By
Graham Davis
 |
|
L-R:
LCDR Gregg Hudak USN, his daughter Sydney, wife Karen and
CDRE Keith Malpress who administered the oath of allegiance.
Photo by ABPH Yuri Ramsey
|
There
is often pomp and ceremony when an officer in the US Navy is promoted.
He, or she, re-affirms their Oath of Allegiance to the US Constitution
while a family member or good friend has the honour of pinning
the new ranking insignia on the recipient’s uniform.
August first was the day LEUT Gregg Hudak of the US Navy was formally
promoted to Lieutenant Commander in a ceremony led by the Commander,
Surface Combatants FEG, CDRE Keith Malpress.
Gregg, 36 from the Maryland town of Rockville and a logistics
specialist, is just ten months from completing a three year exchange
with the RAN.
At the ceremony, attended by about 30 of his Australian workmates
and CPO Denny McGill of the US Embassy in Canberra, CDRE Malpress
called upon Gregg to formally accept the promotion and sign the
paperwork.
He then asked Gregg’s wife Karen to pin the LCDR’s rank
on his uniform collar.
CDRE Malpress then ordered Gregg to raise his right hand and called
upon him to “solemnly re-affirm that I will support and defend
the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies,
foreign and domestic.”
Gregg, a member of the USN for more than 17 years has yet to be
notified of his new posting but hopes to go to the Norfolk Base
in Virginia.
