Huntsville strong: Military ardor remains high in defense hotbed

HUNTSVILLE –Military recruiters are working overtime these days across the country. Fresh faces are down in all of the service branches.

However, there is at least one outlier.

As Tuesday’s featured speaker at the Armed Forces Celebration Luncheon at the Von Braun Center’s Saturn Ballroom, Army Lt. Gen. Chris Mohan applauded the eagerness of Tennessee Valley youths to join the ranks he’s served since being commissioned in 1989 after graduating from Appalachian State University.

Mohan is deputy commanding general/chief of staff of the  Army Materiel Command at Redstone Arsenal. On a brilliant Tuesday outside the ballroom walls, he spoke not only on the Army’s behalf but for the Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy and Space Force.

“I want to address something up front,” he said. “And that’s the challenge that the Armed Forces have had lately. It’s been in the news. Everybody’s saying, many, many Senate and House hearings, and that’s on recruiting. Now, you’ve probably read the stories. Numbers are down.

“There are many reasons for that, but the fact remains that young men and women across our country are simply not joining in the numbers that they used to, but not in Huntsville. Not in Huntsville. And so now I’m gonna put my Army hat back on, and I’m gonna talk about how your Army, America’s Army, is doing in recruiting within the state of Alabama. So I checked with the Army’s recruiting company in Huntsville. Enlistments are the highest they’ve been in five years, and we’re continuing to excel.”

Despite any lagging recruitment numbers, in the wake of D-Day remembrances, Mohan said current military members display the same mettle as those who served during perilous times.

“I’m proud to report that we have the same type of men and women of courage to honor today,” he said. “They might not all be at war, but they are very much standing between the homeland and those who would do us harm as a nation.”

There are 2.2 million Americans serving in the military, all volunteers, spanning the globe.

“It’s the very definition of serving something greater than oneself, being part of something bigger than oneself,” Mohan said. “And as long as America has men and women who are willing to make that commitment, no matter what the circumstances or how complex or dangerous the world may be for the United States armed forces, it is clear that we will always answer the call and we will always rise to the occasion to defend not self, but country.

“Aim High, fly, fight and win. ‘Semper fi,’ which means always faithful. ‘Semper supra,’ always above, ‘Semper paratus,’ which means always ready. Again, thank you for all your continued support, for your prayers, and for your commitment to our service members and their families. May God continue to bless all of you, the members of our armed forces, and may God bless the United States of America and this wonderful, wonderful community of people that really care.”