PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - Picatinny Arsenal's Senior Commander, Brig. Gen. Patrick W. Burden, attended an Eagle Scout ceremony on Dec. 13 in Montville, New Jersey, where six young men from Troop 74, including the son of a Picatinny Arsenal employee, were honored for earning the highest rank in the Boy Scouts organization.
"I felt very honored that General Burden attended my Eagle Ceremony," said Casey Hojecki.
His speech was really inspiring and it was cool getting to talk to him in person. His presence and friendly personality greatly added to this very special occasion."
Casey is the son of Laura Hojecki, an employee at the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center. She is a Configuration Management/Library Services Management in the Battlefield Systems and Software Engineering Division, Weapons and Software Engineering Center.
Casey completed a project for the Montville Historical Society. He raised money for, and later installed, a fence around the Doremus House, a well-preserved Dutch stone residence where Gen. George Washington stayed after the Battle of Springfield in June 1780.
Also recognized for attaining Eagle Scout status were Jonathan Abramson, Cameron Poole, Brandon Wong, and brothers Daniel and Thomas Ackaway.
Abrahamson created an approximately half-mile long trail on Pyramid Mountain that linked one of the entrances to the mountain to the trail system, working with nature to make the trail effective yet non-intrusive.
Poole's project honored Veterans in our community by enhancing the VFW grounds and supporting the community in making the park area attractive to visitors.
Wong's "Memorial Beautification Project" included a renovation to the existing 9/11 and Pan Am Flight 103 monument located in the Montville Township Community Center.
Daniel Ackaway created a trailhead kiosk structure for Montville's Open Space Advisory Committee. It is placed at Camp Dawson in Towaco. Its purpose is to provide a bulletin board built onto the kiosk intended for display of trail map signage. His brother, Thomas, organized a project that created two sports-themed recycling receptacles at Camp Dawson in Towaco. The purpose is to encourage everyone not to leave their water bottles all over the fields.
Casey started his scouting career in the first grade as a Tiger Scout with Cub Scout Troop 66 in Montville. Now, as an 18-year-old senior in high school, Casey has achieved what most scouts do not. All six Eagle Scouts attended Robert R. Lazar Middle School in Montville. Cameron is a senior at Seton Hall Preparatory School in Montville. The other five are seniors at Montville High.
Only seven percent of all scouts achieve the rank of Eagle. From 1912 to 2013, 2.3 million Boy Scouts earned the Eagle Scout rank.
When the date and location for the Court of Honor Ceremony was set, Hojecki drafted a letter to Burden asking if he would attend. Burden accepted and delivered a speech.
"You young men will be the next generation of leaders," Burden said. "It would not surprise me if one of you becomes the Chief of Staff of the Army."
"Many of our nation's greatest leaders in government, business, science and the community were Eagle Scouts as young men," Burden continued. "Say you are an Eagle, and society expects more from you. Government officials, corporate leaders, astronauts, athletes, and actors have earned the highest rank in scouting."
During the Court of Honor Ceremony, Burden asked attendees for a show of hands if they had ever heard of Picatinny Arsenal. Much to his surprise, the majority have heard of the U.S. Army installation that Burden commands--something he said is not always the case.
After listening to Burden speak, Casey said that he was "amazed to hear that 90 percent of the Army's lethality comes from Picatinny."
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