REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- Among the friends, family and Team Redstone representatives in the audience Friday to honor two Army leaders during the change of charter ceremony for the Cruise Missile Defense System Project Office, Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space, was a drama teacher who encouraged her students to make it to center stage.
In his words of appreciation to attendees, Col. Charles "Chuck" Worshim, incoming CMDS project manager, said a special "thank you" to Kitty Labay, who was his drama teacher 32 years ago when he was a ninth grader in Killeen, Texas. Worshim found his drama teacher through Facebook and, after discovering that she now lives in Huntsville, invited her to the ceremony.
Worshim told his teacher, "I finally made it to center stage, just not on Broadway."
In a ceremony filled with tradition and plenty of personal touches, outgoing CMDS project manager Col. Terrence Howard described himself as "now an old Soldier" with 28 years of active duty service and a "collection of stories that make up the fabric of a career."
Howard said he joined the Army with his first cousin and best friend because of the inspiring military stories he had heard from other family members. Now, he has his own military stories that may also inspire others to serve, he said.
When he took command of CMDS in 2012, Howard focused on three aspects of the organization -- institution, mission and people -- and led the "powerful team" of CMDS with one simple philosophy -- if you take care of the people, they will ensure mission success. He mentioned Proverbs 29:18 -- Where there is no vision, the people perish -- and expressed his "heartfelt appreciation" for the CMDS leadership team's commitment to the CMDS mission of providing the best air defense capabilities to protect the nation's capital region, warfighters in theater and the nation's allies.
To the CMDS employees, he encouraged them, saying, "the path has been set. Never shoot for anything less than the starts above you … the only way to be truly satisfied is to do a job well. You have the will to win, the desire to succeed and the urge to reach higher. You have a long path of success. My Soldier's heart stirs in me like fire with gratitude."
Barry Pike, program executive officer of Missiles and Space, said CMDS -- with its Stinger, Avenger, Sentinel, JLENS and IFPC IN2-1 missiles systems, among others -- has a significant impact both in the U.S. and around the world. He credited Howard with building a strong CMDS team, and for achieving major milestones with Sentinel, the International Engineering Services Partnerships, Stinger and the National Capital mission.
Those successes will continue, he said, under the new leadership of Worshim, who was most recently deployed to Afghanistan with the Combined Security Transition Command. He is an Air Defense Artillery officer whose assignments include serving as the assistant product manager and chief of Ground Test Planning and Operations for the Missile Defense Agency's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Project Office in Huntsville in the mid-2000s.
Worshim is excited to once again be part of Team Redstone and said that he transitions to a CMDS team that "is prepared and focused to accomplish the mission."
"I am just as focused to provide you with the leadership, resources and support needed to effectively accomplish the mission. It won't be easy and it will take time. There will always be work to be done. But, as a team, we can accomplish anything."
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