Sample Military Speeches

Summary

This speech is suitable for a C.O. who wishes to address his/her troops when a regiment is being disbanded.

Sample

Today I have the same feelings as most of us have we look at the memorial to the unknown warriors. I feel sadness and nostalgia. Today (Name of regiment) is being disbanded and I cannot help but feel a great sense of loss and yet I also feel pride. I feel pride in those who have served so selflessly for so long. As your C.O. I know more than most what wonderful soldiers you are. I am grateful for your loyalty since I took over this command. I am grateful for your friendship and support. So although we are saying goodbye to our regiment today I know we are not saying goodbye to the qualities you possess in abundance.

With our disbanding goes a bit of history. Our members have fought in many battles over the years. They have done us proud wherever they served. They have had their own traditions and mascots. They go with an untarnished record of bravery and courage. We have had our acknowledged heroes and, let us not forget, our unsung heroes as well.

So our regiment goes and with it goes stories that we will tell our grandchildren. With it go many friendships of those united under the same banner. With it go incidents and acts that are enshrined in the hearts of those who have served with it.

Yet times change and armies must change with them. There has to be consolidation and there has to be economy of scale. Perhaps one of the reasons for our success as an armed force is because we have accepted that need for change. If we hadn’t we would still be using cannon guns today.

So although we may march past for the last time today we are also marching forward to the future. In our new regiment we will find new friends and new challenges. Perhaps now is a time to consider just why we joined the forces and why we continue to serve our country.

That word country sums it all up I think. Whatever badges we wear we are all united in one armed force with the aim of defending our nation. We are all individual bricks in the wall that keeps our democracy safe. We serve the cause of peace wherever we are sent to serve.

So although today I am sad, I am also glad. I am glad that we are being given the opportunity to prove ourselves in the future as we have proven ourselves in the past. I know that wherever you go or whatever you do you will serve as you have always served with loyalty, professionalism and true hearts. (If applicable) May God bless you all.

Today we are saying a final farewell
To the regiment in which we took pride
Where we served together over the years
Should to shoulder, side by side.
What the future holds I cannot tell
But one thing I do know for sure
Is that your heads you’ll still hold high
Serving at home or on tour.
I’d like to offer my thanks to you
You’ve served me well and though I rue
The disbanding of the regiment we held dear
The future beckons and to me it is clear
That you’ll always be what you’ve been for me
The best troops of all in the military.

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Summary

This change of command (outgoing officer speeches) is ideal for an officer who wishes to address his/her troops one final time before leaving his command.

Sample

Title/s of honoured guest/s, fellow officers, comrades,

It seems to me that the vital bits of life are sandwiched in between constant bouts of preparation. In between those bouts lie small but essential periods of achievement. Without the bread and butter however those accomplishments could not exist. The military is certainly no exception. We spend a tremendous amount of time devoted to preparing ourselves for possibilities that we often hope will not occur. The law of certainties dictates that the very moment you stop preparing for an eventuality it will almost certainly happen.

To our credit and to my eternal thanks our work here has been challenging and worthwhile. We have had to establish ourselves, offer support and take control in difficult circumstances. They are often situations that we have envisaged and for which we have planned. Still all the while we hoped that in some way we could prevent them happening. Yet I have to say that the time and planning that we have put into this work has been of immense value to us as a unit.

No situation of conflict or readiness can be viewed in isolation. We are always working and seeking to contribute to a much larger scheme of things. Perhaps it is a perk of my position that I have been a part of that wider scheme. I can therefore say without doubt that you should be very proud of what we have achieved here. You have done your duty with a willingness and enthusiasm that would be hard to match.

I am not, of course, claiming that there haven’t been mornings when you have felt less than enthusiastic. I am not claiming that there haven’t been times when you were sorry you ever enlisted. I am not even claiming that there aren’t times when you wished that you could run the army for a while and that if you did there would be changes. What I am saying is that, despite these feelings, you have always been good soldiers with all that implies.

I can also say that without the men and women under my command our achievements would have been far less. I thank you all for your support but also for the goodwill with which you have performed that duty. Personally I offer my thanks to you for that commitment. I am only too aware that it was given under extreme and often difficult circumstances.

Of the many friends I have the pleasure of working with I can add that I have learned much from you. These are things that I shall add to the new duties and responsibilities that a new posting will offer me. I would not want to go, nor could I without the belief that we have done the best we possibly could in the existing circumstances. I am in no doubt that we have satisfied our honour and that of our regiment. We have also added to the greater achievement of our army.

As I said preparation and a constant source of readiness is the role of the army. It is one that we have discharged with the utmost honour. I must now focus my attentions on new horizons. I do so eagerly and with great confidence. That confidence comes in part from my own belief in what we are doing. It also comes of course from all I have learned and experienced with you.

I will always remember the men and women who have shown such endeavour and willingness to put themselves in positions far beyond the call of their duty. You have done what I have asked of you and given far more. I shall never forget your devotion to duty nor the friendships that have grown out of that. I know that, in you, our country is in very safe hands indeed. May you always continue to guard it in your own special way.

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