This is what I came up with:
Speech for Graduation
Good morning. It is an honor and a privilege to speak to you today. For today, I have the distinct pleasure, as do all of you, of witnessing the future of our nation's Army at the beginning.
For many, the image held of our Army's Soldiers are of the warriors at the “tip of the spear”, our Infantry, Special Forces, and untold many who engage in direct combat with our country's enemies, all over the globe.
However, our Army is more than those War-fighters. It is true that they are unsurpassed in their capabilities and how they can bring the fight to the enemy, wherever they may be hiding. Those Soldiers would be ineffectual, at best, and likely defeated, were it not for the Soldiers who perform equally noble tasks, especially those in the Medical field.
Our Army's Medical Soldiers deliver a strength to the force that is envied throughout the world. Whether it's in Army hospitals such as Moncrief here at Fort Jackson, or major Medical Centers like Walter Reed, or even the battalion aid station attached to a small unit stationed far home in a country few may have heard of before, our Medical Soldiers deliver care to our Soldiers, and to their Families, and in some cases, even to those who a few moments earlier were our desperate enemy.
It is no easy task to become a Soldier in the Medical field. Not only do we as an Army expect all Soldiers to be capable of the universal Soldiering tasks – rifle marksmanship, combatives, for example – but they also must strive to have in depth, intimate knowledge of one of the world's most complex systems – the Human Body.
Within the Medical field, there are even more challenges. And it's a challenge that our graduating student, Private First Class #####, has risen to and achieved: That of being a Radiology Technologist.
Some of you may be unaware of what we require of our Radiology Technologist Soldiers. In the civilian world, the program of study is a minimum of two years. In the Army, we do it in eleven months. And this is no minor program. Our Radiology Technologists begin by learning essential medical care – the lifesaving techniques of CPR, IV insertion, and other skills needed by all medical staff. From there, they learn human anatomy, and not just the many bones of the body, but details which you and I may never have even known existed – the difference between a tuberosity and a tubercule, for example.
From there, the Army puts them through a study of electricity, physics, and nuclear radiation. If that's not enough, we give them an education on the effects of radiation on the body, down to the level of our DNA.
These Soldiers graduate Phase 1 in San Antonio with an encyclopedic volume of knowledge that impresses me every time I think about it. Our young Soldiers set the worldwide standard with their capability and knowledge. But as I said, they're only graduating Phase ONE. Afterwards, these Soldiers disperse to Army medical facilities across the United States to begin a practical demonstration and development of their skills. They spend nearly six months learning the art of the radiology craft; and it is an art form, for as we all know, every person is different. And in a field where you're taking pictures of that which you cannot see, it truly requires a special talent to develop that essential picture which gives our Doctors and Surgeons the ability to deliver the quality care that is expected and demanded worldwide.
During this second phase of their training, our Soldiers not only develop their skills in Diagnostic Radiology, but they will also begin their training in MRI, CT scans, and even Ultrasound. They learn Trauma Radiology, and learn to work not just in the health clinics, but in the unique environments of an Operating Room and the Emergency Room.
We always train our Soldiers to expect the unexpected; this is no less true in Radiology. The next exam may be a hand hurt when the patient fell down a staircase, or a twisted ankle, or perhaps a gunshot wound and the surgeons don't know where the bullet is, and it is up to a Soldier such as PFC ##### here to find that bullet to save that patient's life.
Our medical Soldiers provide this service twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. They are always on call, and practice their craft not just for our Soldiers, but for their families. Knowing we have the best medical staff in the world gives our deployed Soldiers that extra peace of mind; their families are well-cared for back home.
Perhaps the most unique task we ask of our medical Soldiers is to treat the enemy, as equally as we treat our own warriors. That insurgent who was wounded trying to explode a Vehicle-Borne IED at the guard gate is treated side-by-side, and without question, with the Soldier's comrades who manned that gate.
And when we combine all of these expectations, Ability to perform essential War-fighter tasks, comprehensive Medical knowledge and ability to perform your craft in any situation, and willingness to treat each patient, whether Soldier, Family member, or enemy, equally... you can see why we as an Army are fortunate to have elite Soldiers such as PFC #####, and countless others throughout this MOS.
It is their dedication to their knowledge, their skills, and to serving their country that helps make our Army.... your Army... ARMY STRONG.
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