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.