WEBVTT 00:01.430 --> 00:04.370 - So, good afternoon and my goodness 00:04.370 --> 00:06.040 what a tremendous turnout 00:06.040 --> 00:08.293 and what a pleasure it is to see everyone. 00:09.240 --> 00:10.820 Why don't we go ahead and take our seats. 00:10.820 --> 00:13.390 The secretary will be right behind me. 00:13.390 --> 00:16.490 I am just delighted to welcome members 00:16.490 --> 00:19.710 of the Strategic Command 55th wing 00:19.710 --> 00:22.430 off at Air Force base 10 at commands. 00:22.430 --> 00:26.420 And spouses, families to join us for family town hall. 00:26.420 --> 00:29.010 It is my pleasure to open the headquarters. 00:29.010 --> 00:30.960 The new LemMay building so everyone has 00:30.960 --> 00:33.340 the chance to come in and take a look. 00:33.340 --> 00:35.320 And also my pleasure to introduce 00:35.320 --> 00:37.662 our Secretary of Defense, the honorable Mark Esper 00:37.662 --> 00:40.860 and his wife Leah to this remarkable LeMay 00:40.860 --> 00:43.010 Commanding Control facility. 00:43.010 --> 00:45.110 I think we all know Secretary Esper graduated 00:45.110 --> 00:48.500 from the United States Military Academy in 1986 00:48.500 --> 00:50.770 and then served for over 20 years 00:50.770 --> 00:53.310 active duty National Guard and in the reserves 00:53.310 --> 00:55.171 as an Army Infantry Officer. 00:55.171 --> 00:57.470 He served in Desert Storm where he earned 00:57.470 --> 00:59.490 a Combat Infantry Badge. 00:59.490 --> 01:02.220 He has advanced degrees in public administration 01:02.220 --> 01:04.760 from Harvard University and a Doctorate 01:04.760 --> 01:07.790 in public policy from George Washington University. 01:07.790 --> 01:10.710 And prior to his appointment to the Secretary of Defense, 01:10.710 --> 01:12.572 he was a Defense Industry Executive and 01:12.572 --> 01:15.850 a senior U.S. Senate Staffer. 01:15.850 --> 01:18.790 And previously has served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary 01:18.790 --> 01:21.030 of Defense for negotiations policy. 01:21.030 --> 01:23.588 And of course the 23rd Secretary of the Army. 01:23.588 --> 01:26.230 So please join me in welcoming the honorable 01:26.230 --> 01:29.074 Dr. Mark Esper and his wife Leah to our Air Force 01:29.074 --> 01:31.055 Base in U.S. Strategic Command. 01:31.055 --> 01:33.305 (Applause) 01:39.331 --> 01:42.998 - [Secretary Of Defense Dr.Esper] Thank you. 01:45.790 --> 01:47.690 Please, have a seat. Thank you for that. 01:47.690 --> 01:49.530 Once again I had the chance to see my wife 01:49.530 --> 01:51.780 stand up and clap for me when I enter a room. 01:53.000 --> 01:55.950 Rarely does a husband get that benefit (laughs). 01:55.950 --> 01:58.800 Hey, thank you all, how's everyone doing today? 01:58.800 --> 02:01.660 Doing well? What do you think of this new headquarters? 02:01.660 --> 02:04.053 Nice? Yeah, I remember the old one. 02:05.700 --> 02:07.240 This is quite better. Admiral Richard, 02:07.240 --> 02:08.730 where are you? Where did you go to? 02:08.730 --> 02:10.468 Yeah, you lucked out. 02:10.468 --> 02:14.110 I'm sure General Hyten is quite disappointed. 02:14.110 --> 02:16.340 Hey, thanks for spending time with me this afternoon. 02:16.340 --> 02:17.880 It's great for me to come out and chat with you. 02:17.880 --> 02:21.690 This is an important visit for me. I think 02:21.690 --> 02:23.970 what should show you how very important 02:23.970 --> 02:27.620 what you all do is to our nation's security. 02:27.620 --> 02:30.080 Our top priority is making sure we have a safe, 02:30.080 --> 02:34.470 reliable, effective, credible strategic return. 02:34.470 --> 02:36.010 That means all legs of the triad. 02:36.010 --> 02:38.430 That means nuclear command control communication 02:38.430 --> 02:40.550 and that means a very effective command 02:40.550 --> 02:42.930 under the leadership of a very effective Commander. 02:42.930 --> 02:44.930 Thank you all, first of all, very, very much 02:44.930 --> 02:45.790 for what you do. 02:45.790 --> 02:47.701 Okay, give yourselves a round of applause for that. 02:47.701 --> 02:49.951 (applause) 02:53.760 --> 02:55.350 So I had the chance yesterday with my wife 02:55.350 --> 02:57.199 to go visit Minot. We spent time up there. 02:57.199 --> 02:59.120 I was down at the Launch Control Center. 02:59.120 --> 03:02.840 I was up inside a B52. I met with the maintainers, 03:02.840 --> 03:05.100 crawled around a Repid Storage area, 03:05.100 --> 03:06.750 and just got a good feel, once again, 03:06.750 --> 03:09.690 for the status of two legs of the triad. 03:09.690 --> 03:11.290 I think we're on the right path. 03:11.290 --> 03:13.897 This administration's investing billions of dollars 03:13.897 --> 03:16.150 into modernization of all three legs. 03:16.150 --> 03:17.550 I think many of you here are well aware 03:17.550 --> 03:18.383 of what that looks like. 03:18.383 --> 03:20.520 And the time lines for that, but I think it's 03:20.520 --> 03:21.428 utterly important that we continue 03:21.428 --> 03:23.870 along that path expeditiously. 03:23.870 --> 03:26.930 If not, do so quicker than we currently have planned. 03:26.930 --> 03:29.310 But it takes great men and women like yourselves. 03:29.310 --> 03:31.687 It takes all the services, soldiers, sailors, 03:31.687 --> 03:35.310 and marines, and our great DOD civilians 03:35.310 --> 03:37.310 as well to make it happen. And, of course, 03:37.310 --> 03:40.210 we have spouses out there. I recognize very well 03:40.210 --> 03:42.860 the importance spouses play in sustaining 03:42.860 --> 03:45.880 our service members, keeping the family together, 03:45.880 --> 03:47.603 and making things run on time. You know my wife 03:47.603 --> 03:51.320 was a military spouse for a couple dozen plus years. 03:51.320 --> 03:53.210 And we've been through our share of lost 03:53.210 --> 03:55.969 household goods, multiple PCS moves, 03:55.969 --> 03:58.300 kids born in military hospitals, you name it. 03:58.300 --> 04:01.782 So she spent this morning, I know, meeting with housing, 04:01.782 --> 04:03.980 visiting a community center doing some other stuff, 04:03.980 --> 04:06.020 and is a great resource for me so, Leah, 04:06.020 --> 04:07.990 thank you once again for traveling with me 04:07.990 --> 04:10.026 on this great, great journey. 04:10.026 --> 04:12.276 (applause) 04:19.014 --> 04:22.580 Thanks for saving me on that one right there. (laughs) 04:22.580 --> 04:24.339 So, look, I think, 04:24.339 --> 04:26.090 ya know, 04:26.090 --> 04:29.280 my priority, my reason for me being here is clear. 04:29.280 --> 04:31.040 I want to tell you that my top priority, 04:31.040 --> 04:33.020 those implementing the national defense strategy. 04:33.020 --> 04:34.620 And what that strategy tells us is 04:34.620 --> 04:37.650 that we are now in an era of great power competition. 04:37.650 --> 04:40.470 It is marked to a return of preparation for 04:40.470 --> 04:44.400 high intensity conflict. That means nuclear conflict, 04:44.400 --> 04:46.960 god forbidding. But it means we have to look 04:46.960 --> 04:48.620 at our two principle threats. That's China, 04:48.620 --> 04:50.600 number one, and Russia, number two. 04:50.600 --> 04:52.668 Then we have second tier threats. Rogue states 04:52.668 --> 04:54.690 such as North Korea and Iran. And then, 04:54.690 --> 04:57.830 of course, we have the enduring, regrettably, 04:57.830 --> 04:59.660 threat of violent extremist organizations. 04:59.660 --> 05:01.120 Something that we will always maintain a 05:01.120 --> 05:04.340 capability to do to protect the American people. 05:04.340 --> 05:06.916 In that process of implementing the NDS 05:06.916 --> 05:09.510 at three lines of effort. Effort number one 05:09.510 --> 05:12.230 is making sure that we have a very lethal 05:12.230 --> 05:14.240 and ready force. And again, that begins with our 05:14.240 --> 05:16.738 strategic nuclear forces. Number two, 05:16.738 --> 05:19.230 that we continue to grow partners around the world 05:19.230 --> 05:21.010 and strengthen our allies. And I know the command 05:21.010 --> 05:22.370 is doing that as well. 05:22.370 --> 05:23.710 I know you recently had the French here, 05:23.710 --> 05:24.860 for example. 05:24.860 --> 05:25.840 And you're reaching out to others. 05:25.840 --> 05:27.810 We talked about how we get NATO more involved 05:27.810 --> 05:29.955 and thinking about nuclear matters. 05:29.955 --> 05:32.640 And then there's line of effort number three 05:32.640 --> 05:33.530 which is reform. 05:33.530 --> 05:35.290 And it's all about how do we free up time, 05:35.290 --> 05:36.276 money, and manpower to put back into 05:36.276 --> 05:38.532 priorities number one and two. 05:38.532 --> 05:40.364 Because we're in this era right now where 05:40.364 --> 05:42.330 a great deal of fiscal constraint, 05:42.330 --> 05:44.290 our budget this year is flat. 05:44.290 --> 05:45.820 And I'm gonna go out and start talking 05:45.820 --> 05:49.040 more and more about needing 3-5% annual increase 05:49.040 --> 05:50.371 in defense spending but there's no guarantee 05:50.371 --> 05:52.290 that that will happen. So it's important 05:52.290 --> 05:55.100 upon us to look at what we're doing. 05:55.100 --> 05:56.520 Making sure everything makes sense. 05:56.520 --> 05:58.580 It's efficient that we're making best use 05:58.580 --> 05:59.980 of our money. Of our people. 05:59.980 --> 06:01.290 And it's something that makes sense. 06:01.290 --> 06:02.350 Bring it up to the chain of command 06:02.350 --> 06:03.822 or recommend ending it, or curtailing it, 06:03.822 --> 06:05.639 or phasing it out over time. 06:05.639 --> 06:08.440 Whatever you think makes sense. 06:08.440 --> 06:11.010 We have to approach it as if it's our money. 06:11.010 --> 06:12.721 Because at the end of the day, we're all taxpayers 06:12.721 --> 06:16.380 and we should be good stewards of that taxpayer dollar. 06:16.380 --> 06:18.780 So those are my three major line of efforts 06:18.780 --> 06:21.779 that when I came to the job for Secretary 06:21.779 --> 06:24.400 of the Defense, I said the fourth thing 06:24.400 --> 06:25.890 that will be a priority for me will be 06:25.890 --> 06:28.176 taking care of our service members and our families. 06:28.176 --> 06:30.815 Leah, of course, is helping me on that as she did 06:30.815 --> 06:32.550 when I was Secretary of the Army. 06:32.550 --> 06:34.550 We're trying to emphasize at least two 06:34.550 --> 06:35.970 most important things for me. 06:35.970 --> 06:38.670 Our spousal hiring and childcare will be 06:38.670 --> 06:39.960 coming out in the next week or so 06:39.960 --> 06:41.705 on a new childcare policy that will put 06:41.705 --> 06:44.420 military kids, prioritize military kids 06:44.420 --> 06:47.480 in our CDCs. And on the spousing stuff, 06:47.480 --> 06:49.120 we're going to continue to push congress 06:49.120 --> 06:52.420 and states for more licensing reciprocity. 06:52.420 --> 06:55.450 I signed a memo out in the last couple weeks or so 06:55.450 --> 06:56.730 that said to all of our commanders 06:56.730 --> 06:59.900 as you consider adding units to bases, 06:59.900 --> 07:02.600 as you consider establishing new facilities 07:02.600 --> 07:04.859 in certain states, in any state of the union, 07:04.859 --> 07:07.962 a factor must be that states willingness 07:07.962 --> 07:11.700 to take care of our spouses through reciprocity, 07:11.700 --> 07:13.130 through credential and you name it. 07:13.130 --> 07:15.770 But we've gotta put spouses, spousal hiring 07:15.770 --> 07:18.000 is a critical factor in those considerations. 07:18.000 --> 07:19.810 So, those are two things that I am trying to do 07:19.810 --> 07:21.150 to move that ball forward. 07:21.150 --> 07:23.090 We will have more in the coming months. 07:23.090 --> 07:24.721 But again, is a very important thing, because 07:24.721 --> 07:28.190 we all know this is a family business, right? 07:28.190 --> 07:29.930 Whether, whatever service you're from, 07:29.930 --> 07:31.192 Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines. 07:31.192 --> 07:33.960 It is a family business and it takes a family 07:33.960 --> 07:36.560 to sustain it and to, you know, 07:36.560 --> 07:38.120 make your way through a three year hitch 07:38.120 --> 07:40.780 or a twenty year career. It still comes down to 07:40.780 --> 07:42.140 taking care of everybody. 07:42.140 --> 07:44.520 So, I don't want to be the speaker 07:44.520 --> 07:46.100 this entire time so I'm going to stop 07:46.100 --> 07:47.747 right here. I think we have some microphones there. 07:47.747 --> 07:49.153 I see one, and there.