldiers are in good hands when I assume this position I promise that I would never forget that I am just a soldier and that I had to continue to do the best I could every single day and that is not for me to judge but just so everybody knows make the record clear I did PT this morning in my Army PT uniform thank you God bless each and every one of you God bless our soldiers to the United States Army and God bless America Army strong, soldier for life Ladies and gentlemen the 16th Sergeant Major of the Army Michael A. Grinstin well uh sometimes you just kind of know where you stand or sit in a long line to five speeches and I know there has been a lot of state fashion and because winning matters I am from Jasper, Alabama sir I just win matters uh distinguished guests, soldiers, families and friends of the Army I am truly honored and privileged for the opportunity to continue to serve all the soldiers, families and civilians of the United States Army I just have a couple people I'd like to thank and I'd like to start with Secretary McCarthy sir, you are truly a leader that is well respected amongst the soldiers Joe Milley Joe Mcconville, thank you for the opportunity and the faith in me to perform this duty in SMA Daily you are a great soldier and I've often said as the force sergeant major, I said there will never be another SMA Daily ever he's a great soldier, he's a great leader and he's a great mentor and I appreciate it everything he has done and the example that you and Holly have set for the Army is felt throughout the Army from every soldier, civilian and family and is truly appreciated I do have some friends and family that I would like to thank thanks to my friends, my family my wife and my daughters my sister my brother and especially my mom my mom has been to every duty station that I've ever been to in 31 years so please join me in a round of applause for all the families I love you all very much and because winning matters and people are first I will end with a thank you to the soldiers the soldiers of the United States Army I would not be here and several people would not be here today without the hard work of the American soldier and I just want to say thank you Army strong the United States Army is honored to have presented today's special ceremony guests are welcome to congratulate the Chief of Staff of the Army Mrs. McConville, Sergeant Major of the Army and Mrs. Grinston in the Patton Hall Coran Room for a receiving line and reception guests are invited to congratulate General and Mrs. Milley and Sergeant Major and Mrs. Daly in a receiving line under the tent at Jason to Summerall Field on your left gentlemen please remain in place for the departure of the official party and their families to allow time for them to arrive at their respective receiving line locations thank you for attending and enjoy the rest of your day