Howdy!

Today, I was awarded the U.S. Army Meritorious Public Service Medal from Gen. James E. Rainey, Commanding General of Army Futures Command.

What a high honor. I am deeply grateful to the Army, the State of Texas and so many others at the Texas A&M System who are essential to our successful partnership with Army Futures Command.

A couple of years after we announced the creation of Texas A&M-RELLIS in 2016, the U.S. Army made the wise decision to stand up a new command, Army Futures Command, in Texas.

I invited the inaugural AFC commander, Gen. Mike Murray, to visit the RELLIS campus, showed him the wide-open spaces available for high-tech research facilities and asked him: “Now what can we do for you?”

That conversation led to the George H.W. Bush Combat Development Complex, a nationwide hub for testing innovative technologies to advanced weapons systems. It will serve U.S. security interests for generations.

General Rainey made the medal presentation at a staff reception marking my June 30th retirement as chancellor. The setting was fitting because so many people who attended have played play a vital role in building the infrastructure improvements at RELLIS.

Here’s a link to a video with highlights from the reception.

As I told them today, “No university, no system in the world, is more dedicated to our military than the Texas A&M University System.”