WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:03.250 (audience applauding) 00:04.070 --> 00:04.970 - Well, thank you. 00:08.940 --> 00:10.713 Thank you very much, all of you. 00:10.920 --> 00:14.130 And we'll see if you clap that loud when I get done, 00:14.130 --> 00:17.043 I might add, we'll see if I pass the grade here. 00:17.130 --> 00:20.460 But General Peay, a former commander of mine, 00:20.460 --> 00:22.793 thanks for the very kind introduction. 00:23.530 --> 00:24.630 I would just tell you, 00:24.630 --> 00:27.220 I still remember the 101st over there, 00:27.220 --> 00:28.933 well to the left of the Marines. 00:29.240 --> 00:32.420 And there was nothing that could stop that unit, 00:32.420 --> 00:35.073 as they closed in on MSR NEWMARKET. 00:35.230 --> 00:38.603 I think I know where that name came from, 00:38.610 --> 00:40.893 when we saw it on the tactical maps. 00:41.230 --> 00:44.300 But I would also tell you that your fighting instinct 00:45.000 --> 00:47.360 permeated all the way down to me years later 00:47.360 --> 00:49.833 as the regimental commander out in the Mojave, 00:50.090 --> 00:53.373 when you came out and reviewed the attack we made there. 00:53.640 --> 00:55.890 I would just say that with VMI blood 00:56.070 --> 00:58.730 running through your veins, it's great that you followed 00:58.730 --> 01:01.340 your father's footsteps as a cadet here 01:01.510 --> 01:03.440 and then have returned once again. 01:03.440 --> 01:05.280 It builds a lot of my confidence 01:05.480 --> 01:08.573 as I think about what's facing our country today, 01:08.800 --> 01:11.800 to know that someone what we call in the Naval service 01:11.800 --> 01:16.133 a shipmate is here guiding this school today. 01:16.280 --> 01:18.420 One of the reasons I wanted to come here is, 01:18.420 --> 01:19.880 I owe you a debt. 01:19.880 --> 01:23.433 I owe this school a debt because many, many times, 01:23.650 --> 01:27.950 I have had graduates of this school 01:27.950 --> 01:31.243 serve around me, above me, under me, 01:31.460 --> 01:33.860 and there is a debt that our country owes 01:33.860 --> 01:36.550 that goes back many, many decades, as you know, 01:36.550 --> 01:38.770 for a school that develops this sense 01:38.770 --> 01:43.050 of service before self, of putting others first. 01:43.050 --> 01:45.583 And that's really what you come out of there with, 01:45.770 --> 01:48.020 whether you're going to serve in the military 01:48.270 --> 01:50.540 or you're going to serve your communities, 01:50.540 --> 01:54.113 corporations, whatever, but be a good corporate citizen. 01:54.250 --> 01:55.900 There's an ethos that comes 01:55.900 --> 01:57.693 from living the way you're living, 01:57.830 --> 02:00.073 by the code you're living by today. 02:00.190 --> 02:01.670 And it's good, once in a while, 02:01.670 --> 02:04.440 for someone who has no affiliation with the school 02:04.440 --> 02:07.800 to come by and recognize it, because I also know 02:07.800 --> 02:11.133 this is not an easy road that you've chosen. 02:11.370 --> 02:12.950 I've grown very remote 02:12.950 --> 02:15.270 from you young folks today, who matter, 02:15.270 --> 02:18.433 who carry so much of our hopes on your young shoulders. 02:18.590 --> 02:22.453 And I want to close that gap today, to the degree I can. 02:22.913 --> 02:25.370 And I would throw out some nuggets here. 02:25.370 --> 02:26.880 I'm going to talk for a few minutes, 02:26.880 --> 02:28.400 then we're going to get to the good part, 02:28.400 --> 02:30.250 which is, of course, the Q and A. 02:31.270 --> 02:33.930 I think mostly, I want to share my ideas 02:33.930 --> 02:36.683 on where your Department of Defense is going. 02:37.160 --> 02:39.280 General Peay did not serve in the Army. 02:39.280 --> 02:40.970 He served in the U.S. Army. 02:40.970 --> 02:42.853 I didn't serve in the Marines Corps. 02:43.000 --> 02:44.510 I served in the U.S. Marine Corps. 02:44.510 --> 02:48.040 We're accountable to you and we are owned by you. 02:48.040 --> 02:51.763 So if what we're doing can't pass your review, 02:51.880 --> 02:53.100 then I need to hear it. 02:53.100 --> 02:55.883 And from what I've heard, this is not a shy audience, 02:56.050 --> 02:58.480 so I look toward the give and take 02:58.490 --> 03:00.360 and we're always willing to put you 03:00.360 --> 03:03.603 into any boot camp immediately if you irritate me, okay? 03:04.510 --> 03:07.090 So that's the way it'll be. (audience laughing) 03:07.090 --> 03:10.490 But each new generation, I think, turns to the past 03:10.490 --> 03:13.103 for some kind of strength and inspiration. 03:13.330 --> 03:15.750 I call it lighting the dark path ahead. 03:15.750 --> 03:17.350 It's why I did a lot of reading. 03:17.490 --> 03:18.880 It was also because the Marine Corps 03:18.880 --> 03:20.830 insisted I do a lot of reading, I might add, 03:20.830 --> 03:21.900 and they were not there to help me 03:21.900 --> 03:24.680 through my midlife crisis when I came up the reason 03:24.680 --> 03:26.530 why I hadn't read the book that week. 03:26.700 --> 03:28.870 So they helped guide me through, 03:28.870 --> 03:32.490 but also look for the role models who would inspire me 03:32.490 --> 03:34.780 or show me how other people dealt 03:34.780 --> 03:37.993 with a similar situation I might confront one day, 03:38.070 --> 03:41.303 either successfully or unsuccessfully. 03:41.680 --> 03:44.340 I think it's especially true in the military ranks, 03:44.340 --> 03:45.843 we look for role models, 03:45.990 --> 03:48.530 because the roughest auditor in the world 03:48.530 --> 03:50.250 is gonna audit your character, 03:50.250 --> 03:52.540 your intellect, your physical fitness. 03:52.540 --> 03:55.850 And that auditor, of course, is named war, 03:55.850 --> 03:59.353 for those of you who go off to fight for this country. 04:00.230 --> 04:02.850 This institution was actually established 04:02.850 --> 04:05.230 to develop the professional qualities 04:05.230 --> 04:08.060 and the character to meet that auditor, 04:08.060 --> 04:09.603 so you could meet them, 04:10.190 --> 04:12.680 that auditor and all of his challengers 04:12.680 --> 04:14.720 that he aligned with them on a battlefield, 04:14.720 --> 04:16.620 you could meet those challenges 04:17.170 --> 04:19.280 without confusion or hesitation 04:19.280 --> 04:21.023 when our country needed you. 04:21.520 --> 04:23.030 And since the Civil War, 04:23.030 --> 04:26.410 every generation of America has turned to your graduates 04:26.410 --> 04:30.807 to help keep alive what I call our experiment in democracy, 04:30.807 --> 04:32.173 and that's all it is. 04:32.350 --> 04:34.440 It's one great big experiment 04:35.150 --> 04:37.800 that's testing to see if a government of the people, 04:37.800 --> 04:41.690 by the people and for the people can long survive 04:41.700 --> 04:45.253 in a world that is not helpful on many occasions. 04:46.170 --> 04:48.910 You're going to be expected to carry on that legacy. 04:48.910 --> 04:51.463 There's many, many ways to do so, 04:51.640 --> 04:54.170 and I would just say that I want to share 04:54.170 --> 04:57.143 some expectations with you in human terms, 04:57.280 --> 05:00.850 the kind of things that I often share with the officers, 05:00.850 --> 05:02.870 the young officers and the young troops 05:03.000 --> 05:05.683 who hold the line today in our military. 05:06.150 --> 05:10.323 Our nation is emerging from a period of strategic atrophy. 05:10.830 --> 05:13.463 I would call it a strategy-free time. 05:13.930 --> 05:15.803 I was shocked when I came in. 05:15.860 --> 05:19.110 I said, bring me the strategy, this was on my first day. 05:19.110 --> 05:21.270 I came in at noon because it was a Saturday, 05:21.270 --> 05:23.193 we'd partied late Friday night. 05:23.400 --> 05:25.390 I came and said, bring me the strategy. 05:25.390 --> 05:27.783 You know, I am ready to sit down and read this. 05:28.400 --> 05:31.050 They shuffled their feet and said, we don't have one. 05:31.550 --> 05:33.240 That was my first indication 05:33.240 --> 05:35.270 that we might have a little problem there. 05:35.270 --> 05:37.130 And it's not a political statement. 05:37.130 --> 05:41.143 This went back over 10 years we lacked a strategy. 05:41.400 --> 05:44.880 I bring this up because today we all recognize 05:44.880 --> 05:47.403 that terrorism is a clear and present danger, 05:47.940 --> 05:50.593 and our young guys who are overseas tonight, 05:50.890 --> 05:52.450 it's already dark over there, 05:52.450 --> 05:54.250 and they're going out one more time, 05:54.250 --> 05:57.150 boarding the helicopters, going on the patrols, 05:57.150 --> 06:00.810 helping young Afghan boys find their manhood 06:00.810 --> 06:02.130 and take the enemy on. 06:02.130 --> 06:05.203 It's going on in Syria, it's going on in Iraq, 06:05.390 --> 06:08.543 and a couple of other places we don't talk a lot about. 06:08.920 --> 06:12.320 And I think that while it remains a significant threat, 06:12.320 --> 06:16.130 today great power competition is the one way 06:16.130 --> 06:19.150 we could probably have our way of life changed 06:19.150 --> 06:21.663 from freedom to something else. 06:22.220 --> 06:25.080 So while we've written up a National Defense Strategy 06:25.460 --> 06:27.390 and we've answered the challenges 06:27.390 --> 06:30.080 as we've defined them, the problems we've defined, 06:30.080 --> 06:32.640 and we've defined the problems pretty well 06:32.860 --> 06:35.860 with three lines of effort, the first one is, 06:35.860 --> 06:38.553 we're going to make the military more lethal. 06:38.680 --> 06:40.760 Any time a military loses sight 06:40.760 --> 06:42.673 of its purpose in this world, 06:42.780 --> 06:46.083 it ends up getting beaten, that's the bottom line. 06:46.400 --> 06:47.360 And I want people 06:47.360 --> 06:50.483 to just love to talk to our State Department, 06:50.680 --> 06:53.160 and I want them to dislike the idea 06:53.160 --> 06:56.073 of confronting our military on the battlefield, 06:56.150 --> 06:58.290 because they've chosen to pick a fight with us. 06:58.290 --> 07:03.290 So a very lethal military with very high levels of readiness 07:03.760 --> 07:06.510 is the first line of effort we're putting together 07:06.610 --> 07:08.470 to keep our experiment alive. 07:08.470 --> 07:10.010 The second line of effort 07:10.270 --> 07:13.040 is one where I spend probably most of my time, 07:13.040 --> 07:16.993 as General Peay said, where I'm on the world stage a lot. 07:17.720 --> 07:18.860 And that is we're going to 07:18.860 --> 07:21.223 strengthen our existing alliances, 07:21.420 --> 07:23.570 you know them as NATO or Japan, 07:23.570 --> 07:26.163 the bilateral treaties, that sort of thing. 07:26.960 --> 07:28.610 We're going to strengthen those 07:28.786 --> 07:29.619 and we're going to broaden them. 07:29.619 --> 07:31.830 We're going to make more partners 07:31.830 --> 07:34.290 and more alliances around the world, 07:34.290 --> 07:37.050 so that we don't carry the full burden for this. 07:37.050 --> 07:39.413 This is no longer post-World War II, 07:39.750 --> 07:42.610 with Europe bombed flat and Japan in tatters. 07:42.610 --> 07:46.320 These are rich nations now in no small part due 07:46.320 --> 07:51.120 to what General Marshall did when he left this school 07:51.120 --> 07:53.683 having sustained an injury as a RAT, 07:54.200 --> 07:56.580 and then come out as a natural leader 07:57.290 --> 07:59.100 and bred for leadership. 07:59.100 --> 08:01.383 And he put together much of the effort, 08:01.560 --> 08:03.580 so I'm going back to the future 08:03.810 --> 08:07.593 in order to bring his ideas forward from the Marshall Plan, 08:07.640 --> 08:09.340 from NATO, and many other places 08:09.350 --> 08:12.480 where his thumbprint was so well embedded 08:12.480 --> 08:14.740 on everything our nation was doing 08:14.920 --> 08:16.883 in terms of foreign policy. 08:17.410 --> 08:20.440 And it's very simple why he did this I think, 08:20.440 --> 08:22.570 because anyone who reads history 08:22.760 --> 08:25.380 knows that nations with allies thrive 08:25.600 --> 08:29.563 and nations without allies basically wither away. 08:29.870 --> 08:31.790 So we're going to create more allies, 08:31.790 --> 08:33.440 and then the third thing we're going to do 08:33.440 --> 08:36.170 is we're going to modernize the Department of Defense 08:36.380 --> 08:38.100 so every dollar I get 08:38.530 --> 08:41.450 I can look the American Congress in the eye and say, 08:41.450 --> 08:43.163 we didn't waste your money, 08:43.230 --> 08:45.113 we didn't waste the Treasury, 08:45.200 --> 08:47.913 and it went to make our military more lethal. 08:48.170 --> 08:50.770 So that's a responsibility we carry. 08:50.770 --> 08:52.670 And I would just tell you, ladies and gentlemen, 08:52.670 --> 08:54.700 that we all know our country's having 08:54.700 --> 08:57.253 a tough time right now in a number of areas. 08:57.790 --> 09:00.450 I stand here in your beautiful town, 09:00.450 --> 09:03.760 your beautiful school with mixed emotions. 09:03.760 --> 09:06.763 I'm so happy to be out of Washington, D.C. right now, 09:06.780 --> 09:09.860 I could cry, okay? (audience laughing) 09:09.860 --> 09:12.113 We have problems in the country right now, 09:12.300 --> 09:15.100 but I want you to know, probably not well-reported, 09:15.100 --> 09:20.100 just last week the Senate voted 93 to 7 to give us 09:20.150 --> 09:23.603 a record-breaking budget a second year in a row. 09:23.750 --> 09:24.960 Why do I bring that up? 09:24.960 --> 09:26.610 I think the House of Representatives 09:26.610 --> 09:29.800 will probably vote overwhelmingly as well this week, 09:29.800 --> 09:32.193 knock on wood, I think they're gonna do that, 09:32.670 --> 09:34.303 to give us the same budget. 09:34.540 --> 09:37.150 And I bring this up because there's gonna be times 09:37.150 --> 09:39.943 you're gonna watch the news, I don't do it myself, 09:41.120 --> 09:42.160 if I want to be depressed, 09:42.160 --> 09:43.480 I go to war, you know what I mean? 09:43.480 --> 09:44.980 I don't need to. (audience laughing) 09:44.980 --> 09:47.140 To watch the news, but if you watch the news, 09:47.140 --> 09:49.320 you can start wondering, what's going on in this country? 09:49.320 --> 09:51.610 You just keep the faith, my fine young cadets. 09:51.610 --> 09:53.240 We're going to pull through this. 09:53.240 --> 09:54.993 We've been through worse than this. 09:55.470 --> 09:57.477 We're going to modernize that DOD, 09:57.955 --> 10:00.840 so as we put the money into the defense budget 10:00.840 --> 10:04.300 we can keep the faith and the trust of the American people 10:04.400 --> 10:06.200 on which everything else 10:06.220 --> 10:08.070 in the Department of Defense depends. 10:09.277 --> 10:12.500 VMI's got a key part, I think, in driving progress 10:12.500 --> 10:14.310 along the lines of effort like this, 10:14.310 --> 10:16.370 because we need sharp young people 10:16.370 --> 10:18.743 going into the professions in America, 10:18.900 --> 10:21.403 and certainly into the military as well. 10:21.560 --> 10:24.530 And so I want to start with the first two lines of effort 10:24.530 --> 10:25.850 and talk a little more detail here, 10:25.850 --> 10:27.523 and let me start with number two, 10:27.630 --> 10:29.880 where we're going to actually build our partnerships 10:29.880 --> 10:32.703 and build our alliances even more. 10:32.880 --> 10:34.770 When you look at George C. Marshall, 10:34.770 --> 10:37.583 that 1901 graduate of VMI, 10:37.940 --> 10:41.950 that bronze figure out there in front of your barracks, 10:41.950 --> 10:43.770 serves as a daily reminder 10:44.300 --> 10:47.760 of the positive impacts of his courageous leadership. 10:47.760 --> 10:49.570 But, he was not a man who did things 10:49.570 --> 10:51.233 without studying the issues. 10:52.053 --> 10:53.900 I would just point out, too, 10:53.900 --> 10:58.210 that he proved his qualities that he developed here at VMI 10:59.500 --> 11:01.590 and put his education to practice 11:01.930 --> 11:04.220 during World War II's darkest hours, 11:04.220 --> 11:08.770 certainly, when every inch of his fiber, of his body 11:08.770 --> 11:12.880 was committed day in and day out, seven days a week, 11:12.880 --> 11:15.730 to making certain we did not lose this experiment 11:15.730 --> 11:17.740 to the surging fascists. 11:17.740 --> 11:19.520 And remember, there was nothing certain 11:19.520 --> 11:21.303 that we were going to win that war. 11:21.410 --> 11:23.390 It took the blood, sweat, and tears 11:23.400 --> 11:25.853 of a lot of hundreds of thousands of people, 11:25.940 --> 11:29.743 many of whom did not ever return from that war. 11:30.030 --> 11:31.710 But what he did after the war 11:31.710 --> 11:35.340 is probably just as compelling, where he extended a hand 11:35.650 --> 11:39.080 to our allies who'd been flattened in the war. 11:39.080 --> 11:40.870 You know how London was bombed 11:40.870 --> 11:43.363 and Paris was overtaken by the Germans, 11:43.700 --> 11:45.840 but he also went to our adversaries. 11:45.840 --> 11:49.273 Think of how vicious that war was against the Nazis. 11:49.460 --> 11:52.343 Think what it was like in the Pacific Campaign, 11:52.470 --> 11:56.613 where it was a take no prisoners often kind of fighting, 11:56.790 --> 12:00.540 and he turns around and he helps set up the plan 12:00.770 --> 12:03.290 that draws these nations back together 12:03.290 --> 12:05.173 into the community of nations, 12:05.450 --> 12:08.990 knowing that the future for the younger generation 12:08.990 --> 12:12.193 was dependent on us trying to create a better world. 12:12.560 --> 12:15.443 And that spirit of partnership lives on. 12:15.520 --> 12:17.050 I'm sure it lives on here, 12:17.050 --> 12:20.950 where you've got foreign cadets here in your ranks 12:20.950 --> 12:23.053 and foreign students here, 12:23.160 --> 12:27.830 but he also saw that he had the opportunity 12:28.210 --> 12:32.003 to build up other kind of alliances. 12:32.060 --> 12:36.830 He was a key person in NATO, in putting NATO together, 12:36.830 --> 12:40.250 and I had the Australian ambassador from Washington, D.C., 12:40.250 --> 12:42.853 sometimes it takes a foreigner talking to us, 12:43.100 --> 12:45.740 my fine cadets, to really understand 12:46.060 --> 12:48.770 why we should cherish our citizenship. 12:48.770 --> 12:50.900 And the Australian ambassador told me 12:50.900 --> 12:54.083 over lunch one day in his backyard in Washington, 12:54.230 --> 12:57.090 he said that America committed the most 12:57.090 --> 13:01.853 self-sacrificial act in world history after World War II. 13:02.160 --> 13:05.280 I consider myself somewhat of a knowledgeable historian. 13:05.280 --> 13:06.670 I'm scratching my head, thinking, 13:06.670 --> 13:09.203 well the Marshall Plan was pretty nice. 13:09.386 --> 13:13.040 And then he said, no no, he said it was NATO 13:13.040 --> 13:16.800 when America committed 100 million dead Americans 13:16.980 --> 13:18.950 in a thermonuclear war 13:19.070 --> 13:22.213 for the protection of democracy in Western Europe. 13:22.570 --> 13:24.900 It took a foreigner to tell me what we'd done. 13:24.900 --> 13:26.773 See what I'm driving at here? 13:26.820 --> 13:31.120 Think of the level of commitment and devotion to the idea 13:31.120 --> 13:34.690 that we take for granted here today of our democracy, 13:34.690 --> 13:36.913 that as raucous as it may be, 13:36.990 --> 13:39.630 we all know we have a vote that a, 13:39.630 --> 13:43.560 that a Secretary of Defense has no more vote than a cadet, 13:43.560 --> 13:46.763 once you decide to vote, which I hope is young. 13:47.360 --> 13:49.590 I would just point out to you, ladies and gentlemen, 13:49.590 --> 13:53.300 that what General Marshall saw and treasured so much 13:53.520 --> 13:57.053 is going to continue to demand what you do, 13:57.100 --> 13:59.130 but also with foreign nations. 13:59.130 --> 14:01.540 It's going to continue to demand this 14:01.540 --> 14:03.963 because we're still building a nation here. 14:04.250 --> 14:07.363 We're still building a nation, it's hard work. 14:07.550 --> 14:11.153 It's noble work, but I'll say again, it's hard work. 14:11.250 --> 14:13.183 So don't ever think we're done. 14:13.390 --> 14:14.943 We are not perfect. 14:15.350 --> 14:19.323 But we are certainly going to always strive to be better. 14:19.650 --> 14:24.650 And I think that, if you look at how we look at the world 14:24.900 --> 14:26.420 and if you look at it and say, 14:26.420 --> 14:28.303 we're stronger when we're together, 14:28.450 --> 14:31.010 we're going to need you and your vigor, 14:31.010 --> 14:34.170 we're going to need your kind of open-mindedness 14:34.210 --> 14:36.430 as we try to seize opportunities 14:36.430 --> 14:38.703 to cooperate across borders. 14:39.090 --> 14:42.160 And it's very obvious here when you have cadets 14:42.160 --> 14:46.210 from various places, Bulgaria, Italy, China, Taiwan, 14:46.210 --> 14:49.010 Thailand, I understand the Republic of Korea, 14:49.010 --> 14:51.293 Indonesia, France, Germany. 14:51.430 --> 14:53.580 Please understand that when 14:53.580 --> 14:56.470 you're in a position General Peay and I was in, 14:56.470 --> 14:59.073 in our final tours on active duty, 14:59.400 --> 15:02.670 having officers who are not just willing 15:02.670 --> 15:04.453 to listen to other people, 15:04.600 --> 15:07.690 but are willing to be persuaded by other people, 15:07.690 --> 15:10.140 and there's a whale of a lot of difference there, 15:10.230 --> 15:11.780 that means you're gonna come up with 15:11.780 --> 15:13.763 the best possible ideas, 15:13.800 --> 15:16.450 you're gonna come up with the best possible teamwork. 15:16.710 --> 15:19.370 Not all the good ideas come from the nation 15:19.540 --> 15:21.613 with the most aircraft carriers. 15:21.810 --> 15:23.410 So we're going to be assuming 15:23.410 --> 15:25.883 that you can carry on that legacy. 15:26.180 --> 15:29.530 And remember, America wants no empire in the world 15:29.530 --> 15:31.490 other than an empire of ideas. 15:31.490 --> 15:34.723 The ideas that we stand for are rule of law, 15:34.770 --> 15:37.400 the dignity of all, the teamwork, 15:37.400 --> 15:40.280 the respect for one another and that sort of thing. 15:40.280 --> 15:42.630 I think for those of you going in the military, 15:42.630 --> 15:44.960 it's good to remember that 15:44.960 --> 15:49.043 for whatever challenges we may face today in our nation, 15:49.380 --> 15:53.643 where was the first time that a man and a woman, 15:53.710 --> 15:56.490 a black man, a white man, a Native American, 15:56.490 --> 15:59.843 all voted as equals in the history of United States? 16:00.740 --> 16:02.970 And you should be very proud of it because it was on 16:02.970 --> 16:05.830 a U.S. Army long-range reconnaissance patrol 16:05.830 --> 16:08.630 that you and I call the Lewis and Clark Expedition 16:08.850 --> 16:10.883 at the mouth of the Columbia River. 16:11.020 --> 16:13.840 In other words, America was never perfect, 16:13.840 --> 16:16.223 and we'll never accept it's perfect today. 16:16.260 --> 16:19.560 But the military has often been the model 16:20.060 --> 16:23.060 and VMI is certainly in the military tradition 16:23.060 --> 16:24.643 in every sense of the word. 16:24.780 --> 16:27.100 It is the model the rest of our country 16:27.230 --> 16:29.473 can turn to in difficult times and say, 16:29.610 --> 16:31.510 I see how this can look 16:31.700 --> 16:34.833 if we all pull together for a common cause. 16:35.460 --> 16:38.163 I think too, that as we look at the, 16:38.460 --> 16:41.023 all of you who stand ready to serve, 16:41.130 --> 16:43.820 I would just point out here that those of you 16:44.100 --> 16:47.030 who are ready to look past the hot political rhetoric, 16:47.030 --> 16:49.590 those of you who are willing to sign that blank check 16:49.590 --> 16:54.023 payable to the American people, payable with your lives, 16:54.290 --> 16:58.343 I would just point out that you also with that commitment, 16:58.440 --> 17:02.190 carry on a tradition that is worth its weight in gold 17:02.190 --> 17:05.180 to our allies who look to us for strength 17:05.410 --> 17:07.560 and certainly to our adversary to say, 17:07.560 --> 17:09.943 well, maybe I don't want to try it today. 17:10.330 --> 17:13.803 Maybe we can keep the peace one more year, 17:13.900 --> 17:17.240 my fine young cadets, one more month, one more week, 17:17.240 --> 17:20.660 one more day, while the diplomats work their magic 17:20.660 --> 17:22.910 to try and solve the problems 17:23.170 --> 17:25.350 that we have out there in the world, 17:25.350 --> 17:28.313 and there are many as you know right now. 17:28.910 --> 17:31.100 I think too, you need to know, 17:31.100 --> 17:32.733 those of you who are going on active duty, 17:32.733 --> 17:35.643 that we do expect you at the top of your game, 17:35.940 --> 17:39.050 top of your physical game, top of your intellectual game, 17:39.050 --> 17:41.003 and top of your spiritual game. 17:41.130 --> 17:44.240 So spiritually, you have a shock absorber in you 17:44.240 --> 17:47.350 that will help carry the shocks of combat 17:47.510 --> 17:49.630 when your young troops underneath you 17:49.800 --> 17:51.793 face that for the first time. 17:52.110 --> 17:53.640 We need your curiosity. 17:53.640 --> 17:56.800 We need you physically tougher than your troops, 17:56.800 --> 18:00.040 or at least as tough as the very toughest ones you have, 18:00.040 --> 18:00.960 because that's the way 18:00.960 --> 18:03.910 you gain the respect in the unfair world 18:03.940 --> 18:06.893 of those who close with our nation's enemies. 18:07.120 --> 18:09.313 And I think when you report to duty, 18:09.960 --> 18:13.430 we are counting on you to display the audacity 18:13.740 --> 18:15.750 in carrying out your commander's intent 18:15.750 --> 18:18.083 that a school like this can create in you, 18:18.250 --> 18:21.770 because you were brought up with the very legacy of audacity 18:21.920 --> 18:25.163 every day when you are walking these hallowed grounds. 18:25.310 --> 18:26.290 And, they are hallowed, 18:26.290 --> 18:28.340 when you look at the number of young men, 18:28.500 --> 18:31.713 young women, who've come out of here and gone on to serve. 18:32.140 --> 18:33.880 We are also looking at you 18:33.880 --> 18:36.653 to maintain that long fighting tradition, 18:36.840 --> 18:39.160 because it's going to be your attention to duty, 18:39.160 --> 18:41.793 your example of self-discipline, 18:41.830 --> 18:45.110 your coaching ability and your force of personality 18:45.270 --> 18:48.170 that's gonna animate and draw your young troops 18:48.170 --> 18:50.663 to look to you when the chips are down. 18:51.680 --> 18:53.220 You are going to be tested. 18:53.220 --> 18:54.990 Those of you going into the military, 18:54.990 --> 18:57.150 you are going to be tested in ways 18:57.380 --> 19:00.363 that others of your generation will never know, 19:00.500 --> 19:02.300 and you will come to know someday 19:02.300 --> 19:05.230 and to understand what a privilege it is 19:05.600 --> 19:07.340 to be given such tests. 19:07.340 --> 19:08.980 The general and I, I think, would say 19:08.980 --> 19:11.680 we were privileged to fight for this country 19:11.680 --> 19:14.343 the many times that we went and did so. 19:14.470 --> 19:17.670 And you're gonna learn things about your own moral self. 19:17.670 --> 19:20.340 You're going to learn things about your ethical self 19:20.600 --> 19:22.050 and your fellow men and women 19:23.481 --> 19:27.250 in uniform that you're going to treasure forever. 19:27.640 --> 19:30.513 That is something that nothing can take it away from you. 19:30.610 --> 19:33.520 It's why so many go in for just four or five years 19:33.690 --> 19:35.190 and they come out, go to grad school, 19:35.190 --> 19:38.320 or they go off and lead universities, or teach, 19:38.320 --> 19:40.993 or they go off in the corporate world. 19:41.180 --> 19:44.010 But for those of you will have seen the moonrise 19:44.010 --> 19:45.410 on the far side of the world, 19:45.410 --> 19:48.430 you're going to get some very privileged glimpses 19:48.430 --> 19:52.453 into the human heart, as one noted author put it. 19:53.110 --> 19:55.840 And for you young officers too, I want you to remember, 19:55.840 --> 19:57.533 you only have to win one battle, 19:58.110 --> 19:59.920 but it's one you have to win every day. 19:59.920 --> 20:02.520 And that one battle is for the hearts and minds 20:02.930 --> 20:06.420 and the trust and affections of the young men and women 20:06.540 --> 20:09.110 who are going to be serving alongside you 20:09.110 --> 20:12.203 that you outrank, but you're very, very close to. 20:12.440 --> 20:14.490 You must make sure that as you, 20:14.490 --> 20:16.730 because you're going to be given a lot of authority 20:16.730 --> 20:18.003 when you're very young, 20:18.330 --> 20:20.680 don't let your passion for excellence 20:20.680 --> 20:24.080 outweigh your compassion for them as human beings, 20:24.080 --> 20:26.530 as young citizens who signed up 20:26.530 --> 20:29.663 to go all the way against the enemy. 20:29.950 --> 20:32.230 If you win their trust, you win their respect 20:32.230 --> 20:33.803 and they'll never let you down, 20:34.070 --> 20:37.320 even in that daunting test of combat. 20:37.320 --> 20:40.200 So you win that one battle for your troops 20:40.200 --> 20:42.463 and then they win all the rest for you. 20:43.220 --> 20:45.210 I think I've seen what other units 20:45.700 --> 20:48.020 in times have performed so well at. 20:48.020 --> 20:50.490 I've had the opportunity, like General Peay, 20:50.490 --> 20:52.640 to observe young officers 20:52.640 --> 20:55.013 in many different climes and places. 20:55.600 --> 20:58.850 And it was always striking to me how one platoon 20:58.850 --> 21:02.370 of 40 young sailors or Marines under a Marine lieutenant 21:02.820 --> 21:07.820 could perform, at times, as well as a company of 160, 180. 21:08.200 --> 21:11.130 And I used to just, you know, almost be in awe of it 21:11.130 --> 21:13.383 as I watched them move against the enemy, 21:13.700 --> 21:16.053 taking casualties, keeping moving. 21:16.370 --> 21:19.890 And eventually, I think I found what separated them. 21:19.890 --> 21:21.080 They weren't different people. 21:21.080 --> 21:23.353 They were all recruited from America. 21:23.370 --> 21:25.090 They were all given the same training. 21:25.090 --> 21:27.323 They had the same kit hanging on them. 21:27.630 --> 21:29.490 They knew how to call air support. 21:29.490 --> 21:32.393 They trusted their officers. 21:32.890 --> 21:35.100 But what made one so fluid 21:35.100 --> 21:37.743 and so smooth against the enemy? 21:38.660 --> 21:43.193 And I would just tell you that it happened in my own unit. 21:43.200 --> 21:47.143 As a two-star, I had 29 sailors and Marines around me. 21:47.673 --> 21:50.453 And in four months, 29 of them, 21:50.710 --> 21:54.253 excuse me, 17 of the 29 would be killed or wounded. 21:54.490 --> 21:57.053 It was a very difficult area that we were in. 21:57.480 --> 21:59.480 And I was amazed. 21:59.480 --> 22:03.470 Eventually, I got every officer aide I had shot, 22:03.470 --> 22:06.960 so eventually I had a gunnery sergeant for my aide because 22:06.960 --> 22:09.860 the officers didn't want to be my aide any more, you know? 22:10.270 --> 22:12.880 And I used to be amazed at how 22:13.120 --> 22:15.993 he'd get out with those troops and they'd be ready to go, 22:16.020 --> 22:19.020 harder than petrified woodpecker lips, you know what I mean? 22:19.030 --> 22:20.330 One of those kind of guys? 22:20.620 --> 22:21.950 But he was very, very smart. 22:21.950 --> 22:25.890 He was a communicator and he would always put them 22:25.890 --> 22:27.370 through their rehearsals and everything. 22:27.370 --> 22:28.490 I mean, I keep wondering, 22:28.490 --> 22:29.933 why do they keep going out with us 22:29.933 --> 22:32.023 when we keep getting hit like this? 22:32.480 --> 22:35.853 And eventually, I think the word I settled on was affection. 22:36.110 --> 22:38.010 There was an affection for one another 22:38.010 --> 22:40.790 that he bred in those young sailors and Marines. 22:40.790 --> 22:44.483 It was an affection that went beyond just the respect, 22:44.830 --> 22:46.343 and it was not popularity. 22:46.430 --> 22:48.750 It was not all the favoritism 22:48.750 --> 22:50.763 that comes with trying to be popular. 22:51.060 --> 22:53.180 It was an affection for each other 22:53.180 --> 22:55.520 that made them all buy into the mission. 22:55.520 --> 22:58.413 And I share that with you because there are times 22:58.413 --> 22:59.877 when you're going to be out there 22:59.877 --> 23:03.880 and the only person they can look to is going to be you. 23:03.880 --> 23:06.350 And they've got to know the toughest guy on the team 23:06.350 --> 23:08.950 is their coach, and he's tough for them. 23:08.950 --> 23:11.073 He's not tough against them. 23:11.300 --> 23:13.750 And I bring this up because your understanding 23:13.750 --> 23:17.790 of the difference between a mistake and a lack of discipline 23:17.790 --> 23:18.993 will be critical. 23:19.340 --> 23:22.330 You cannot expect people to never make mistakes, 23:22.330 --> 23:25.910 least of all in something that searches you every day 23:26.270 --> 23:29.300 on a battlefield full of fear and that sort of thing. 23:29.300 --> 23:30.853 People make mistakes. 23:31.200 --> 23:33.860 But if you train people well, if you coach them well 23:34.040 --> 23:37.650 and you can bring them up, then you will spot the one 23:37.650 --> 23:40.273 who has not maintained the discipline standards. 23:40.400 --> 23:41.400 And then you have to do 23:41.400 --> 23:43.853 what you have to do to reimpose the discipline. 23:44.010 --> 23:46.943 And that's usually a whole lot of real, strong coaching. 23:47.070 --> 23:49.420 Once in a while, it's got to be more than that, 23:49.660 --> 23:52.630 because you are the senior person there, 23:52.630 --> 23:53.853 when you get out there. 23:53.910 --> 23:55.940 And you come out of something like VMI, 23:55.940 --> 23:57.230 they did not have the chance 23:57.230 --> 24:00.510 for four years of growth at an institution 24:00.690 --> 24:03.173 and the great opportunity that you have here. 24:03.540 --> 24:07.473 I want to leave enough time for the Q and A here. 24:07.600 --> 24:09.840 So, I want to just close with something 24:10.820 --> 24:14.333 that I learned out, again overseas. 24:14.570 --> 24:17.140 You get old like me, and you like learning stuff, you know? 24:17.140 --> 24:18.950 It's like, it's not a pain in the neck 24:18.950 --> 24:21.170 like it is in some of the classrooms, you know? 24:21.170 --> 24:22.803 You really want to learn stuff. 24:23.050 --> 24:26.143 And I was out in the middle of nowhere a few years ago, 24:26.980 --> 24:29.900 again with my little team there, rolling down the road. 24:29.900 --> 24:31.900 And it was probably, oh, 24:31.900 --> 24:34.010 somewhere around 40 to 50 kilometers 24:34.010 --> 24:35.843 from the nearest next outpost. 24:36.110 --> 24:37.490 And we pulled in during the night, 24:37.490 --> 24:39.463 because we had trouble getting there. 24:39.630 --> 24:41.760 Got inside this lieutenant's perimeter 24:41.760 --> 24:44.843 with about 40 guys out there, sailors and Marines. 24:45.440 --> 24:46.560 And when the sun came up, 24:46.560 --> 24:49.293 they came over to see me, check in. 24:49.640 --> 24:51.460 And he said, by the way, General, 24:51.460 --> 24:53.863 last night we caught a guy trying to lay an IED 24:54.280 --> 24:55.833 on the road you were driving in on. 24:55.833 --> 24:57.460 I said, well, that's kind of nice. 24:57.460 --> 24:59.783 You know, a little personal, you know what I mean? 25:00.190 --> 25:01.453 Wanted to blow me up. 25:01.580 --> 25:02.413 He said, yeah, he said, 25:02.413 --> 25:04.400 an engineer and he speaks perfect English. 25:04.400 --> 25:05.420 Do you want to talk with him? 25:05.420 --> 25:06.963 I said, sure, bring him over. 25:07.590 --> 25:09.833 So, they brought him over to see me. 25:10.270 --> 25:12.070 And he was shaking like a leaf. 25:12.070 --> 25:14.080 It was not his best night. 25:14.080 --> 25:15.870 You know what I mean? (audience laughing) 25:15.870 --> 25:17.540 He'd been out there with his wheelbarrow, 25:17.540 --> 25:20.000 he had his two artillery rounds, had his car battery, 25:20.000 --> 25:21.400 he's got his shovel, he's digging a hole, 25:21.400 --> 25:23.290 and he looks up and there's five people 25:23.290 --> 25:26.140 with automatic weapons dressed in camouflage. 25:26.140 --> 25:28.470 And he realized immediately, 25:28.470 --> 25:30.600 his retirement plan was in jeopardy 25:30.740 --> 25:32.410 at that point. (audience laughing) 25:32.410 --> 25:35.150 And so he's shaking badly, he wants a cigarette. 25:35.150 --> 25:36.290 I decided not to give him 25:36.290 --> 25:38.670 my anti-smoking lecture for a change. 25:38.670 --> 25:41.330 He looked like he needed it, so I had to light it for him. 25:41.330 --> 25:43.473 We cut his handcuffs off, 25:43.550 --> 25:45.863 little plastic cuffs the Marines put on him. 25:46.540 --> 25:49.470 And I said, what are you doing this for, you know? 25:49.470 --> 25:50.910 What's wrong with you, you know? 25:50.910 --> 25:52.480 You're a Sunni, we're the Marines. 25:52.480 --> 25:54.630 We're the only friends you've got out here. 25:54.680 --> 25:55.690 And he started, you know, going on. 25:55.690 --> 25:57.830 Well, you Jews, you Americans, 25:57.830 --> 26:01.090 you want to steal our oil, and all this stuff. 26:01.090 --> 26:02.320 And I said, okay. 26:02.320 --> 26:04.180 I said, you're obviously an educated man. 26:04.180 --> 26:06.980 I'm not going to waste my time listening to this drivel. 26:07.940 --> 26:09.720 And he sat there for a minute. 26:09.720 --> 26:11.950 The Marine guard moved into to take him away. 26:11.950 --> 26:12.833 And he sat there, 26:13.380 --> 26:15.680 he's just sitting there on the ground with me. 26:16.050 --> 26:18.600 And he said, can I sit here a minute, I said, sure. 26:19.000 --> 26:21.850 And after a minute, he seemed to be a little calmer. 26:21.850 --> 26:23.260 We got him a cup of coffee. 26:23.260 --> 26:25.110 He's spilling it, he's still nervous. 26:25.830 --> 26:28.860 And I said, you know, What's up? 26:28.860 --> 26:30.910 Where's your family at, you know? 26:30.910 --> 26:32.933 They lived about 10 kilometers away. 26:33.121 --> 26:34.571 He had a wife, two daughters. 26:35.020 --> 26:37.463 And we're talking for a little bit, and he said, 26:38.710 --> 26:40.270 you know, I just, I can't stand 26:40.270 --> 26:41.750 having foreign soldiers here. 26:41.750 --> 26:42.650 I respect that. 26:42.650 --> 26:44.530 I wouldn't want foreign soldiers in this town, 26:44.530 --> 26:45.363 you know what I mean? 26:45.363 --> 26:47.660 I mean, that's where you can connect with somebody. 26:48.840 --> 26:50.500 And I said, well, I understand, 26:50.500 --> 26:52.080 but you know, you shouldn't have done that. 26:52.080 --> 26:54.110 He said, I guess I'm going to jail. 26:54.110 --> 26:54.943 I said, oh, yeah. 26:54.943 --> 26:56.660 You're going to be wearing an orange jumpsuit 26:56.660 --> 26:59.560 in Abu Ghraib for a good many years for this little stunt. 27:00.010 --> 27:03.427 And you're lucky you're not dead for, you know. 27:03.727 --> 27:05.233 And he said, yeah, he says, 27:05.480 --> 27:08.100 but now I want you all, especially you young people, 27:08.100 --> 27:09.283 to listen to me here. 27:09.380 --> 27:12.723 He said, General, do you think if I'm a model prisoner? 27:13.550 --> 27:15.110 You know what's coming, don't you? 27:15.110 --> 27:17.823 Could I someday immigrate to America? 27:18.700 --> 27:19.933 Think about that. 27:21.330 --> 27:24.010 Think about that, that the hatred he felt 27:24.010 --> 27:25.723 was so much that he would go out 27:25.723 --> 27:28.783 and try to put a bomb in the road to kill us, 27:28.960 --> 27:33.420 but the example of America was so strong 27:33.420 --> 27:35.750 that if he could be sitting where you are today 27:35.750 --> 27:38.673 or have his son and daughter in that audience, 27:38.750 --> 27:40.100 he'd have given his eyeteeth. 27:40.100 --> 27:42.340 It wasn't just because we'd caught him right then. 27:42.340 --> 27:43.293 This was deeper. 27:43.770 --> 27:48.163 And I was reminded, America's got two fundamental powers. 27:48.360 --> 27:52.250 There's the power of intimidation and the military. 27:52.250 --> 27:55.083 The U.S. military exists to warn people, 27:55.210 --> 27:57.990 you take on America, and free men and women 27:57.990 --> 27:59.793 are gonna fight like the dickens. 28:00.160 --> 28:01.593 Power of intimidation, 28:01.820 --> 28:04.260 but there's also the power of inspiration. 28:04.260 --> 28:06.780 And the power of inspiration could reach 28:06.780 --> 28:09.580 halfway around the world to the Euphrates River Valley 28:09.840 --> 28:11.173 and affect someone, 28:11.500 --> 28:15.780 no matter how blinded they were at that moment by a hatred. 28:15.780 --> 28:17.593 I want you all to remember that, 28:17.710 --> 28:18.890 because when you're out there, 28:18.890 --> 28:21.840 you're also going to be a part of the power of inspiration. 28:21.870 --> 28:24.173 And you surrender that high ground, 28:24.320 --> 28:27.233 that ethical high ground, that moral high ground, 28:27.330 --> 28:30.010 the historic legacy that we carry with us 28:30.190 --> 28:31.763 at our nation's peril. 28:31.950 --> 28:33.593 So you hold that close. 28:33.890 --> 28:35.663 You take care of each other. 28:35.740 --> 28:38.040 And thanks very much for having me here today. 28:38.180 --> 28:40.860 We're gonna now go to Q and A, okay? 28:40.860 --> 28:44.730 And in Q and A, it gets really weird really fast 28:44.730 --> 28:46.870 if I'm looking at you and you're looking at me 28:46.870 --> 28:48.733 and no one's saying anything, okay? 28:49.000 --> 28:50.090 So let's find out 28:50.090 --> 28:52.540 who's got the initiative and aggressiveness, 28:52.540 --> 28:54.430 the two qualities we look for 28:54.680 --> 28:57.603 for petty officers and NCOs in the Naval service. 28:57.940 --> 28:59.920 Who's got the initiative and aggressiveness 28:59.920 --> 29:01.373 to ask the first question? 29:02.120 --> 29:03.463 Right up here, go ahead. 29:05.030 --> 29:07.080 - [Mico] Good afternoon, sir, Cadet Mico. 29:08.180 --> 29:10.910 First of all, I'd just like to say, pardon my language, 29:10.910 --> 29:12.960 but there are a lot of badass women here. 29:13.140 --> 29:16.933 Some physically fit than I am and smarter than I am. 29:17.250 --> 29:19.290 But I remember I was doing some research 29:19.290 --> 29:22.040 on the Marine Corps' experiment to see if 29:22.040 --> 29:27.040 female in combat arms makes us more combat-effective. 29:27.760 --> 29:30.853 And I would just like to hear your thoughts on that. 29:33.520 --> 29:36.570 - Yeah, it's a very, very tough issue 29:36.960 --> 29:40.130 because it goes from some people's perspective 29:40.130 --> 29:43.493 of what kind of society do we want? 29:43.950 --> 29:46.320 You know, in the event of trouble, 29:46.904 --> 29:50.050 you're sleeping at night in your family home 29:50.050 --> 29:53.973 and you're the dad, mom, whatever, 29:54.140 --> 29:56.430 and you hear glass break downstairs, 29:56.430 --> 29:58.090 who grabs a baseball bat 29:58.090 --> 30:00.893 and gets between the kids' door and whoever broke in, 30:01.070 --> 30:03.560 and who reaches for the phone to call 9-1-1? 30:03.560 --> 30:05.310 In other words, it goes to the most 30:05.640 --> 30:08.580 almost primitive needs of a society 30:08.580 --> 30:11.733 to look out for its most vulnerable. 30:12.730 --> 30:17.730 This is an issue right now that we have Army, Navy, Marine 30:19.190 --> 30:21.560 all looking at as we speak, 30:21.560 --> 30:25.503 and that is the close quarters fight being what it is. 30:25.770 --> 30:28.240 You know, is it a strength or a weakness 30:28.470 --> 30:30.933 to have women in that circumstance? 30:31.670 --> 30:33.940 Right now, what my job is, 30:33.940 --> 30:36.973 is to make certain that as the chief of staff of the Army, 30:36.980 --> 30:38.360 or commandant of the Marine Corps, 30:38.360 --> 30:39.410 chief of Naval Operations, 30:39.410 --> 30:42.060 bring problems to me, chief of staff of the Air Force 30:42.210 --> 30:43.743 and I help them solve them. 30:44.290 --> 30:46.850 Today, because so few women 30:46.850 --> 30:49.503 have signed up along these lines, 30:50.090 --> 30:52.590 we don't even have data at this time 30:52.590 --> 30:55.383 that I can answer your question, okay? 30:56.150 --> 30:59.010 You make a very valid question, I might add, 30:59.010 --> 31:01.260 because I was never under any illusions 31:01.260 --> 31:04.910 of what level of respect my Marines would have for me 31:05.260 --> 31:07.703 if I couldn't run with the fastest of them, 31:07.850 --> 31:09.630 and look like it didn't bother me 31:09.630 --> 31:12.763 if I couldn't do as many pull-ups as the strongest of them. 31:12.880 --> 31:17.110 It would just, it was the unfairness of the infantry. 31:17.110 --> 31:19.103 How did the infantry get its name? 31:19.480 --> 31:23.193 Infant soldier, young soldier, very young soldier. 31:23.480 --> 31:25.520 They're cocky, they're rambunctious, 31:25.520 --> 31:29.423 they're necessarily macho, and it's the most primitive, 31:29.920 --> 31:32.253 I would say even evil environment. 31:32.915 --> 31:34.300 You can't even explain it. 31:34.300 --> 31:38.000 Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., a Civil War veteran, 31:38.000 --> 31:41.010 as you know, who became one of our most noted 31:42.330 --> 31:45.533 articulate Supreme Court associate justices, 31:45.750 --> 31:49.650 talking to veterans themselves decades after the war, 31:49.650 --> 31:50.550 he looked at them. 31:50.550 --> 31:52.740 And here's the most articulate justice 31:52.740 --> 31:53.913 you could come up with. 31:54.570 --> 31:55.940 And he said, we have shared 31:55.940 --> 31:59.240 the incommunicable experience of war. 31:59.240 --> 32:01.293 And he meant close combat. 32:01.670 --> 32:05.550 This is an area we're going to have to resolve as a nation. 32:05.550 --> 32:08.720 And the military has got to have officers who look at this 32:09.070 --> 32:11.703 with a great deal of objectivity, 32:11.890 --> 32:15.090 and at the same time remember our natural inclination 32:15.090 --> 32:17.303 to have this open to all. 32:17.450 --> 32:18.970 But we cannot do something 32:18.970 --> 32:20.973 that militarily doesn't make sense, 32:21.130 --> 32:23.170 and I've got this being looked at right now 32:23.170 --> 32:25.103 by the chief of staff of the Army, 32:26.068 --> 32:28.093 commandant of the Marine Corps and all. 32:28.093 --> 32:30.853 This is a policy that I inherited, 32:30.930 --> 32:35.383 and so far the cadre is so small we have no data on it. 32:35.660 --> 32:37.480 We're hoping to get data soon. 32:37.480 --> 32:39.940 There are a few stalwart young ladies 32:40.130 --> 32:43.000 who are charging into this, but they are too few. 32:43.000 --> 32:43.833 I mean it's. 32:45.020 --> 32:48.473 Right now it's not even dozens, it's that few. 32:48.910 --> 32:50.770 So when we get a little more data, 32:50.770 --> 32:53.080 I'll give you a much more objective answer. 32:53.080 --> 32:56.650 Clearly the jury is out on it but what we're trying to do is 32:56.650 --> 33:00.003 give it every opportunity to succeed if it can. 33:00.270 --> 33:02.950 The other nations that have had this for 20 years 33:03.120 --> 33:05.800 still have too few women in the infantry ranks 33:05.910 --> 33:07.953 to even draw a conclusion. 33:08.000 --> 33:10.253 So I can't give you a good answer right now. 33:10.340 --> 33:11.173 I'm open to it, 33:11.173 --> 33:13.867 and I'll be working with the chief of staff of the Army 33:14.170 --> 33:16.503 and the others to sort it out. 33:17.186 --> 33:18.873 - Thank you, sir. - You're welcome. 33:20.150 --> 33:22.470 And thanks for having the guts to ask the question. 33:22.470 --> 33:24.970 There's a lot of places that wouldn't, by the way. 33:25.470 --> 33:28.553 What else, you're not getting off that light, folks. 33:36.130 --> 33:37.920 - [Barrett] Hello, sir thank you for coming. 33:37.920 --> 33:39.773 Cadet Barrett, class of 2020. 33:39.960 --> 33:42.190 I was just wondering hypothetically, 33:42.190 --> 33:44.340 if you could have every American read one book, 33:44.340 --> 33:45.190 what would it be? 33:55.490 --> 33:58.203 - I tell you, these are not easy questions. 33:58.767 --> 33:59.640 (audience laughing) 33:59.640 --> 34:01.633 Wow, one book. 34:04.050 --> 34:05.563 Just as an aside, 34:05.960 --> 34:09.140 I was amazed at how many people talk about strategy 34:09.140 --> 34:11.900 or have Strategy on their door plates in Washington D.C., 34:11.900 --> 34:15.043 and have never read one book about strategy, by the way. 34:15.433 --> 34:18.483 And so, I was gonna respond in a narrow way, 34:19.220 --> 34:22.260 and then I remembered I'm even more fearful 34:22.260 --> 34:24.410 of those who've only read one strategy book 34:24.410 --> 34:26.360 and now have all the answers, you know? 34:26.820 --> 34:30.880 But I think if there was one book that I would read, 34:30.880 --> 34:33.913 it would be Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. 34:34.989 --> 34:37.200 You know, especially in Washington, D.C., 34:37.200 --> 34:40.200 with all the political heave and ho 34:40.200 --> 34:42.800 that I try to keep the Department of Defense out of, 34:43.310 --> 34:46.960 there can be a sense at times, my fine young cadets, 34:46.960 --> 34:48.230 that it's the first time 34:48.230 --> 34:52.493 anyone's dealt with something like X, Y, or Z. 34:52.870 --> 34:54.310 And certainly in combat, 34:54.310 --> 34:57.810 the reason I kept a tattered copy in my rucksack 34:57.810 --> 35:00.300 to pull out at times was it allowed me 35:00.300 --> 35:02.573 to look at things with a little distance. 35:02.810 --> 35:05.733 And so, Marcus Aurelius had a very tough life. 35:05.733 --> 35:07.110 He's the Emperor of Rome, 35:07.110 --> 35:09.760 but he's got everything going wrong in his home life. 35:10.060 --> 35:13.110 His wife and his son were not people 35:13.110 --> 35:15.320 that you'd want to spend much time with. 35:15.320 --> 35:17.380 He spends almost all of his time 35:17.380 --> 35:20.493 up on the fringes of the Empire trying to protect the thing, 35:20.590 --> 35:22.960 and the one time he leaves the German forest 35:22.960 --> 35:25.570 seems to be to go kill one of his friends 35:25.570 --> 35:28.140 who's revolted against him in another place. 35:28.140 --> 35:31.420 It was a tough life and yet the humility 35:31.420 --> 35:35.370 and the dignity with which he conducted his life, 35:35.370 --> 35:38.283 the commitment to his country, 35:38.920 --> 35:39.970 to his troops, 35:39.970 --> 35:42.703 really comes through as you read those pages. 35:42.910 --> 35:46.000 And while the name of the book is Meditations, 35:46.000 --> 35:48.550 if you were to get the real translation of it, it would be, 35:48.550 --> 35:52.820 To Himself, he's writing these chapters to himself 35:52.820 --> 35:56.403 because he knows he faces nothing new under the sun. 35:56.530 --> 35:59.013 So I think I'd go with that one. 35:59.220 --> 36:02.910 If I wanted to know about a person who had to deal with 36:02.910 --> 36:06.823 big issues and how he did it in his own words, 36:06.890 --> 36:08.330 I don't think you could do better 36:08.330 --> 36:12.773 than to read Ulysses Grant's autobiography. 36:13.030 --> 36:15.420 I think his memoirs would be the one 36:15.420 --> 36:18.320 if you want something that's perhaps not quite so ancient. 36:18.500 --> 36:21.020 I really didn't serve with Marcus Aurelius. 36:21.020 --> 36:22.553 I just look that old, okay? 36:22.722 --> 36:24.140 (audience laughing) 36:24.140 --> 36:25.793 But that's a great question. 36:26.130 --> 36:27.750 You had me there for a minute, I was thinking, 36:27.750 --> 36:29.820 how do I answer that, you know? 36:30.220 --> 36:31.133 - Thank you, sir. - Sure, thank you. 36:32.510 --> 36:34.320 - [Joseph] Good afternoon, sir. 36:34.320 --> 36:37.743 Cadet Joseph Phillips, class of 2019. 36:38.550 --> 36:42.223 My question is, based on your experiences, 36:42.710 --> 36:45.830 what is the best advice you could give for us 36:45.830 --> 36:50.277 who are gonna be second lieutenants in the near months? 37:02.580 --> 37:05.430 - I'm going to the Dean to get answers, did you see that? 37:05.604 --> 37:07.390 (audience laughing) 37:07.390 --> 37:09.740 You know, I think what I would say is, 37:09.740 --> 37:12.610 make certain that you listen to your NCOs. 37:12.610 --> 37:14.423 You're going to go somewhere, 37:14.850 --> 37:18.820 and your petty officers are out at sea today, 37:18.820 --> 37:22.223 even if you're in your RAT year, your first year here. 37:22.430 --> 37:24.340 They're going to be out there this year, 37:24.340 --> 37:25.610 and next year, and the year after, 37:25.610 --> 37:27.570 you're gonna come out of your Navy training 37:27.570 --> 37:29.870 or you're gonna come out of your Army training 37:30.070 --> 37:31.970 and the guy has been deployed 37:31.970 --> 37:35.003 over in Afghanistan all these years, 37:35.190 --> 37:37.710 and make certain you listen to those NCOs. 37:38.573 --> 37:41.540 However, they do not expect you to do 37:41.540 --> 37:43.393 exactly what they say each time. 37:43.530 --> 37:44.963 They want you to listen. 37:45.050 --> 37:46.270 You should question them 37:46.270 --> 37:48.423 about why they're recommending something, 37:49.400 --> 37:53.543 and as long as there's not an urgency to the decision, 37:53.680 --> 37:57.443 but they do expect you to apply your own judgment, okay? 37:57.700 --> 38:00.520 So it's a balancing act between 38:00.520 --> 38:04.413 being open and accepting of all of the, 38:05.330 --> 38:08.093 all of the input your NCOs can give you, 38:08.520 --> 38:11.113 but at the same time you're responsible. 38:11.440 --> 38:14.763 You chart your own course and you'll be held responsible, 38:14.790 --> 38:18.973 so you can't become an automaton to someone else. 38:19.000 --> 38:20.820 Now I will suggest to you 38:21.170 --> 38:23.640 that if a lance corporal yells at you to hit the deck, 38:23.640 --> 38:25.110 you don't get in a big argument 38:25.110 --> 38:27.043 about who outranks who, okay? 38:27.150 --> 38:29.993 So, sometimes you just do what the young lads tell you. 38:30.260 --> 38:33.900 But other times you employ your quantitative 38:33.900 --> 38:35.940 and your nonquantitative judgment 38:36.260 --> 38:38.973 and make certain you employee your quantitative first. 38:39.550 --> 38:41.643 If it has to do with miles of walking, 38:41.695 --> 38:45.040 or gunnery or something, employ your judgment. 38:45.040 --> 38:47.610 There's a reason we taught you geometry. 38:47.610 --> 38:50.210 There's a reason why we taught you history. 38:50.210 --> 38:54.720 But then apply your informed subjective judgment, 38:54.720 --> 38:56.733 your professional judgment as well. 38:56.930 --> 38:58.833 But make sure you listen to them. 38:59.010 --> 39:02.290 I always laugh about the young NCOs who tell me, 39:02.290 --> 39:04.470 hey, I got promoted, thanks. 39:04.470 --> 39:06.673 I say, well, you got me out of every, 39:06.940 --> 39:09.743 every bad spot, every, 39:09.940 --> 39:12.820 every tough situation I got you into, 39:12.820 --> 39:14.373 so I owed you that, you know? 39:14.580 --> 39:16.110 Just remember, those are the ones 39:16.110 --> 39:17.110 who are gonna take you out, 39:17.110 --> 39:19.523 so you gotta listen to them before you get in. 39:19.690 --> 39:21.070 They'd prefer you talk to them 39:21.070 --> 39:23.690 before you crash land the airplane into the ground 39:23.970 --> 39:27.393 rather than waiting until you're on the ground, you know? 39:27.520 --> 39:30.163 They can help avoid some of those things. 39:30.530 --> 39:33.250 I wouldn't be here if it weren't for listening to NCOs, 39:33.250 --> 39:34.463 I'll tell you that. 39:35.350 --> 39:37.620 Who else had a question, there's a lot of them out there. 39:37.620 --> 39:39.813 - [Staff] Sir, we have time for one more question. 39:40.020 --> 39:42.783 - Okay, how about if we take more than one more? 39:43.178 --> 39:44.809 (audience laughing) 39:44.809 --> 39:48.059 (audience applauding) 39:49.685 --> 39:54.530 The general. (audience applauding) 39:54.530 --> 39:56.080 The general gave me permission. 39:57.500 --> 39:59.670 The general gave me permission earlier. 39:59.670 --> 40:02.483 And remember, I don't have stress, I create it, 40:02.842 --> 40:05.221 so no problem. (audience laughing) 40:05.221 --> 40:08.273 (audience applauding) 40:08.273 --> 40:11.856 So let's play another question or two here. 40:13.777 --> 40:15.993 Who else has a microphone here? 40:16.620 --> 40:18.770 - [Hoops] Good afternoon, sir, Cadet Hoops. 40:19.700 --> 40:22.180 My question, sir, is we live in this technology era 40:22.180 --> 40:24.420 where people have very sedentary lifestyle 40:24.630 --> 40:26.690 and kids today are coming into the military 40:26.690 --> 40:28.760 very out of shape, it's causing a lot of problems. 40:28.760 --> 40:30.513 Do you believe that's a problem? 40:30.610 --> 40:33.303 And how do you think we can go about fixing that? 40:46.910 --> 40:48.630 - There's a little bit of an echo down here, 40:48.630 --> 40:51.683 as you can tell, it's taken two of us to sort this out. 40:51.810 --> 40:55.733 You know, it's a sad state of affairs. 40:55.810 --> 40:57.523 Just talking to a, 40:58.020 --> 41:00.250 to an Army general here recently, 41:00.250 --> 41:04.090 it's a sad state of affairs when 71% 41:04.090 --> 41:07.710 of the 18 to 24-year-old males in this country 41:07.940 --> 41:12.593 cannot qualify to enter the United States Army as a private. 41:13.080 --> 41:14.627 And that's kind of a baseline, you know. 41:14.627 --> 41:18.380 That's a baseline that you've got to be at least, you know, 41:18.380 --> 41:20.510 not obese, not using drugs, 41:20.510 --> 41:23.803 you know, a high school grad, and real baseline. 41:24.090 --> 41:26.800 And the Army establishes it through Army regs, 41:26.800 --> 41:29.800 and it is not an exaggerated one. 41:29.800 --> 41:32.550 The Army knows they've got to be the ones who train 41:32.550 --> 41:37.363 and bring the young lads and gals up to standard, 41:37.470 --> 41:39.470 but they've got to start with something. 41:40.400 --> 41:44.340 It is why I think when I tell you tell you, 41:44.340 --> 41:47.013 the legacy of this school is so important. 41:47.740 --> 41:50.633 If you go back and look at our history, 41:51.350 --> 41:53.820 we've needed very large militaries. 41:53.820 --> 41:57.310 And today, we don't need as large a military, 41:57.310 --> 41:59.283 but we need one big enough. 41:59.640 --> 42:03.953 And when are you drawing from only 29%, 42:04.370 --> 42:05.310 at the beginning, 42:05.310 --> 42:10.310 only 29% is your total recruiting population, 42:10.700 --> 42:12.910 it creates a real problem for us. 42:12.910 --> 42:15.593 It reminds us why we need allies, frankly, 42:15.780 --> 42:16.970 and it reminds us why 42:16.970 --> 42:19.603 even when we get people in the military, 42:19.790 --> 42:22.230 in an increasingly overweight country, 42:22.230 --> 42:25.463 an increasingly drug-prone country, 42:25.770 --> 42:26.940 we need some of you 42:26.940 --> 42:29.610 who are gonna be the Spartans of the gate, 42:29.610 --> 42:32.000 because we're not gonna hang onto these freedoms 42:32.000 --> 42:36.170 because our grandfathers fought on the beaches of Normandy 42:36.170 --> 42:39.653 or because our fathers fought in Vietnam. 42:39.720 --> 42:42.390 Every generation, as President Reagan put it, 42:42.390 --> 42:46.050 is going to have to fight to keep this experiment alive. 42:46.050 --> 42:48.123 It's a big concern to me. 42:48.680 --> 42:50.490 I don't know what we can do about it. 42:50.490 --> 42:54.483 There are retired officers and NCOs, senior NCOs, 42:54.690 --> 42:57.790 who are working across the country in the schools, 42:57.790 --> 43:00.620 to try to restore physical education 43:00.620 --> 43:02.193 where it's been taken out, 43:02.400 --> 43:04.480 to try to get school lunches 43:04.830 --> 43:07.360 to be things that fuel the body, 43:07.360 --> 43:10.893 instead of just giving them crummy food. 43:11.000 --> 43:13.440 I don't have a good solution for it. 43:13.440 --> 43:15.660 We go to the Congress with the problem. 43:15.660 --> 43:17.513 The Congress wants to help. 43:17.620 --> 43:20.490 They haven't figured out how to make their programs 43:20.490 --> 43:23.883 contribute to a better society, 43:24.030 --> 43:26.520 but it's also where we're gonna have to have leaders. 43:26.520 --> 43:29.350 And for those of you who are not going into the military, 43:29.350 --> 43:31.680 don't wait until you have my color hair 43:31.810 --> 43:33.590 to run for the school board 43:33.610 --> 43:35.800 and get on the school board in your local community. 43:35.800 --> 43:39.020 A lot of America, most of America's problems 43:39.020 --> 43:40.963 are solved at the local level. 43:41.000 --> 43:43.900 And that's going to have to be where this one gets solved. 43:44.140 --> 43:45.350 And there's parts of the country, 43:45.350 --> 43:47.450 by the way, that are much more physically fit 43:47.450 --> 43:48.977 than other parts of the country, 43:48.977 --> 43:52.323 and our recruiters know it, and they hone in on those areas. 43:52.430 --> 43:54.380 But they're not gonna be enough, in the long run, 43:54.380 --> 43:56.083 if we don't turn this around. 43:56.320 --> 43:58.783 And when you look at childhood diabetes, 43:58.960 --> 44:00.610 you can see the health risk 44:00.930 --> 44:03.230 of what we're doing to the younger generation. 44:03.520 --> 44:07.970 So take the fitness that you're expected to maintain here 44:07.970 --> 44:10.580 into every walk of life, not just your family, 44:10.580 --> 44:12.890 but your parish, your school district, 44:12.890 --> 44:15.180 your local communities, and get out there 44:15.180 --> 44:17.490 and start working with the kids when they're young, 44:17.490 --> 44:19.170 because once they've gone over the edge, 44:19.170 --> 44:21.053 it's very hard to bring them back. 44:21.640 --> 44:23.287 Other questions, I'll try and hear this, 44:23.287 --> 44:26.123 but hold the mic a little further from your, go ahead. 44:26.660 --> 44:28.160 - [Participant] First off, Mr. Secretary, 44:28.160 --> 44:30.260 it's quite an honor to be speaking to you. 44:30.859 --> 44:32.370 So my first question is actually well, 44:32.370 --> 44:35.023 I guess, it's kind of a two parter, sir. 44:35.400 --> 44:38.930 I asked this to the vice Army chief of staff, two years ago, 44:38.930 --> 44:40.480 at a leadership conference, 44:40.480 --> 44:42.160 so I want to ask you the same thing. 44:42.160 --> 44:44.270 There's a lot of threats that people consider 44:44.270 --> 44:45.380 with cyber and other things. 44:45.380 --> 44:49.440 What is America's first and second most external threat 44:49.440 --> 44:52.170 whether that be physical or just psychological warfare, 44:52.170 --> 44:53.870 and then, how do you adapt the DOD, 44:53.870 --> 44:56.620 whether that be conventional or unconventional warfare? 44:58.584 --> 45:00.000 - That's a good. 45:00.000 --> 45:03.133 That one is actually relatively, go ahead and grab a seat, 45:03.400 --> 45:07.283 young man, that one's actually a pretty easy one for me, 45:07.320 --> 45:08.740 and the reason I say that 45:08.740 --> 45:12.213 is that this is what we had to deal with when I came in. 45:14.510 --> 45:16.920 I think when you look at external threats, 45:16.920 --> 45:18.240 the first one I have to look at 45:18.240 --> 45:20.973 is the nuclear threat out of Russia, 45:21.130 --> 45:24.680 and to a lesser degree China and certainly North Korea, 45:24.680 --> 45:26.773 but North Korea's an urgent threat. 45:27.630 --> 45:29.540 So the nuclear threat is one 45:29.540 --> 45:31.453 that doesn't get talked about a lot, 45:31.640 --> 45:34.510 but believe me standing right over here 45:34.510 --> 45:37.350 about no more than 100 feet away is a communicator 45:37.350 --> 45:41.050 with a backpack with certain communications equipment 45:41.050 --> 45:45.613 and codes in it that accompany me everywhere I go. 45:45.900 --> 45:48.300 And it is a very real threat, 45:48.300 --> 45:49.910 and we're going to have to address, 45:49.910 --> 45:52.300 keep that one as a deterrent, 45:52.300 --> 45:54.790 because a nuclear war cannot be won, 45:54.790 --> 45:56.903 so it must never be fought. 45:57.040 --> 46:00.310 And the way we do that in this imperfect world 46:00.310 --> 46:03.470 is through a deterrent that basically threatens 46:03.470 --> 46:06.933 the worst possible calamity on anyone who would try it. 46:07.510 --> 46:11.810 The cyber threat is one that is actually linked 46:11.810 --> 46:14.180 to the growing threat in space. 46:14.180 --> 46:16.573 And I won't spend time connecting the two, 46:16.840 --> 46:20.880 but I will tell you that how we protect our country 46:21.309 --> 46:25.090 was brought into stark relief on 9/11 46:25.440 --> 46:27.310 when for all of our ships at sea, 46:27.310 --> 46:30.893 all of our soldiers in uniform, everything else we had, 46:31.880 --> 46:34.360 every one of us who was wearing a uniform 46:34.360 --> 46:36.750 or in the intelligence agencies knew 46:36.750 --> 46:39.580 we had let down America on 9/11. 46:39.580 --> 46:43.413 So as we look at these unconventional threats, 46:43.480 --> 46:46.640 we cannot think because they don't want to fight our way, 46:46.640 --> 46:48.703 that we can simply opt out. 46:48.820 --> 46:51.653 We're going to have to learn how to protect our country, 46:51.910 --> 46:53.980 and I think that in the long run 46:54.670 --> 46:56.600 what's going to happen on cyber 46:56.950 --> 47:01.410 is because Department of Defense has about 95% or more 47:01.410 --> 47:05.143 of the capability to protect the country on cyber. 47:05.410 --> 47:08.650 We're probably going to have to offer to banks, 47:08.650 --> 47:12.823 to public utilities, electrical generation plants, 47:12.840 --> 47:13.790 that sort of thing, 47:13.890 --> 47:18.003 the opportunity to be inside a government protected domain. 47:18.480 --> 47:20.240 Now, it's not going to be forced 47:20.240 --> 47:22.370 and there are constitutional issues, 47:22.370 --> 47:24.180 but I think we should also offer it 47:24.460 --> 47:26.610 to small businesses and individuals. 47:26.610 --> 47:28.420 It would be completely up to them 47:28.420 --> 47:30.393 whether or not they came inside, 47:30.510 --> 47:32.430 but I think eventually we're going to have to 47:32.430 --> 47:35.640 change the technology and there's ways we can do it. 47:35.640 --> 47:39.090 I'm talking to real smart people about what they do 47:39.330 --> 47:43.010 on cyber defense so that we're more resistant 47:43.010 --> 47:45.410 and more resilient at the same time. 47:45.410 --> 47:48.680 And you know that right now, without going into details, 47:48.680 --> 47:53.020 we are actively engaged in protecting the election coming up 47:53.020 --> 47:54.823 as we speak right now. 47:55.100 --> 47:57.160 Matter of fact, we need to be back in Washington, D.C., 47:57.160 --> 47:59.113 this afternoon for a discussion on it. 47:59.500 --> 48:03.770 So I would just tell you that as the threats change, 48:03.770 --> 48:05.390 we cannot be dominant 48:06.553 --> 48:09.080 and irrelevant at the same time, 48:09.080 --> 48:10.823 able to fight ground battles, 48:11.000 --> 48:14.480 unable to fight in cyberspace or outer space, 48:14.480 --> 48:15.693 so we're working on it. 48:16.150 --> 48:20.063 There's also other challenges out there as well, 48:20.170 --> 48:22.993 but in terms of urgency, I'd say North Korea. 48:23.230 --> 48:26.423 In terms of power, 48:27.130 --> 48:30.420 right now, it is probably Russia and the nuclear threat. 48:30.420 --> 48:34.423 And in terms of long-term political will, it's China. 48:34.720 --> 48:37.853 But China does not have to be a threat. 48:37.920 --> 48:41.123 We can find a way to work together with China. 48:41.350 --> 48:44.180 We're two nuclear-armed superpowers and we're gonna have to 48:44.180 --> 48:47.403 learn how to manage our relationship, and, 48:47.536 --> 48:50.143 (coughing) I do believe we can do that. 48:50.990 --> 48:53.980 So that's kind of how I stack the threads up, 48:53.980 --> 48:55.660 and on cyber, we're gonna have to do 48:55.660 --> 48:59.943 some real changing of how we guard ourselves. 49:00.583 --> 49:03.600 I got a great Army four-star named Nakasone, 49:03.600 --> 49:06.483 General Nakasone, in command of Cyber Command, 49:06.820 --> 49:08.730 and he's at the top of his game, 49:08.730 --> 49:11.730 respected across the country and around the world, 49:11.730 --> 49:15.083 and he's making a lot of changes right now. 49:15.130 --> 49:17.480 But it's gonna take all of us rolling up our sleeves. 49:17.480 --> 49:18.840 We'll go with one last question. 49:18.840 --> 49:20.543 I know you got things to do here. 49:20.600 --> 49:22.110 - Good afternoon, sir. - Go ahead. 49:22.110 --> 49:24.103 - [Fresh] Cadet Fresh, class of 2019. 49:24.250 --> 49:25.240 I wanted to ask you, 49:25.240 --> 49:28.053 you spoke of a more lethal military force. 49:28.170 --> 49:31.280 Given the global push toward demilitarization 49:31.280 --> 49:33.470 as well as America's traditional role as the, 49:33.470 --> 49:35.560 quote, unquote, police force of the world, 49:35.560 --> 49:37.933 how do you see balancing those few things? 49:49.860 --> 49:51.060 - I think... 49:54.560 --> 49:57.340 Right now, let me just take NATO for example, 49:57.340 --> 50:00.813 because I mentioned that when I first spoke. 50:01.790 --> 50:03.363 Right now in NATO, 50:03.780 --> 50:06.320 every country has increased 50:06.320 --> 50:09.693 the amount of money it's putting into defense. 50:11.183 --> 50:13.180 Is it as much as we think is necessary? 50:13.180 --> 50:14.013 No. 50:14.224 --> 50:15.863 Now, let me give you some background. 50:16.150 --> 50:19.850 The democracies are always slower to rearm, 50:19.850 --> 50:22.270 and you saw that during the inner war year 50:22.270 --> 50:24.070 between World War I and World War II 50:24.730 --> 50:27.510 when they wanted to think after World War I, 50:27.780 --> 50:29.780 there can't be any more of this. 50:29.780 --> 50:32.943 And, of course, there were fascists who saw it differently. 50:34.150 --> 50:38.403 So what happens is democracies are slower, 50:38.470 --> 50:40.940 but when they move it's much more powerful 50:41.030 --> 50:43.680 because they have the will of their people behind it. 50:44.730 --> 50:46.273 So right now. 50:46.570 --> 50:50.350 I was first at NATO in 1996 50:50.730 --> 50:52.720 when I was the Executive Secretary 50:52.720 --> 50:54.403 to the Secretary of Defense, 50:54.550 --> 50:56.993 William Perry, in the Clinton Administration, 50:57.550 --> 51:00.273 and then Bill Cohen, Senator Cohen, 51:00.410 --> 51:03.560 and I heard both of them in presentations in Brussels 51:03.560 --> 51:07.280 say, you have got to spend more money on defense 51:07.360 --> 51:10.530 because you're counting on us Americans to do it all, 51:10.530 --> 51:13.283 and that's not the way an alliance works. 51:13.950 --> 51:16.980 I then heard that same theme from 51:17.510 --> 51:21.473 a man named Rumsfeld and a secretary named Gates, 51:22.240 --> 51:24.040 Secretary Rumsfeld, Secretary Gates, 51:24.270 --> 51:28.313 and from President Bush when he was president. 51:28.970 --> 51:32.620 And then President Obama came in and I heard him say it, 51:32.620 --> 51:36.293 talk about it's time to start doing nation building at home, 51:36.420 --> 51:39.253 going to Europe saying, we're not gonna keep doing this. 51:40.220 --> 51:44.053 And I was a NATO Supreme Commander in those days. 51:44.980 --> 51:48.010 They were slow to do it, slow, very slow. 51:48.010 --> 51:49.860 Even after the terrorist attacks, 51:49.860 --> 51:52.573 they wanted to handle it as law enforcement problems. 51:52.850 --> 51:53.990 So there's different ways. 51:53.990 --> 51:55.920 Each country has its own culture 51:56.100 --> 51:58.073 and we have to respect that. 51:58.880 --> 52:02.050 But when I went there now as Secretary of Defense 52:02.050 --> 52:03.890 and I'm looking around that same table 52:03.890 --> 52:06.053 I once sat behind as a colonel, 52:06.140 --> 52:08.827 and then I sat at the table, only three officers do, 52:08.827 --> 52:10.190 and the rest are civilian 52:10.190 --> 52:13.533 representing the 28 nations, now 29, 52:15.430 --> 52:18.870 and I told them, you know, I've sat at this very table. 52:18.870 --> 52:20.110 Many of them were friends. 52:20.110 --> 52:21.960 You know, you get to know each other. 52:22.100 --> 52:25.873 And I said, and you heard this for over two decades. 52:26.300 --> 52:29.023 You heard this message that you have to pay more. 52:29.700 --> 52:33.400 I said, now it is manifested politically in America 52:33.490 --> 52:35.290 and I'm bringing you a message 52:35.300 --> 52:37.373 and the message is very clear. 52:38.770 --> 52:42.250 And that message is, you cannot expect me to go home 52:42.250 --> 52:44.530 and look Americans in the eye and say, 52:44.530 --> 52:47.270 we want our parents to care more 52:47.270 --> 52:49.680 about European children's freedom 52:50.150 --> 52:52.180 than European parents care. 52:52.180 --> 52:55.030 You're going to have to start carrying more of your load. 52:55.270 --> 52:58.090 And since then, the Secretary General of NATO said, 52:58.090 --> 53:00.823 because of America's leadership, 53:01.500 --> 53:04.760 there now are 29 nations in NATO, 53:04.760 --> 53:07.453 all increasing their military spending. 53:08.180 --> 53:10.160 Now, that is from the Secretary General, 53:10.160 --> 53:12.263 the former Prime Minister of Norway. 53:12.780 --> 53:14.763 Not an American, that's a European. 53:15.660 --> 53:18.940 And I bring this up because there are times 53:19.570 --> 53:22.323 if you look through history, 53:23.270 --> 53:26.863 World War I, militarism is on the march. 53:27.050 --> 53:31.440 You know, Belgium falls, and the Netherlands fall. 53:31.440 --> 53:33.453 I mean, everyone is falling. 53:33.700 --> 53:35.990 France is fighting and being bled dry. 53:35.990 --> 53:39.763 The British army is being driven to its knees. 53:39.930 --> 53:41.913 And the Americans sit on their side of the ocean and say, 53:41.913 --> 53:43.223 it's not our problem. 53:43.810 --> 53:45.870 You democracies handle it on your own. 53:45.870 --> 53:48.010 Finally, we go into the war, 53:48.010 --> 53:50.163 in the last year and a half of the war, 53:50.200 --> 53:52.133 and we come in fresh, okay. 53:52.850 --> 53:57.653 World War II, France falls, Norway falls, Greece Falls. 53:58.140 --> 54:00.413 I can go on, Netherlands, Denmark. 54:00.740 --> 54:02.850 London is getting pounded by bombs 54:02.979 --> 54:05.229 and the Americans said, it's not our problem. 54:05.360 --> 54:08.160 We're not going to get involved in another European war. 54:08.240 --> 54:11.390 We're tired of going in there and doing this with you. 54:11.390 --> 54:15.063 We are a very isolationist country by nature. 54:16.410 --> 54:20.450 And the reason I bring it up is, today, 54:20.450 --> 54:22.910 the first time NATO went to war 54:22.910 --> 54:25.880 when we joined NATO in order to protect Western Europe 54:25.980 --> 54:28.930 was when New York City and Washington, D.C., were attacked. 54:29.180 --> 54:31.203 That's the first time they went to war. 54:31.600 --> 54:35.683 So, remember that alliances wax and wane, 54:35.910 --> 54:38.353 but no relationship stays the same. 54:38.650 --> 54:40.383 They get stronger or weaker. 54:40.570 --> 54:43.970 And you, and your families, and your communities, 54:43.970 --> 54:46.803 and your schools, you too know the same thing. 54:46.950 --> 54:49.280 So, work to make the relationships stronger. 54:49.280 --> 54:51.320 I will tell you that, right now, 54:51.320 --> 54:54.740 all of NATO woke up after 2014 54:54.740 --> 54:57.783 and Russia moved into Ukraine and took Crimea. 54:58.120 --> 55:00.240 And all of NATO is wide awake now. 55:00.240 --> 55:02.423 I'm on my way there next week, again. 55:02.700 --> 55:06.440 And it is very clear that our capability 55:06.490 --> 55:09.233 is building up across all the western democracies. 55:09.620 --> 55:13.960 Prime Minister Abe in Japan is rearming there 55:13.960 --> 55:16.610 in a way that Japan was never willing to do 55:16.850 --> 55:19.413 because of what happened prior to World War II. 55:20.260 --> 55:22.783 Certainly, Australia, I can go on. 55:22.930 --> 55:26.573 So, sometimes America has to lead by example. 55:26.810 --> 55:30.020 And we haven't been perfect in anticipating things either. 55:30.020 --> 55:33.140 So, let's keep patience, keep working with one another, 55:33.140 --> 55:36.070 keep respect for one another, but at the same time, 55:36.070 --> 55:39.850 be guided by absolute realism as we go forward. 55:39.850 --> 55:42.773 And democracies are now rearming. 55:43.110 --> 55:45.673 My fine young cadets, I've got to get out of here. 55:46.160 --> 55:47.630 But I just want to tell you 55:47.630 --> 55:51.923 that I don't get to see people like you very often, 55:52.610 --> 55:54.633 and I don't know you individually. 55:54.900 --> 55:55.870 But every one of you 55:55.870 --> 55:58.693 could've picked an easier school to go to. 55:58.990 --> 56:01.410 Every one of you could've gone to a place 56:01.420 --> 56:04.773 that wasn't gonna demand as much of you as this one. 56:05.150 --> 56:08.190 So, just remember, if you want three words 56:08.190 --> 56:11.150 that I would leave you with that will keep you 56:11.150 --> 56:14.303 from laying on a shrink's couch when you're 45, 56:14.570 --> 56:17.170 wondering what the hell did I do with my life? 56:17.170 --> 56:21.470 Just remember three words here, put others first. 56:21.470 --> 56:25.010 And if you're always putting your wife, or your husband, 56:25.010 --> 56:28.210 your children, your parents, your parish, 56:28.210 --> 56:33.210 your school district, your community, your infantry platoon, 56:33.380 --> 56:35.690 your fighter squadron, whatever it is. 56:35.690 --> 56:37.763 If you're always putting others first, 56:37.890 --> 56:38.800 you're gonna be in for 56:38.800 --> 56:42.803 the most wonderfully satisfying life you could imagine. 56:43.250 --> 56:44.633 And you don't have to learn some things 56:44.633 --> 56:48.730 that most people could learn by reading an old book. 56:48.730 --> 56:51.260 That going out for yourself, alone, 56:51.260 --> 56:53.020 is just not the way to go 56:53.020 --> 56:56.880 if you want to have a truly happy and satisfying life. 56:56.880 --> 56:58.110 So, God bless you all. 56:58.110 --> 57:01.010 Thanks for spending some time and having me here today. 57:01.010 --> 57:02.410 It's been a pleasure for me.