LEXINGTON, Va. Dec. 9, 2025 — Virginia Military Institute will hold its December ROTC Joint Commissioning Ceremony, in which new officers take their commissioning oaths, Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 5 p.m., and Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, Dec. 19 at 11 a.m. Both ceremonies will take place in Memorial Hall on post. The public is invited to attend.  

The speaker for the commissioning ceremony will be Col. Joe Hansen, professor of military science at VMI’s Army ROTC unit.

Hansen graduated from Washington State University (WSU) in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, then enlisted into the Army combat engineers the following year. He deployed all over the world including South Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, and Turkey.

Hansen is a graduate of the Warriors Leader’s Course, the Field Artillery Basic and Advanced Courses, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the School of Advance Military Studies. He holds multiple master’s degrees including criminal justice from WSU; military art and science from the School of Advanced Military Studies in Leavenworth, Kansas; and strategic studies from the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Among Hansen’s awards and decorations include the Legion Of Merit with C device (oak leaf cluster), Bronze Star Medal (3rd Award), the Purple Heart, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (3rd Award), and the Joint Service Commendation Medal. 

The speaker for commencement will be Maj. Gen. James “Pat” Work, commanding general for the 82nd Airborne Division. Work commissioned from the U.S. Military Academy West Point in 1995. He completed the Infantry Officers Advanced Course, the Command and General Staff Officers Course, and led multiple commands throughout his career. 

He served as aide de camp to the 20th Secretary of the Army before serving with U.S. Special Operations Command. In 2011, Work assumed command of 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), and in 2013 began service as a staff officer in the Operations Directorate of the Joint Staff. In 2016, he took command of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.

He later served as executive officer to the 39th chief of staff of the Army before an assignment as military deputy director of program analysis and evaluation, deputy chief of staff (DCS), Headquarters Department of the Army (HQDA). In 2020, Work returned to the 82nd Airborne Division as the deputy commanding general for support.

From May 2021 until August 2023, he led the Operations, Readiness, and Mobilization Directorate within DCS, HQDA. Work graduated from the Marine Corps War College in 2016 and earned a Master of Public Policy Degree from Georgetown University in 2010. He and his wife, Mara, have two children. 

The commencement ceremony will be livestreamed. The link may be found here.    

Marianne Hause
Communications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE