 Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, I am here in my first class, Jerome Petty, and I will be your emcee for today's ceremony. On behalf of our host, the 99th Medical Group Commander, Colonel Brent Johnson, welcome to the Michael Callion Military Medical Center Emergency Department ribbon-cutting ceremony. Our guest speaker for today's event will be Director of the Defense Health Agency, Lieutenant General Bernal DePlace, representing Air Force Medical Service, Director, Manpower Personal and Resource Office of Surgeon General, Brigadier General, Alfred Flores, United States Senator, State of Nevada, Honorable Catherine Cortez-Masto, Nevada State Treasurer, Zach Ko-Nine, Director of the Small Market and Standalone Medical Treatment Facility, Organization for the DHH, Major General, Cheyenne Royalt, 70-Level Human Performance Wing Commander, Brigadier General, John Andrews, Dean of Kirk, the Korean School of Medicine, University of Las Vegas, Dr. Mark Han, CEO, University Medical Center, and Colonel Johnson's Honorary Commander, Mr. Mason Van Olding, Commander, the 99th Air Base Wing, Colonel Todd Dyer, Command Chief, 99th Air Base Wing, Chief Master Sergeant, Alex Morgan, University Medical Center, Chief of Staff, Dr. Frederick Liepman, Chief of Staff, VA Southern Nevada Health Care System, Dr. Rommel Commandori. Hello everybody, thanks for coming. We're having a ceremony like this, you know, so we talked to, it seemed like I started at Humphrey, we say, oh, you know, it's a little ceremony. We only have a senator, a three star, a two star, a couple of one stars, a tour before, a tour after. I mean, how hard could that be? What could go wrong with all that? And so she's done a fantastic job. Her team made this look easy, but it certainly wasn't. What you see in front of you right now is the result of a precisely 365 pay bill count that had us move out of the old ED on Halloween night last year, moved back into the building on October 30th, about a week and a half ago. And it really is kind of the the most obvious example of kind of what we're doing here at Nellis Air Force Base. You know, we moved back into the facility two months early, that never happens in military construction. 7,000 additional square feet, two big trauma bays, just a beautiful facility that a lot of you saw just a little bit ago. And this is just the most visible part of a $50 million project right now that involves refurbishment to our dining facilities, lab, patient administration, IT areas. So it's really a great event overall. And next up for us is that Mill County will expand a lot of our clinic areas, expand our bed capacity, and all that really is getting us further and further to the point where we can support with our EMS services, this part of Las Vegas. What a great honor for us to be able to take care of Las Vegas citizens in an area that the state of Nevada has already designated as an area of need. No hospitals or emergency rooms within the immediate area. We get to take care of our fellow citizens and we keep our Air Force medics ready to go and save lives in the next war. The progress that we've made here just over the last year and a half that I've been here, the two years of General Flowers was here before me, and then it commanded us for many years back to that point. You have worked with us to build these community relationships without what you've offered us. None of this could be possible. It's just no understanding to say there's nowhere else in the Air Force like this. No one else that has the kind of training opportunities, the academic affiliations, the support from our local health care partners. So thank you again for being here. It's a huge thing for us and we get to look forward to working with you well into the future. So for me, you're here from our other distinguished speakers next, but for me on behalf of the 99th National Group for 99th Air Base Wing and Delta Air Force Base, thank you again for the teamwork and the partnership, and we look forward to the future as well. Thank you Colonel Johnson. Ladies and gentlemen, General Place. Well good afternoon everyone, Senator Cortes Masto, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Thanks for all being here today. This is a great opportunity, I think for all of us to participate in this incredible ceremony, and I'm honored to represent the Defense Health Agency at this truly momentous occasion. Now the Defense Health Agency has an enduring responsibility for every element of life of a military hospital or clinic. Together with the men and women on the front lines of military medicine, provide care to our patients. Together we oversee and help manage facility design construction. Together we manage the budget and outfit the hospital the advanced equipment and medical supplies required to operate. Together we develop the standardized policies that ensure all of our beneficiaries have timely access to high quality, safe healthcare, where that care is delivered here at Nellis or in the Las Vegas community. Together we build and sustain tricare networks to ensure that beneficiaries have an option and where they get their care and that our civilian partners can share that health information back with us so that stays in our system. And together we create education and training opportunities that help us both obtain and sustain experience, cognitive capabilities and technical skills that facilitate our ability to successfully treat the injuries and illnesses that we see on today and tomorrow's battlefields. I'm proud of our role in helping with all of these things in order to deliver healthcare to our service members, our family members, and our retirees who deserve the very best care available. And it's not lost on me that today is the 246th birthday of the Marine Corps and tomorrow is Veterans Day that we're having this ceremony to celebrate that commitment for this community. But it's the people here at Nellis Air Force Base, the 99th medical group, the 98th medical lab, the Air Force, the Las Vegas community and the state of Nevada who made and continue to make this happen. It's the leaders here at Nellis who understood that healthcare is dynamic and that we need to anticipate and adapt to changes whether that's changes in growing populations, changes in healthcare itself, or changes in the medical workforce. It's leaders here who understood that building and sustaining a ready medical force means that we need to build a more comprehensive and integrated relationship with our civilian partners in our community. Las Vegas community also understands that partnership with the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs is value added for their own readiness. And great credit to the leaders in the state of Nevada who helped break through bureaucratic obstacles to ensure the right organizations could reimburse for services, particularly through the Medicaid program. Nevada is the first and currently only state to make that possible and the collaboration serves as a model for how to improve federal, state and local partnerships that improve healthcare experiences for everyone involved. Sadly, this community experienced a real-world test of what it means to bring together federal, state and local resources to respond to a mass emergency event. The medical response to the tragedy in October 2017 was heroic and I know the medical teams were proud to play a small role in supporting this community. What's important today is to recognize that leaders in both the military and civilian community have used that tragedy to strengthen our partnerships even more. So today's ribbon cutting is not a commitment to the future what trauma care should look like in this community and serves as a reminder of what integrated trauma care can look like in any community. It's delivered on a promise, on a reflection, a shared commitment from every person present today. Our elected officials who ensure we have the authority and the resources to create effective public private partnerships. The military leaders who fight to ensure the quality of life for our service members is sustained in both conflict and peace. The civilian community leaders who provide us with access to their hospitals and provide settings where we can develop and strengthen our political skills. And of course the medical teams, both military and civilian, who put their heart and soul into saving lives. This promise today also reflects our investment in those medical staff first arriving on the scene. Whether that's in the Las Vegas community or on any battlefield across the world. By collaborating with the 99th medical group to treat civilians, local EMS personnel will be interacting more with our medical personnel and vice versa. Local paramedics will have access to our medical simulation capabilities. And our entire medical team will be able to serve civilians in the community when we are the closest resource. Now the money and the mortar and the medics who work here are representative of a promise that this country makes to the cause of readiness. That we will do what it takes to keep our communities ready and we'll do what it takes to ensure our medical personnel can function every day at the top of their capabilities. This promise we make to our families is personal to me. I say that not just as a general officer, even as an army surgeon, but I say as an individual who raised a family in the army, as a husband, as a father, as a grandfather. Like many of you, my wife and I are grateful that we've had children and now grandchildren born and treated in military hospitals and clinics. And where our still growing family continues to receive their medical care. It matters deeply to me that we do everything possible to ensure all of our families have exceptional medical care. I congratulate all of you present today for your foresight and at times your perseverance and your passion to ensure this partnership is strengthened. On behalf of everyone in the Defense Health Agency, I'm honored to be part of the team that supports your work and honors those who serve today. And to those who have served us so nobly in the past, thanks again. May God bless all of you present today for this ceremony. May God bless our service members deployed in Marsway. May God bless America. Thank you. Boy, does it feel great to be back. Hope the brave medics of the 99th are doing well. I want to start in an end by humbly saying thank you. Just the feelings that resonate by being here today, just walking the halls, the sheer, the blood, sweat, and tears that make this happen is insurmountable. I cannot describe it. So just humbly and I want to say thank you. To Senator Ramam, thank you for being here. General Place, fellow jail officers, distinguished visitors, all the humbled guests that are in attendance here. Thank you so much. So what if I told you there's, if I could give you $86,400 every day, deposit it to your ATM, you cannot carry over to the next day, you can't wield it to your friends or your loved one, you have $86,400. How would you spend that $86,400? Conversely, what if I told you those $86,400 were seconds in a day. $86,400 seconds in a day that culminated with this $53 million project that came in a day early. I would submit there's a lot of good hands that were spinning that $86,400 seconds wisely and nobly every day. As I stand as a reminder as I pull it in and I saw the name on the wall, Michael O'Callaghan, our namesake. Our story governor who had humble beginnings here in this state, he grew up on the another part of town, was a boxer, a teacher, a coach, a mentor, and a vet like Gerald Place submitted tomorrow's a great celebration with veterans name. I recall we had a ceremony in honor of him and his family and the smiles that they cherish this legacy. At one point we had a pair of crutches that were in display case in the lobby. They were fashioned after a machine gun that the senator used at one point during his noble service. Think about that, that courage, that inspiration, that desire, that commitment. Think about what this brand new emergency department means to the city of Las Vegas. As Gerald Place alluded to about four years ago, we came up with, I say we, I consider myself a Navadian now as Mr. Patrick would correct me how I pronounce that. I remiss that she's not here today, but thank you, thank you, Maryland for all your hard work in this effort. Think of, stay strong. Think of the role, the mission, the character that members of this medical group contributed to that tragic event four years ago. We're a Vegas strong. We're a Nella strong. Think about the future roles, the commitment, and sacrifices that will come, that will be born under this new facility. That is Vegas strong. That is Nella strong. But with the blood, sweat, and tears that came out of this facility and the joyfulness of bringing us across the, as we're going to cut the ribbon here a little bit, reminding me of characterization of the word strong. For me, that means stay, excuse me, for me, that means stay hungry and stay focused. Stay hungry and stay focused. What is Al Flowers? Correlation is stay hungry and stay focused. So for me, a knife. A knife, this facility, we're sharpen that whetstone of readiness so that we can go forward and carry on the important mission that our nation needs us to do without fail every day. Stay hungry, stay focused. In addition, a spoon. This facility will allow us to feed ourselves so we may feed others. I remember making a call to a surgeon that was part of the UMC team during my time and gave me the call saying, hey, we need someone to deploy in a short moment to notice. He said, I called him, actually he was sitting on the airplane, he says, call flowers. I will not let you down. Thank you for the opportunity. Stay hungry, stay focused. But also, a fork. The fork reminds me of a story of, it could be a patient, one of the 60,000 patients that we're going to bring into this gate through this department here in the next few years. It could be a patient, any patient that we don't know, what are the circumstances. So it could be a patient that was going through some life-changing events that starts with an ambulance ride here with a trauma. So those life-changing events, it reminds me of a story of an older lady, terminal illness, talking to her cleric, her priest, say, hey, this is the things I want to do in my final preparations. But she said, the one thing that I want to take with me is my fork. And he said, why the fork? He said, it's purely simple, the fork, because I know if having these great family gatherings with the folks that are on my table, I look at the family, my connotation of family, I look at the Mesa Invent Howlings, the UMC family, I look at the UNLV family, I look at our VA family, I look at our first responder family, Donna, and the rest of those that are part of that extended family. When I ate with my family, I felt like I was fulfilled, I had substance for life, but I always kept my fork because I knew dessert was coming, the best was yet to come. I submit, the symbolization of this project is the best is yet to come. The best is yet to come, right? Vegas strong, stay hungry, stay focused. What a great opportunity, I'm so proud, and I'm humbled to be here. I'm going to go around the room or the outside, excuse me, and I'm going to glance over the crowd. As many people as I can see, part of the Nellison extended team, I will sincerely look in your eyes and say thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, what you have done, the best is yet to come. Stay hungry, stay focused. Let's cut this ribbon and all return to your seat.