250th Birthday Ball celebrates world’s greatest army

Retired Gen. Gus Perna headlined the Association of the United States Army’s 250th Army Birthday Ball on Saturday in the Davidson Center at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.

“For 250 years the Army has stood watch through the Revolution and Civil War, through world wars and the Cold War, through peacekeeping and humanitarian missions,” Perna said. “At the face of terrorism and ever-emerging threats, we stood tall. We can be counted on to do our jobs.”

During the black-tie event, the former commander of Army Materiel Command and chief operating officer of the country’s COVID-19 response – Operation Warp Speed – lauded “the greatest Army the world has ever seen.”

“This celebration is more than recognizing a military anniversary,” he said. “It is about thinking bigger than ourselves, bigger than the Army. This is about our nation. Why?

“Because our purpose is to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

“I want you to think about this. Nobody does what we do. We go and we fight and we win our wars. Why? Because winning matters. Winning matters when you are the example to the world.

“Winning matters when there are people who are not treated right, whether it’s around the world or in this country. It is our responsibility to fight and win the wars.”

He also talked about the importance of the relationship between the Army and DA civilians, the Army and the community, the Army and industry and the Army and the families who support the Soldiers in uniform.

“This community has been a big part of Redstone Arsenal’s success, of our Army’s success, and I am so grateful for everybody here, whether you are a Soldier, a DA civilian or just a supporter of what we do,” Perna said.

Part of the celebratory program highlighted the Army’s long history by showcasing how the Soldiers’ uniform has evolved over the past 250 years. For each era of the Army uniform, a young man or woman walked to the stage dressed in period-specific attire.

During his speech, Perna guessed the performers probably ranged in age from 18 to 23 and used the fresh memory to drive home a point.

“That is our Army,” he said, “18 to 23-year-olds – kids, children – that go and fight for us. They depend on leadership. They depend on their training. They depend on the best equipment and munitions in the world – that we provide here in America, but it is that core age that really goes and fights for us, right?”

He then challenged those in attendance to recognize a veteran or Soldier the next time they walked through an airport.

“Think about the 18, 19, 20-year-old kids who were scared to death coming out of basic training,” Perna said. Go say hello. Go buy them a coffee. Go get them a slice of pizza. Say thank you for their service.

“Spend a moment. Tell the veteran how great they are, because we are here today because of them. Don’t walk by them. Don’t close your eyes. Tell them how great they are.”

Then he reminded everyone that, because only about 1% of the population serves in the military, that means 99% of people have “no clue what it means to be in the service.”

He concluded his speech by urging people to always move forward, to draw on history and learn from it, but not to let history become an anchor that hinders progress.

“(It’s) time for changing. The world is changing. The enemy is changing. We must be innovative, adaptive and agile to defeat that enemy,” Perna said. “Go face that enemy. We can do it. We are the greatest Army the world has ever seen, right?”