NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The Army is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Training and Doctrine Command, which is headquartered at Joint Base Langley-Eustis.
"TRADOC" was established on July 1, 1973. It s responsible for recruiting, training and educating Soldiers, developing adaptive leaders, developing doctrine, and shaping the Army into the world's premier land force.
Friday, at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, 16 new recruits took the Oath of Office at the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence.
And they were told every one of them can make a difference.
"One day, you may not get credit for it, but one day, collectively, everything that we've done in the past and present will feed into the future. And we will save lives on the battlefield," said Lewis Barger, Command Historian, U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence.
The celebrations continued later in the day, at the grounds of Fort Monroe in Hampton, which served as the home of TRADOC until that base closed in 2011.
At Outlook Beach, there will be a demonstration from the U.S. Army Parachute Team, the "Golden Knights," a concert from the TRADOC Band, and a special guest visit from 13News Now Daybreak and Mid-day Anchor Ashley Smith.