It's just a few days before he's set to deliver remarks before U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command leadership and other teammates at his Relinquishment of Responsibility ceremony on July 15, and USAMRDC Command Sgt. Maj. Victor Laragione is still fine-tuning his speech, still trying to put the past two years into perspective. Even though he's spent nearly three decades in the military, he's the first to tell you that saying goodbye is never as simple as it sounds.

"I'm going to miss it here," says Laragione, who will assume the role of Command Sergeant Major at the Medical Center of Excellence in San Antonio, Texas, next month. "This organization that does so much to ensure our Soldiers survive and excel on the battlefield, it's going to be hard to leave a place like this."

Indeed, Laragione's tenure at USAMRDC coincided with a consequential time period for both the country and the command. He assumed his role at USAMRDC in August 2020, during the relatively early stages of the first wave of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and as such had a front row seat to the challenges and decisions that shaped the command's response to the pandemic and the impact those decisions had on the military and the nation at-large.

"We had great leaders that went out and found innovative ways to take care of their people, take care of the mission and take care of anything the Nation asked us to do," says Laragione of his experiences during that time. "As I like to tell the Soldiers – I don't need you to be the best on the team, I need you to be the best for the team."

That kind of leadership philosophy has become Laragione's trademark– one honed across assignments in New York, Germany and the state of Washington, just to name a few. His myriad of duties and responsibilities at USAMRDC have further allowed him the opportunity to put others in a position to succeed ("It's always people first," as he's fond of saying). As principal staff advisor to the Commanding General on matters pertaining to Soldiers, civilians and their families, Laragione was tasked with enforcing policies ranging from training to conduct to personnel management – tasks where you would be most likely to find and nurture young leaders. Further still, he re-established a chapter of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club at Fort Detrick as a platform for mentorship and community service. The SAMC – which is named after decorated World War II Soldier Audie Leon Murphy – is a non-profit Army organization for noncommissioned officers best known for its series of community service projects in the areas surrounding Army posts worldwide. For Laragione, all that work exists in addition to serving as a champion of the command's Military Equal Opportunity, Employee Equal Opportunity and Sexual Harassment Assault Response and Prevention programs; the common thread running through the latter efforts being the twin tenets of respect and accountability – concepts he views as foundational to the Army way of life.

"I can only hope that the initiatives we pursued will have a long-lasting, positive impact on this command and this community," says Laragione. He's also quick to impart some final some final, key words of advice to the Soldiers of USAMRDC as well. "I know the development process doesn't always feel good in the moment," he says, "but enduring the discomfort generally yields positive outcomes."

It is the connections he's established with those Soldiers that will be, in Laragione's own words, what sticks with him the most as he moves forward; his focus on quality-of-life issues for those living on post (such as outreach efforts for "Single Soldiers" and initiating a plan to improve communication on maintenance issues) chief among them. By his own admission, he's made a slew of lifelong friends at USAMRDC in just a few short years – an achievement which is its own kind of special award.

"When it comes down to it, I just want to thank everyone for accepting me as part of the team," says Laragione. "I have so much appreciation for what everyone does here – I'm incredibly proud to have been a part of USAMRDC."

A native Texan, Laragione will return to his home state for a new assignment in a new place – and yet his message to those Soldiers will no doubt be the same: you don't need to be the best on the team, you need to be the best for the team. Simple words that focus on execution above all else – a commitment to the mission, to Army values. No doubt those are the kinds of sentiments he'll touch upon in his farewell remarks; a capstone to two dynamic years at USAMRDC, and a prelude to another assignment – another opportunity to make a lasting impact.

"It's bittersweet," says Laragione. "But it's a unique situation, because as much as I'm going to miss it here at USAMRDC, I'm excited for the next adventure and what I can do for Army Medicine while in San Antonio."