Change of Command, Part 3

The following is Part 3 of 4 of the speech I delivered at my Change of Command ceremony on December 13, 2013.

It has been an absolute honor and a privilege to have served with and led such a wide variety and hihg quality group of people over the last three years at Camp Atterbury. I will forever take with me the many lessons I learned from our seasoned Non-Commissioned Officer Corps; truly the backbone of our Armed Forces. I want to thank my many mentors: the Officers, Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, Enlisted Members, Army Civilians and the many Family Members I have come into contact with over the years for helping shape me into the leader and person I am today.

None more important than that beautiful woman sitting right over there, my wife, DeAnna. Ladies and gentlemen, that woman is one tough cookie! We've been married for 8.5 years, the last 4 of which have been spent living separately. She in Tennessee and I, first in Mosul, Iraq then in Franklin, Indiana. That little one sitting next to her; I left her essentially fatherless at the tender age of 5. You are what I live for, but I have been absent from your lives for far too long. Yet, you have stayed by my side and thus I am eternally grateful to you, DeAnna, and you, Destiny! I love you both so much and cannot thank you enough for enduring these last 4 years!

Change of Command, Part 2

Part 2:

I earned my Commission in 2004 from Marion Military Institute (MMI). MMI is one of five Military Junior Colleges offering a commissioning program called the Early Commissioning Program (ECP) which offers the opportunity to earn an Army Commission in just two years. As a high school student having just witnessed the events of 9/11 and eager to "get into the fight" the two year option was the best option for me. So, at the ripe age of 19, my wife and my grandfather, a retired Air Force Senior Master Sergeant, pinned a par of gold bars on my shoulders.

My first full-time assignment was as the Officer Strength Manager for the Tennessee National Guard. Those first five years were some of the most formative years of my life as a professional. As an Officer Strength Manager I was in the envious position of educating prospective Officers of the benefits of becoming an Officer in the Army and helping develop solutions for the next six to eight years of their lives! I am very proud of my time as an Officer Strength Manager as many of my prospective Officers have accomplished some incredible things; successfully leading units around the world in support of Overseas Contingency Operations and leading disaster relief efforts here at home.

My next assignment was as a Convoy Security Company Platoon Leader and Executive Officer assigned to Mosul, Iraq with B-Battery, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment. This was one of my most treasured times as an Army Officer and an experience I will never forget. Most Officers in the Army will tell you that the best job an Officer will ever have is to lead Soldiers in combat and I couldn't agree more! I am proud to have served with those 34 men and women in combat as we logged more than 5000 miles throughout northern Iraq having not one of them receive any combat related injuries. We were the only platoon out of 9 Convoy Security Platoons to not receive any damage to either our customer vehicles or our own vehicles by enemy contact to include: small arms fire and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). 34 Soldiers in, 34 Soldiers out!

I was then assigned to Camp Atterbury, Indiana as a Team Leader of an Observer Controller/Trainer (OC/T) Team from late 2010 to late 2011 where I planned and facilitated training for more than 5200 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and DOD Civilians mobilized in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, Operation Enduring Freedom, the Horn of Africa, Multinational Forces Observers, and Kosovo Forces.

In late 2011 I was then assigned to 1-335th Infantry Battalion as the Headquarters and Headquarters Company Commander until 2012 where my culminating assignment was as the Headquarters and Headquarters Company Commander for 205th Infantry Brigade.

Change of Command

The following is an excerpt from my Change of Command speech delivered on December 13, 2013. I will deliver my speech here in 4 Parts. Thank you for reading Part 1, I hope you enjoy.

On May 29, 2004 I took the following oath:

"I, Corey Grant Henderson, having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of Lieutenant do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God."

For almost 10 years I have done my best to keep that Oath. But all things must come to an end. Not only am I relinquishing command, I am officially resigning my Commission and entering the business world as the calendar flips from 2013 to 2014. I am both excited and nervous,  as many of you might reasonably understand. I have had several of you, here in this audience, respond with disbelief and disappointment when I announced my resignation. You questioned my reasoning; for I am at or over that magical "10 year threshold" and have said to me, "Gosh, you've come this far, why not just finish this thing out to 20 years?!" I've also heard, "It's a shame to see you go, we need more people like you." With all due respect, I truly appreciate the sentiments, but I never have, nor do I now, view service to my country as a means to a lifelong pension and medical benefits plan. For me, service was a call to arms. With the current state of affairs abroad I feel I have satisfied my country's call to arms and now it is time to move on.

Good To Great

A quick synopsis: Good To Great by Tim Collins was a great way to start the interview preparation program with Cameron-Brooks because it offered a frame of reference for the business world in general, but more specifically help set the tone for how great companies think. I always knew the public sector was very different from that of the private sector, I just never really knew to what extent. What's great about Good To Great is that it gave very detailed examples into the psychology of turning a business around; a kind of playbook for how to get a company on the path to greatness. Its for this reason I believe this was a very appropriate beginning to the reading list. Companies looking to hire Junior Military Officers are expecting those Officers to have an immediate impact because they are striving for success. They're out to win the World Series and there's no room for anyone not playing for the same goal.

Introduction

Hello Blogosphere! This is my first attempt at a blog not named Twitter or Facebook. It has taken me quite some time to decide first, whether I should start a blog, and second, what in the world it would be about. There are countless blogs out there centered around many of the topics I'm interested in: politics, economics, CrossFit, the Army, Minnesota Twins baseball, etc. I wanted to be a little unique in purpose of this blog, especially being that it is my first one.

I have nailed it down to this: initially, this blog will contain reviews and my personal thoughts on books from a reading list by Cameron-Brooks. Cameron-Brooks is a recruiting firm that focuses solely on Junior Military Officers (JMOs). I was accepted into the recruiting program in April to aid in my transition from the Army to Corporate America. Their reading list, along with other resources, is intended to better prepare me for interviews with companies across the United States. During one of my latest performance evaluations my boss outlined a few things he felt would help make me a better professional both during my remaining time in the Army and in my future career in the business world. One of those areas was to improve my written communication skills. I suggested a (this) blog (which I had been back and forth on) and he enthusiastically approved. After running the idea by a few peers (chiefly, Olivia Cobiskey, our resident Public Affairs Officer), my wife and folks that work for me, I decided that there was no better time than now.

Having said that, I think this forum may be a better medium for discussing my thoughts on some of my other passions; i.e., politics, economics, CrossFit, the Army, Minnesota Twins baseball, etc, as the opportunity presents itself. Who knows? Perhaps those topics will spin off into yet other, distinct blogs and take on a lives of their own?! For the near future, I will focus on the reading list and use it as a platform from which to turn a weakness into a strength!

To all future readers: First, I want to thank you for being interested in what I have to say. Second, any and all feedback on any topic I write about, or you think I should write about, is emphatically welcomed and appreciated!