1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,000 2 00:00:05,540 --> 00:00:08,530 on behalf of Colonel Page M . Jennings . 3 00:00:08,530 --> 00:00:10,400 Commander , United States Army 4 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:12,340 Financial management command and 5 00:00:12,340 --> 00:00:14,540 command . Sergeant , Major Kenneth F . 6 00:00:14,540 --> 00:00:17,540 Law , the senior enlisted advisor to 7 00:00:17,540 --> 00:00:19,484 the commander , United States Army 8 00:00:19,484 --> 00:00:21,880 Financial Management Command . Welcome 9 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:24,510 to today's ceremony to honor Sergeant 10 00:00:24,510 --> 00:00:27,260 Major Damian Russel with the Nathan 11 00:00:27,270 --> 00:00:30,320 Tolson medallion . The Major General 12 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:32,360 Nathan Tolson regimental medallion 13 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:34,740 bears the name of Major General Nathan 14 00:00:34,740 --> 00:00:37,780 Tolson who as paymaster general of the 15 00:00:37,780 --> 00:00:41,140 United States Army from 18 19 to 18 16 00:00:41,140 --> 00:00:45,020 21 and from 18 22 to 18 17 00:00:45,020 --> 00:00:47,780 50 for envisioned and shaped a 18 00:00:47,780 --> 00:00:50,110 financial department which met the 19 00:00:50,110 --> 00:00:52,560 army's needs . Until the 20th century . 20 00:00:52,940 --> 00:00:55,340 Major General Tolson fought in the war 21 00:00:55,350 --> 00:00:59,170 of 18 12 as an artillery officer during 22 00:00:59,170 --> 00:01:02,480 the war of 18 12 . As a captain , Major 23 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:04,440 General Tolson commanded artillery 24 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:07,160 during many confrontations including 25 00:01:07,170 --> 00:01:10,060 the battle of Fort George , the Battle 26 00:01:10,060 --> 00:01:12,040 of Stoney Creek , the Battle of 27 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:14,410 Queenstown Heights , the Battle of 28 00:01:14,410 --> 00:01:17,560 Chippewa , the Battle of Lundy's Lane 29 00:01:17,570 --> 00:01:20,060 and the siege of fort eerie . 30 00:01:21,340 --> 00:01:23,660 The rate of fire of his batteries 31 00:01:23,670 --> 00:01:26,360 during the siege of four R . E . was so 32 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,470 rapid that his position was called 33 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:31,960 Tahsin lighthouse by the American 34 00:01:31,960 --> 00:01:34,970 soldiers . He received a brevity 35 00:01:34,970 --> 00:01:37,470 promotion to brigadier general in 36 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:40,860 1834 and another brevard promotion 37 00:01:41,340 --> 00:01:44,490 Two major general in 1848 for his 38 00:01:44,490 --> 00:01:46,860 service during the Mexican American War . 39 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:50,970 Under his supervision . Army Paymaster 40 00:01:50,970 --> 00:01:53,930 assumed responsibilities for paying all 41 00:01:53,940 --> 00:01:56,580 U . S . Troops on an area base 42 00:01:56,590 --> 00:01:59,070 geographically , the world's largest 43 00:01:59,070 --> 00:02:02,010 national nation at the time yet 44 00:02:02,010 --> 00:02:04,470 Tolson's new system and strict 45 00:02:04,470 --> 00:02:06,570 standards of accountability brought 46 00:02:06,570 --> 00:02:10,320 costs down and reduce losses To 1 5th 47 00:02:10,330 --> 00:02:14,060 of 1% . Major General Tahsin 48 00:02:14,060 --> 00:02:16,890 died while still on active duty on 49 00:02:16,890 --> 00:02:20,540 July 20 , 1854 after serving 50 00:02:20,550 --> 00:02:24,410 42 years in the army . The Major 51 00:02:24,410 --> 00:02:27,010 General Tahsin regimental medallion was 52 00:02:27,010 --> 00:02:29,940 established by the U . S . Army Finance 53 00:02:29,940 --> 00:02:32,920 Core Association on seven may 54 00:02:32,930 --> 00:02:36,270 1993 to recognize exceptional 55 00:02:36,270 --> 00:02:39,240 achievement or exemplary service by 56 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:41,900 current serving US Army financial 57 00:02:41,900 --> 00:02:44,720 management and controller commissioned 58 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,280 officers . Non commissioned officers , 59 00:02:47,290 --> 00:02:49,840 enlisted soldiers and civilians 60 00:02:49,850 --> 00:02:52,440 demonstrating exceptional leadership 61 00:02:52,450 --> 00:02:54,640 and whose accomplishments clearly 62 00:02:54,640 --> 00:02:56,760 distinguished them from their peers 63 00:02:58,140 --> 00:03:00,251 appearing before . A most arduous and 64 00:03:00,251 --> 00:03:02,310 discriminatory committee of proven 65 00:03:02,310 --> 00:03:05,060 finance and controller professionals . 66 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:07,162 Be it known that the following 67 00:03:07,162 --> 00:03:09,460 individual has been tested and found 68 00:03:09,460 --> 00:03:11,850 worthy of special recognition for his 69 00:03:11,860 --> 00:03:13,750 outstanding contributions to the 70 00:03:13,750 --> 00:03:16,650 community of finance professionals and 71 00:03:16,650 --> 00:03:18,940 will receive the Major General Nathan 72 00:03:18,940 --> 00:03:20,460 Tolson medallion . 73 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:24,160 Mhm 74 00:03:37,940 --> 00:03:41,810 Yeah . The citation reads 75 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:44,160 in recognition of demonstrated 76 00:03:44,170 --> 00:03:46,900 exemplary contribution and service to 77 00:03:46,900 --> 00:03:49,160 the United States Army Finance Core , 78 00:03:49,540 --> 00:03:52,030 be it known that Sergeant Major Damian 79 00:03:52,030 --> 00:03:55,630 Russel is presented the 837th 80 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:58,630 award of the Major General Nathan 81 00:03:58,630 --> 00:04:02,330 Thompson medallion and is entitled to 82 00:04:02,340 --> 00:04:04,860 all rights and privileges here in 83 00:04:05,140 --> 00:04:07,580 Presented this 15th day of 84 00:04:07,590 --> 00:04:11,260 April 2021 signed paul . More 85 00:04:11,260 --> 00:04:13,940 set President Finance Core 86 00:04:13,950 --> 00:04:16,260 Association . 87 00:04:16,740 --> 00:04:20,570 Ladies and gentlemen , 88 00:04:20,580 --> 00:04:23,050 Command , Sergeant , Major Kenneth F 89 00:04:23,050 --> 00:04:23,550 Law , 90 00:04:27,540 --> 00:04:30,850 Master Sergeant Hunter . Thank you . I 91 00:04:30,850 --> 00:04:33,190 am truly proud to be able to partake in 92 00:04:33,190 --> 00:04:36,670 this prestigious ceremony today on 93 00:04:36,670 --> 00:04:38,660 behalf . Sorry , Major Russell , 94 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:44,430 I know those who are honored with such 95 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:46,720 a distinguished accomplishment . It's 96 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:49,490 not by accident and they will be the 97 00:04:49,490 --> 00:04:51,680 first to tell you that they didn't do 98 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,250 it by themselves , but they did play a 99 00:04:55,250 --> 00:04:57,480 critical role in their success . 100 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:01,540 Having said that , I want to recognize 101 00:05:01,540 --> 00:05:03,429 a few of Sergeant Major Russell's 102 00:05:03,429 --> 00:05:05,651 accomplishments and the excellence that 103 00:05:05,651 --> 00:05:09,140 he has inspired in others . Sergeant 104 00:05:09,140 --> 00:05:11,084 Major Russell has excelled at each 105 00:05:11,084 --> 00:05:13,460 level of his career in the finance core 106 00:05:14,540 --> 00:05:17,750 As a young sergeant . In 2002 , he was 107 00:05:17,750 --> 00:05:20,420 selected by his peers and small group 108 00:05:20,420 --> 00:05:22,510 leader as a distinguished leadership 109 00:05:22,510 --> 00:05:25,380 award E of his basic non commissioned 110 00:05:25,380 --> 00:05:28,970 officer of course and graduated as 111 00:05:28,970 --> 00:05:31,560 superior academic excellence recipient . 112 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:35,350 At the time of his classes graduation , 113 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:39,050 he was the first documented in SEO To 114 00:05:39,050 --> 00:05:41,450 achieve and graduate with a perfect 115 00:05:41,460 --> 00:05:45,390 100% grade point average . I 116 00:05:45,390 --> 00:05:48,530 say again , A perfect 117 00:05:48,540 --> 00:05:51,900 100% grade point average , 118 00:05:51,910 --> 00:05:53,950 absolutely incredible . 119 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:58,860 Sergeant Major Russell also served in a 120 00:05:58,860 --> 00:06:00,916 broadening assignment outside of the 121 00:06:00,916 --> 00:06:03,200 finance core and he represented the 122 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:05,460 finance core well . As a Department of 123 00:06:05,460 --> 00:06:08,660 the army selected recruiter . He was 124 00:06:08,660 --> 00:06:10,493 assigned to the Tampa Recruiting 125 00:06:10,493 --> 00:06:13,950 Battalion from 2006 to 2009 . 126 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:17,010 He performed exceptionally well 127 00:06:17,020 --> 00:06:19,060 assisting the army and meeting and 128 00:06:19,060 --> 00:06:21,070 maintaining its recruiting and 129 00:06:21,070 --> 00:06:23,430 retention goals while achieving 130 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:25,520 personnel manning and his projected 131 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:28,630 strength . He successively recruited 132 00:06:28,630 --> 00:06:31,900 and processed over 70 applicants who 133 00:06:31,900 --> 00:06:33,956 completed the initial entry training 134 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:37,100 process , earning his goal recruiting 135 00:06:37,100 --> 00:06:39,860 badge , a top badge and recruiting 136 00:06:40,840 --> 00:06:43,130 for recruiting excellence . He was also 137 00:06:43,130 --> 00:06:45,870 awarded the prestigious Glennie moral 138 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:48,630 order of recruiting . Excellent Award , 139 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:51,880 a top award for outstanding recruiting 140 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:55,840 performance While assigned 141 00:06:55,840 --> 00:06:58,150 as offensive sergeant Major for the 1 142 00:06:58,150 --> 00:07:01,990 76 Femsa and cap Humphries Korea . He 143 00:07:01,990 --> 00:07:04,280 showcased a wide range of knowledge and 144 00:07:04,280 --> 00:07:07,520 experience of finance operations . He 145 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:09,687 played a vital role in cultural change 146 00:07:09,687 --> 00:07:12,030 of operations on the peninsula that was 147 00:07:12,030 --> 00:07:15,190 sorely needed at the time , It was 148 00:07:15,190 --> 00:07:17,530 evident during the operational review 149 00:07:17,540 --> 00:07:19,429 where the units compliance rating 150 00:07:19,429 --> 00:07:23,050 increased from 75% to 92% . 151 00:07:23,540 --> 00:07:26,740 A tremendous improvement . Sergeant 152 00:07:26,740 --> 00:07:29,140 Mason Russell has a profound and unique 153 00:07:29,140 --> 00:07:32,550 leadership style so it was no surprise 154 00:07:32,770 --> 00:07:35,880 when as a Femsa's Sergeant Major , he 155 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:38,860 developed coach and mentor his team 156 00:07:38,860 --> 00:07:42,200 from Korea to compete and win both the 157 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:44,650 finance core , N . C . O . And soldier 158 00:07:44,660 --> 00:07:48,060 of the year competition In 2019 . 159 00:07:49,140 --> 00:07:51,500 Sergeant Major Russell , I can truly 160 00:07:51,500 --> 00:07:54,150 say that I'm proud to be on your team 161 00:07:55,340 --> 00:07:58,280 to support and serve services soldiers , 162 00:07:58,740 --> 00:08:00,960 winning matters army , Strong 163 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:09,220 ladies and gentlemen , The 164 00:08:09,220 --> 00:08:12,560 837th recipient of the Nathan Tahsin 165 00:08:12,570 --> 00:08:15,260 Medallion . Sergeant Major Damian 166 00:08:15,260 --> 00:08:15,860 Russel , 167 00:08:23,940 --> 00:08:25,829 Thank you Commander Major Law for 168 00:08:25,829 --> 00:08:27,829 presenting me with this prestigious 169 00:08:27,829 --> 00:08:30,051 medallion . I am privileged to join the 170 00:08:30,051 --> 00:08:33,140 previous 836 recipients . Though I 171 00:08:33,140 --> 00:08:35,420 stand here alone . This accomplishment 172 00:08:35,420 --> 00:08:37,587 was not a solo effort . I want to take 173 00:08:37,587 --> 00:08:40,010 this time to thank the seniors , peers , 174 00:08:40,020 --> 00:08:43,170 soldiers and civilians that I have been 175 00:08:43,170 --> 00:08:45,337 blessed to serve with over the last 25 176 00:08:45,337 --> 00:08:48,520 plus years without their dedication , 177 00:08:48,530 --> 00:08:50,760 commitment and selfless service , 178 00:08:50,770 --> 00:08:52,992 today's ceremony will not be possible . 179 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:55,960 I am thankful and forever grateful for 180 00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:58,127 this honor that you have bestowed upon 181 00:08:58,127 --> 00:09:01,540 me today . I am now and forever will be 182 00:09:01,550 --> 00:09:05,190 a proud finance soldier to support and 183 00:09:05,190 --> 00:09:08,410 serve service the soldiers . Winning 184 00:09:08,410 --> 00:09:10,460 matters Army strong .