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News | Dec. 21, 2015

DLA Central commander urges new officers to lead by example, care for families

By DLA Central Public Affairs

The commander of DLA Central noted the importance of leading by example and of caring for the families of subordinates, in his address to a class of new Army officers on Dec. 11.

“The Army recruits an individual but retains a family,” Army Col. Derrin E. Williams said at the ceremony at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, in which six ROTC cadets received their commissions. No matter what leadership position one holds, he noted, subordinates are less distracted and more productive if they know their families being taken care of.

Commissioning caps four years in which cadets learn to think critically to solve complex leadership problems. The event features the pinning of the rank insignia by the family of each commissioning cadet; the oath, delivered by a senior officer; and the continuation of the “silver dollar” salute, an Army tradition in which each new officer presents a silver dollar to the first enlisted soldier who salutes him or her.  The coin symbolizes the respect that accompanies the new second lieutenant’s position as an officer.

“Remember: You carry awesome authority and responsibility,” Williams said in closing. “Your people will look to you to set the example—to be the example.”