Hello friends!
One of my favorite parts of being in this unit here in Germany, is when I get asked to take photos of events that involve my coworkers. Earlier this week I was asked to photograph the Retirement ceremony of one of our Captains.
I had the fortune of originally meeting this gentleman back in Afghanistan in 2012, when his company replaced mine before we came back to the States. He was a company commander at the time, and I always thought he was a little goofy. Imagine my surprise last year in 2014, when this same gentleman walked into the food court with his family one day at lunch, and remembered who I was. We had only known each other for 3 weeks during our time in Afghanistan, before I left, so I was incredibly surprised that he would remember me at all.
He came here to be a pilot, flying helicopters until his official Retirement date in November of this year. When you first see this guy, most people just think he is goofy, you have to know him to know all of the awesome things he has done. He spent the first part of his 26 years in the military as an enlisted man, then when he got bored with that he decided to become a Warrant Officer, and then we he got tired of that he decided to become a Commissioned Officer. He's done a lot of awesome things, he's Air Assault qualified, he's got a Ranger Tab, I can't remember all of his awards. Needless to say, this man has done a great many things that most people probably aren't even aware of.
He's been a hoot to be around since he got here. He's a goofy guy and he likes to come stand in my office and we talk. We discuss our deployments to FOB Shank, my old company commander that we both knew, and other shenanigans. He's going back to Florida, near where my parents live, and is going to open a pizza shop.
Captain Nolan is the man on the left of this picture. He is highly decorated!
Of course I had to get a picture of the flags before the ceremony began. I just love practicing these pictures, it gives me a chance to get my settings correct before everything starts!
These are the three gentleman that presented everyone's awards and such to them (there were about 7 people that were a part of this Retirement ceremony). The gentleman on the left holding everything is the S-1 Captain, the gentleman in front of him was the one that presented everything to the retiree, and the SPC in the background took everything back once the pictures were all taken. For the most part, they would collect all these items after the ceremony once they were all officially ready to leave the Army.
This is CPT Nolan's Retirement Certificate for serving about 26 years in the US Army.
CPT Nolan about to be presented his Retirement flag for his years of service.
These are always my favorite series of shots to get during a retirement ceremony!
These are always my favorite series of shots to get during a retirement ceremony!
Once given his flag, he is then saluted for his years in Service.
This is Captain Nolan after his portion of the ceremony. He was about to sit down and forgot that I wanted a final picture of him. Silly guy!
I just love being able to capture these moments for fellow Soldiers and their families. His wife was stoked to know that I would be there to take pictures (she had already returned to Florida to get their house set up and the business things finalized).
Once I leave the Army, I plan on going back to Ft. Bragg and continuing this part of my photography. I want to continue taking pictures for Retirement Ceremonies, Promotion Ceremonies, and other awesome military events like this.
And hey, I am willing to travel for events!
Just get in touch with me to work things out!
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