Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Neil W. McCabe | Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Christopher R. Piland, the commanding general of the San...... read more read more
[GRIFFIN, Ga.] The Medical Readiness and Training Command’s commanding general knelt onto the astroturf at Griffin Memorial Stadium here while his wife Tami and mother Libby Able pinned the shoulder boards of his Eisenhower jacket with his brigadier general stars at the Oct. 5 ceremony.
“I have many thank yous today, but if I had to cut them all out and just name one, it would have to be to the God that I serve,” Brig. Gen. Christoper R. Piland, who took command of MRTC at an Aug. 11 ceremony held at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.
“If it were not for him and sending his son to die in my place to give me eternal life, I would be in dire straits. I owe him everything,” Piland said.
“All good gifts are from above, and this promotion is no exception to my family,” said the general as he turned to his wife and family. “You are the support I needed, and God richly blessed me with each one of you--to my mom: Thank you for your years of dedication for raising me.”
Addressing his children, the general said: “Thank you for your support. Outside of being a husband, my faith, being a father is the greatest gift on earth a man could ask for, and God truly blessed me with some fine, outstanding men.”
Piland’s sons, Jordan, Brett and Chandler joined his wife and mother to help remove his colonel rank insignia from his overseas hat and shoulder boards on his shirt and replace them with the insignia of a brigadier general.
Then, looking at his wife, the general said he could not have made it without her.
“Tami, you are my best friend, and without your unwavering support, I would not be here today,” he said. “You stayed in the rear to make sure that all the other jobs were taken care of and you did an outstanding job, so thank you for a wonderful 34-year journey.”
Retired Brig. Gen. Jeff McCarter, who relinquished command to Piland at Fort McCoy, said Piland’s gratitude to his family resonated with him.
“When you think about what it means to be a Soldier for Life, it doesn’t change; the values don’t change when you take off the uniform,” McCarter said.
“Seeing his family out there that have supported him along the way—and his wife, while he’s down range doing great things, she’s the one holding down multiple different functions—it’s the same way I feel about my family,” he said. “When I think back about things that were successful, it was because of them.”
Major Gen. Tracy Smith, the commanding general of the 63rd Readiness Division, presided over the ceremony and in her remarks, spoke of Piland’s local roots.
“Chris is a proud son of Griffin, Georgia, born and raised in Spalding County,” she said. “He received his bachelor of science degree just up the street in Clayton, and he also has two master's degrees.”
Smith said Piland served as a biomedical technician NCO, and after 10 years of enlisted service, he was commissioned as an officer.
The brigadier general led at the company, battalion, and brigade levels, each time excelling, she said.
“He has commanded at every level, and he has what we call a command and operational track,” she said. “Now, as the commander of the medical readiness and training command, where he is now responsible for training the Army Reserve units to ensure that they are trained and ready.”
Smith said that when she first served with Piland at 3rd Medical Command (Deployment Support), she did not always appreciate his swagger.
“I thought you were slightly overconfident, but then at 3rd MedCom, we all were overconfident,” she said.
“If you flailed or faltered, you were eaten alive, and Chris, you didn't,” she said. “You held tough--but I still thought you thought you were all that in a bag of chips. I did hear about your development, though, through other people as one who always got the job done.”
Later, Smith said, when she was the 807th Medical Command (Deployment Support), she saw firsthand Piland perform under pressure as a brigade commander.
“There was a tough mission, tough individual soldier issues,” she said.
“I saw Chris tackle these tough and very sensitive soldier issues. He managed it with ease, with compassion and with constant communication,” she said.
After his promotion orders were read and his rank insignia were updated, Piland took the oath of office administered by his best friend Chief Warrant Officer Randall T. Wilkerson, with whom he served as noncommissioned officers together.
The brigadier general was presented with his general officer flag by Maj. Gen. W. Scott Lynn, the deputy surgeon general for Mobilization and Readiness in the Office of the Surgeon General, and the two men uncased the flag together as the staff was held by Piland’s senior enlisted advisor Command Sgt. Maj. Paul L. Fulmer.
Major Gen. Joseph A. Marsiglia, the commanding general of 3rd Medical Command (Deployment Support), presented Piland with his general officer pistol, a Sig Sauer MK 18 with a unique GO-serial number.
Retired Col. John P. Eddy presented the brigadier general with his general officer belt, and the general’s aunt Shirley Aldredge presented him with his general officer vehicle plate.
Fulmer said he was honored to have the opportunity to participate in his boss’s promotion.
“There are only eight brigadier generals in the Medical Services Corps, so to be present for and to participate in that ceremony—that’s awesome,” he said.
The command sergeant major said Piland brings energy to every task.
“When he came onboard, I had to buy a new pair of running shoes because he came in sprinting, and I didn’t have sprint shoes,” he said.
In his remarks, the general also directed his words to the Griffin High School students who supported his promotion ceremony.
“Thirty-five years ago, Junior ROTC cadets,” said Piland, turning the cadets who provided the color guard and saber arch for the ceremony.
“I was sitting where you were. I marched around this football field, so it has significant meaning to me,” he said.
The general said the then-director of the Junior ROTC, retired Lt. Col. Allan B. Imes, a Ranger and Green Beret, who deployed three times to Vietnam in his 21-year career, impressed upon him the rewards of a military career.
“He told me: ‘Chris, go join the military. Do something that will translate into civilian life. Infantry and tankers are not needed on the civilian side,’ so I joined the Medical Service Corps,” he said.
“Sincerely, young men and women, if you're considering what to do with your future, if you think the military might be in your future, I want to encourage you that it is,” he said.
“If you want to join an organization that will send you all over the world, they will pay you to work out,” he said. “They will pay your health insurance; they will cover your education. They will give you a good retirement that I'm sure you're not thinking about right now.”
Griffin Mayor Douglas S. Hollberg said he was pleased to hear Piland recognize Imes, who devoted his post-Army life to molding young people in the city.
“Colonel Imes was one of my mentors,” the mayor said.
“He had the same effect on the general—it’s a tradition of service—this city—we consider the most patriotic city in the state of Georgia,” he said.
It was also an honor for the city to host the promotion ceremony,” he said.
“It gives us pride that folks from Griffin, Georgia, are willing to step up to serve our country and do what’s needed to keep us free.”
| Date Taken: | 10.07.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.07.2024 03:12 |
| Story ID: | 482628 |
| Location: | GRIFFIN, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 400 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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