Photo By Sgt. Landon Carter | U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. JoAnn Naumann (left) is handed the United States Special...... read more read more
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FORT BRAGG, N.C. – The U.S. Army Special Operations Command bid farewell to
Command Sgt. Maj. JoAnn Naumann after two-and-a-half years serving as USASOC’s
command sergeant major as she changed responsibility to Command Sgt. Maj. David Waldo
outside the USASOC Headquarters, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Nov. 6, 2025.
The Change of Responsibility Ceremony serves the dual function of rendering honors to the
departing senior enlisted leader and providing official recognition of the transfer of authority as
the command senior enlisted leader of USASOC to the incoming senior enlisted leader.
After departing USASOC, Naumann will continue her storied career as the senior enlisted leader
at the United States Strategic Command.
Brig. Gen. Kirk Brinker, USASOC deputy commanding general, presided over the ceremony.
“Today is both happy and sad,” remarked Brinker. “It’s happy that change is inevitable and you
have to celebrate change. It’s sad because as we change responsibility today, and as CSM
Naumann leaves this field for the last time, she’s leaving this ARSOF (Army Special Operations
Forces) family which she has been a part of for an excess of two decades.”
Brinker went on to explain the privilege he has had over the past seven weeks as the acting
USASOC commanding general to work with Naumann, his appreciation for her personal and
intellectual courage, her integrity, and how he felt like one of her soldiers.
Addressing Naumann and Waldo, Brinker concluded, “JoAnn, you have held us to account with
grace, firmness and noble character. Dave Waldo, I want you to inspire us and hold us to account.
Sine Pari.”
Following Brinker, Naumann addressed the USASOC team and expressed her gratitude for the
people she has had the privilege to work with throughout her career.
“Standing before you as the command sergeant major of the United States Army Special
Operations Command one last time is an honor that is difficult to put into words,” remarked
Naumann. “Today is not about an ending, but about gratitude – for every moment, every mission,
and every person who made me a better leader and a better human being.”
Naumann continued to express her appreciation for the people and how they show up every day
to meet the challenges of the command. She remarked on how it is the people who make
USASOC special.
Turning to Command Sgt. Maj. Waldo, Naumann informed him, “CSM Waldo, congratulations.
You now have the best job in the Army. You are absolutely the right person to lead USASOC.”
“Today I will take this patch off for the last time, my message is simple: never forget why we
serve and never give up on yourself,” continued Naumann. “And so, I leave you with a thought
from one of history’s great philosophers, Winnie the Pooh – ‘How lucky I am to have something
that makes saying goodbye so hard.’”
To conclude the ceremony, Waldo addressed the USASOC team as its new command sergeant
major. “With an incredibly humble heart I joyfully accept this great responsibility,” began Waldo.
He continued to explain what STRATCOM is gaining with Naumann as their command sergeant
major with her distinguished and highly decorated career.
“To our adversaries – I ask not that you mistake these smiles and laughs, these tears of joys as
weakness,” Waldo expressed. “Because USASOC is lethal, we’re ready and we’re brilliant and
we’re compassionate."
"We love deeply. We fight fiercely and we serve unrelentingly. We will move further, faster, and
fight harder than any other soldier," he continued. "We don’t quit. Our influence is decisive. We
bring order from chaos, and by God, we will free the oppressed.”
-SINE PARI-
| Date Taken: | 11.07.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 11.07.2025 15:52 |
| Story ID: | 550821 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 134 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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