The Guard is now a "Command"
This is the invocation and benediction
prayer delivered by Chaplain Lewis Brown at the commissioning ceremony for the Ceremonial
Guard on
21 March 2001
INVOCATION
We’ve
assembled today to celebrate a double Navy tradition:
The Establishment of a
Command, and a Change of Charge transition.
Responsibility for the Guard will
be transferred from one, and given to another
With all the care and attention
one gives a favored brother.
The departing Officer in Charge joins the list
of Scott and Furnari,
Preparing for the U. S. Navy Ceremonial Guard Command is
his legacy.
The arriving CO assumes new duties according to his rank,
And
will share with the departing a portion of the owner’s plank.
The Unit we
establish has been called by this and that name;
Was unfocused and undisciplined
before achieving its current fame.
Its members once searched for deserters, and
policed local scenes,
And was considered no competition at all to the Army and
Marines.
“The smartest and most colorful organization in the Navy,” is the
Guard.
Its home is the oldest naval shore establishment, the Washington Navy
Yard.
The Guardsmen and women represent the Navy in each public ceremony.
With
honor and dignity they render deceased shipmates their final testimony.
With
this in mind, we pause to pray.
Good Lord, we've just two things to say:
Thanks
for your protection while awake or asleep,
Keep us safe ashore, in the air, and
when we sail the deep. Amen.
BENEDICTION
Lord God, protect the men and women who
In service, their faith in thee
renew;
Guide their devoted talents and skill
And bless their work within
thy will.
Inspire their lives that they may be
Examples fair in the air,
on land and sea
.