WEBVTT 00:02.019 --> 00:04.241 Ladies and gentlemen , please stand for 00:04.241 --> 00:06.463 the arrival of the official party . The 00:06.463 --> 00:08.460 29th Secretary of Defense , the 00:08.460 --> 00:10.979 Honorable Pete Hegseth , Sergeant Major 00:10.979 --> 00:13.035 Eric J . Gerasi , United States Army 00:13.035 --> 00:16.069 retired , Colonel Myron Reinke , United 00:16.069 --> 00:18.236 States Army retired , former commander 00:18.236 --> 00:20.739 of 2nd squadron , 2nd striker Cavalry 00:20.750 --> 00:23.700 Regiment , Baghdad , Iraq 2007 to 2008 . 00:24.340 --> 00:26.409 And Colonel Michael Steele , United 00:26.409 --> 00:28.610 States Army retired , former commander 00:28.610 --> 00:30.649 of 3rd Brigade , 101st Airborne 00:30.649 --> 00:34.400 Division , Samar , Iraq 2005 to 2006 . 02:22.809 --> 02:24.531 Please remain standing for the 02:24.531 --> 02:26.642 presentation of colors , the national 02:26.642 --> 02:28.642 anthem sung by Sergeant First Class 02:28.642 --> 02:30.642 Adam Strube , and the invocation by 02:30.642 --> 02:32.198 Chaplain Stephen Servants . 02:59.800 --> 03:03.429 Uh Oh 03:04.860 --> 03:08.080 Oh , free . Oh , 03:20.039 --> 03:23.179 Oh say can you see . 03:23.800 --> 03:26.550 by the dawn's early 03:26.550 --> 03:30.139 light what so proudly 03:30.139 --> 03:32.669 we at the 03:32.669 --> 03:36.649 twilight's last gleaming whose 03:36.649 --> 03:40.639 stripes and bright stars 03:40.639 --> 03:41.639 through the 03:44.669 --> 03:48.669 or the ramparts we watched 03:48.669 --> 03:51.190 were so gallantly 03:51.190 --> 03:55.149 streaming and the rockets 03:55.149 --> 03:58.699 red . the bombs bursting . 04:01.339 --> 04:04.479 Gave proof through the 04:04.479 --> 04:08.449 night that our flag was still 04:08.449 --> 04:12.160 there . Oh say does 04:12.160 --> 04:15.289 that star spangled back . 04:16.540 --> 04:20.470 And yet we or the 04:21.440 --> 04:25.029 And of the free . and 04:25.029 --> 04:28.250 the Oh A 04:31.970 --> 04:35.760 Oh 00 . 04:45.700 --> 04:46.700 Do so . 05:15.540 --> 05:17.707 Good morning . I invite you to join me 05:17.707 --> 05:21.010 in prayer . Eternal Father , we gather 05:21.010 --> 05:23.232 today with grateful hearts thankful for 05:23.232 --> 05:25.980 the joy and peace you bring as we turn 05:25.980 --> 05:28.500 to you . We have come together to 05:28.500 --> 05:30.500 celebrate the promotions of Captain 05:30.500 --> 05:32.611 Matthew Bartlett and Captain Clarence 05:32.611 --> 05:35.200 Dingman to the rank of Major . We give 05:35.200 --> 05:37.730 thanks for their leadership , exemplary 05:37.730 --> 05:40.720 service , and the sacrifices they have 05:40.720 --> 05:43.320 made in serving their country . Thank 05:43.320 --> 05:45.542 you for their spouses and families that 05:45.542 --> 05:47.929 supported them along the way . In 05:47.929 --> 05:49.596 addition to celebrating these 05:49.596 --> 05:51.651 promotions , we also gather to honor 05:51.651 --> 05:54.450 Command Sergeant Major Eric Gerasi as 05:54.450 --> 05:56.672 he is awarded the Distinguished Service 05:56.672 --> 05:58.672 Cross for his heroic leadership and 05:58.672 --> 06:00.783 actions in combat against al Qaeda in 06:00.783 --> 06:03.970 Iraq . You , Father , are honored by 06:03.970 --> 06:06.026 his faith which sustained him during 06:06.026 --> 06:08.450 the trials of battle , his unwavering 06:08.450 --> 06:11.200 work ethic , selflessness , 06:11.850 --> 06:14.809 valor . And warrior spirit . 06:16.059 --> 06:18.420 Thank you for watching over him and the 06:18.420 --> 06:22.339 warriors who stood beside him . We 06:22.339 --> 06:24.450 invite your spirit to guide and bless 06:24.450 --> 06:27.320 this ceremony . May all we say and do 06:27.320 --> 06:30.109 bring honor and glory to you . In your 06:30.109 --> 06:32.910 mighty and sacred name we pray . Amen . 06:40.329 --> 06:42.662 Ladies and gentlemen , please be seated . 06:51.200 --> 06:53.200 Good morning and welcome to today's 06:53.200 --> 06:55.422 honorary promotion ceremony for Captain 06:55.422 --> 06:57.533 Matthew Bartlett and Captain Clarence 06:57.533 --> 06:59.533 Dingman to the rank of Major in the 06:59.533 --> 07:01.422 Distinguished Service Cross Award 07:01.422 --> 07:03.533 ceremony to honor Sergeant Major Eric 07:03.533 --> 07:05.589 Gerasi , we extend a warm welcome to 07:05.589 --> 07:07.700 all family , friends , and colleagues 07:07.700 --> 07:09.089 who've joined us today . 07:20.369 --> 07:22.258 The honorary promotion ceremony . 07:23.980 --> 07:27.200 Attention to orders . In consideration 07:27.200 --> 07:29.200 of a lifetime of commitment to this 07:29.200 --> 07:31.359 nation , trust and confidence in the 07:31.359 --> 07:34.239 patriotism , valor , fidelity , and 07:34.239 --> 07:37.109 abilities of Captain Matthew Bartlett 07:37.320 --> 07:39.399 and Captain Clarence Dingman , we do 07:39.399 --> 07:41.359 hereby appoint them in the United 07:41.359 --> 07:43.480 States Army to the honorary grade of 07:43.480 --> 07:46.640 Major as such from this 18th day of 07:46.640 --> 07:50.549 March 2025 . By order of the 07:50.549 --> 07:51.882 secretary of the Army . 09:30.570 --> 09:32.681 Ladies and gentlemen , Majors Dingman 09:32.681 --> 09:33.681 and Bartlett . 10:16.270 --> 10:18.381 Ladies and gentlemen , this concludes 10:18.381 --> 10:20.214 today's promotion ceremony . The 10:20.214 --> 10:22.270 Secretary of Defense welcomes you to 10:22.270 --> 10:24.381 the Distinguished Service Cross Award 10:24.381 --> 10:26.548 ceremony in in honor of Sergeant Major 10:26.548 --> 10:28.603 Eric J . Gerasi , United States Army 10:28.603 --> 10:27.989 retired . 10:40.739 --> 10:42.683 It is my honor to introduce two of 10:42.683 --> 10:44.406 Sergeant Major Gerasi's former 10:44.406 --> 10:46.683 commanders who will make a few remarks . 10:46.683 --> 10:48.906 First , we will hear from Colonel Myron 10:48.906 --> 10:51.128 Roenicke , United States Army retired . 11:02.580 --> 11:05.700 Secretary Hag Seth . General George 11:06.840 --> 11:10.690 Our distinguished guests . Men of Eagle 11:10.690 --> 11:13.090 Company and the 2nd squadron , 2nd 11:13.090 --> 11:16.059 cavalry Regiment . Family members and 11:16.059 --> 11:19.299 colleagues . And so Major Garasy . 11:21.809 --> 11:24.400 I am deeply honored to be here this 11:24.400 --> 11:27.190 morning as we award the Distinguished 11:27.190 --> 11:29.520 Service Cross to Command Sergeant Major 11:29.520 --> 11:32.400 retired Eric J . Gerasi . 11:34.919 --> 11:37.750 My name is Myron Reenicke . And I 11:37.750 --> 11:40.070 commanded the 2nd squadron , 2nd 11:40.070 --> 11:42.237 cavalry regiment during the squadron's 11:42.237 --> 11:45.950 deployment to Iraq from August of 2007 . 11:46.669 --> 11:49.299 Until October of 2008 . 11:51.520 --> 11:53.742 And my purpose this morning is simple . 11:54.260 --> 11:57.780 I am here to say thank you . However 11:57.780 --> 12:00.780 inadequately but most sincerely . 12:03.409 --> 12:05.631 First , I'd like to thank God from whom 12:05.631 --> 12:08.820 all blessings flow . And I thank God 12:08.820 --> 12:11.950 for sending Master Sergeant Eric Gerasi 12:12.219 --> 12:16.119 to my squadron . Eric arrived in Vilsse , 12:16.200 --> 12:20.099 Germany unexpectedly . In the middle of 12:20.099 --> 12:22.390 a winter's night during a snowstorm . 12:23.409 --> 12:25.940 Because how else would Eric arrive ? 12:29.429 --> 12:31.651 The command sergeant Major and I gladly 12:31.651 --> 12:33.873 welcomed him as we were not yet at full 12:33.873 --> 12:36.219 strength . We had just moved as a rest 12:36.219 --> 12:38.859 stationing mission with the entire 12:38.859 --> 12:40.803 cavalry regiment from Fort Lewis , 12:40.803 --> 12:43.380 Washington to Vilsack , Germany , only 12:43.380 --> 12:47.190 6 months before . And we had 2 of our 12:47.190 --> 12:49.357 5 authorized first sergeants on hand . 12:51.239 --> 12:53.460 We quickly realized that Eric's 12:53.460 --> 12:55.682 leadership and experience would greatly 12:55.859 --> 12:59.349 benefit our young formation . And so we 12:59.349 --> 13:01.571 assigned him as the Eagle Company first 13:01.571 --> 13:04.119 sergeant . Where he immediately began 13:04.119 --> 13:05.897 to prepare his soldiers for our 13:05.897 --> 13:07.590 upcoming deployment to Iraq . 13:10.789 --> 13:12.956 And I'd like to thank those soldiers , 13:12.956 --> 13:15.140 non-commissioned officers and officers 13:15.140 --> 13:18.940 of Eagle Company . Thank you for 13:18.940 --> 13:21.340 your trust in First Sergeant Gerasi's 13:21.340 --> 13:25.049 leadership , experience , and guidance 13:25.659 --> 13:28.419 as you tirelessly trained and prepared 13:28.419 --> 13:31.340 for deployment . And then worked with 13:31.340 --> 13:33.609 urgency and without sleep . 13:34.979 --> 13:38.289 To prepare your combat outpost defense 13:39.020 --> 13:40.909 ahead of assuming control of your 13:40.909 --> 13:43.580 assigned battle space in East Rashid , 13:43.659 --> 13:47.190 Baghdad . Thank you 13:47.190 --> 13:51.099 especially . For your cohesive 13:51.099 --> 13:54.130 bravery and courage under fire 13:54.940 --> 13:57.380 during the desperate defense of your 13:57.380 --> 14:00.099 outpost on the 4th of September 14:00.099 --> 14:04.070 2007 . Your actions 14:04.070 --> 14:06.390 that day are in keeping with the finest 14:06.390 --> 14:08.710 examples and traditions of the American 14:08.710 --> 14:11.820 soldier throughout our nation's history . 14:12.799 --> 14:15.830 And I am humbled and proud to have been 14:15.830 --> 14:17.441 your commander . Thank you . 14:21.010 --> 14:23.232 I'd like to say thank you to our senior 14:23.232 --> 14:26.299 leaders , both military and civilian . 14:27.590 --> 14:30.630 Who continually endorsed and advocated 14:30.630 --> 14:34.450 for the upgrade of this award . Despite 14:34.450 --> 14:36.969 repeated setbacks and disapprovals . 14:38.640 --> 14:41.219 At every turn you reaffirm your support 14:41.630 --> 14:43.969 for Sergeant Major Gery to be properly 14:43.969 --> 14:46.580 recognized for his heroic leadership 14:46.909 --> 14:50.890 and actions in combat . Although nearly 14:50.890 --> 14:54.859 18 years later , This day would not 14:54.859 --> 14:57.059 be possible without your advocacy , 14:57.390 --> 14:59.609 encouragement , and assistance . Thank 14:59.609 --> 15:00.609 you very much . 15:03.330 --> 15:06.190 And finally , my personal thanks to you , 15:06.200 --> 15:10.190 Eric . Your demonstrated care for 15:10.190 --> 15:13.229 your soldiers through tough , realistic 15:13.229 --> 15:15.369 training and tireless preparation and 15:15.369 --> 15:18.549 rehearsals were the precursors to 15:18.549 --> 15:22.250 victory . Upon occupation 15:22.250 --> 15:25.630 of combat outpost Blackfoot . Your 15:25.630 --> 15:27.686 immediate assessment of the tactical 15:27.686 --> 15:30.489 situation anticipated the very attack 15:30.489 --> 15:33.869 that was to come . In the 15:33.869 --> 15:36.979 absence of your commander . You 15:36.979 --> 15:39.201 personally coordinated the fence of the 15:39.201 --> 15:42.210 outpost while simultaneously directing 15:42.210 --> 15:45.099 the fires of attack aviation and 15:45.099 --> 15:46.729 sending reports back to me . 15:48.849 --> 15:51.016 Your leadership and courageous actions 15:51.016 --> 15:54.530 under fire decisively defeated a 15:54.530 --> 15:56.700 complex attack against a determined 15:56.700 --> 16:00.580 enemy . And numerically superior enemy . 16:01.419 --> 16:04.650 Without the loss of a single American 16:04.650 --> 16:08.630 soldier's life . Eric , for this , I am 16:08.630 --> 16:11.359 most grateful , and I owe you a debt 16:11.359 --> 16:13.415 that I can never repay . Thank you . 16:26.950 --> 16:29.789 September 4th could have been a tragic 16:29.789 --> 16:33.250 day . The enemy was hoping to achieve a 16:33.250 --> 16:34.861 spectacular event that would 16:34.861 --> 16:38.159 reverberate around the world . In an 16:38.159 --> 16:40.599 attempt to influence American public 16:40.599 --> 16:42.488 opinion against the war in Iraq . 16:44.280 --> 16:46.830 Their success would have demoralized 16:46.830 --> 16:49.460 the entire squadron and our families 16:49.460 --> 16:52.590 back home at the very start of a 16:52.590 --> 16:55.320 grueling 15 month combat deployment . 16:57.969 --> 17:01.090 Instead , Eagle Company's victory 17:01.619 --> 17:03.563 inspired confidence throughout the 17:03.563 --> 17:05.989 squadron . And marked the beginning of 17:05.989 --> 17:08.708 a campaign that led to the defeat of al 17:08.708 --> 17:11.668 Qaeda in East Raided and enabled the 17:11.668 --> 17:14.218 return of the city to local governance 17:14.218 --> 17:17.930 and Iraqi sovereignty . For 17:17.930 --> 17:20.097 its collective actions in Baghdad from 17:20.097 --> 17:23.530 September 2007 to May 2008 . 17:24.448 --> 17:26.519 The Cougar Squadron was awarded the 17:26.519 --> 17:30.229 Valorous Unit Award . And so today , 17:30.349 --> 17:32.349 Eric , we finally gathered to fully 17:32.349 --> 17:35.390 recognize your valor on that pivotal 17:35.390 --> 17:36.979 day in Iraq . 17:38.660 --> 17:41.020 Thankfully , we will never know what 17:41.020 --> 17:43.300 the outcome might have been had you not 17:43.300 --> 17:46.209 arrived to us on that dark , cold , 17:46.670 --> 17:50.319 snowy night in Germany . May God 17:50.319 --> 17:52.520 continue to bless you and watch over 17:52.520 --> 17:56.209 you . And may God bless the soldiers of 17:56.209 --> 17:58.939 the 2nd Cavalry Regiment . And the 17:58.939 --> 18:01.949 United States Army . Always ready , 18:02.479 --> 18:04.090 second to none . Thank you . 18:21.290 --> 18:23.457 Ladies and gentlemen , Colonel Michael 18:23.457 --> 18:25.568 Steele , United States Army retired . 18:37.839 --> 18:40.630 First and foremost , Clarence and Matt , 18:40.739 --> 18:42.628 congratulations . That is so long 18:42.628 --> 18:43.290 overdue . 18:53.560 --> 18:56.530 Secretary Hex . General George 18:57.890 --> 18:59.810 All of you rockasons . 19:03.189 --> 19:04.745 And all you normal people . 19:08.130 --> 19:11.209 Eric , look at that . That is a 19:11.209 --> 19:13.040 testimony to you . 19:22.910 --> 19:25.510 Somebody told me this room had never 19:25.510 --> 19:29.160 been filled . What a shame . What a 19:29.160 --> 19:31.699 shame because we ought to be 19:31.699 --> 19:35.030 recognizing men like this . And fill in 19:35.030 --> 19:36.660 this room all the time . 19:49.819 --> 19:52.459 I recognize nobody came here today to 19:52.459 --> 19:55.550 hear me speak . Everybody came to hear 19:55.550 --> 19:58.550 the secretary and hear Eric speak , and 19:58.550 --> 20:02.260 so I'll be brief . First and foremost , 20:03.560 --> 20:07.280 I want to thank God . For allowing me 20:07.280 --> 20:10.609 to be an American . And to live in the 20:10.609 --> 20:12.400 greatest country on earth . 20:21.910 --> 20:24.132 And I want to thank God for allowing me 20:24.132 --> 20:26.680 to be here today . One of the things 20:26.689 --> 20:30.439 that . The secretary and I share in 20:30.439 --> 20:32.920 common among many things is our belief 20:32.920 --> 20:35.087 in God and our faith in the Lord Jesus 20:35.087 --> 20:37.198 Christ . I've been a Christian for 44 20:37.198 --> 20:39.364 years , and I make it a habit that any 20:39.364 --> 20:41.420 time I travel or I speak , always 20:41.839 --> 20:44.006 remember to thank God for His mercy in 20:44.006 --> 20:46.349 my life and the extraordinary blessings 20:46.349 --> 20:49.989 he's , he's bestowed on me . Today 20:51.609 --> 20:55.400 It has been a long time coming . The 20:55.400 --> 20:58.489 day that we collectively recognize Eric 20:58.489 --> 21:00.359 Gara for his heroism and for his 21:00.359 --> 21:01.229 gallantry . 21:06.630 --> 21:08.686 But there's a sad aspect . There's a 21:08.686 --> 21:11.609 bad aspect to the day as well , that it 21:11.609 --> 21:15.369 took 18 years for a Warriors award to 21:15.369 --> 21:17.480 be accepted , to be processed , to be 21:17.480 --> 21:19.758 approved , and for him to be presented . 21:19.758 --> 21:20.780 18 years . 21:27.770 --> 21:30.030 I am exceedingly grateful , Mr . 21:30.040 --> 21:33.000 Secretary and Chief , for your actions 21:33.000 --> 21:34.778 to make sure that we properly . 21:35.489 --> 21:37.600 Recognized Eric today . Thank you for 21:37.600 --> 21:41.439 that . But the sad truth is that 21:41.439 --> 21:43.800 there are hundreds of other young men . 21:44.790 --> 21:47.012 Who've done the right thing , picked up 21:47.012 --> 21:49.234 their rifles , and they've run into the 21:49.234 --> 21:51.512 darkness and done our nation's bidding . 21:51.512 --> 21:53.679 And yet they're still waiting on being 21:53.679 --> 21:56.739 recognized . I can't tell you how 21:56.739 --> 21:59.069 encouraged I am , Chief , that you're 21:59.069 --> 22:00.958 in charge of the army , and you , 22:00.958 --> 22:03.069 Secretary Hag said , you're in charge 22:03.069 --> 22:05.390 of the military , two men who have a 22:05.390 --> 22:07.849 well deserved reputation for unfettered 22:07.849 --> 22:10.270 fairness and justice , and I know that 22:10.270 --> 22:12.492 you're both working hard to ensure that 22:12.492 --> 22:15.420 these men who are still waiting . Will 22:15.420 --> 22:17.660 be appropriately recognized in the 22:17.660 --> 22:21.439 future . I arrived this morning pretty 22:21.439 --> 22:23.829 early , got held up as security . Some 22:23.829 --> 22:25.385 Navy guys down there were . 22:29.939 --> 22:32.329 But I , I got to speak to almost 22:32.329 --> 22:36.329 everybody . And as I spoke to 22:36.329 --> 22:38.440 everybody , there was a question that 22:38.440 --> 22:40.551 kept coming to my mind . But I didn't 22:40.551 --> 22:42.662 ask anybody and I , I just decided to 22:42.662 --> 22:44.500 wait and ask you collectively . 22:47.969 --> 22:50.459 Why Are you here ? 22:54.920 --> 22:58.400 Why are you here ? We've got people 23:00.489 --> 23:02.267 Unfortunately from California . 23:04.349 --> 23:07.550 We've got somebody over here from From 23:07.550 --> 23:09.670 Fort Fort Lewis , Fort Lewis , 23:09.790 --> 23:12.068 Washington . if I use antiquated names , 23:12.150 --> 23:15.489 I'm not sorry , I'm old . From Fort 23:15.489 --> 23:19.089 Lewis , Washington . Met somebody today 23:19.089 --> 23:21.479 from Idaho and I may be the only person 23:21.479 --> 23:23.535 here . I didn't know people actually 23:23.535 --> 23:25.590 lived in Idaho . I thought they were 23:25.590 --> 23:29.150 just potatoes . Met somebody from 23:29.420 --> 23:32.239 Denver , Colorado . Missouri . I saw 23:32.239 --> 23:34.461 him a minute ago . Missouri . There you 23:34.461 --> 23:36.869 go , Missouri . We've got people from 23:37.089 --> 23:39.089 New Hampshire . I've only met a few 23:39.089 --> 23:41.311 guys from New Hampshire , somebody from 23:41.311 --> 23:44.680 Eric's small town , New York City . Got 23:44.680 --> 23:46.800 quite a few people from Pennsylvania 23:46.800 --> 23:48.967 today . Obviously a lot of people from 23:48.967 --> 23:51.760 Virginia and from DC . Got a couple 23:51.760 --> 23:54.670 people from South Carolina from North 23:54.670 --> 23:56.892 Carolina . Doctor Hart , there's Doctor 23:56.892 --> 23:59.059 Hart right at the back . Doctor Hart , 23:59.059 --> 24:01.270 Colonel Hart is the Rockerson 24:01.270 --> 24:03.839 regimental psychiatrist . See me after 24:03.839 --> 24:06.006 this . I've got some new referrals for 24:06.006 --> 24:09.770 you . We've got 24:09.770 --> 24:12.010 about a company's worth of guys from 24:12.010 --> 24:14.066 Fort Campbell , Kentucky . We've got 24:14.066 --> 24:16.010 guys from Clarksville , Kentucky . 24:16.010 --> 24:18.177 There's a guy over here from Alabama . 24:18.177 --> 24:20.177 Somebody over here was from Texas . 24:20.177 --> 24:22.180 Somebody is from Louisiana . I just 24:22.609 --> 24:24.498 there , right there , Louisiana , 24:24.498 --> 24:26.849 somebody from Mississippi . We've got 24:26.849 --> 24:29.290 Ed Rogers , a mutual friend from , from 24:29.290 --> 24:31.849 Miami for Eric and me , recognized as 24:31.849 --> 24:33.930 probably the best 53 pilot in the 24:33.930 --> 24:37.469 history of the Marine Corps . I met two 24:37.469 --> 24:40.150 guys from Europe . Somebody's here from 24:40.150 --> 24:43.969 Hawaii . We've got 24:43.969 --> 24:47.339 officers . We've got non-commissioned 24:47.339 --> 24:50.420 officers . We have junior enlisted . We 24:50.420 --> 24:52.890 have former superiors , we have peers , 24:53.099 --> 24:57.000 we have subordinates . We've 24:57.000 --> 24:59.222 come here today from around the country 24:59.222 --> 25:01.420 and from foreign countries to this 25:01.420 --> 25:03.739 point in time , to this specific 25:03.739 --> 25:05.961 location , and my question for you is , 25:05.961 --> 25:07.017 why are you here ? 25:12.329 --> 25:15.130 Are you here because Eric Gery has met 25:15.130 --> 25:18.670 your expectations of leadership ? I'd 25:18.670 --> 25:20.781 say no , that's not why you're here . 25:21.380 --> 25:23.709 You see , you and you and I are here 25:24.160 --> 25:27.160 because Eric Gery has exceeded our 25:27.160 --> 25:29.920 expectations of leadership . We're here 25:29.920 --> 25:32.800 because Eric is a fanatical soldier and 25:32.800 --> 25:34.244 he's a fanatical leader . 25:41.369 --> 25:41.949 I like 25:45.670 --> 25:47.670 A fanatical soldier and a fanatical 25:47.670 --> 25:49.670 leader , and I know I probably hurt 25:49.670 --> 25:51.781 somebody's feelings by using the word 25:51.781 --> 25:53.790 fanatic . I know we don't like that 25:53.790 --> 25:56.430 word unless , unless we're talking 25:56.430 --> 25:58.829 about sports , and then you can paint 25:58.829 --> 26:01.051 yourself orange and go butt naked to an 26:01.051 --> 26:03.270 NFL game and the announcer would say 26:03.270 --> 26:05.381 our fans are the greatest . They're a 26:05.381 --> 26:09.219 bunch of fanatics . We want more . But 26:09.229 --> 26:11.340 when it comes to things that matter . 26:11.989 --> 26:15.390 Like Serving our nation in uniform , 26:15.880 --> 26:19.719 we've been slowly . Conditioned to 26:19.719 --> 26:23.560 accept unemotional . Apathetic 26:24.369 --> 26:27.859 flaccid leadership . Our soldiers , Mr . 26:27.869 --> 26:30.147 Secretary , those soldiers in the back , 26:30.270 --> 26:32.492 they want , and more importantly , they 26:32.492 --> 26:36.239 deserve fanatical leadership . And that 26:36.239 --> 26:38.719 is what Eric Garsey is . Eric Gery is a 26:38.719 --> 26:42.089 fanatical leader . We're here today 26:42.089 --> 26:44.449 because Eric has the is a kind of 26:44.449 --> 26:47.219 impassioned leader . That we all want 26:47.219 --> 26:49.349 to follow . We're here because Eric 26:49.349 --> 26:51.979 Gery inspires us . 26:54.000 --> 26:56.229 Think for a minute . What would happen 26:56.229 --> 26:59.069 if we had 335 million ? 27:00.010 --> 27:03.920 Citizens Who are fanatical and 27:03.920 --> 27:07.170 unapologetic . About being Americans . 27:09.760 --> 27:11.816 I'll hazard a guess and say we would 27:11.816 --> 27:13.871 never have a recruiting problem ever 27:13.871 --> 27:17.239 again . Listen , I have had 27:18.729 --> 27:20.680 I've had the honor , I've had the 27:20.680 --> 27:22.791 privilege to serve with some of the . 27:24.079 --> 27:27.170 The bravest And the toughest men on 27:27.170 --> 27:31.079 earth . And as I think back of the 27:31.079 --> 27:33.079 warriors who have been in my life . 27:37.890 --> 27:41.790 Men who I aspire to be . Men who 27:41.790 --> 27:43.569 I desire to emulate . 27:45.949 --> 27:48.339 One of those at the top of that list . 27:49.699 --> 27:52.489 Is Eric Garasy . Eric Garasy is the 27:52.489 --> 27:56.430 quintessential American soldier . Eric , 27:56.510 --> 28:00.380 I thank God for you . And I thank God 28:00.550 --> 28:02.717 for all you other fanatics that are in 28:02.717 --> 28:06.410 the room . I am honored to be here , 28:06.449 --> 28:10.359 but more importantly , I'm honored 28:10.359 --> 28:13.900 to be your friend . This 28:13.900 --> 28:16.699 nation owes you an extraordinary debt 28:16.699 --> 28:19.849 of gratitude . For your honorable 28:19.849 --> 28:22.489 service to this nation under the most 28:22.489 --> 28:26.109 difficult of circumstances . And I hope 28:27.020 --> 28:29.920 And I pray That God will continue to 28:29.920 --> 28:32.229 bless you in the future . 28:35.020 --> 28:37.489 And for all you Roxannes here , you 28:37.489 --> 28:41.449 need to know I am proud of each and 28:41.449 --> 28:44.140 every one of you . And more importantly , 28:45.300 --> 28:46.300 I love you . 29:05.540 --> 29:07.540 Ladies and gentlemen , our host for 29:07.540 --> 29:09.540 today's ceremony , the twenty-ninth 29:09.540 --> 29:11.596 Secretary of Defense , the Honorable 29:11.596 --> 29:12.596 Pete Hegseth . 29:22.199 --> 29:23.921 Colonel , you were wrong about 29:23.921 --> 29:25.969 something . I did come to hear you 29:25.969 --> 29:29.939 speak . And so did this crowd , 29:30.630 --> 29:32.908 um , it's an absolute honor to be here . 29:33.530 --> 29:35.380 Uh , I was in with , uh , Connor 29:35.380 --> 29:37.859 McGregor yesterday . I was in the Oval 29:37.859 --> 29:40.859 Office a couple days ago . I mean every 29:40.859 --> 29:43.060 meeting you can conceive of , none of 29:43.060 --> 29:45.579 them make me nervous this does . 29:47.500 --> 29:49.500 Uh , it makes me nervous because it 29:49.500 --> 29:52.310 matters . Makes me nervous because it's 29:52.310 --> 29:54.750 in front of peers , it's in front of 29:54.750 --> 29:57.670 people that I admire . People who were 29:57.670 --> 30:00.530 with me shoulder to shoulder . In 30:00.530 --> 30:03.119 combat on the battlefield when 30:03.119 --> 30:05.530 everything mattered , when it was all 30:05.530 --> 30:08.170 on the line . All that mattered was who 30:08.170 --> 30:10.770 you were with , what you were capable 30:10.770 --> 30:13.380 of together . What the mission was in 30:13.380 --> 30:15.602 front of you , who had your back behind 30:15.602 --> 30:18.689 you . Uh , and so , Colonel , uh , I 30:18.689 --> 30:20.745 wanna , I wanna thank you for always 30:20.745 --> 30:22.856 having our back . Colonel Mike Steele 30:22.856 --> 30:24.911 always had our back and we knew it . 30:25.089 --> 30:27.256 And I knew it from the first speech he 30:27.256 --> 30:29.256 gave at Fort Campbell up on a stage 30:29.256 --> 30:31.930 just like this . You guys remember it . 30:38.150 --> 30:42.069 Put Patton to shame . Uh , it , it is 30:42.069 --> 30:44.180 a privilege and it is an honor , uh , 30:44.229 --> 30:46.173 to stand in front of all of you to 30:46.173 --> 30:49.099 honor , uh , one man . Eric Ey , I knew 30:49.099 --> 30:51.210 him as First Sergeant Eric Gy . A lot 30:51.210 --> 30:54.119 of you knew him as the same . Uh , who 30:54.680 --> 30:57.619 changed my life . Changed a lot of your 30:57.619 --> 30:59.739 lives . That's why this this room is 30:59.739 --> 31:02.329 packed . With people who were impacted 31:02.329 --> 31:05.189 by him . Yet I know when you talk to 31:05.189 --> 31:07.245 him , and I've talked to him today , 31:07.245 --> 31:09.467 and a lot of you have and we'll talk to 31:09.467 --> 31:11.689 him throughout the day , he will simply 31:11.689 --> 31:13.800 say , as he always does , this is not 31:13.800 --> 31:15.911 about me , this is about all of you . 31:16.079 --> 31:18.135 This is about what we did together . 31:18.859 --> 31:21.026 And , and I give a lot of speeches and 31:21.026 --> 31:23.192 I stand on a lot of stages and I get a 31:23.192 --> 31:25.303 lot of applause and I and I and every 31:25.303 --> 31:28.030 time I speak . Basically what I think 31:28.030 --> 31:31.229 about is this room . I think about the 31:31.229 --> 31:34.430 men that I see out here , many faces 31:34.430 --> 31:36.430 that are very familiar to me that I 31:36.430 --> 31:39.060 haven't seen in a very long time , uh , 31:39.229 --> 31:41.449 who were there for me and with me when 31:41.449 --> 31:43.671 it mattered most and the fact that they 31:43.671 --> 31:46.280 never get the applause . They never get 31:46.280 --> 31:48.239 the headlines . They never get the 31:48.239 --> 31:50.183 bright lights . They never get the 31:50.183 --> 31:52.128 microphones . No one's heard their 31:52.128 --> 31:54.183 story . No one's familiar with their 31:54.183 --> 31:56.183 story . No one's pinned an award on 31:56.183 --> 31:58.350 them and if they got it , maybe it was 31:58.350 --> 32:00.517 sent to them to the mail clerk like it 32:00.517 --> 32:03.430 was the first time to Eric Geri , um , 32:03.640 --> 32:05.584 literally his Silver Star was sent 32:05.584 --> 32:08.199 through the mail to a mail clerk , uh . 32:09.280 --> 32:11.447 They didn't get the recognition . They 32:11.447 --> 32:13.630 didn't get the praise , uh , and I 32:13.630 --> 32:15.741 remember that every time I stand this 32:15.741 --> 32:17.890 is not about me . I'm not I'm nothing 32:17.890 --> 32:20.810 special . I'm a soldier who served 32:20.810 --> 32:23.510 under . Extraordinary leadership . 32:24.609 --> 32:27.430 And who is this is and more honored 32:27.430 --> 32:29.541 today than any other opportunity I've 32:29.541 --> 32:31.652 had at the Pentagon thus far to stand 32:31.652 --> 32:33.874 on this stage with fellow soldiers with 32:33.874 --> 32:35.986 the men of Eagle Company , the men of 32:35.986 --> 32:37.930 Charlie Company , the men of those 32:37.930 --> 32:40.479 units . Who understand what the stakes 32:40.479 --> 32:43.040 were . Understand how significant those 32:43.040 --> 32:45.469 moments were we'll never forget them 32:45.800 --> 32:49.579 are shaped , uh . In every possible 32:49.579 --> 32:52.869 way since then about them . And just 32:52.869 --> 32:54.925 like we look at the Medal of Honor , 32:54.925 --> 32:56.869 when someone receives the Medal of 32:56.869 --> 32:59.202 Honor and you say , you know what , yes , 32:59.202 --> 32:58.349 that's an award for one individual , 32:58.430 --> 33:00.263 but it really is an award for my 33:00.263 --> 33:03.800 generation for for what we did . I know , 33:04.099 --> 33:06.310 like you , that's how I feel for Eric 33:06.310 --> 33:09.319 Geri receiving this award today . Long 33:09.319 --> 33:13.209 overdue . Injustice of multitudes of 33:13.209 --> 33:16.180 injustices . I served upon him and 33:16.180 --> 33:20.089 other men he served with . And uh I 33:20.089 --> 33:22.410 remember when we first sort of hatched 33:22.410 --> 33:24.466 maybe the opportunity that something 33:24.466 --> 33:26.577 like this could be possible . It felt 33:26.577 --> 33:28.354 so distant , so impossible , so 33:28.354 --> 33:31.420 unlikely , so improbable . We felt like 33:31.420 --> 33:33.531 on behalf of those men that he served 33:33.531 --> 33:35.864 with , we have to do something about it . 33:35.864 --> 33:38.349 Because each one of us has a not one 33:38.349 --> 33:40.516 Eric Garriy story we have lots of Eric 33:40.516 --> 33:44.349 Garriy stories . Um , you know , mine , 33:44.469 --> 33:46.989 I showed up as a brand new first 33:46.989 --> 33:49.211 lieutenant to the unit just a few weeks 33:49.211 --> 33:51.433 before we mobilized to go to Kuwait for 33:51.433 --> 33:54.579 pre-mo . I was a National Guard , 33:55.109 --> 33:58.390 Ivy League , Wall Street non-anger 33:58.390 --> 34:00.790 qualified platoon leader who had not 34:00.790 --> 34:03.160 deployed before . How do you think Eric 34:03.160 --> 34:05.327 Garasi looked at me when I showed up ? 34:09.469 --> 34:11.636 I was even wearing the wrong uniform , 34:11.636 --> 34:13.879 the old BDUs , because I was in a 34:13.879 --> 34:15.899 National Guard uniform . This guy 34:15.899 --> 34:17.955 looked me up and down and was like , 34:17.955 --> 34:20.469 who the hell is this guy ? Uh , the 34:20.469 --> 34:22.580 only one and the only person that had 34:22.580 --> 34:24.802 vouched for me was at that time Captain 34:24.802 --> 34:26.858 Hart , Captain Dan Hart , uh , who's 34:26.858 --> 34:29.389 now a , a colonel and , uh , incredible 34:29.389 --> 34:31.449 human being , an amazing example for 34:31.449 --> 34:33.282 many of us , had been my platoon 34:33.282 --> 34:35.590 trainer at IOBC , and I , I'll spare 34:35.590 --> 34:37.757 you the full story , but I was itching 34:37.757 --> 34:39.923 to get , get involved , and he vouched 34:39.923 --> 34:42.146 for me and Colonel Steele signed off on 34:42.146 --> 34:44.312 it and my unit did and soon enough I , 34:44.312 --> 34:46.146 I found myself at . Uh , at Fort 34:46.146 --> 34:48.257 Campbell and doing everything I could 34:48.257 --> 34:50.534 to sort of prove that I was capable of , 34:50.534 --> 34:52.646 of , of being part of this incredible 34:52.646 --> 34:55.939 unit . Uh , and Eric , as he was , he 34:55.939 --> 34:58.699 was both my toughest critic and also my 34:58.699 --> 35:01.840 best mentor at the same time . He gave 35:01.840 --> 35:05.389 me a very affectionate nickname . It 35:05.389 --> 35:06.667 was national garbage . 35:14.969 --> 35:18.649 That I got to earn my way out of . In 35:18.649 --> 35:22.419 real time , uh , and his expectations 35:22.419 --> 35:25.090 were incredibly high because he had 35:25.090 --> 35:26.923 been to combat he'd seen it , he 35:26.923 --> 35:29.146 understood it . And he wanted to infuse 35:29.146 --> 35:31.520 in us just like Colonel Steele this 35:31.520 --> 35:34.310 understanding of in that moment you in 35:34.310 --> 35:36.669 that crucible is when you are tested 35:36.669 --> 35:38.725 and the only thing that prepares you 35:38.725 --> 35:40.947 for that crucible is the training , the 35:40.947 --> 35:43.225 realistic training time and time again , 35:43.225 --> 35:45.447 iteration after iteration that prepares 35:45.447 --> 35:47.613 you for that moment , that explosion , 35:47.613 --> 35:47.590 that crack of the bullet . How do you 35:47.590 --> 35:49.757 respond ? Will you get violent quickly 35:49.757 --> 35:53.090 as is necessary . Uh , and so 35:53.330 --> 35:55.669 he pounded that into my skull , 35:56.169 --> 35:58.447 metaphorically and physically probably . 35:59.560 --> 36:01.449 We trained , we trained more , we 36:01.449 --> 36:03.560 trained more , we trained more , uh , 36:03.560 --> 36:05.782 and it wasn't until that , you know , a 36:05.782 --> 36:08.449 first couple initial operations , all I 36:08.449 --> 36:11.760 cared when I came back . Basically was , 36:12.010 --> 36:14.121 you know , did Eric Garriy , with the 36:14.121 --> 36:15.954 first sergeant feel like we were 36:15.954 --> 36:18.288 squared away like we did all right . Um , 36:18.288 --> 36:20.454 nothing else mattered . It was the men 36:20.454 --> 36:22.677 you were serving with and their , the , 36:22.677 --> 36:24.843 the reality and the perception of your 36:24.843 --> 36:26.954 leadership with them , were you going 36:26.954 --> 36:29.010 to be there for you ? Were you gonna 36:29.010 --> 36:31.177 bring the effects to bear on the enemy 36:31.177 --> 36:33.232 necessary ? Were you prepared ? Uh , 36:33.232 --> 36:35.454 were you overprepared ? Uh , were you , 36:35.454 --> 36:37.621 uh , what was the , the , the word you 36:37.621 --> 36:39.669 use is , were you fanatical about 36:39.669 --> 36:42.149 preparing every single aspect that we 36:42.149 --> 36:44.469 were doing because the goal , yes , it 36:44.469 --> 36:46.636 was to accomplish the mission . But it 36:46.636 --> 36:49.110 was to bring your boys home with you in 36:49.110 --> 36:52.719 the process . It's we arranged 36:52.719 --> 36:54.997 funerals for the other side , not ours . 36:55.669 --> 36:57.725 Uh , and that was something that was 36:57.725 --> 36:59.669 whether it was in Fort Campbell at 36:59.669 --> 37:01.780 Kuwait and throughout . Our mission , 37:01.860 --> 37:04.027 so it doesn't surprise me that when he 37:04.027 --> 37:06.193 went to Eagle Company , he infused the 37:06.193 --> 37:08.360 very same mentality . We're not taking 37:08.360 --> 37:10.360 over a combat outpost . We're gonna 37:10.360 --> 37:12.582 immediately improve the defense in real 37:12.582 --> 37:14.527 time and guess what ? Joe is gonna 37:14.527 --> 37:16.638 about it because we're gonna spend 36 37:16.638 --> 37:18.800 hours without sleeping , without 37:18.800 --> 37:21.320 resting . Am I right about that , sir ? 37:21.479 --> 37:24.530 That's right about that , yeah . Yeah 37:26.000 --> 37:29.889 He did Because he had been 37:29.889 --> 37:33.199 there . He had seen it . He understood 37:33.199 --> 37:35.199 what would happen once chaos rained 37:35.199 --> 37:37.310 down on the entire formation , on the 37:37.310 --> 37:39.199 entire platoon and the the entire 37:39.199 --> 37:41.310 company . And in that moment , either 37:41.310 --> 37:43.477 you were prepared or you weren't . And 37:43.477 --> 37:46.429 Eric Geri went back again to combat 37:46.429 --> 37:48.485 after the injustice that happened to 37:48.485 --> 37:50.596 him on our rotation because he didn't 37:50.596 --> 37:52.762 want it happening to another subset of 37:52.762 --> 37:54.985 men if he could be a part of preventing 37:54.985 --> 37:57.207 it and that's precisely what he did for 37:57.207 --> 37:59.318 Eagle Company . That's precisely what 37:59.318 --> 38:01.207 he did on that day in 2007 . It's 38:01.207 --> 38:03.207 precisely why we are here today and 38:03.207 --> 38:03.189 it's not just we're not just here 38:03.189 --> 38:05.639 because of that day . Yes , that day is 38:05.639 --> 38:07.806 incredibly meaningful and we will read 38:07.806 --> 38:09.917 the citation today and I told my kids 38:09.917 --> 38:11.917 this morning I said you listen up . 38:11.917 --> 38:14.679 That's why they're here today . Read , 38:14.870 --> 38:17.310 listen to that citation . Understood , 38:17.750 --> 38:20.419 understand what men did . What a man 38:20.419 --> 38:22.909 did , what a group of people did in a 38:22.909 --> 38:25.699 far flung flung place , no one's ever 38:25.699 --> 38:27.780 heard of at a time no one will ever 38:27.780 --> 38:30.300 remember , in a way that shaped the 38:30.300 --> 38:32.300 lives of those men that will change 38:32.300 --> 38:35.189 them forever . And we ought to use a 38:35.189 --> 38:39.110 forum like this as much as possible to 38:39.110 --> 38:41.332 remind people of those special things , 38:41.332 --> 38:43.388 to motivate future generations to be 38:43.388 --> 38:45.443 willing to do the same . And what we 38:45.443 --> 38:47.277 celebrate what we recognize is a 38:47.277 --> 38:49.388 reflection of what we honor , what we 38:49.388 --> 38:51.499 believe is is important , uh , and in 38:51.499 --> 38:53.610 this case it's recognized the actions 38:53.610 --> 38:55.777 of that day and undoing an injustice . 38:56.719 --> 38:58.775 So we're here today because a lot of 38:58.775 --> 39:00.997 men stood up for Eric Gi after he stood 39:00.997 --> 39:03.120 up for them . They would not quit on 39:03.120 --> 39:05.231 him , would not quit on the injustice 39:05.231 --> 39:08.030 that was done to him saying we will 39:08.030 --> 39:10.141 continue to push this forward because 39:10.141 --> 39:13.250 we unders without naming names . We 39:13.250 --> 39:14.972 understand the reason why this 39:14.972 --> 39:16.972 particular packet , this particular 39:16.972 --> 39:19.139 action , never quite made it up to the 39:19.139 --> 39:21.570 top of the army , never quite made it 39:21.949 --> 39:24.171 to the upper echelon , never quite made 39:24.171 --> 39:26.227 it for signature , even though those 39:26.227 --> 39:28.649 that were most directly involved that 39:28.649 --> 39:30.760 saw it firsthand that were commanders 39:30.760 --> 39:32.899 at the time all the way up to General 39:32.899 --> 39:35.959 Odierno and General Petraeus signed off 39:35.959 --> 39:38.530 on the actions that day merit a 39:38.530 --> 39:40.669 distinguished Service cross . But it 39:40.669 --> 39:42.669 was downgraded and it was sent to a 39:42.669 --> 39:44.613 mail clerk . And we all know why . 39:45.300 --> 39:49.100 Today That changes . Today 39:49.590 --> 39:51.034 that wrong is not right . 40:02.239 --> 40:04.350 I want to thank all the men and women 40:04.350 --> 40:06.572 that didn't stop that kept pushing that 40:06.572 --> 40:09.120 weren't silent . I wanna thank , uh , 40:09.360 --> 40:11.304 by the way , Senator Rubio and his 40:11.304 --> 40:13.629 staff , now Secretary of State Rubio , 40:14.260 --> 40:17.000 um , as a resident of Florida , they 40:17.000 --> 40:19.199 took up the case when no one else was 40:19.199 --> 40:21.421 really willing to move on it , and they 40:21.421 --> 40:23.421 pushed and they kept pushing and we 40:23.421 --> 40:25.588 pushed them a little bit and then they 40:25.588 --> 40:27.810 kept pushing . Uh , and , and Secretary 40:27.810 --> 40:30.143 Rubio sends his regards , uh , for sure , 40:30.143 --> 40:32.199 as does the , uh , National Security 40:32.199 --> 40:34.310 Adviser Mike Waltz , also a Floridian 40:34.310 --> 40:36.477 who was , who was aware , uh , of this 40:36.477 --> 40:38.643 case . General Petraeus submitted time 40:38.643 --> 40:40.532 and time again recommendations to 40:40.532 --> 40:42.588 reinforce the recommendation he made 40:42.588 --> 40:44.810 made in real time as we resubmitted the 40:44.810 --> 40:46.921 packet , how many times did we submit 40:46.921 --> 40:49.143 the packet ? 15 I don't even know as we 40:49.143 --> 40:51.366 resubmitted it again , the men of Eagle 40:51.366 --> 40:53.255 Company . Who wrote another sworn 40:53.255 --> 40:55.366 statement and another one and another 40:55.366 --> 40:57.532 one with new information reminding the 40:57.532 --> 40:59.643 folks who had disapproved it why this 40:59.643 --> 41:01.629 was worthy of recognition . So 41:01.629 --> 41:04.590 throughout this process . The men I 41:04.590 --> 41:06.757 look at and see out here , the men and 41:06.757 --> 41:08.812 women , but the men that served with 41:08.812 --> 41:12.120 Eric . Never forgot what he did for 41:12.120 --> 41:14.479 them and with them . And as a result 41:14.479 --> 41:16.919 this audience never forgot about what 41:16.919 --> 41:19.280 Eric did and wanted to see a day like 41:19.280 --> 41:21.750 today and I'll never forget it was I 41:21.750 --> 41:25.000 don't know a year ago or so I thought 41:25.000 --> 41:26.889 man wouldn't that be incredible ? 41:27.209 --> 41:29.153 Wouldn't that be incredible if you 41:29.153 --> 41:31.649 actually got this thing . And President 41:31.649 --> 41:34.520 Trump won and we were able to present 41:34.520 --> 41:38.340 you the DSC . And then sure enough , 41:39.510 --> 41:41.732 Couple of months after that , President 41:41.732 --> 41:43.989 Trump wins and he picks an Army major 41:43.989 --> 41:45.822 to be his secretary of defense . 41:46.729 --> 41:47.770 National garbage 41:59.449 --> 42:01.860 And I remember talking to Eric , I said , 42:01.959 --> 42:04.015 Eric , not only are we gonna get you 42:04.015 --> 42:06.679 this award . But we're gonna pin it to 42:06.679 --> 42:09.479 you , pin it on you in the bowels of 42:09.479 --> 42:12.070 the Pentagon with everybody here with 42:12.070 --> 42:14.149 you . And here we are today . 42:23.080 --> 42:25.247 And now those of you that don't know , 42:25.247 --> 42:27.413 most of you do , uh , one of the first 42:27.413 --> 42:29.469 people I called when I was given the 42:29.469 --> 42:31.358 honor by by President Trump to be 42:31.358 --> 42:33.358 chosen for this position , uh , was 42:33.358 --> 42:35.879 Eric . Eric has a way of sticking with 42:35.879 --> 42:39.020 you in a good way . I thought , who the 42:39.020 --> 42:41.729 hell it's a big job . Who do I call ? 42:42.239 --> 42:44.295 One of the first people on my list . 42:44.295 --> 42:46.517 Well , actually I should tell the story 42:46.517 --> 42:50.330 first . I called Eric . 10 minutes , no , 42:50.459 --> 42:52.620 2 minutes before the announcement hit 42:52.620 --> 42:55.989 Fox News that I've been chosen . And 42:55.989 --> 42:58.156 Eric , you know , I , I can't say what 42:58.156 --> 43:01.169 he said on the phone . Because my kids 43:01.169 --> 43:04.639 are here . But he went running into the 43:04.639 --> 43:06.806 other room and , and sure enough Laura 43:06.806 --> 43:08.830 Ingraham announced it and he almost 43:08.830 --> 43:10.941 passed out . He couldn't believe it , 43:10.941 --> 43:13.870 um but right soon after that as we were 43:13.870 --> 43:16.060 talking I said Eric , if , if I'm 43:16.060 --> 43:18.227 confirmed if this happens , I need you 43:18.227 --> 43:20.649 to come with me . I need you there by 43:20.649 --> 43:22.760 my side just like you were there with 43:22.760 --> 43:24.982 us by our side by the way , Eric always 43:24.982 --> 43:27.205 had a way of showing up when it was the 43:27.205 --> 43:29.427 most difficult time , and that he's not 43:29.427 --> 43:31.427 making it more difficult . He knows 43:31.427 --> 43:33.427 it's your most difficult time , and 43:33.427 --> 43:35.760 that's why he's not in the command post . 43:35.760 --> 43:37.816 He's out in the field at your combat 43:37.816 --> 43:39.929 out post on patrol on Christmas , on 43:39.929 --> 43:42.096 the worst days when you're missing the 43:42.096 --> 43:44.207 family the most . There's Eric Garasi 43:44.207 --> 43:46.207 he's possibly wearing a Santa Claus 43:46.207 --> 43:46.090 outfit . 43:57.590 --> 43:59.701 With proper body armor as well , body 43:59.701 --> 44:02.360 armor , of course . He was always there 44:02.360 --> 44:04.527 for his men whenever they needed him , 44:04.600 --> 44:06.656 uh , and when I called him he said , 44:06.656 --> 44:08.767 sir , I will be there with you , uh , 44:08.767 --> 44:10.933 through thick and thin . And sure sure 44:10.933 --> 44:13.044 enough he was . He was sitting behind 44:13.044 --> 44:12.919 me during the confirmation hearing . 44:13.030 --> 44:14.863 You may have seen him . He's the 44:14.863 --> 44:16.919 prettiest one of the bunch except my 44:16.919 --> 44:20.020 wife . Uh , and I'll never forget , he 44:20.020 --> 44:22.379 told me after that . Because I told 44:22.379 --> 44:24.490 them I said don't buy an apartment in 44:24.490 --> 44:26.435 DC till this process is done , you 44:26.435 --> 44:28.435 never know so don't do it don't put 44:28.435 --> 44:30.435 that pressure on me . Sure enough , 44:30.435 --> 44:32.546 after the hearing , he went to me and 44:32.546 --> 44:34.657 said , I bought my apartment two days 44:34.657 --> 44:34.300 ago , sir . I didn't just didn't tell 44:34.300 --> 44:37.320 you . I said I knew you were gonna nail 44:37.320 --> 44:39.598 it . It was gonna be fine . I said you . 44:40.280 --> 44:42.224 Uh , and sure enough , Eric Gar is 44:42.224 --> 44:44.447 right down the hall from me , uh , from 44:44.447 --> 44:46.724 the office of the Secretary of Defense . 44:46.724 --> 44:48.836 And that is exactly the kind of voice 44:48.860 --> 44:51.290 that we need inside the decision loop 44:51.780 --> 44:54.060 inside the conversations about the 44:54.060 --> 44:56.260 types of decisions being made for the 44:56.260 --> 44:58.482 joint force for the armed forces of the 44:58.482 --> 45:00.649 United States of America . Someone who 45:00.649 --> 45:02.593 has been there , who's been in the 45:02.593 --> 45:04.704 middle of it , who's never did it for 45:04.704 --> 45:06.659 himself , always did it for others 45:07.070 --> 45:09.629 thought of the troops in real time of 45:09.629 --> 45:11.979 the impact on them and their families . 45:12.149 --> 45:14.120 If you know him , he's the biggest 45:14.120 --> 45:16.176 tough guy you've ever met , but he's 45:16.176 --> 45:18.509 also the biggest softie you've ever met . 45:18.669 --> 45:20.336 He's an amazing human being . 45:28.689 --> 45:30.911 I can't tell you already how many times 45:30.911 --> 45:33.133 he's come to me and said , hey , take a 45:33.133 --> 45:35.300 look at this think about this , you're 45:35.300 --> 45:37.411 missing that or he's see , like , you 45:37.411 --> 45:37.090 know , he's he's reading the tea leaves 45:37.090 --> 45:40.209 and sees an ambush up up ahead says 45:40.209 --> 45:42.719 look around , put your head up . uh , 45:42.770 --> 45:45.103 that's the kind of counsel that we need . 45:45.103 --> 45:46.992 That's the kind of counsel that I 45:46.992 --> 45:49.103 greatly value . Uh , it's an honor to 45:49.103 --> 45:50.937 have you there . He's earned the 45:50.937 --> 45:53.048 respect of our staff as you surprises 45:53.048 --> 45:55.159 nobody , uh , in real time , and he's 45:55.159 --> 45:57.270 gonna have a chance to shape the very 45:57.270 --> 45:59.214 force . Uh , that he was a part of 45:59.214 --> 46:01.437 shaping first as a private and then all 46:01.437 --> 46:03.714 the way through command sergeant Major , 46:03.714 --> 46:05.492 um , even the stuff he did more 46:05.492 --> 46:07.437 recently down in Southcom has been 46:07.437 --> 46:09.381 immediately valuable to what we're 46:09.381 --> 46:11.830 doing , uh , across the force . So it 46:11.830 --> 46:13.719 is the it's really the honor of a 46:13.719 --> 46:15.830 career to be able to be here with all 46:15.830 --> 46:17.886 of you . I look forward to getting a 46:17.886 --> 46:19.941 chance to say hi to so many of you I 46:19.941 --> 46:22.219 haven't seen in a long time . Um , And , 46:22.290 --> 46:24.800 uh , It just feels good . 46:25.729 --> 46:29.469 Sometimes the good guys win . And it 46:29.469 --> 46:31.302 feels like today that happened . 46:39.139 --> 46:41.250 So Eric , I wanna thank you . I wanna 46:41.250 --> 46:43.306 thank your wife . I wanna thank your 46:43.306 --> 46:45.417 family , some of which , uh , we were 46:45.417 --> 46:47.528 able to get here at the last minute . 46:47.528 --> 46:49.750 I'm glad we did . Thank you so much for 46:49.750 --> 46:51.972 being here . I wanna thank my wife , my 46:51.972 --> 46:53.695 kids for being here , the Army 46:53.695 --> 46:55.861 secretary for being here as well . Dan 46:55.861 --> 46:58.083 Driscoll , thank you . General George , 46:58.083 --> 47:00.028 thank you so much for pushing this 47:00.028 --> 47:02.195 through to the end and then as to echo 47:02.195 --> 47:04.417 to finish where Colonel Steele properly 47:04.417 --> 47:06.472 started , uh , I wanna thank my Lord 47:06.472 --> 47:08.750 and Savior Jesus Christ . I think , uh . 47:08.750 --> 47:11.083 Praise God from whom all blessings flow , 47:11.083 --> 47:13.306 all good things , all bad things happen 47:13.306 --> 47:15.361 for a reason . There is no Plan B in 47:15.361 --> 47:17.580 our life . We're all here for a reason 47:17.580 --> 47:20.270 orchestrated by him . And may we be 47:20.270 --> 47:22.989 instruments for him during our time on 47:22.989 --> 47:25.350 Earth . It's certainly how I , I see my 47:25.350 --> 47:27.550 job on behalf of our country , God and 47:27.550 --> 47:29.679 country , uh , and working alongside 47:29.949 --> 47:32.070 men like Eric . So I'm honored to be 47:32.070 --> 47:34.389 here with all of you today , grateful 47:34.389 --> 47:36.870 for what you've done . And how about we 47:36.870 --> 47:38.370 pin an award on this guy . 47:53.229 --> 47:55.396 Colonel Michael Loconolo will now read 47:55.396 --> 47:57.173 the Distinguished Service Cross 47:57.173 --> 47:56.820 narrative . 48:03.189 --> 48:06.030 First Sergeant Eric J . Gerasi , United 48:06.030 --> 48:08.350 States Army , distinguished himself by 48:08.350 --> 48:10.709 extraordinary heroism in action in the 48:10.709 --> 48:12.820 performance of outstanding service to 48:12.820 --> 48:15.550 the United States as first sergeant for 48:15.550 --> 48:18.060 Eagle Company , 2nd squadron , 2nd 48:18.060 --> 48:20.116 striker cavalry regiment assigned to 48:20.116 --> 48:22.500 multinational division Baghdad , Iraq 48:22.500 --> 48:26.189 on September 4 , 2007 during Operation 48:26.189 --> 48:28.830 Iraqi Freedom . Eagle Company was 48:28.830 --> 48:30.719 completing a relief in place of a 48:30.719 --> 48:32.830 combat outpost in Al Hadar , southern 48:32.830 --> 48:34.497 Baghdad to assume duty as the 48:34.497 --> 48:36.989 squadron's main effort . Eagle 48:36.989 --> 48:39.510 Company's operation was Al Qaeda in 48:39.510 --> 48:42.000 Iraq's center of gravity plagued by 48:42.000 --> 48:44.909 Sunni and Shia sectarian violence . On 48:44.909 --> 48:47.239 September 3rd , the outgoing unit 48:47.239 --> 48:49.989 departed the combat outpost . First 48:49.989 --> 48:52.211 Sergeant Gerasi immediately established 48:52.211 --> 48:54.322 the defense of the outpost as the top 48:54.322 --> 48:56.378 priority for the company . Under his 48:56.378 --> 48:58.489 guidance , the company worked day and 48:58.489 --> 49:00.600 night . Sandbagging windows and guard 49:00.600 --> 49:02.489 towers , repositioning key weapon 49:02.489 --> 49:04.656 systems , installing bulletproof glass 49:04.656 --> 49:06.822 for the towers and erecting camouflage 49:06.822 --> 49:09.260 netting along the entire perimeter of 49:09.260 --> 49:11.850 the outposts rooftop for concealment 49:12.379 --> 49:14.490 during the morning of September 4th , 49:14.490 --> 49:16.490 the company's executive officer was 49:16.490 --> 49:18.379 located at Forward Operating Base 49:18.379 --> 49:20.435 Falcon . Supervising the retrofit of 49:20.435 --> 49:22.490 the company's vehicles , the company 49:22.490 --> 49:24.712 commander and fire support officer were 49:24.712 --> 49:26.823 also at forward operating base Falcon 49:26.823 --> 49:28.935 as well , attending a meeting . First 49:28.935 --> 49:30.990 Sergeant Gerasi was the only company 49:30.990 --> 49:32.935 level leader at the outpost in the 49:32.935 --> 49:35.101 early afternoon , the company received 49:35.101 --> 49:36.935 orders to investigate a possible 49:36.935 --> 49:38.879 vehicle-borne improvised explosive 49:38.879 --> 49:41.046 device . while one of the platoons was 49:41.046 --> 49:43.157 investigating the vehicle , they came 49:43.157 --> 49:45.046 under enemy fire . First Sergeant 49:45.046 --> 49:46.990 Gerasi deployed the quick reaction 49:46.990 --> 49:48.823 force platoon . And successfully 49:48.823 --> 49:50.879 controlled link up and extraction of 49:50.879 --> 49:53.046 the platoon in contact killing 3 enemy 49:53.046 --> 49:55.157 with no injuries to friendly forces . 49:55.379 --> 49:57.379 Within 15 minutes after the platoon 49:57.379 --> 49:59.601 returned to the outpost , it came under 49:59.601 --> 50:03.419 a complex attack by between 120 and 150 50:03.419 --> 50:06.050 determined . Enemy fighters . The enemy 50:06.050 --> 50:08.250 initiated the attack by firing two 50:08.250 --> 50:10.610 rocket propelled grenades and mortars 50:10.610 --> 50:12.800 from approximately 100 m away , 50:13.209 --> 50:15.431 followed by a heavy volume of fire from 50:15.431 --> 50:18.659 AK-47 rifles , machine guns , rocket 50:18.659 --> 50:20.899 propelled grenades , and sniper fire . 50:21.939 --> 50:23.828 The enemy arrayed themselves in a 50:23.828 --> 50:25.995 manner that allowed them to attack the 50:25.995 --> 50:27.439 outpost from 3 directions 50:27.439 --> 50:29.760 simultaneously . Once the firing began . 50:30.090 --> 50:31.979 First Sergeant Gerasi immediately 50:31.979 --> 50:34.201 requested an air weapons team and moved 50:34.201 --> 50:36.201 to the roof . First Sergeant Gerasy 50:36.201 --> 50:38.423 exposed himself to direct enemy fire by 50:38.423 --> 50:40.701 moving from guard tower to guard tower , 50:40.701 --> 50:42.812 assessing the situation and inspiring 50:42.969 --> 50:45.191 the soldiers by calmly encouraging them 50:45.191 --> 50:47.560 to keep up their rates of fire . At 50:47.560 --> 50:49.479 this time , one of his soldiers , 50:49.600 --> 50:51.767 Specialist Holly at Tower One received 50:51.767 --> 50:54.719 a gunshot wound from enemy fire . First 50:54.719 --> 50:56.840 Sergeant Gary Gerasi set the highest 50:56.840 --> 50:59.199 example of personal bravery through his 50:59.199 --> 51:01.399 demonstrated valor and calmness under 51:01.399 --> 51:03.979 fire . Under direct enemy fire , First 51:03.979 --> 51:05.709 Sergeant Gerasy quickly moved 51:05.709 --> 51:08.000 Specialist Holly and controlled Holly's 51:08.000 --> 51:10.111 evacuation while helping to carry the 51:10.111 --> 51:12.570 soldier off of the roof . First 51:12.570 --> 51:14.681 Sergeant Gerasi again returned to the 51:14.681 --> 51:16.848 roof . This time directing the fire of 51:16.848 --> 51:18.903 key weapon systems until the company 51:18.903 --> 51:21.239 gained fire superiority . During this 51:21.239 --> 51:23.183 time period , the air weapons team 51:23.183 --> 51:25.183 arrived on station . First Sergeant 51:25.183 --> 51:28.040 Gerasi gave the air weapons team . A 51:28.040 --> 51:30.040 quick situation report and directed 51:30.040 --> 51:32.262 soldiers to mark one of the known enemy 51:32.262 --> 51:34.739 locations with a smoke grenade . Once 51:34.739 --> 51:36.739 the air weapons team identified the 51:36.739 --> 51:38.683 building , First Sergeant Gerasi , 51:38.683 --> 51:40.628 acting as the on-scene commander , 51:40.739 --> 51:42.906 authorized the helicopters to launch a 51:42.906 --> 51:44.939 Hellfire missile into the enemy's 51:44.939 --> 51:47.199 defensive position , crippling the 51:47.199 --> 51:49.620 enemy during the subsequent low and 51:49.620 --> 51:51.860 fire , First Sergeant Gerasi returned 51:51.860 --> 51:54.090 to the forward area support team and 51:54.090 --> 51:56.090 reassured the injured soldier while 51:56.090 --> 51:58.090 receiving a report on his condition 51:58.090 --> 51:59.868 from the squadron's physician's 51:59.868 --> 52:01.979 assistant . Based on the condition of 52:01.979 --> 52:04.146 the soldier in the fight at the time , 52:04.146 --> 52:06.368 First Sergeant Gerasi directed that the 52:06.368 --> 52:08.312 soldier be ground evacuated to the 52:08.312 --> 52:10.534 twenty-eighth Combat Support Hospital . 52:10.534 --> 52:12.368 This was done immediately by the 52:12.368 --> 52:14.534 company's quick reaction force , which 52:14.534 --> 52:16.534 First Sergeant Gerasi had activated 52:16.534 --> 52:18.757 once the attack began . On his way back 52:18.757 --> 52:20.923 to the rooftop , First Sergeant Gerasi 52:20.923 --> 52:23.034 grabbed as many cans of ammunition as 52:23.034 --> 52:25.090 he could carry and resupplied two of 52:25.090 --> 52:27.034 the 50 caliber machine guns on the 52:27.034 --> 52:29.201 rooftop . This action ensured they did 52:29.201 --> 52:31.257 not run out of ammunition during the 52:31.257 --> 52:33.479 firefight . As the quick reaction force 52:33.479 --> 52:35.479 exited the outpost with the injured 52:35.479 --> 52:38.290 soldier , the enemy increased their 52:38.290 --> 52:40.810 fire in attempt to disrupt the 52:40.810 --> 52:43.709 evacuation . First Sergeant Gerasy once 52:43.709 --> 52:46.389 again . Rallied his company and ensured 52:46.389 --> 52:48.556 the company gained and maintained fire 52:48.556 --> 52:50.939 superiority . Yet again , First 52:50.939 --> 52:52.995 Sergeant Gerasi coordinated with the 52:52.995 --> 52:55.106 air weapons team to launch additional 52:55.106 --> 52:57.106 Hellfire missiles and strafing runs 52:57.106 --> 52:59.272 with their 30 millimeter cannons which 52:59.272 --> 53:01.050 destroyed the enemy's remaining 53:01.050 --> 53:03.909 defensive position . With this decisive 53:03.909 --> 53:06.800 action , Eagle Company successfully 53:07.189 --> 53:10.429 broke the will of the enemy's continued 53:10.429 --> 53:12.870 attack . First , Sergeant Gerasy 53:12.870 --> 53:14.370 immediately supervised the 53:14.370 --> 53:16.703 consolidation and reorganization of men , 53:17.030 --> 53:19.189 ammunition , and key weapon systems . 53:19.389 --> 53:21.500 Aware that ammunition was low , First 53:21.500 --> 53:23.500 Sergeant Gerasy radioed back to his 53:23.500 --> 53:25.445 soldiers on forward operating base 53:25.445 --> 53:27.556 Falcon and coordinated for a resupply 53:27.556 --> 53:29.611 of ammunition to be delivered to the 53:29.611 --> 53:31.722 outpost . This foresight prepared the 53:31.722 --> 53:33.889 company for a possible counterattack . 53:33.889 --> 53:35.778 Throughout the day and evening of 53:35.778 --> 53:38.139 September 4th , First Sergeant Eric J . 53:38.149 --> 53:40.810 Gerasi repeatedly subjected himself to 53:40.810 --> 53:43.750 intense , unrelenting enemy fire in 53:43.750 --> 53:45.830 order to evacuate a severely injured 53:45.830 --> 53:47.790 soldier while also directing the 53:47.790 --> 53:50.310 defense of the combat outpost by an 53:50.310 --> 53:52.310 infantry rifle company and an air 53:52.310 --> 53:54.532 weapons team during a fight that lasted 53:54.532 --> 53:57.399 over 6 hours . First Sergeant Gerasi 53:57.399 --> 53:59.343 heroically led his company in high 53:59.343 --> 54:02.040 intensity combat while simultaneously 54:02.040 --> 54:03.984 fulfilling the jobs of the company 54:03.984 --> 54:06.151 commander , the fire support officer , 54:06.151 --> 54:08.207 and the first sergeant . On numerous 54:08.207 --> 54:10.510 occasions he fearlessly exposed himself 54:10.510 --> 54:12.288 to direct enemy fire to instill 54:12.288 --> 54:14.600 confidence in his men , care for his 54:14.600 --> 54:18.139 wounded , and to destroy the enemy . As 54:18.139 --> 54:20.028 a direct result of First Sergeant 54:20.028 --> 54:22.250 Gerasi's preparation , leadership , and 54:22.250 --> 54:25.409 gallantry , Eagle Company killed 18 Al 54:25.409 --> 54:27.620 Qaeda fighters with no additional 54:27.620 --> 54:29.889 wounded soldiers . First Sergeant 54:29.889 --> 54:32.379 Gerasi's personal courage , uncommon 54:32.379 --> 54:34.340 valor , and selfless service 54:34.340 --> 54:36.659 contributed directly to the safety and 54:36.659 --> 54:38.899 evacuation of two wounded and the 54:38.899 --> 54:41.169 recovery of one fallen soldier . First 54:41.169 --> 54:43.225 Sergeant Gerasi , without regard for 54:43.225 --> 54:45.459 his personal safety . Courageously 54:45.459 --> 54:48.600 risked his life under enemy fire to 54:48.600 --> 54:51.129 save the lives of his fellow soldiers . 54:51.399 --> 54:52.399 God bless . 55:30.500 --> 55:32.778 Mr . Secretary , Sergeant Major Gerasi , 55:32.969 --> 55:35.302 please step forward to the center stage . 55:37.530 --> 55:40.199 Mrs . Gerriy Please join Secretary 55:40.199 --> 55:42.477 Hegseth in front of the flags on stage . 56:05.129 --> 56:07.185 Ladies and gentlemen , please remain 56:07.185 --> 56:09.240 standing for the presentation of the 56:09.240 --> 56:11.360 award . Attention to orders . The 56:11.360 --> 56:13.249 President of the United States of 56:13.249 --> 56:15.510 America , authorized by Act of Congress 56:15.510 --> 56:19.320 9 July 1918 amended by Act of 25 56:19.320 --> 56:21.320 July 1963 , has awarded the 56:21.320 --> 56:23.860 Distinguished Service Cross to First 56:23.860 --> 56:26.340 Sergeant Eric J . Geristy , Company E , 56:26.360 --> 56:28.199 second squadron , Second striker 56:28.199 --> 56:30.750 Cavalry Regiment . For extraordinary 56:30.750 --> 56:34.139 heroism in action on 4 September 2007 56:34.389 --> 56:36.333 during combat operations against a 56:36.333 --> 56:38.445 highly armed al Qaeda insurgent force 56:38.445 --> 56:40.389 in southern Baghdad , Iraq , First 56:40.389 --> 56:42.389 Sergeant Eric J . Gerasi repeatedly 56:42.389 --> 56:44.379 subjected himself to intense , 56:44.469 --> 56:46.550 unrelenting enemy fire in order to 56:46.550 --> 56:48.550 evacuate a severely injured soldier 56:48.550 --> 56:50.772 while also directing the defense of the 56:50.772 --> 56:52.989 combat outpost by both providing 56:52.989 --> 56:55.100 direction . To both an infantry rifle 56:55.100 --> 56:57.211 company and air weapons team during a 56:57.211 --> 56:59.378 fight that lasted over 6 hours , First 56:59.378 --> 57:01.600 Sergeant Gerasy set the highest example 57:01.600 --> 57:03.530 of personal bravery through his 57:03.530 --> 57:05.770 demonstrated valor and calmness under 57:05.770 --> 57:08.649 fire . First Sergeant Gerasy's valiant 57:08.649 --> 57:10.538 actions prevented enemy insurgent 57:10.538 --> 57:12.649 forces from overrunning the company . 57:13.129 --> 57:15.240 His actions were directly responsible 57:15.240 --> 57:16.907 for also preventing any other 57:16.907 --> 57:18.796 additional United States military 57:18.796 --> 57:20.740 casualties . First Sergeant Geri's 57:20.740 --> 57:22.889 actions under fire while serving to 57:22.889 --> 57:25.110 fill the roles of company commander , 57:25.489 --> 57:27.530 fire support officer , and first 57:27.530 --> 57:29.530 sergeant were performed with marked 57:29.530 --> 57:31.697 distinction and bravery . For Sergeant 57:31.697 --> 57:33.752 Gerasy's distinctive accomplishments 57:33.752 --> 57:35.474 are in keeping with the finest 57:35.474 --> 57:37.308 traditions of military service , 57:37.308 --> 57:39.586 reflect great credit upon upon himself . 57:39.689 --> 57:41.800 Second strike or cavalry regiment and 57:41.800 --> 57:43.911 the United States Army signed General 57:43.911 --> 57:45.967 Randy George , Chief of Staff of the 57:45.967 --> 57:48.290 Army , and Mr . Mark Averell , former 57:48.290 --> 57:50.012 acting secretary of the Army . 58:42.820 --> 58:45.280 Thank you , Mr . Secretary . Ladies and 58:45.280 --> 58:47.002 gentlemen , please be seated . 58:52.780 --> 58:54.891 Ladies and gentlemen , Sergeant Major 58:54.891 --> 58:55.891 Gerasi . 59:07.459 --> 59:09.939 A lot to follow , a lot going on in 59:09.939 --> 59:13.610 here . Hey , um , 59:14.000 --> 59:16.056 so I normally I'll , when I do these 59:16.056 --> 59:18.333 things , I'll write a bunch of remarks , 59:18.333 --> 59:21.590 um , try to keep myself on script . So 59:21.590 --> 59:23.812 I don't get uh out of my left and right 59:23.812 --> 59:26.034 sectors of fire which relate to some of 59:26.034 --> 59:28.550 you folks . But um what do you say ? 59:32.419 --> 59:34.530 What do you say with a room like this 59:34.530 --> 59:36.752 full of all your people you respect the 59:36.752 --> 59:40.620 most ? As this has been 59:40.620 --> 59:43.209 going on forever , it seems like , um , 59:43.500 --> 59:45.500 this is very surreal . I mean , the 59:45.500 --> 59:47.500 whole thing . Apparently I'm really 59:47.500 --> 59:49.611 good at showing up in the middle of a 59:49.611 --> 59:52.419 snowstorm in places . Which I totally 59:52.419 --> 59:54.699 forgot about that in Germany and then I 59:54.699 --> 59:57.500 get here and then the first PT run I've 59:57.500 --> 59:59.667 done it a long time with the secretary 59:59.667 --> 01:00:01.722 was in the middle of Warsaw , Poland 01:00:01.722 --> 01:00:03.833 and it's snowing . And I , you know , 01:00:03.833 --> 01:00:05.879 I'm like , I , I can't go that fast 01:00:05.879 --> 01:00:08.101 anymore , but I could still go a little 01:00:08.101 --> 01:00:10.268 bit and I ran up in front of him and I 01:00:10.268 --> 01:00:09.989 was like pick up the pace , old man , 01:00:10.439 --> 01:00:12.495 and he just kind of looks at me like 01:00:12.495 --> 01:00:14.495 what the hell are you can't believe 01:00:14.495 --> 01:00:16.606 you're still running ? So but um this 01:00:16.606 --> 01:00:18.659 is really an honor of a lifetime to 01:00:18.659 --> 01:00:20.770 continue and to serve , uh , continue 01:00:20.770 --> 01:00:22.992 to serve the country , serve the troops 01:00:22.992 --> 01:00:24.992 and serve the secretary . These are 01:00:24.992 --> 01:00:27.719 very hard jobs up here , um , and we're 01:00:27.719 --> 01:00:30.000 doing the best we can , but it's always 01:00:30.000 --> 01:00:32.167 for the troops . The one thing I wanna 01:00:32.167 --> 01:00:35.929 say is . Things go sideways combat , 01:00:36.500 --> 01:00:38.778 you , you could control certain things , 01:00:38.778 --> 01:00:41.111 a lot of things most you cannot control , 01:00:41.620 --> 01:00:43.739 but you're definitely gonna , we will 01:00:43.739 --> 01:00:46.659 have your back for all the troops , all 01:00:46.659 --> 01:00:48.979 the service members doing things on our 01:00:48.979 --> 01:00:51.146 country's behalf . You couldn't have a 01:00:51.146 --> 01:00:53.423 better leader than Secretary Hagg said , 01:00:53.423 --> 01:00:55.757 so I wanna give him a round of applause . 01:01:06.219 --> 01:01:08.275 So when he did call me , I just come 01:01:08.275 --> 01:01:10.497 back from being down range . I think we 01:01:10.497 --> 01:01:12.810 come back from Trinidad , and I do , I 01:01:12.810 --> 01:01:14.929 was , I was very surprised . I had a 01:01:14.929 --> 01:01:17.090 bunch of commentary and I remember 01:01:17.090 --> 01:01:19.146 saying to him I was like , hey , you 01:01:19.146 --> 01:01:21.257 gotta bring people up there you could 01:01:21.257 --> 01:01:23.312 trust . Um , this is gonna be a very 01:01:23.312 --> 01:01:25.368 difficult job . They're gonna try to 01:01:25.368 --> 01:01:27.423 kill you when you get there . So and 01:01:27.423 --> 01:01:29.479 he's like , yeah , uh , you know , I 01:01:29.479 --> 01:01:31.646 need you to go up there with me and my 01:01:31.646 --> 01:01:33.590 response was , I don't know if you 01:01:33.590 --> 01:01:32.610 remember this . I was like , well , I 01:01:32.610 --> 01:01:34.832 wasn't talking about me . I was talking 01:01:34.832 --> 01:01:36.888 about other people , you know . So , 01:01:37.250 --> 01:01:41.189 but uh . We'll , we'll skip over 01:01:41.189 --> 01:01:43.411 the rest of that because it's , I don't 01:01:43.411 --> 01:01:45.467 wanna traumatize everybody in here . 01:01:46.010 --> 01:01:47.954 You know , awards like this , uh , 01:01:47.954 --> 01:01:50.177 Medals of Honor , the Service Crosses , 01:01:50.280 --> 01:01:52.639 Silver Stars , they're presented to 01:01:52.639 --> 01:01:55.020 individuals . But they're earned by 01:01:55.020 --> 01:01:58.689 teams . That's by each and every one of 01:01:58.689 --> 01:02:01.020 you in here . Whether you're supporting 01:02:01.020 --> 01:02:03.379 somebody down range , what you were , 01:02:03.489 --> 01:02:06.149 you were there . So what I'd like to do 01:02:06.149 --> 01:02:09.260 is . See how many people from Eagle 01:02:09.260 --> 01:02:11.316 Company survived Saint Patty's Day . 01:02:11.320 --> 01:02:12.320 Please stand up . 01:02:26.189 --> 01:02:28.300 Please stay standing , Fernando , get 01:02:28.300 --> 01:02:30.510 it back . Nobody said you guys could 01:02:30.510 --> 01:02:32.454 sit down yet . I'm up here . I'm a 01:02:32.454 --> 01:02:34.343 sergeant major again for at least 01:02:34.343 --> 01:02:36.979 another hour . Any other members from 01:02:36.979 --> 01:02:39.146 the 2nd cavalry regiment , 2nd striker 01:02:39.146 --> 01:02:40.701 cavalry , please stand up . 01:02:53.729 --> 01:02:55.840 I like everybody from Charlie Company 01:02:55.840 --> 01:02:57.959 3187 . Please stand up . 01:03:14.199 --> 01:03:16.199 Anyone else who served in the 101st 01:03:16.199 --> 01:03:18.255 Airborne with us , please stand up . 01:03:32.399 --> 01:03:34.399 Any other veterans or other those , 01:03:34.419 --> 01:03:36.419 those of you that I served with all 01:03:36.419 --> 01:03:38.641 over the place , you know who you are , 01:03:38.641 --> 01:03:41.800 7th group , SEAL Team 4 , all NSW folks , 01:03:41.919 --> 01:03:42.919 please stand up . 01:03:57.760 --> 01:03:59.816 And everyone else still serving or a 01:03:59.816 --> 01:04:02.149 veteran , please stand to be recognized . 01:04:15.209 --> 01:04:17.489 And finally , any Gold Star families , 01:04:17.570 --> 01:04:18.570 please stand up . 01:04:31.219 --> 01:04:33.459 So although this medal has been awarded 01:04:33.459 --> 01:04:35.820 to me , it belongs to all of you . 01:04:37.199 --> 01:04:38.199 Thank you . 01:04:47.889 --> 01:04:50.056 And for all the troops we have serving 01:04:50.056 --> 01:04:52.278 all over the place that anybody's gonna 01:04:52.278 --> 01:04:54.222 see this . I'm sure it will become 01:04:54.222 --> 01:04:56.445 memes or something later on Duffel Blog 01:04:56.445 --> 01:04:59.550 maybe uh we're praying for you all . 01:04:59.800 --> 01:05:02.120 We're extremely proud of everything you 01:05:02.120 --> 01:05:04.360 do for the country . This goes for 01:05:04.360 --> 01:05:06.600 everyone else here standing . America 01:05:06.600 --> 01:05:08.879 will be proud if they knew all the 01:05:08.879 --> 01:05:11.046 sacrifice , everything you've done for 01:05:11.046 --> 01:05:13.268 each other during the most difficult of 01:05:13.268 --> 01:05:15.739 circumstances . You fought extremely 01:05:15.739 --> 01:05:19.350 well . Risk it all for your brother and 01:05:19.350 --> 01:05:21.406 sister on your left and your right . 01:05:21.739 --> 01:05:25.689 Thank you . Please 01:05:25.689 --> 01:05:26.689 sit down . 01:05:31.139 --> 01:05:33.195 I would go into the national garbage 01:05:33.195 --> 01:05:36.000 story , but I don't , I , I . I'll , 01:05:36.080 --> 01:05:38.247 I'll share this one story and then I'm 01:05:38.247 --> 01:05:40.358 gonna get away from here . So we were 01:05:40.358 --> 01:05:42.413 doing this , I was spending a lot of 01:05:42.413 --> 01:05:44.524 quality time with the media , and one 01:05:44.524 --> 01:05:46.747 of the reporters asked me , did we have 01:05:46.747 --> 01:05:48.969 any nicknames for the secretary and I , 01:05:48.969 --> 01:05:51.080 I was just thinking that I was like , 01:05:51.080 --> 01:05:53.419 I'm not gonna say nothing . So I was 01:05:53.419 --> 01:05:55.475 like , I don't wanna get that to get 01:05:55.475 --> 01:05:55.459 out until the next thing he'll be 01:05:55.459 --> 01:05:57.515 getting asked that in the hearings , 01:05:57.515 --> 01:05:59.737 which were interesting . So , uh , once 01:05:59.737 --> 01:06:01.848 again , thank you everybody that came 01:06:01.848 --> 01:06:03.959 here . uh , thank you for what you've 01:06:03.959 --> 01:06:06.070 done for the country . uh , God bless 01:06:06.070 --> 01:06:07.737 you all . God bless America . 01:06:33.610 --> 01:06:35.666 Ladies and gentlemen , please remain 01:06:35.666 --> 01:06:37.721 standing for the singing of the army 01:06:37.721 --> 01:06:39.554 song , the benediction , and the 01:06:39.554 --> 01:06:41.443 departure of the official party . 01:06:56.870 --> 01:06:59.760 March sing a song . 01:07:00.750 --> 01:07:04.649 Along with the army of the free , 01:07:05.020 --> 01:07:07.649 count the prey . count the 01:07:08.979 --> 01:07:11.709 who have fought to victory 01:07:13.219 --> 01:07:17.169 with the army and proud of . We 01:07:17.169 --> 01:07:19.760 are the army and proudly proclaim . 01:07:21.030 --> 01:07:23.580 First to fight for the right and to 01:07:23.580 --> 01:07:26.260 build the nation's might , and the army 01:07:26.260 --> 01:07:30.060 goes rolling along , proud of all 01:07:30.060 --> 01:07:32.620 we have done fighting till the battle's 01:07:32.620 --> 01:07:36.570 won and the army goes rolling along . 01:07:37.020 --> 01:07:40.239 Then it's high , high . The army's on 01:07:40.239 --> 01:07:43.270 its way . Count off the cadence loud 01:07:43.270 --> 01:07:46.540 and strong . We 01:07:46.540 --> 01:07:50.209 go , you will always know that the army 01:07:50.209 --> 01:07:52.610 goes rolling along . 01:08:00.010 --> 01:08:01.954 Almighty God , as we conclude this 01:08:01.954 --> 01:08:04.010 ceremony , we ask for your continued 01:08:04.010 --> 01:08:06.010 blessings upon all who are gathered 01:08:06.010 --> 01:08:08.540 here today . May the courage , 01:08:08.760 --> 01:08:10.927 selflessness , and unwavering devotion 01:08:10.927 --> 01:08:13.159 to duty exemplified by those who fought 01:08:13.159 --> 01:08:15.669 for our freedom inspire us to live 01:08:15.679 --> 01:08:18.240 lives of purpose and service . 01:08:20.100 --> 01:08:22.839 We ask for your divine protection over 01:08:22.839 --> 01:08:25.006 all who wear the uniform of our nation 01:08:25.439 --> 01:08:29.359 and those who support them . Grant them 01:08:29.359 --> 01:08:32.279 the courage to face adversity , the 01:08:32.279 --> 01:08:35.758 strength to persevere . And the peace 01:08:35.758 --> 01:08:37.869 that comes from knowing you are their 01:08:37.869 --> 01:08:40.720 constant refuge . Let your grace and 01:08:40.720 --> 01:08:44.029 wisdom guide us all as we go forth from 01:08:44.029 --> 01:08:46.629 this place , committed to upholding the 01:08:46.629 --> 01:08:49.689 values of faith , duty and integrity . 01:08:50.379 --> 01:08:52.712 In your holy and righteous name we pray . 01:08:52.930 --> 01:08:53.930 Amen . 01:08:59.910 --> 01:09:03.599 Thank you chaplain . Please remain 01:09:03.599 --> 01:09:05.488 standing for the departure of the 01:09:05.488 --> 01:09:07.321 official party and distinguished 01:09:07.321 --> 01:09:06.559 visitors .