Good morning . Ladies and gentlemen ,
on behalf of Lieutenant General Sean C
Bernabi , commanding General Third
Arnold Corps and command Sergeant Major
Cliff Burgoyne , command Sergeant major
Third Arnold Corp . Welcome to the
installation redesignation ceremony
honoring General Richard E CASS ,
General Cavazos . A native Texan was
commissioned into the army through the
Reserve Officer Training Corps program
at Texas Technological University , now
known Texas Tech in 1951 for
bravery and demonstrated leadership in
combat . He was awarded the
distinguished service cross on two
separate occasions . Once during the
Korean War
General ,
this installation in the rank of
Lieutenant general in 1982 he became
the first Hispanic American to pin on
four stars as commanding general of the
US Army Forces command . Fittingly ,
summarizing his career of service by
placing him at the head of training ,
sustaining and deploying all of the
army's deployable forces . After 33
years of active duty service , he
retired in 1984 . Even during his
retirement years , General Cabasso
continued to serve his army as he
mentored many military officers that
followed him , many of whom are here
today . Please rise for the
indication given by the Third Armor
Corps chaplain , Colonel Douglas Ball .
I invite you to join me in prayer ,
almighty God Lord of hosts . I invite
both your presence and your blessing at
this redesignation ceremony here today
throughout scripture , you rename
people to signify new purposes , new
callings , new hopes and new qualities
for you are the God of new beginnings
whose mercies are new every morning .
As we redesign our installation today
in honor of General Richard Cavazos .
Let us be inspired to new heights by
his legacy . Thank you for this
opportunity to highlight the service of
all our soldiers as we take on the name
of a former third Armored Corps
commander . Thank you for this
opportunity to further partner with the
great communities which surround us as
we take up the reputation of a Texas
native . Thank you for this opportunity
to recognize the contributions of our
families as the Cavazos family honors
us with their presence today . May we
all strive to reflect the courage ,
faithfulness , character and leadership
symbolized by this redesignation as we
step together into the future ? As for
Cavazos in your name ? I pray amen .
Please be seated .
Ladies and gentlemen . The
distinguished guest in attendance today
include the honorable Gabe Cabrio under
Secretary of the Army , the Honorable
Carrie Office of the General Counsel ,
the Honorable Lawrence Rimmel Fort Hood ,
renaming commission admiral , retired
Michelle Howard Fort Hood , renaming
commission Mr Jerry Buchanan Fort
Hood , renaming Commission General
James Ray , commanding General Army
Futures Command . Command , sergeant
major , Brian Hester , command ,
sergeant major army futures command .
General retired and Missus J D Thurman ,
general , retired Vincent Brooks .
Distinguished members of General
Cavazos family include general ,
retired Cavazos brother , Mister Joseph
Cavazos and his family , as well as
general retired Cavazos Children ,
Mister Tommy Cavazos and his family ,
Mrs Laura Cavazos Blevins and her
family , Doctor Rebecca Cavazos and her
family , Doctor Catherine Rachel Casso
and her family . Additionally , we
would like to extend a welcome to all
the Casos family members who are in
attendance today . Finally , we would
like to thank the many distinguished
guests , local mayors , civilian aides
to the Secretary of the Army General
officers , service members , department
of the army , civilians , good
neighbors and friends of Fort Hood for
attending today's historic ceremony .
Ladies and gentlemen , please rise for
the arrival of the official party and
remain standing for honors to the host
and honor to the nation .
Today's official party consists of the
honorable Gabe Camario under Secretary
of the Army and Lieutenant General Sean
C Bernabi , commanding General Third
Armor Corps . The honorable Gabe Gao is
deferring honors to the Cavazos family .
Ladies and gentlemen , please be seated ,
ladies and gentle . Yes ,
Lieutenant John .
So good morning . What an historic day .
Great to see everybody . My name is
Sean Bernabe . I'm proud to call myself
an American soldier and a Phantom war
before we get started . I want to take
a few minutes to thank our salute
battery out there on the field . Our
color guard , the entire protocol
flag officers here , both active and
retired . It's great to see you all
here . I think we have a platoon plus
of command , sergeant major again ,
active and retired . Thank you for
being here today . We have several
federal state and local government
officials , including several of our
local mayors . Always great to see you
here . Many of our local council
members , superintendents , principals
are good neighbors . I tell you for all
these distinguished guests , your
presence here today communicates to us
very clearly your support for the
soldiers , for the army civilians and
for all the soldiers that are part of
this great installation . Thank you for
being here today . Now , as impressive ,
as impressive as you all are the real
guests of honor . Today are the 60 plus
members of the Cavazos family .
We had a chance to meet several of them
last night . So yes , all four of Joe
Cavazos Children , Dr Catherine Rachel
Cavazos , Dr Rebecca Cavazos , MS Laura
Blevins and Mr Tommy Cavazos are here .
Also president is Joe Cavazos . Brother
Mr Joseph Cavazos had a chance to meet
him this morning , sir . Welcome . I
think I counted eight grandchildren . I
may not have that quite right , but I
think I counted eight who are also with
us today . We also have several nieces
and nephews , grand nieces and grand
nephews , first cousins and second
cousins and talking to the grandkids
last night , they admitted that in some
cases , they've never actually met
these nieces and nephews or grand
nieces and nephews . So I think this is
a big reunion for the Cavazos family as
well . But to the entire Cavazos family ,
we are so glad you've been able to join
us today as we celebrate the life and
the service of your brother , your
father , your grandfather , your uncle ,
your cousin , General Richard E Cavazos .
Let me ask all the members of the
Cavazos family to please stand if you
can if you are able . Yes , let's
welcome the Aso's family . Thank you
for being here .
Now , at the end here , we're going to
get a chance to bring some of them up
here . They're going to help us do the
countdown as we unveil the sign but a
few minutes from now , ok . Now we do
have some folks here that may not have
spent a lot of time on our installation
and may not be all that familiar with
it . So let me tell you a little bit
about it . We call our installation the
great place in recognition of its size
and its importance to our army . During
world war II , the army announced the
need for sufficient land and facilities
for soldiers to practice large scale
mock battles , to train multiple
divisions simultaneously and to employ
the latest technologies to include
tanks and new anti tank gun systems .
Our army needed a place to teach and
train American soldiers on tank
destroyer maneuvers and tactics to
counter the German armored threat which
we had just witnessed on the European
continent . On September 18 th 1942
Camp Hood was established right here in
Killeen Texas to meet all those needs
of an army preparing for war . Eight
years later on April 15 1950 the army
announced this location as a permanent
installation today . This post has
grown to become one of the largest
military installations in the world
consisting of over 218,000 acres . It
is one of the few installations capable
of housing and training two armored
divisions simultaneously . Today , the
great place supports a population of
58,000 soldiers , family members ,
department of Army , civilians and
contractors for over eight decades .
This piece of ground has been critical
to army readiness . It is a power
projection platform , a launching pad
for lethal formations , lethal armored
formations as they deploy on short
notice anywhere in the world to do our
nation's bidding for over eight decades .
This installation has enjoyed the love
and support of the central Texas
community , a community that is quick
to welcome newcomers , quick to offer a
helping hand and quick to volunteer its
services for over eight decades .
The great place has been the
installation of choice nestled very
tightly within a community of choice .
Now , given the importance of this
installation for our army and for our
nation , I can think of no better
namesake than General Richard . CASS .
Now I did not know General Koso ,
but I wish I had Joe Cavazos was known
around the army as a battle , proven
warrior as a soldier's soldier ,
as a master trainer , as a military
innovator , as a mentor . And as a
humble servant leader , Joe CASS
was a fearless warrior and a military
legend who demonstrated exceptional
leadership and valor during both the
Korean conflict and the Vietnam
conflict . He was a highly decorated
soldier who earned the distinguished
service cross twice the silver star
and the purple heart . Joe Casos
was described by many as a soldier ,
soldier who earned admiration , loyalty
and respect through his warrior ethos ,
through his selflessness , through his
genuine empathy and through his
unquestionable love for soldiers .
Over the last several weeks , I have
read and re read the citation for each
distinguished service cross earned by
General Cavazos . Let me read to you an
excerpt from his first distinguished
service cross . The distinguished
service cross is presented to Richard E
Cavazos first Lieutenant Infantry US
Army for extraordinary heroism in
connection with military operations
against an armed enemy of the United
Nations . While as company commander of
company E second battalion , 65th
infantry regiment , third infantry
Division . First Lieutenant Casos
distinguished himself by extraordinary
heroism and action against enemy
aggressor forces in the vicinity of
Saga Korea on the night of 14 , June
1953 . On that date , Lieutenant
Cavazos led his men in a raid on the
entrenched enemy upon whom heavy
casualties were inflicted when a heavy
barrage was laid on the position by the
enemy . Lieutenant Cava withdrew the
company and regrouped his men .
Lieutenant Casos three times led the
company through the heavy barrage and
assaults on the enemy position each
time destroying vital enemy equipment
and personnel . When the United Nations
element was ordered to withdraw .
Lieutenant Cavazos remained alone on
the enemy outpost to search for missing
men , exposed to heavy hostile
fire . Lieutenant Cavazos located five
men who had been wounded in the action .
He evacuated them one at a time to
a point on the reverse slope of the
hill from which they could be removed
to the safety of the friendly lines .
Cava then made two more trips between
the United Nations position and the
enemy held hill searching for
casualties and evacuating scattered
groups of men who had become confused .
Not until he was assured that the hill
was cleared . Did he allow treatment of
his own wounds sustained during the
action ? General
Cavazos earned a second distinguished
service cross this time as a battalion
commander in Vietnam . And I won't read
the citation to you . If you haven't
read it , I commend it to you . I won't
read it today because I think we might
hear a little bit about that experience
from one of our guest speakers who was
there with him in Vietnam when he once
again demonstrated extreme courage and
leadership under fire . Suffice to say
Joe Cavazos was a proven combat leader
who repeatedly demonstrated courage ,
selfless service and an irrepressible
warrior spirit . For the
remainder of his career gel , Cavazos
earned a reputation as a master trainer
and is a gifted developer of leaders .
He of course was my predecessor as the
commander of the Third Armored Corps
and it was a couple of weeks ago , I
had a chance to read some training
guidance that General Cavazos published
as the three cops commander . He
published it on the 20 of March 1980 .
In fact that training guidance is
sitting on my desk upstairs . His
guidance was simple . It was clear it
was precise . His guidance
focused the leaders of the cops on
caring for soldiers on developing
leaders on building aggressive , highly
coordinated winning teams on ensuring
that every soldier masters the
fundamentals of war fighting on tough
realistic collective training to form a
proficient and lethal team of teams .
In the opening paragraph of his
guidance , he reminded the cops that
quote , the next war will be a come as
you are affair and that therefore
readiness is paramount . These
tenets are timeless and they provide a
great road map for the third Armored
Corps . Today . Joe Caso served on
active duty for 33 years upon
retirement . He continued to serve as a
mentor to army commanders and to
general officers . He is credited as
one of the creators of the battle
command training program designed to
develop and to train divisions and cops
for large scale combat operations .
Many of the retired general officers
present today , reminisce about the
first class coaching about the artful
teaching and about the caring
mentorship they receive personally from
General Koso . Now , as we
prepared for today's ceremony , we had
dozens of retired army leaders who
asked to speak during the ceremony .
They wanted to share their stories
about all the positive influence that
Joe Cavazos was for them and their
lives . If we let them all speak , we
would probably been out here for four
hours . And so we chose a different
option . And so we had a chance to fill
many of those leaders talking about
General Koso . You'll get to see some
of those clips during the reception
today after the ceremony . And we will
release some of those by social media
in the days and weeks ahead .
Today , we will get a chance to hear
from two distinguished and highly
decorated soldiers . First from
Lieutenant Colonel , retired Jim Tucker
who served with Joe Cavazos in 1 18
infantry vanguards in Vietnam . And
then second , we'll get to hear from
Lieutenant General , retired Randy
House who served as aide de camp to Joe
Koso when he was here as the Corps
commander for Third Corps . As you
listen to their words , as you
hear their testimonials about General
Cavazos . I know you will agree . There
is no better namesake for our
installation than Richard Eva
let his name and all that it
represents . Inspire us all every
single day to live up to his legacy as
a warrior , as a soldier , soldier ,
as a master trainer , as a military
innovator , as a coach and mentor and
as a humble servant leader . Ladies and
gentlemen , thank you all for coming
today and joining us on this very
historic occasion . Phantom warriors be
all you can be
our next speaker . Lieutenant Colonel ,
retired James M Tucker , graduated from
the Army Reserve Officer training Corps
program at the Citadel and was
commissioned as a second lieutenant of
infantry in 1956 . Amongst his fellow
overseas assignments was a tour in
Vietnam in 1967 where he was assigned
as the executive officer and three of
the first battalion , 18 th infantry
regiment , first Infantry Division
under the command of Lieutenant Colonel
Richard Cavazos . Lieutenant Colonel
Tucker retired in 1979 having served on
active duty for over 22 years . Ladies
and gentlemen , please join me in a
warm round of applause for Lieutenant
Colonel , retired James Tucker .
Yeah , I've got a word of advice for
her . Never trust a guy that comes to
the podium with , without a piece of
paper in his hand . Ok . So you know
what you're subjected to general , did
you fulfill my request ?
Would you have that go ahead and
solicit that person , please ? And you ,
I know one other thing . I , I don't
know how to ask this because , but I'm
the only guy that you will ever meet
that in an official Serey for
Charles De Gaulle , the president of
France was required after 30
minutes notice to give an eyes left .
Think about that F M 22-5 does not
have an eyes left in it .
Am I correct ? Anybody disagree ? Well ,
they didn't in my time I
went to , I went immediately to the
officers mess after that and they
served me a French meal and De Gaulle
appeared on the TV . And I asked my
interpreter , what is he saying ? And
he said he is saying that all NATO
troops are being withdrawn from Germany ,
from France . I have always felt that
it was my fault because can you imagine
soldiers trained to do eyes right ? And
I give them eyes left . So be patient
with me . The one message that and
all the people that I could think of
that have been thanked . And
I'm just now being able to see way over
there and what a crowd , I hope I don't
disappoint you because I only have two
significant messages for you . First of
all that
love to soldiers . I cry a
lot . It just kind of forgive me .
But when I hear when I hear the cannons
fire , tears came to my eyes because
there was something else that Cabos
loved and it was his artillery
and we were infant Truman .
I watched and as I tell you , I don't ,
I don't have a script . That's your
problem . You don't have to live with
me . I got one night , we had started
here early in the evening with an
attack on our India , our night
defensive position and he'd gone all
night and the art fire was not on
target and not uh continuing .
The next morning , Colonel Cabasa had
me call the commander general's aide
and have the commander general and his
aide come to the heliport .
I did and along with that , he brought
the artillery battalion commander
got off . None of you ever knew him and
loved him like I do . Well , I talk ,
go when I mention his name , I
cry . I'm sorry . It's just the way it
is . I'm just , by the way , if I got
anybody in the audience , that's 90
years old , that person I
could communicate with .
Are you there somewhere hidden ?
Please get your aide to assist you
in standing because I want to see
somebody that's as old as I am .
Hell , I don't see anybody . Now , one
other thing I got to ask you , General ,
is there not some position that would
allow these kids to be at , at , at
what I'd call arms ? Rest in other
words , who can do that ? Who has got
the authority to let them lower the
flags ? Let them come to parade rest .
Is there anybody that has that
authority ?
What about it ? I see .
Hold
can you , can you wire the flag ? Can
you come to parade , rest with the flag .
I don't know . I've been out of the
army too long . But , but I , I , I
learned one thing in my 90 years . If
you don't ask for it , you don't get it .
So , is there any way ?
So ? Well , bless their hearts .
Somebody ought to relieve them in a
little bit . Well , Casus
loved one thing more than his artillery
and that was , he loved his soldiers .
And I have asked the commanding general
because I didn't , I didn't want to
overstep the bounds of command to find
me the lowest ranking soldier that he
has authority over . Did you find him
general ? But it ain't you , is it ?
Well , come here , boy ,
because
you are now the most popular guy , the
most popular guy at Fort . Yes , sir .
Thank you . Thank you . Yes , sir , I
do . You are a P F C PV , two
PV , two , sir . PV , PV , two PV . Uh
PV , two guys . Well , let me tell you
about Kabas , what he would do when he
go to a unit . He would ask to see
the , the junior members of that
organization . And he would always
spend time with the lowest raking
soldier he could find . And I'm in
general . You did . I you did a good
job . I'd promote you if I had the
authority to get me this boy up here so
that I could hug him . And I haven't
hugged a grunt in 50 in 40 years . Ok .
All of , you know what a grunt is .
That's , that's just a dumb old infer ,
but that's why I am . But the smartest
dumb grunt I've ever known was Casus .
Nobody was as smart as Cava .
And , and I have seen General actually
two and three stars bow to him .
Both . Just agree that he had the right
solution to the right problem and it
always came back to one thing . And
General Bernardi , this is what I , I ,
I want Fort Cava to be is a place where
all of the soldiers have the best of
care that they can have . And I don't
know what , how I could end it any
better than I would love to have . I ,
I love that artillery sound . You don't
know , I haven't heard that in 50 years
and I love the artillery because
there's one thing that keeps soldiers
like him alive . It's the artillery .
So just know that and God bless you all
for enduring me for . I hope I didn't
go more than five minutes . But , uh ,
our next speaker , Lieutenant General ,
retired Randolph W house , a
distinguished military graduate from
Texas A and M University commissioned
as an infantry officer in 1967
Lieutenant General House commanded in
peace and war at every level of command
from an infantry platoon leader in the
82nd airborne Division to deputy
commander in chief of the US Pacific
command . Lieutenant General House
retired in 2000 . After 33 years of ,
for 10 years after 9 11 , he was a
senior mentor to the Department of
Defense , senior Military Commands for
classified exercises and operations
worldwide . Ladies and gentlemen ,
please join me in a warm round of
applause for Lieutenant General Retired
House .
Thank you for the introduction . But if
I had known you were going to eulogize
me , I'd have had a decency to die .
General Cava once told me if you're
lucky , you may meet one great man in a
lifetime . There are many people here
today . Me included who are very
fortunate because we met General cos as
a humble soldier and a truly great man
by any standard . I served as General
Kabas aide de camp when he was the C G
of three co in Fort Hood after he
retired in 1984 . It was my honor and
privilege to be his unofficial aide for
another 33 years . 5.5 years
ago , Mrs Cavazos
called me up and said , I've got a
letter from the
boss that he wrote right before he died
and he says , tell house he has to give
my eulogy .
Those were the hardest remarks I ever
made . I decided after his funeral to
service to retire from public speaking .
And I have until today .
However , when three core leadership
asked me to give remarks at this
ceremony , how could I say no ?
Was a translated kings ?
He was born and raised on the King
ranch where at a very young age , he
began to learn how to lead , teach ,
coach , mentor and motivate
others . During my lifetime , he was
the army's most gifted order . He was
able to inspire and motivate like no
other . He can make you laugh and cry
in the same sentence . In minutes , his
audiences would be sitting at the edge
of their chairs hanging on his every
word
had a delightful sense of humor and
clever sayings flowed from his lips
like a babbling brook . When he heard
something done , he would say that is
about as likely as a chicken voting for
Colonel Sanders .
When he saw poor leadership , he would
say that guy could not lead a group in
silent prayer . Yeah ,
I was asked to talk about General X's
enduring contribution to America's Army
as the corps commander said . And what
that means to me is talking
about training , which was his .
Hallmark told me it was during his
wartime experiences that he began a
lifelong quest to focus on training
leadership and taking care of soldiers .
But when he talked about taking care of
soldiers , he did not mean coddling
them . He meant training them to
standard . He believed in tough
love . He opposed
wasting soldiers training opportunities
with fringe activities . He would often
say poor training resulted in missions
not being accomplished and soldiers
dying that shouldn't have died when he
retired from forces comm in 1984 he was
a very young four star only 55 years
old . The army's leadership ask him
to develop a program to train division
and cops commanders and their staffs .
The result was in 1987 the
establishment of the world class
training experience called the battle
command training program or BCT . As it
became known . At the time , the army
had solid training programs for
individual soldier training through
brigade level training . The advent of
the National Training Center at Fort
Irvin revolutionized what intense field
training looked like , but there was no
equivalent training program for higher
echelons .
For some reason , they just thought
when you got to be a division and corps
commander , you knew it all . And as
the 47 commanding general of the big
red one , I guarantee you that wasn't
the case Desert Storm prove to the
world what intense high level training
could do . It was said that
every army brigade commander and above
that served in Desert Shield and Desert
Storm to include General Schwarzkoff
had experienced at least one BC T P
led by General Cava and his hand picked
senior mentors referred to as gray
beards . The battle command training
program enormously influenced America's
army war fighting capability . And his
emphasis on realistic training is as
relevant today as it was in the 1980 s
and 1990 s even now . As evidenced
by the $40 million Cabasso Simulation
Center here at Fort Cavazos when a
division or cops trained under the BC T
P program , echelons of command down
to battalion level were included .
And General Kvas and his senior mentors
spent hours countless
hours at all times of the day and
night mentoring not only flag officers
but majors , lieutenant colonels and
colonels just ask J D Thurman ,
what general sees coach had meant to
him when he was a Lieutenant colonel .
Vision for BCT consisted of three
major elements . Phase one was an
intense leader training program at Port
Leavenworth , Kansas where commanders
and staffs participated in refresher
training experiences as a lead up to
this phase . General C and the gray
beards helped the commanders develop
their training , their exercise
training objectives . The gray beards
were an integral piece of this training ,
reinforcing grilling and
challenging the unit leaders on
appropriate doctrine , techniques ,
tactics and procedures . Those that
receive this training understood the
difference between passive and very
active learning . These
two the units to deploy to the field
locations in their doctrinal command
post to conduct 5 to 7 days of intense
24 hour training , fighting a free
thinking opposing force .
This level of intensity and duration
was needed to ensure leaders
understood what general Cava called the
evils of sleep deprivation . In many
previous training events , leaders
would often try to stay awake for the
duration of the training resulting in
poor decision making and not developing
or leveraging junior leaders .
Key to general casus vision of intense
high level training was harnessing the
potential of emerging digital
technology to develop intense computer
simulation training opportunities that
linked operational and tactical
decision making . In real time .
He designed a system that trained
leaders to fight a world class enemy
and not fight the plan which he knew
would change when the first shot was
fired . He loved to say the enemy has a
boat . He was focused on developing
and sustaining adaptable
leaders . The third phase was an
intense after action review where
detailed Frank and often tough
coaching was delivered by the senior
mentors at the end of the A R S General
C and the senior mentors coaching led
to changes being programmed into the
unit's future training plans . As the
BC T P program developed in mature
generals has trained academy of
experienced active duty and retired
officers to assist the gray beards
during training and help develop high
end computer programs to make the
training events feel real to the
commands . He guided computer
developers in creating high resolution
realistic combat algorithms that
closely simulated actual combat
conditions . This attention to detail
resulted in training experiences for
senior commanders and staff that
closely mirrored actual combat
conditions . The result was a
computerized assisted training so
realistic that the commanders and staff
felt there were actual soldiers
maneuvering in the field . The
army's BTP program proved so successful
that all the services now have
developed their own bcps and a joint
version evolved called the joint war
fighting fighting program complete with
joint senior mentors . In
2011 , the battle command training
program was officially
redesignated the US Army Mission
Command Training program .
But listen to me , regardless of what
it is called .
General legacy
of intense training
endures . I felt the corps
commander captured that extremely well .
General Cava has taught us not to talk
too long . He said it was hard on the
soldiers in the rear ranks . Thanks
to the , his X O and S3 in
combat , they've gotten a little
retrieve , but I hope I passed his
mustard to
all . No mission . Too difficult , no
sacrifice , too great duty first .
Thank you and I'll meet you on the high
ground .
Today's keynote speaker is the
honorable Gabe Gao who was sworn in as
the fifth under secretary of the army
on February 8 , 2022 . He serves as the
senior civilian assistant and principal
adviser to the Secretary of the Army on
matters related to the management and
operation as well as the chief
management officer of the army . Ladies
and gentlemen , please join me in a
warm round of applause for the
honorable Gabe .
Well , good morning everyone . It's
great to be here with everyone and I'm
really glad that the weather cooperated .
Thanks to Lieutenant General Bernabi ,
our great host . Thanks to the
incredible team here at Fort Cavazos
who put this event together .
Lieutenant General Retired House . Your
remarks were inspiring and it was great
speaking with you yesterday ,
Lieutenant Colonel Tucker . You're a
legend too . Everybody here is your
biggest fan but nobody more so than the
soldiers on flag duty behind me .
It was great meeting you and all of the
Cabasso family . I really want to take
a moment first and also acknowledge the
great support of the Kaleen community ,
which continues to invest in the future
success of this installation and
provide such great support to our
soldiers . And I'm also thrilled to be
here today to speak directly to the
family of this installation's new
namesake . As we all know the
service of one requires the service of
many and those of you who are his
Children , grandchildren , nieces ,
nephews , all know the contributions
that General Cavazos has made . We also
want to acknowledge his wife Caroline
who could not join us today , but we
thank her as well for her incredible
service . So we've all heard about the
contributions of this legendary soldier .
But what I want to speak about today is
what its significance of this
redesignation and that recognition to
the army . So what we want to do is
shine a light on an individual , but
also recognize his impact on an
institution as we continue to lay the
groundwork for an army that continues
to succeed . And I also want to point
out that I myself as a Texas native ,
grew up in El Paso of similar Mexican
American heritage who also understood
what it's like to grow up in these
communities and to be a part of them .
So it's a real privilege for me to be a
part of honoring somebody with such a
similar background . Today's
change is a fitting one because in many
ways , General Cavazos embodied what's
always been great about the army ,
which continues to evolve and transform
and it's always been enabled by the
incredible talent of our soldiers . So
as speakers before me have all noted
General Cavazos displayed his talent ,
his bravery , his valor and innovation
multiple times in a highly decorated
career , I won't list all the
examples , but I would note that he was
innovative from the very beginning ,
leading the barriers who many of whom
were of Puerto Rican descent and only
spoke Spanish . Then Lieutenant Cavazos
quickly earned their trust under their
command , under his command , many of
these brave soldiers gave their lives
defending outpost , Harry which fell on
the dividing line between Chinese
controlled territory and allied un
positions in Korea . During a battle
for that outpost in June 14 1953
Cavazos led his men to carry out
repeated successful assaults on enemy
positions and even after receiving
orders to withdraw . Lieutenant Cavazos
already wounded himself , went back
repeatedly to rescue missing men .
Now , as I noted earlier , his heroism
earned him the distinguished service
cross as did similar actions in Vietnam .
And they set this highly decorated
soldier on a path to him that led him
to become the first Mexican American
army general officer and the first
ultimately Hispanic American to pin on
four stars . Designating the rank of
general . That same path
led General Cavazos 1/6 generation
Texan right here to Killeen where he
served as the three cops and then Fort
Hood commander . And in many ways , he
cemented his legacy here at this
installation , much like the bond
between the Cavazos family and the
great state of Texas today . His legacy
lives on and continues to serve as a
model for army excellence . And
although General Cavazos is certainly
worthy of all the pomp and
circumstances of this special day . His
family made very clear to us that he
would have never wanted this
recognition . He knew that there were
many other deserving heroes whose names
will never adorn an army base and who
never made it home from Korea or
Vietnam . But this in many ways was who
General Cavazos was selfless without
condition motivated by a deep love for
his family , his soldiers and his
country . And those values live on
in the great legacy of public service
in the Casos family to include his
grandson who we brought back here today
for this very special occasion , army
specialist Nicholas Cavazos . Will you
please stand up ?
This young soldier traveled all the way
from Germany to be with us today ?
Thank you very much . We appreciate
your family's continued service to the
army . Nicholas and the entire Casos
family remind us also not just of
General Cavazos legacy , but the army's
continued drive to cultivate talent
from wherever we can find it . In all
of the many communities across America ,
we thrive as an institution on the
richness of the experience and talent
and expertise that all of America has
to offer . And throughout General
Cavazos long and storied career , the
army has continued to cast the widest
possible net for leaders . We have the
finest land force that the world has
ever seen . And it's been made possible
by relying on the talent that this
nation has to offer , harnessing
contributions from every big city ,
every small town and every sprawling
cattle ranch like the one in Texas that
General Cavazos grew up in the same
effort brings us here today , shining a
light on legacy while also thinking
critically about how the army must
transform and what lies ahead and much
of that happens here at this great
installation . This installation , Fort
Casus has become now synonymous with
three cops whose rich history starts in
the forests of France during World war
I and reaches forward through operation
inherent resolve . And into the present
day soldiers from here are critical
to the army's ongoing support to
Ukraine . In response to Russian
aggression and resources and talent
from this installation have helped
assure NATO allies that America stands
ready to assist its partners in times
of peace and peril that would not be
possible without the contributions of
third corps and the many talented
soldiers that train live and work at
this installation . So as we honor the
legacy of General Cavazos , we also
honor the countless other brave
individuals that have called this
installation home . And we give thanks
for the support that the Kaleen
community has provided to some of the
nation's most important missions over
many years . The bottom line though is
that we're here because the best
version of the United States army is
reflected in its most talented leaders ,
individuals like General Cavazos . So
we are very pleased and very excited to
honor the sacrifice and contribution of
such a talented and incredible leader .
So in closing , I also want to say that
while we're naming this installation
after one great legendary leader , we
also do so in recognition of count of
others who has made honorable
sacrifices and many who will follow in
General Cavazos footsteps to those
aspiring leaders , people like General
Cavazos helped make the army what it is
today . And it is your challenge to
continue that legacy in his name .
Thank you very much .
OK . Go foster . The
garrison commander and command sergeant
major Calvin Hall . The garrison
command sergeant will execute the
casing of the fort hood colors and the
un casing of the Fort Casos colors
solidifying the redesignation of the
installation .
The practices and usage of military
flags date back to the Revolutionary
War and have evolved in the American
military history ever since the
casing of the colors is a traditional
ceremony held by the United States Army
Commemorating a unit's lineage , its
honors and its identity . The colors
represent all soldiers past , present
and future and the colors stand as a
silent reminder of the past glories as
well as an inspiration for future
endeavors .
The garrison command team will now UNCA
the Ford Casos colors .
This act symbolizes the installation's
enduring commitment to the defense of
our nation with a continued focus on
training , lethal mounted combat crews ,
staffs and units while also serving the
surrounding communities . With this
solemn act , we honor General Cavazos ,
bravery sacrifice and enduring
contributions to our army and our
nation .
Effective nine May 2023 . Fort Hood
is redesignated as Fort Cavazos in
accordance with section 370 of the
William M Thornberry National Defense
Authorization Act for fiscal year 2021
signed the honorable Christine E warm
Secretary of the Army .
At this time , we would like to welcome
Lieutenant General Bernabi Command ,
Sergeant Major Cliff and family to
the podium to officiate the unknowing
of the Fort Casso sign .
So I'm going to ask teams to help me
out here if you want to come up to the
microphone , if everybody can look at
the monitors , we should have a live
shot of one of our many gates . And so
we're going on a count of five here
unveil the new signs there at the
Bernie . Be , please direct your
attention to the two screens on the
field where you will witness the
unveiling of the Fort Cabasso sign
located at the main entrance .
I
Yeah .
Hm . Ladies and gentlemen , this
concludes today's ceremony . Please
remain at your seats until the official
party has exited . You are cordially
invited to join us for a reception in
the West atrium as we celebrate this
momentous occasion . Thank you all for
attending the ceremony and a special
thanks , most of all to the Casos
family , Phantom Lawyers , Phantom
Lethal .