Photo By Sgt. Juanita Philip | Maj. Gen. Errol Schwartz, commanding general of the Washington, D.C. National Guard,...... read more read more
Subscribe
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS -- The Virgin Islands National Guard retired Maj. Gen. Renaldo Rivera, its 12th adjutant general, yesterday during a retirement ceremony at the Brigadier General Gerard L. James Sr. Joint Force Headquarters at the Estate Bethlehem Military Compound on St. Croix. The ceremony was presided over by Gov. Kenneth E. Mapp, governor of the Virgin Islands.
Surrounded by family, friends, dignitaries from the mainland and the Caribbean, and VING personnel, Rivera was given a hero’s farewell.
Maj. Gen. Renaldo Rivera was honored for his long and faithful service by Gov. Mapp, Gen. Frank J. Grass, 27th Chief of the National Guard Bureau, and the Soldiers and Airmen of the VING. He was honorably discharged after 35 years of service.
Also in attendance were Maj. Gen. Errol Schwartz, commanding general of the Washington D.C. National Guard and Col. Marta Carcana, interim adjutant general of the Puerto Rico National Guard.
Mapp praised Rivera for his leadership and service to the people of the Virgin Islands.
“Major General Rivera is one of those very productive Virgin Islanders. He has served this territory well. For our investment into Major General Rivera from the time you were a toddler, our return has been awesome. Your leadership of the [Virgin Islands] National Guard has brought it to a new era,” said Mapp.
Mapp went on to speak of Rivera’s accomplishments while in office.
“You have shepherded on the north side of $50 million in capital improvements to this territory … $50 million a year for which the people of the Virgin Islands have contributed-in terms of actual dollars to the operation of this facility and this Guard, less that $2 million. Wall Street cannot boast on this level of return,” said Mapp.
Under Rivera’s leadership, the VING undertook a number of capital improvement projects - the construction of two new buildings, the 210th Regional Training Institute and the Brigadier General Gerard L. James Sr. Joint Force Headquarters at the Estate Bethlehem Military Compound; the receipt of two new UH-72 Lakota helicopters, a new entry control point, and various other projects.
Gen. Frank J. Grass spoke of Rivera’s early days in the service when he did not expect to attain this level of service.
“When you got your notice did it say you would be a two-star general someday?” Grass jokingly asked Rivera as he referenced the draft, in the ‘60s, to the War in Vietnam. Rivera is one of a handful of adjutant generals who served in the Vietnam War.
Grass went on to compare their humble beginnings and upbringings and movement up the ranks to where they are today. Grass acknowledged that family is very important in the military, from your parents onward and praised Rivera’s parents.
“They gave you the tools to set you on a path to success at a very early stage in life,” he said.
Rivera took to the podium after the presentation of retirement awards and gifts and addressed the audience.
“I’m especially humbled by the fact that the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, General Frank Grass and Mrs. Grass, took time out of their busy schedule to visit with my guardsmen, tour our facilities, meet my family, my community members and to attend my retirement ceremony.”
Rivera acknowledged various key staff members, during his tenure, who made his leadership all that much easier with their attention to detail and hard work; from specialist to colonels were acknowledged for their efforts to make his leadership that much easier.
Rivera thanked first and foremost, God for all his accomplishments and his leadership of his troops. Then thanked his wife, children and finally his parents who migrated from the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, to seek a better life for themselves and their children on St. Croix.
“Their love and nurturing was the foundation for the man that I am today. To them, I am eternally grateful for the morals and values they instilled in me,” Rivera stated.
Rivera also thanked the current and former commanders-in-chief of the VING for trusting in him to lead.
“It feels as it was just yesterday that I was appointed, nominated and confirmed to this position. For those eight years, I am eternally thankful to the former governor John deJongh and the current governor Gov. Kenneth Mapp for the privilege to lead this Guard and represent our interest at each gathering of my peers of the other 53 states, territories and the District of Columbia,” he said.
“I took the helm with a mindset that doing good for all would make a big difference, and it did,” Rivera said. “We were able to attain the latest authorized equipment, two brand new buildings and two Lakota helicopters; and most importantly continuous improvement of the kindred spirit in every Soldier, Airmen and each of their families.”
Rivera served as the VING’s adjutant general from March 2007, when he was appointed by former governor John P. deJongh, until his retirement on July 18, 2015. He enlisted in the military in 1968 and served in Vietnam for a year before a tour of duty with an infantry battalion at Fort Ord, California. He was direct commissioned as a first lieutenant on April 15, 1980.
Rivera’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with V device, Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal with bronze star, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, Virgin Islands Meritorious Service Medal with numeral two, Virgin Islands Commendation Medal, Virgin Islands Long and Faithful Service Medal and Virgin Islands Emergency Service Ribbon.
| Date Taken: | 08.01.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 08.03.2015 15:47 |
| Story ID: | 171982 |
| Location: | ST. CROIX, US |
| Web Views: | 853 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, VI National Guard Maj. Gen. Rivera retires, by SGT Juanita Philip, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT