Cornell ROTC cadets commissioned as military officers

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams

2016 rotc graduates
Chris Kitchen/University Photo
The 11 new officers stand at attention at the start of the ROTC Joint Service Brigade Commissioning Ceremony, May 28 in Statler Auditorium. The 11, from left, are Daniel Parsons and Peter Sleeper (Army); Jackson Coyle, Vicky Fam, Brian George and Niccolo Porcari (Navy); and Stephen Best, Isaac Cornell, Dylan Gagnon, Sam Lee and Scott Seidenberger (Air Force).
Vicky Fam rotc
Chris Kitchen/University Photography
Ensign Vicky Fam has her rank pinned on her Navy uniform by her parents, Chee Keong and Jenny Fam.
Peter Sleeper rotc
Chris Kitchen/University Photography
Army 2nd Lt. Peter Sleeper receives congratulations from his grandfather, former Private First Class Patrick Doyle, after they exchanged the traditional "first salute."

Air Force Chief Master Sgt. James A. Cody invoked the sixth president of the United States as he closed his keynote address during the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Joint Service Brigade Commissioning Ceremony, May 28 in Statler Auditorium.

“I’m not sure you can sum up leadership any better than that,” he told the group of 11 newly commissioned junior officers, five from the Air Force, four from the Navy and two from the Army, along with an auditorium full of family and friends.

“If your actions, as a leader, do those things, we will continue to be the world’s greatest military,” said Cody, who represents the highest enlisted level of leadership in the Air Force. “We hand it off to you with great excitement and with great confidence that you’ll take us to places that we can’t even imagine.”

Air Force Capt. Kevin O’Brien served as master of a moving early morning ceremony, which was fittingly begun by a stirring rendition of the national anthem by Cornell human resources staffer Talyse Hampton.

Following the invocation, Cody addressed the gathering, beginning by thanking all the officers involved in training the new officers.

“We appreciate your service in helping to create no less than the greatest military in the world today,” he said, adding with a laugh, “if you didn’t get it right here, we’ll know fairly soon and we’ll be back to call on you.”

Cody, personal adviser to Air Force Chief of Staff Mark Welsh and Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James, said he thought it appropriate that a high-level enlisted person should come speak to newly minted officers.

“We’re the people you’re going to be leading,” he said from the center of the stage, looking directly at the 11 new officers seated attentively in the front row. “It may be a good idea to understand … what we’re going to need from you and what our nation is going to need from you.”

One thing they will need to bring, Cody said, is an appreciation for the past.

“If you don’t have some level of appreciation for those who came before you, you will find it very difficult to forge your way forward,” he said.

He promised the new officers that they will be “better soldiers, better sailors, better airmen than those who went before you,” but not better people.

“There are no better people than those who are willing to wear the cloth of their nation and serve their country, in my opinion,” he said. “You will be better in the profession of arms than any who went before you. And you can attribute that to those who went before you.”

He reminded the officers, and all in attendance, of the inherent risks involved in committing to a job, a life, such as theirs.

“It is a profession that will ask more of you and the people you lead than any other organization will ever ask of its members,” Cody said. “And that is, potentially, give your life for your country – even if you don’t think it’s the right thing to do.”

Serving in the military is a privilege, Cody said: “Don’t ever forget that.” After years of preparing for their futures, “you’re no longer thinking about the future, you’re in the future.”

Cody had a good time speaking directly to the new officers. “It’s really inspirational to me to see how motivated you are,” he said. “But nonetheless, it’s pretty much been about you, right? Get good grades, go to training, get commissioned – me, me, me. We talk about the ‘we,’ but you were back home thinking about the ‘me,’ right?”

Then, his smile disappeared.

“Now you take on this role as a commissioned officer – and this has got nothing to do with you,” he said. “You will never be better than the team you are leading. If you forget that, you will be a team of one, and you will ultimately fail.”

Following Cody’s remarks, the 11 commission candidates were called to the stage, one at a time, to take their respective branch’s oath of office and have their rank pinned on their uniforms by family. Several family members were former military, including 87-year-old Kwang-Sugn Lee, retired Korean Army staff sergeant and grandfather of new Air Force 2nd Lt. Sam Lee.

Finally, the new officers received their ceremonial “first salute,” a tradition that dates back two centuries. The first salute includes the new officer’s giving of a silver dollar to the enlisted person from whom he or she receives the salute, symbolic of the officers’ gratitude and respect for those they will be leading.

This year’s newly commissioned officers (from Cornell unless noted) are: Army 2nd Lts. Daniel Parsons and Peter Sleeper; Navy Ensigns Jackson Coyle, Vicky Fam, Brian George and Niccolo Porcari; and Air Force 2nd Lts. Stephen Best (SUNY Cortland), Isaac Cornell, Dylan Gagnon (Binghamton University), Sam Lee (Binghamton University) and Scott Seidenberger. Marine 2nd Lt. Philip Curran was commissioned in a separate ceremony earlier in the day.

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Melissa Osgood