Officer Development School (ODS) Class 22070 Graduation Ceremony held on August 26, 2022.

Transcript

Yes, good morning. I am Lieutenant Commander, Mary Katherine Taylor, Deputy Director of Officer Development School on behalf of Commanding Officer Officer Training Command. Newport. Welcome to the graduation ceremony for Officer Development School. Class 2 to 070 consisting of 170 officers. Military guests in uniform. This will be a covered ceremony. The order of events this morning are as follows momentarily. Captain Everette Alcorn, United States Navy, Commanding Officer of Officer Training Command. Newport and Rear Admiral Cynthia keener. Commander, Naval Medical Forces Support Command will arrive. The guests and class will rise for the arrival of the official party and remain standing for the playing of the national anthem and invocation. Captain Alcorn and Rear Admiral Keener will then address the graduating class. Following their remarks. Captain Alcorn will distribute the class Awards. After the award presentation, the graduates will symbolize their completion of their training by returning their company guide on to their class. Chief Petty Officers. Following the award presentation, the class will reaffirm the oath of office and will remain standing for the playing of the service songs and final dismissal. Why zero?

Please rise for the arrival of the official party and remain standing for the national anthem and invocation. Officer Training Command. Newport arriving Naval Medical Forces Support Command arriving. Ladies and gentlemen, our national anthem. Ladies and gentlemen Chaplin buts will now offer the invocation. Let us pray. O heavenly king comforter spirit of truth who are in all places and fills all things treasury of good things and giver of life. We give you thanks for this day of celebration. We are thankful for the life you have given us the parents who have loved and nourish us and the numerous friends and family members who encouraged us on the journey of life and helped each one to arrive at this hour. We give thanks for their dedicated staff here at Officer Training Command. Who helped develop each one of these sailors into our newest naval officers. Vice Admiral Stockdale wrote character is more important than knowledge. We ask that you give each one of these officers the courage to be leaders of impeccable character, models of integrity and give them the strength they will need to weather the rough seeds of leadership. May they hold themselves accountable each day staying true to the values that guide them today. They follow in the wake of the greatest naval leaders of history. Selfless men and women of character who fought for the freedoms that make our country great May they continue to carry on that legacy as they head to the fleet. Be with us today and forever. Amen. Please be seated. Zero. Ladies and gentlemen, Captain Everette Alcorn. Commanding Officer Officer Training Command Newport Admiral keener, Distinguished Visitors, Officer training, Command, staff, family and friends joining us today. And shipmates of Officer development school. Class 22070. Good morning. It’s an absolute honor for me to have this opportunity to welcome this class into one of the most prestigious, challenging and rewarding careers in our nation, that of naval officer. Today. We will bear witness as 170 officers renew a solemn promise to our nation, reaffirming their oath to support and defend the constitution of the United States for the families joining us. I want to thank you and commend you for the performance of your sons and daughters. Husbands and wives, brothers and sisters. Your love, support and encouragement have produced quality individuals that you see seated here, ones who not only chose vocations to help their fellow human being, but who chose the path of service to their fellow citizens. I can think of no finer group to go forth into the fleet than the officer seated here today. They could not have gotten to this point without your careful guidance and support of the family on behalf of the Navy and a grateful nation. Please accept my most sincere thank you to the class. I’m proud of you and all you accomplished while here as you depart for your schools and duty stations know that you’re about to be placed in a position to lead and mentor what are truly one of our most valuable national products, enlisted men and women of the U. S. Navy. Those that volunteer our precious national resource. So you must always treat them as such. The foundations we have laid for you here at ODS are solid. It is now up to you to build upon this As you enter the naval service. I’m impressed with the effort that you’ve expended over the last several weeks and I want to thank you for all that you’ve done and will do in service of this great nation of ours. It is my pleasure and distinct honor to welcome you to the wardroom as professional naval officers and the world’s finest navy. It’s my honor this morning to introduce you to our guest speaker, we’re Admiral Cynthia Kunar, Commander, Naval Medical Forces Support Command and director of the Nurse Corps. Admiral Kuhner is a native of fort Rucker Alabama in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Hawaii at Genoa. Her graduate degrees, including Master of Science in nursing from the uniformed Services, University of the Health Sciences and a Doctor of Nursing practice from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She was commissioned an ensign in 1991. Through the baccalaureate degree completion program operation. She served as a senior nurse of bravo surgical company with the First Force Service support group in Fallujah Iraq providing direct casualty care during the height of combat operations. She also served as a senior medical officer and ultimately the executive officer of the provincial reconstruction Team in Khost Afghanistan. As the team’s provincial partner for health sector development in a war torn province of more than a million afghans. She worked with the government officials, U. S. Department and non-government organizations to bolster reconstruction efforts essential to the counterinsurgency strategy and support of operation enduring freedom for previous assignments include Staff Nurse Corps positions in the pediatric ward and labor delivery units at Naval Medical Center San Diego California. Division Officer at the Branch medical clinic, Sasebo Japan duty under instruction at Eustace in Bethesda Maryland. Family nurse practitioner, track medical staff and primary care manager at Naval Health Clinic, Corpus Christi Texas, department head and PCM at Naval Hospital at Guantanamo Bay Cuba, department head and PCM Naval Hospital Bremerton Washington. Her executive assignments include director branch clinics and Command, Executive Board Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth Virginia, Executive officer, Naval Medical center. San Diego California as Commanding officer, Naval Hospital. Okinawa Japan staff assignments including Navy Medicine, transition, lead Assistant deputy Chief of Medical operations and the Deputy Chief Operations Plans and readiness M two M three M five at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery headquarters where she ensured the Navy’s medicines successful surge response and led a novel adaptive naval force solution to the SARS covid two pandemic currently serves as Commander, Naval Medical Forces Support Command at Joint Base San Antonio Fort Sam Houston Texas. She maintains board certifications of the family nurse practitioner as advanced nurse executive with the American nurses credentialing center and as a fellow of both the American Association of Nurse practitioners and the American Academy of Nursing. Her leadership is essential to the continued success of the world’s greatest Navy and we’re truly fortunate to have her with us today to share her thoughts. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me and welcome our guest of honor today. The 26th Director of the Nurse corps were Admiral Cynthia keener when you’re five ft three, the first thing you do in front of a podium is get yourself configured at the podium. So uh skipper with your permission, can I ask the graduates to relax, Go ahead and relax. I fear you’re spending way too much energy on that. Um rigid posture and attention and maybe you won’t be able to focus on my speech and I spent a lot of time writing it. So I want you to be appropriately focused in this moment. Um Thank you Captain Alcorn, skipper Xo CMC, Family, friends and especially ODS graduating class 2 to 070. Good morning. I am honored to be here to celebrate your achievements and to share a few thoughts with you about your future in our Great Navy. I remember this graduation day in my career, it was august 1991 in Pensacola Florida that summer. The Navy did something different and put 80 of its newest commissioned nurse corps officers throughout the, through the rigorous training of the aviation officer candidate school program. And there are two things that I most vividly recall from that day over 30 years ago. First it was perilously hot and humid. I was miserable in my service dress, white uniform marching by the grandstand for our final past review. Second, I was glad to be done after six weeks of O. I. S. Or officer indoctrination school as it was called back then and excited to be heading to San Diego for my first assignment skipper. I don’t think you taught them how to react, relax. They’re all they’re all sitting still at attention. Ok?

Everybody just work with me here. Take a deep breath in ah and out. If you’re this nervous, I’m gonna be nervous. So knock that off. We’re good. And there’s one thing that I absolutely do not remember from that day who the graduation guest of honor was or anything that they said. So I’m gonna do my very best to make a different memory for you today. You have sworn to support and defend our constitution against all enemies. You take your obligation freely and you will faithfully discharge the duties of your office. Unlike the oath of enlistment, you do not explicitly promise to obey orders. Now, for the record, I don’t recommend that you get out there with the weight and responsibility of your rank and choose not to follow lawful orders. Sound judgment is required in all matters, but your commission is like a newly bestowed superpower and you are instantly transformed from this day. Forward your family, your friends, your shipmates, the chief’s mess, that your sailors, your commander in chief and the citizens of our nation will place their special trust and confidence in you. Your commission obligates you to lead with integrity, justice, fairness and accountability to a public that pays for your faithful service and depends upon you each and every day to honor your oath and to stand fast during adversity and danger. No pressure, no pressure at all to summarize I will repeat the sage guidance once delivered to another superhero. Peter parker. You may know him as Spider man and here was the advice with great power comes great responsibility. So I do recommend that you take positive control of your superpower and your career early on determine who you are today at baseline and how you’ll use your bestowed honor to become the naval officer worthy of the esteem of many who will see you in your uniform and thank you for your service. Initially it may feel awkward to hear those words and kind of like fictional superman’s superhero Spider man’s character. It takes a bit to get used to the fit and distinguishing features of your costume in your case, a uniform and the sometimes heavy burdens but always the privilege of your service commission. You don’t have to and shouldn’t wait to embrace the obligations of faithful service indeed your superpower. So how do you begin this transformation?

I’d like to share a suggestion. I’ve been here two Newport on three separate occasions for officer development programs at the prospective commanding officer school or P. C. O. Course we were tasked to develop our command leadership philosophy and we were given some parameters. Select no no more than three areas of focus?

Your leadership philosophy should be simple, You should believe in it and it should resonate with you and the people you will leave. I implore you not to wait for a future command tour to develop your own leadership philosophy and your personal plan for becoming the leader that you want to be steering your own course in the world’s greatest navy. Following the same rules we were given heading into command. Start with some thoughtful reflection about who you are right now. The real and authentic substance of you, the values you hold, the choices you freely made and the resolve you’ve already shown to earn your commission. Make your philosophy sincere and authentic and keep it limited to two or three really important things at any details around those things as you see fit and take some time to acknowledge the leader you are today and the leader you aspire to be if you’re stuck, find some examples. I recommend you search beyond Instagram your CEO’s philosophy will be available. Read it. It’s really helpful to know what your boss thinks when you’re satisfied with your work?

Give yourself an honest appraisal. Does your personal leadership philosophy resonate with you?

Is the is it the leader you are now or the leader you wish to become. If there’s a gap and you need to need to or want to make changes?

How will you develop a plan and execute the steps to get there?

Will your career simply happen to you or will you make your career happen?

What resources do you have?

Do you see yourself going it alone or will you trust and rely upon people who have gone before you and the people around you to help you?

I recommend the latter. How will your actions?

All your actions even when no one is watching prove that you believe the words you’ve written, will you hold yourself accountable to the leadership philosophy that you’ve created, Why and how?

Trust me?

It’s not always easy being a superhero. Each of you will leave from this graduation day and head to your next assignment and when you arrive you’ll quickly jump into the job orienting to your new workspace, meeting new shipmates around you, honing baseline professional skills and acquiring the tools you need for success as you get going, you’ll begin to appreciate that our Navy is undergoing transformational change. The focus on near peer adversaries distributed maritime operations and the threats to American interests and democratic ideals are in the forefront and the focus of every community among the active and reserve naval forces in the weeks to come. You will undoubtedly hear more about our Chief of Naval Operations. Get real, get better campaign. His call to action to our Navy and specifically to you. Its leaders. I will quote the cno get real is about having the courage to self-assess, to build teams that embraced honest hard transparent looks at our performance and to understand our actual strengths and shortcomings. We must be our own toughest critics get better. Is about a commitment to improve. To be self-correcting. It’s about taking pride in high standards and fixing problems together when they’re small before they grow large and complex. It’s about applying proven methods to get after the things that matter most in a focused and disciplined way and not just by adding activity. The Cno encourages a learning mindset and challenges us to learn it all. Vice know it all where we openly transparently share what we learn, setting the highest standards for ourselves and others and where we build trust by honoring and rewarding the value of our teammates. The people were entrusted to lead and where we as leaders take acceptable risks and adjust our plan based on continuous learning and improvement. As you establish your own leadership philosophy, acknowledge yourself as a burgeoning superhero and embrace our C. N. O. S. Called action. You will be challenged and rewarded. It is an exciting time to serve with abundant opportunity to contribute your many diverse gifts. You will make our navy better by your deliberate actions and faithful service. I am quite confident that ODS class 2 to 070 is up to the task and will distinguish itself in the years to come best to each of you have fun and lead well. Oh and if any of you already knows how to make a web from your wrists. I’ll stay after so you can teach me. Thank you very much. Thank you. Captain Alcorn and Rear Admiral, keener. At the conclusion of each ODS class, several students are recognized by their fellow classmates as well as otc and staff for outstanding achievements. During the five week course of instruction, Ensign Matthew 10 0, Front and Center. The honor student award is presented to the officer who best demonstrates an overall excellence in the areas of academics, physical fitness and military bearing, consistently setting the example for his peers throughout the many challenges faced at officer training command, The honor student award goes to instant Matthew 10 0 Lieutenant Charlie y’All. Front and center. The Alfred award is given to the officer who achieves the highest military grade derived from personnel inspections, room inspections and general military bearing. This award is named after the continental slope of war. The Alfred, commissioned in 17 75 The Alfred served as the flagship of native Rhode islander commodore Essick Hopkins, serving as a role model of navy pride and professionalism, maintaining the highest military standards and providing inspiration to all the Alfred award goes to Lieutenant Charlie Yowl Ensign Mark Greg. Front and center. The Captain George Townsend smith leadership award is presented to the officer who personifies the highest standards of personal example, good leadership practices and moral responsibility. Officers were nominated by their peers and selected by the officer training command staff. The captain George Townsend smith leadership award goes to Ensign Mark Greg. Ensign Brandon Fraser, front and center. The Eddy Award named after lieutenant Thomas E. G. United States Navy recognizes the highest achievement in academic and military performance. Lieutenant Thomas Edie, who emigrated from Scotland and settled in Rhode island, was awarded the Navy Cross and Medal of Honor for his courageous efforts as a diver. During the salvage of submarines, S. S. Four and S. S. 51 off the coast of Massachusetts. He was a member of the Southeastern New England chapter of the Retired Officers Association at the time of his death in 1974. In recognition of this accomplishment. In addition to a certificate of achievement, the Military Officers Association of America has also provided a three year membership to the D Award winner and send Brandon Fraser For the past five weeks. The company guide on has been a symbol of spirit, dedication, teamwork and unit identity. To symbolize the fact that these officers seated before you have completed their training, they will return the guide on to their class. Chief Petty Officers, Senior Chief electronics technician Lewis and Senior Chief Hospital Corman Sims cologne. Mhm jenny. Hey, God, no, okay, hey right. Lieutenant head early will now deliver the reaffirmation of the oath of office with all military personnel in uniform. Please come to the position of attention. What?

Right, okay, ladies and gentlemen, the Commanding Officer of officer training, Command Newport’s would like to present to you your newly reaffirmed naval officers. Will all guests?

Please rise for the playing of the service songs and final dismissal. Officer Development School Class 2 2070. Upon graduation from officer development school, you are ordered to detach and report to your duty stations where you will assume your duties and responsibilities by order of Everette Alcorn, Captain United States, Navy Commanding Officer, Officer Training Command Newport Zero. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our ceremony on behalf of the Commanding Officer Officer Training Command Newport’s thank you for attending. Today’s graduation. Will all awardees, please come to the front of the stage upon dismissal for a photo with the guest of honor and commanding officer guests. Thank you for coming. Please stay safe, stay healthy and have a nice day.