Farewell Remarks 14 Feb 1996

Farewell Remarks by the Secretary General to the Chairman of the Military Committee, Sir Richard Vincent Today, we are saying our farewell to someone who has made an outstanding contribution to this Alliance and will be very greatly missed. Field Marshal Sir Richard Vincent is a distinguished soldier and a uniquely valued colleague who is leaving NATO after three years as Chairman of the Military Committee. In those three years, the role of the Military Committee has changed and developed under his leadership and guidance. And in those same three years, the role of the Chairman has also become more prominent. Sir Richard has been a crucial figure in the successful and close interaction between NATO's political and military authorities. A main reason why NATO has been able to address the new security issues of the nineties so effectively is that the Military Committee has been highly responsive to the requirements of the Alliance at a time of unprecedented change. Everyone who has had the privilege of being at NATO during these exciting times will agree that Sir Richard has been ingenious, articulate and tenacious in his chairmanship of the Military Committee. He has earned the respect of his military and civilian colleagues for the vast range of military and diplomatic skills he has displayed. There is one quality above others, however, which I believe marks him out as an outstanding leader. He has the rare ability to evaluate any situation objectively, and to present his evaluation clearly and convincingly. At a time when this Alliance has been planning and deploying the Implementation Force in Bosnia, Sir Richard's skill, his experience and his brilliant military perception have served this Alliance and the cause of peace in Europe. I look forward to continuing this very productive relationship with his successor, General Naumann. In leaving NATO, Sir Richard also leaves active service in the British army, after well over four decades of duty, which began in 1950 as a conscript soldier and ends today at the very pinnacle of his profession. He is one of the very few soldiers of a distinguished generation who, in Napoleon's phrase, carried a field marshal's baton in his knapsack. Field Marshal, you often refer to yourself as the military Methuselah of the Alliance. From my perspective, you played rather the part of our military Solomon.

Sir Richard, you leave with the respect, admiration and friendship of all of us. On behalf of the whole Alliance, I thank you for all that you have done. To end your military service at a time when the Alliance is successfully engaged in bringing peace to the Balkans is as satisfying and fitting a conclusion to a military career as anyone could hope for. I wish you and Lady Vincent my very best wishes for your future happiness. [applause] Finally, I have one formal function to perform before letting Field Marshal Sir Richard Vincent go. In recognition of the outstanding and tireless work he has done in leading the Military Committee throughout the last three years of NATO's operations in relation to the former Yugoslavia, and as a symbol of the vital contribution of the Military Committee and supporting military staff to the success of the campaign during this momentous period in NATO's history, I have decided to award the NATO medal to Sir Richard Vincent. [The medal will be handed to SecGen at this stage, to be pinned on Sir Richard Vincent's tunic on the left side above his other medal ribbons].