Rodriguez commissions new officers, addresses graduates, honors wounded warrior

By Larry Stevens, FORSCOM PAOMay 15, 2012

Rodriguez commissions new officers, addresses graduates, honors Wounded Warrior
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Second Lt. Lindsey Barnes proudly displays her framed commissioning certificate. To her right is Lt. Gen. (retired) Robert Yerks; to her left stands Gen. David M. Rodriguez, U.S. Army Forces Command commander, who moments earlier had administered the... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Rodriguez commissions new officers, addresses graduates, honors Wounded Warrior
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Second Lt. Josh Pitcher of the 82nd Airborne Division made it to the Eastern Kentucky University with the help of Gen. David M. Rodriguez to witness his fiancée, Michelle Smith, graduate. Himself a 2011 EKU graduate, Pitcher was wounded in Afg... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Rodriguez commissions new officers, addresses graduates, honors Wounded Warrior
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Forces Command commanding general, Gen. David M. Rodriguez, urges Eastern Kentucky graduates "to rise to your responsibility, to give something back to America" as they pursue their careers, May 4, 2012, at Eastern Kentucky University in R... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Rodriguez commissions new officers, addresses graduates, honors Wounded Warrior
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Gen. David M. Rodriguez, commander U.S. Army Forces command, is hooded by Doug Whitlock (left), the president of Eastern Kentucky University, and EKU Provost Dr. Janna Vice as part of the ceremony conferring an honorary doctor of laws degree on Rodr... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Rodriguez commissions new officers, addresses graduates, honors Wounded Warrior
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Gen. David M. Rodriguez, U.S. Army Forces Command commanding general, looks appreciatively at the 10 ROTC cadets he will shortly be swearing in as Army second lieutenants, May 4, 2012, at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Ky. Seated to Rodrigu... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (May 15, 2012) Gen. David M. Rodriguez, commander of U.S. Army Forces Command, made the most of his two days at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Ky., administering the commissioning oath, delivering a commencement address, receiving an honorary degree, and reuniting a wounded warrior with his fiancée.

He administered the oath of office to ten Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets, May 4.

The university presented Rodriguez with an honorary law degree, May 5, after which he addressed degree candidates in the Colleges of Business and Technology and Education, urging them to find a way to serve.

"Service to your nation is an individual choice, to be part of something greater than yourself," he said. "Service to the nation is not limited to a position you hold, an office you occupy, or an organization in which you are a member. Service to the nation is a sense of belonging, an aspiration to help, a desire to make your community, town, state, or country better."

"I can see the spark you have in your eyes," he continued. "If you let it, it will ignite a passion to go forth and do great things, to give something back to America. As the years pass, your generation will be judged, and you will begin to judge yourself on what you contribute to others, to your country, your communities, and your children."

As for his reuniting accomplishment, Rodriguez arranged to bring with him a wounded warrior he had met during a visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 2nd Lt. Josh Pitcher of the 82nd Airborne Division, in order to attend his fiancee's graduation at EKU.

To learn more about Pitcher and his fiancée, go to www.army.mil/article/79667/.

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