FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA – The Office of the Chief of the Army Reserve (OCAR) celebrated the 114th anniversary of the U.S. Army Reserve with a week-long celebration.
For more than 114 years, Warrior Citizens have integrated their military service with civilian, family and personal careers, succeeding and thriving in the workplace and on the battlefield.
“It’s good to come together as a team and just be grateful,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Robert D. Harter, deputy chief of OCAR. “Since 1908, we have been supporting the nation starting with nearly 160 doctors, as a sort of reserve increase in the nation’s medical capacity.”
“In 1920 we became more officially a reserve corps and since then we’ve fought in every war,” Harter said.
In the true spirit of the Army Reserve, OCAR soldiers and civilians kicked off each weekday with a daily fitness challenge, led by U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Marc Chiste of Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment (HHD), Office of the Chief, Army Reserve.
“We had a great turnout,” Chiste said. “114 deadlifts for Monday, and we kind of tied it to Friday’s ACFT.”
“We even brought the hex bar deadlift to my office and over 45 people came out to do the challenge, including Maj. Gen. Harter,” Chiste said.
A cake cutting ceremony was held Wednesday in the Iraqi Freedom Room. The cake featured the John Parker logo in the middle and the start date and current date on top.
“The cake-cutting ceremony is more like preserving tradition,” said Kenneth McKoy, protocol manager for OCAR. “We want to pause in time and show our gratitude and respect to the Army Reserve.”
“In keeping with military tradition, we had the youngest soldier and the oldest soldier cut the cake with a saber,” McKoy said.
Other events included a golf course at the Fort. Belvoir Golf Course and ACFT workout and breakfast.