Defense Secretary Ash Carter will visit military installations in Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois over the next two days on a trip highlighting his Force of the Future initiative.
The initiative seeks to ensure that the department continues to recruit, train and retain the very best talent America has to offer.
During the trip, the secretary will meet with service members at critical stages of their careers, and he will see a range of installations preparing and training warfighters of the future, Pentagon officials said.
Tomorrow, Carter will visit Army ROTC cadets during their advance camp at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and will meet with cadets over lunch to hear about their decisions to serve and their career aspirations.
Later in the day in Crane, Indiana, the secretary will tour the Naval Surface Warfare Center and meet with the center’s leaders and with U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly.
Carter then travels to Chicago, where on June 23 he will tour a military entrance processing station and swear in recent recruits before heading to Naval Station Great Lakes to watch a graduating class of Navy enlistees as they engage in their capstone event, Battle Stations 21. (Editor's note: Due to inclement weather, the Illinois portion of the trip was postponed June 22. It will be rescheduled.)