ARLINGTON, Va. — Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Kepner officially took on his duties as the 11th sergeant major of the Army National Guard in a ceremony Tuesday at the Army National Guard Readiness Center in Arlington, Virginia.
He takes over the position from Command Sgt. Maj. Brunk Conley, who will be returning to the Oregon Army National Guard.
"Thank you for your faithful, dedicated and outstanding performance as the 10th command sergeant major of the Army National Guard," said Army Lt. Gen. Timothy Kadavy, the director of the Army National Guard during the ceremony. "We will miss you, job well done, and we will see you in Oregon my friend."
During the ceremony, Conley thanked Kadavy and others for their support and asked that those in the lower enlisted ranks always be kept in mind.
"I ask you all to protect and serve the 67 percent," he said, referring to Soldiers in the ranks of private through sergeant, who make up the majority of Soldiers in the Army Guard.
"They are the doers," he said. "They drive the trucks. They break the track [for repair of tracked vehicles]. They maintain the [AH-64] Apaches. They fire the rounds. They blow up the bridges. And, as an infantryman, they take the hill," he said.
Kepner, assured him that he would.
"As we look at the future, it's not a time where we can take a knee," he said. "The strategic initiatives that were started with Command Sgt. Maj. Conley, we've got to go forward with them. The work ahead of us is important and it is significant."
After enlisting in 1980, Kepner served with the 82nd Airborne Division and the 10th Mountain Division before transitioning to the Pennsylvania Army Guard in 1987. He most recently served as the command sergeant major of the Pennsylvania Army Guard's 28th Infantry Division and previously served as the brigade sergeant major of the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade and the battalion sergeant major of 2nd Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment.
"I am the product of the officers, noncommissioned officers and Soldiers of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and it is because of their leadership and their friendship that I am able to be here today," he said.
Kepner deployed to Kosovo and later to Iraq and participated in transitioning the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 28th ID from an infantry brigade combat team to a Stryker brigade combat team.
"He comes with a wealth of experience, is tremendously talented and is an outstanding and great leader," said Kadavy, during the ceremony.
Kepner said he's ready to take on the challenges of his new role.
"Lt. Gen. Kadavy, I commit to you that the Army National Guard will be successful," he said. "We will be successful in being warfighter capable and governor responsive."
He added that he's eager to get to work.
"I look forward to working with all of you and finding whatever those initiatives are that help us achieve that vision and make sure we have a ready Army National Guard," he said.