FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. – The U.S. Army Garrison Headquarters & Headquarters Company (HHC) held its change of responsibility ceremony April 4 at the Fort Huachuca Select Honor Guard facility where 1st. Sgt. Joseph Schmidt relinquished his responsibilities to 1st. Sgt. Janos Aksz.
Capt. Frannie Bermudes, HHC commander, presided over the ceremony. During her speech, Bermudes said she has enjoyed working with and learning from Schmidt during the short time she has been in command.
“First Sergeant Schmidt, your unwavering commitment, mentorship and guidance, has left an indelible mark on this unit,” Bermudes said. “Your leadership has inspired us all to uphold the highest standards of excellence. Thank you for your guidance and patience.”
Bermudes continued by sharing some words from Capt. Connor Gaumond, the previous HHC commander, who worked with Schmidt throughout his tenure as first sergeant.
“I’m sure you will look forward to not having to deal with any issues from electronic vehicles, cannons, 16-hour Fourth of Julys, and hours of coordination for community events,” Bermudes said. “Just know, we will still need you for this Fourth of July, so make sure your calendar is open.”
Before speaking about Aksz, Bermudes finished her comments to Schmidt by apologizing for his favorite National Football League (NFL) team, the Chicago Bears, trading their starting quarterback and saying with a laugh, “be prepared for another losing season.”
Bermudes continued her speech by saying how excited she is for Aksz to join the team and the experience and wisdom he brings.
“I’m most excited about your passion for taking care of Soldiers and their families,” Bermudes said. “We’re confident under your leadership, we will strive to even greater heights and continue to uphold the proud traditions of our unit.”
Following the words from Bermudes, Schmidt took to the podium and thanked the garrison command team for their “guidance, support and giving me the opportunity to serve as your First Sergeant.” He also thanked units on post for supporting the Honor Guard mission and providing Soldiers to assist.
Schmidt continued by talking about his commanders, Bermudes and Gaumond. Although he only worked with Bermudes for 70 days, he thanked her for the kind words and hopes he left her with a “lasting impression.” Schmidt thanked Gaumond for his “kindness, mentorship and helping me be the best First Sergeant I can be.”
He continued by saying he will miss talking about sports with Gaumond, especially on Thursday afternoons while making picks for the upcoming NFL games.
“[Gaumond] would come in on Mondays complaining about how ‘the Bears did you dirty again,’” Schmidt said. “’It seemed when you picked them to win, they would lose and when you picked them to lose, they would win. If only you picked them to lose more, they might’ve won more games,’” Schmidt said repeating Gaumond’s friendly taunts.
The outgoing first sergeant spent the bulk of his speech talking about the Fort Huachuca Select Honor Guard Soldiers. He complimented their hard work and dedication to ensuring they were successful in their mission and how they “meshed together” to build a welcoming workplace.
“Many of you showed up to your duty assignment and were told you’re going straight to the Honor Guard for six months to a year without a choice,” Schmidt said. “You have taken the challenge head-on, and I’m very proud of each of you.”
He continued by highlighting the many funerals, retirement ceremonies, and other events where the Honor Guard represented the Army and Fort Huachuca.
“In the past two years, we have conducted 810 veteran funerals, 278 retiree funerals, 24 active-duty funerals, which includes service members killed in action, had their remains identified, and returned to the states,” Schmidt said. “You have conducted five planeside honors, 12 memorial services and driven over 100,000 miles incident free.”
After Schmidt concluded his speech by thanking his family, Aksz took to the podium for his speech. He began by thanking his family, friends and guests in attendance, and thanked Schmidt for his leadership over the last two years.
Aksz continued by thanking the garrison command team and Bermudes for giving him this responsibility. He also spoke about the Soldiers in the Honor Guard and how impressed he is by them.
“I wanted to take my opportunity here to not talk about my career but the men and women of HHC, specifically the Honor Guard,” Aksz said.
“The three weeks I’ve been here have been incredibly impressive with the stuff they have to deal with just by the nature of their daily duties in the Honor Guard doing funerals,” Aksz said. “It’s unbelievably impressive how resilient they are and how dedicated they are and how much they actually care about it.”
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Fort Huachuca is home to the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command/9th Army Signal Command and more than 48 supported tenants representing a diverse, multiservice population. Our unique environment encompasses 946 square miles of restricted airspace and 2,500 square miles of protected electronic ranges, key components to the national defense mission.
Located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about 15 miles north of the border with Mexico, Fort Huachuca is an Army installation with a rich frontier history. Established in 1877, the Fort was declared a national landmark in 1976.
We are the Army’s Home. Learn more at https://home.army.mil/huachuca/.
(Editor’s note: The entire Flickr album is available at 2024-04-04 HHC USAG Change of Responsibility | Flickr).
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