Twenty eight company grade officers were honored at a Pentagon ceremony when they received the prestigious General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award.The award is presented annually to company grade officers who epitomize the values championed by MacArthur: Duty, Honor, Country.Award recipients included 24 captains, two warrant officers and a first lieutenant. Each received a 15-pound bronze bust of MacArthur.Addressing the recipients and ceremony attendees, the Army chief of staff, Gen. Ray Odierno, said the recipients would now join the ranks of the 649 soldiers who had been previously honored with this award."The 28 of you receiving this award this afternoon are clearly some of our most outstanding junior Army officers," he said, pointing out that nearly all had served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan or both.Adding, "You represent not only the best of the total Army, active, National Guard and Army Reserve, but also the very best that our nation has to offer."Odierno challenged the junior officers to not only rest on their present success, but to constantly build on that success while continuing to be passionate about what they do.He asked them to rededicate their efforts to encourage individual development in their men and women in order to build strong, cohesive soldier teams."Our Army is an all-volunteer force, and a soldier’s decision to continue to serve is directly related to the quality of leadership they receive," Odierno said.Adding, "You all have set the tone and climate that directly influences whether our soldiers choose to embrace the Army as a profession, it is a profound responsibility."