Landover, MD – There was no game but there was a cheering crowd of friends and family saluting Army Specialist Christopher Stymiest, who has reenlisted for four more years of military service.
The ceremony took place at FedEx Field in Landover, home of the Washington Redskins, Sunday Sept. 11.
Stymiest, who lives in South Carolina, has family in Southern Maryland. The Redskins are his favorite team so he requested that the ceremony be held at the stadium.
“It’s a humbling day,” Stymiest told redskins.com, noting that Sept. 11 is a day of remembrance for lives lost 15 years ago during the terrorists’ attacks on America.
“It’s the ultimate power trip for me,” said Glenn Stymiest of Mechanicsville, the soldier’s father, of the feeling of seeing his son’s name on the stadium billboard. The elder Stymiest himself had a career in the U.S. Army as a military policeman.
Presiding over the ceremony was Army Major John C. Gardner. “I am honored to do this,” said Gardner, adding that he has known Stymiest for a long time. He called Christopher Stymiest “an awesome soldier.”
Of enlisting in the Army, Stymiest told redskins.com, “without a doubt, it’s one of the greatest feelings I’ve had in my life. I put a lot of work into it, and do a lot of cool things [and] I see a lot of cool places. It’s something that less than one percent of the United States population does, so it’s good to be part of a family like that and have that support from your brothers and sisters.”
