WEBVTT 00:00.851 --> 00:04.035 - And for the soldiers of Company A Triple Seven, 00:04.035 --> 00:05.118 welcome home. 00:06.648 --> 00:09.971 You're great soldiers, and this is absolutely a great day. 00:09.971 --> 00:13.757 We were talking a few minutes ago that welcome homes 00:13.757 --> 00:17.424 were a lot better than departure ceremonies. 00:18.560 --> 00:20.928 For the 70 soldiers that are here today 00:20.928 --> 00:25.095 in a state of four million, you're a very small percentage, 00:25.964 --> 00:29.559 just a small impact on the number of great Oklahomans. 00:29.559 --> 00:32.668 But to those of us that are here today, 00:32.668 --> 00:33.835 we missed you, 00:34.276 --> 00:35.526 and we love you 00:36.356 --> 00:38.773 and we are glad you are home. 00:40.034 --> 00:43.335 For the families here today, it's been a long year. 00:43.335 --> 00:46.294 And I want to thank you for the love and support 00:46.294 --> 00:48.983 you've provided these great soldiers. 00:48.983 --> 00:51.294 For without your love and support, 00:51.294 --> 00:53.680 they would not have been able to do what they do 00:53.680 --> 00:55.763 in support of our nation. 00:55.923 --> 00:59.642 A quote from a former Chief of Staff of the army, 00:59.642 --> 01:02.473 "The strength of our nation is our army. 01:02.473 --> 01:05.820 "The strength of our army is our soldiers. 01:05.820 --> 01:08.314 "The strength of our soldiers is our families. 01:08.314 --> 01:10.978 "And that's what makes this army strong." 01:10.978 --> 01:14.728 So again, families, thank you for everything. 01:15.377 --> 01:19.544 And for the soldiers, take as much time off as you can. 01:21.308 --> 01:23.808 You've earned it and enjoy it. 01:25.295 --> 01:27.780 Take time to reintegrate with your families 01:27.780 --> 01:31.863 and your friends and rebuild those relationships. 01:32.315 --> 01:34.161 Each of you have a battle buddy. 01:34.161 --> 01:36.070 Stay in touch with your battle buddy 01:36.070 --> 01:38.229 as you go through this reintegration. 01:38.229 --> 01:41.979 And stay in touch with your chain of command. 01:42.504 --> 01:46.671 In World War II, 12% of Americans wore the uniform. 01:47.034 --> 01:49.784 In Vietnam, 4% of Americans. 01:51.004 --> 01:53.421 And today, less that 1%. 01:54.651 --> 01:57.353 You are truly the American heroes. 01:57.353 --> 02:01.436 You're the 1% that defend this great nation. 02:02.350 --> 02:03.850 I am proud of you. 02:03.982 --> 02:06.145 Oklahomans are proud of you. 02:06.145 --> 02:08.478 And America is proud of you. 02:08.768 --> 02:11.224 Thank you for your dedication and thank you 02:11.224 --> 02:15.391 for the outstanding job you did representing Oklahoma. 02:15.445 --> 02:17.445 And again, welcome home. 02:17.962 --> 02:20.962 God bless you and God bless America. 02:21.786 --> 02:22.703 Ladies and, 02:23.257 --> 02:26.257 (audience applause) 02:31.485 --> 02:35.471 Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor and my privilege 02:35.471 --> 02:39.600 to introduce the governor of the great state of Oklahoma, 02:39.600 --> 02:41.168 the Honorable Mary Fallin. 02:41.168 --> 02:42.326 (audience applause) 02:42.326 --> 02:43.909 - Thank you so much 02:45.460 --> 02:47.212 Thank you General Asher. 02:47.212 --> 02:50.167 It's a great pleasure to be here at a welcome home ceremony. 02:50.167 --> 02:52.020 Thank you for your service, your dedication 02:52.020 --> 02:53.770 and all your leaders. 02:54.155 --> 02:56.034 We appreciate all that you do. 02:56.034 --> 02:58.117 And welcome home, troops. 02:58.185 --> 03:00.367 Great to have you here. Welcome. 03:00.367 --> 03:03.367 (audience applause) 03:05.323 --> 03:06.916 I know that I am standing in the way 03:06.916 --> 03:10.770 between you and your children and your families. 03:10.770 --> 03:12.458 So this is gonna be one of the quickest speeches 03:12.458 --> 03:15.752 hopefully you'll ever hear from a politician. 03:15.752 --> 03:18.752 But we are here to say welcome home. 03:18.766 --> 03:21.745 Thank you for your sacrifice, your time 03:21.745 --> 03:24.495 away from your family, your jobs, 03:24.509 --> 03:26.544 whatever you might have been doing 03:26.544 --> 03:29.544 before you signed up to be deployed. 03:31.455 --> 03:34.561 Thank you for your commitment, your dedication, 03:34.561 --> 03:37.156 your love of country, your patriotism, 03:37.156 --> 03:40.766 your pride, your willingness to go above and beyond 03:40.766 --> 03:43.563 to serve this great nation, to protect her, 03:43.563 --> 03:47.478 and to stand for peace, not only here in the United States, 03:47.478 --> 03:49.667 but to do what you can around the world 03:49.667 --> 03:51.417 to ensure that peace. 03:51.659 --> 03:54.066 And I think all of us realize that now more than ever 03:54.066 --> 03:57.411 are we concerned about peace around the world. 03:57.411 --> 04:00.168 But your mission was so important, 04:00.168 --> 04:01.957 and ladies and gentlemen of the audience, 04:01.957 --> 04:04.021 your family members, your employers, 04:04.021 --> 04:07.296 and whoever else may be here with family and friends, 04:07.296 --> 04:11.022 I had the opportunity to go to Kuwait in December. 04:11.022 --> 04:14.772 I saw these men and women at work first hand. 04:16.068 --> 04:19.068 And they told me over and over again 04:19.284 --> 04:22.051 how committed they were to their mission, 04:22.051 --> 04:23.563 how important it was. 04:23.563 --> 04:24.865 All the different things they were doing 04:24.865 --> 04:26.774 whether it was refueling aircraft 04:26.774 --> 04:30.357 to helping with air traffic control towers, 04:30.959 --> 04:33.292 to helping to train Kuwaitis 04:33.848 --> 04:36.523 and supporting their base mission in the Middle East, 04:36.523 --> 04:37.921 to water purification, 04:37.921 --> 04:39.701 to warehousing services and operation. 04:39.701 --> 04:40.783 I saw so many different things 04:40.783 --> 04:42.870 and I may have missed a few. 04:42.870 --> 04:47.037 But what I saw was men and women away from their families 04:47.772 --> 04:50.020 and their friends and their home state of Oklahoma 04:50.020 --> 04:52.148 who were committed in a patriotic way 04:52.148 --> 04:54.148 of serving their nation. 04:54.312 --> 04:57.812 I can't tell you how much that gave me joy 04:58.282 --> 05:01.201 and cheer in my heart to see the quality 05:01.201 --> 05:03.817 of the men and women in our Guard 05:03.817 --> 05:06.567 and the sacrifices that you made. 05:07.039 --> 05:08.336 So proud of you. 05:08.336 --> 05:09.354 So proud of your mission. 05:09.354 --> 05:13.266 We are so thrilled that you are all back home safely. 05:13.266 --> 05:15.210 And to the families that are out there 05:15.210 --> 05:18.679 and families and friends, you know this is not 05:18.679 --> 05:20.262 a one person event. 05:23.479 --> 05:24.903 For your family members who are sitting 05:24.903 --> 05:27.037 in front of me today, this is truly a family event, 05:27.037 --> 05:30.217 because the spouses, the children, the mothers, the fathers, 05:30.217 --> 05:32.997 the other relatives and friends also sacrificed too 05:32.997 --> 05:34.997 because they missed you. 05:35.585 --> 05:38.762 And I know that you missed some birthdays and holidays, 05:38.762 --> 05:41.123 maybe some anniversaries, maybe some graduations 05:41.123 --> 05:44.873 of children, and children have gotten bigger. 05:45.193 --> 05:47.693 You made some great sacrifices 05:47.713 --> 05:50.296 but so has your family members. 05:50.641 --> 05:53.313 So family, thank you, thank you for standing 05:53.313 --> 05:54.979 behind these men and women and loving them 05:54.979 --> 05:56.257 and supporting them. 05:56.257 --> 05:58.193 They couldn't do it without you and I heard that 05:58.193 --> 06:00.001 from them when I was over in Kuwait. 06:00.001 --> 06:01.385 We appreciate you. 06:01.385 --> 06:04.201 We hope that you have a wonderful time 06:04.201 --> 06:05.629 with your loved ones home 06:05.629 --> 06:06.979 And if there's any employers here, 06:06.979 --> 06:10.071 we couldn't have a Guard without our employers. 06:10.071 --> 06:12.004 So we also appreciate all the employers 06:12.004 --> 06:13.418 who have worked with us, 06:13.418 --> 06:15.828 made sure that their jobs were still here 06:15.828 --> 06:16.782 when they come home. 06:16.782 --> 06:18.727 And that the love and support is also still there 06:18.727 --> 06:20.120 for our soldiers. 06:20.120 --> 06:22.061 So soldiers, welcome home. 06:22.061 --> 06:23.162 We are so proud of you. 06:23.162 --> 06:25.329 Go enjoy with your family. 06:25.680 --> 06:29.847 Catch up on movies, new restaurants, new things to do. 06:30.344 --> 06:31.610 Who knows what there is out there 06:31.610 --> 06:33.464 you may have missed since you've been gone. 06:33.464 --> 06:34.637 But have a wonderful time. 06:34.637 --> 06:37.220 May God bless you for your service. 06:37.220 --> 06:40.220 (audience applause) 06:41.412 --> 06:43.233 - Governor Fallin, General Asher, 06:43.233 --> 06:46.816 distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, 06:46.913 --> 06:48.522 soldiers of Alpha Triple Seven, 06:48.522 --> 06:50.567 and all the family members out there, 06:50.567 --> 06:53.421 Governor Fallin kept her remarks brief. 06:53.421 --> 06:54.967 The least I can do is do that cause I know 06:54.967 --> 06:57.297 that I'm about the last thing standing between you guys 06:57.297 --> 06:59.491 and getting back together with your families. 06:59.491 --> 07:01.268 So I'll make this brief. 07:01.268 --> 07:04.668 What you guys have done for the last year is remarkable. 07:04.668 --> 07:08.270 Our nation has been at war in the greater Middle East area 07:08.270 --> 07:12.276 for the better part of 15 years, almost 16 years now. 07:12.276 --> 07:16.325 Many of you have gone more than once and done your duty. 07:16.325 --> 07:19.314 The sustainment operations that you were doing over there 07:19.314 --> 07:21.187 that were supporting operations in Kuwait, 07:21.187 --> 07:23.508 in Iraq and Syria and Afghanistan, 07:23.508 --> 07:26.992 are pivotal to our nation's security right now. 07:26.992 --> 07:31.028 You guys play a key part of that in enabling those forces 07:31.028 --> 07:32.294 that are doing those things. 07:32.294 --> 07:33.510 Be proud of that. Okay. 07:33.510 --> 07:35.343 Be very proud of that. 07:35.641 --> 07:38.645 But more importantly take advantage of this opportunity 07:38.645 --> 07:40.932 to get reacquainted with your families. 07:40.932 --> 07:42.121 Don't rush it too much. 07:42.121 --> 07:44.534 You're gonna try to do everything all at once. 07:44.534 --> 07:46.008 We've all been through this. 07:46.008 --> 07:49.091 And we all hear people say this stuff 07:49.269 --> 07:50.851 and we don't listen to it. 07:50.851 --> 07:52.392 Give it a little time to happen. 07:52.392 --> 07:53.642 It's a process. 07:54.070 --> 07:55.536 But enjoy all those kids. 07:55.536 --> 07:58.036 Enjoy your families out there. 07:58.273 --> 07:59.636 Make the best out of it. 07:59.636 --> 08:01.764 The one thing I want to leave you with, 08:01.764 --> 08:05.237 and General Asher touched on it, is safety. 08:05.237 --> 08:06.070 Alright. 08:06.073 --> 08:08.186 We lose a lot of soldiers after deployments 08:08.186 --> 08:09.803 that we don't have to. 08:09.803 --> 08:11.757 Alright, if you've got a motorcycle, don't think 08:11.757 --> 08:14.131 you need to ride 100 miles an hour over here 08:14.131 --> 08:16.094 down the interstate and impress everybody 08:16.094 --> 08:18.419 and yourself with how fast you can go. 08:18.419 --> 08:20.456 It is not worth it, okay. 08:20.456 --> 08:22.077 Remember that you're back in the United States 08:22.077 --> 08:23.763 and think about what you're doing. 08:23.763 --> 08:26.695 Stay engaged with what you're doing right now. 08:26.695 --> 08:28.703 If you drink, don't go out there and try to drink 08:28.703 --> 08:30.225 everything that you should have drank 08:30.225 --> 08:33.039 over the last year, or would have, 08:33.039 --> 08:34.680 and go out there and get yourself hurt 08:34.680 --> 08:36.531 or hurt somebody else, okay. 08:36.531 --> 08:38.792 It's very important to us that all of you guys and gals 08:38.792 --> 08:42.053 are here at the Yellow Ribbon event in a year from now. 08:42.053 --> 08:45.313 And your families out there want you here as well. 08:45.313 --> 08:47.236 They don't want to go through a yearlong deployment 08:47.236 --> 08:50.541 and then have you guys gone right after that, okay. 08:50.541 --> 08:52.291 So this is about you. 08:52.600 --> 08:54.695 Check in with your buddies. 08:54.695 --> 08:57.517 I'm gonna task every soldier in this formation to do that. 08:57.517 --> 08:59.998 Leaders, check in with your soldiers. 08:59.998 --> 09:01.525 I'm not saying you have to drag that out 09:01.525 --> 09:03.290 and make a big ordeal about it, 09:03.290 --> 09:06.424 but just check on each other and make sure you're okay. 09:06.424 --> 09:07.929 God bless every one of you. 09:07.929 --> 09:09.225 That's it for me. 09:09.225 --> 09:12.070 I look forward to seeing you all here soon, 09:12.070 --> 09:14.750 but I know you're not gonna be around here long today. 09:14.750 --> 09:16.655 And God bless the Oklahoma National Guard 09:16.655 --> 09:18.905 and the United States Army.