WEBVTT 00:00.310 --> 00:04.310 I'm talking about , thank 00:04.310 --> 00:06.366 you . Thank you Daryl , I appreciate 00:06.366 --> 00:08.643 that . And how's everybody doing today ? 00:08.643 --> 00:12.010 What a great day . And I know or at 00:12.010 --> 00:15.180 least I heard that Admiral Mike mullen 00:15.180 --> 00:16.820 is in the crowd , one of my 00:17.080 --> 00:19.830 predecessors who was chairman , but he 00:19.830 --> 00:22.108 was also the Chief of Naval Operations . 00:22.640 --> 00:24.950 So when I say go army , you say , 00:27.540 --> 00:29.707 Man , I tell you what I did , I didn't 00:29.707 --> 00:31.873 graduate , I'm just an honorary grad . 00:31.873 --> 00:34.040 That was pretty weak . Come on , class 00:34.040 --> 00:36.207 of 22 . You can do a little bit better 00:36.207 --> 00:39.830 when I say go army , you say very good . 00:39.830 --> 00:41.774 That's much , much better . Well , 00:41.774 --> 00:43.830 thank you all for being here . And I 00:43.830 --> 00:45.886 want to thank also Senator ernst and 00:45.886 --> 00:48.052 Congressman Womack up here on the diet 00:48.052 --> 00:50.274 and I particularly want to give a shout 00:50.274 --> 00:52.330 out to Secretary of War Meth and our 00:52.330 --> 00:54.330 great current Chief of Staff of the 00:54.330 --> 00:56.386 Army , General , Jim McConville . So 00:56.386 --> 00:58.608 thank you all for your leadership . And 00:58.608 --> 01:00.774 I want to thank Darryl Williams as you 01:00.774 --> 01:02.997 know , he's going to be moving on . But 01:02.997 --> 01:05.052 he's done a tremendous job . Here is 01:05.052 --> 01:07.274 the soup and Daryl , thank you for your 01:07.274 --> 01:07.130 leadership of the United States 01:07.130 --> 01:10.860 Military Academy . Yeah , 01:16.940 --> 01:19.730 So I want to give a not only a round of 01:19.730 --> 01:21.990 applause for the class of 22 , but I 01:21.990 --> 01:23.934 want the class of 22 , I didn't do 01:23.934 --> 01:26.046 really well in drilling ceremonies in 01:26.046 --> 01:28.268 my honorary class , I'd like you all to 01:28.268 --> 01:30.434 stand up and do an about face and give 01:30.434 --> 01:32.212 a big round of applause to your 01:32.212 --> 01:34.212 families because they're the reason 01:34.212 --> 01:33.350 you're here right now . 01:40.940 --> 01:42.680 Mm hmm , mm hmm . 01:55.240 --> 01:57.462 All right now the SAR major just walked 01:57.462 --> 01:59.684 up behind me . He said , I have to give 01:59.684 --> 02:01.907 the command of about face and then take 02:01.907 --> 02:04.073 your seats so about face and take your 02:04.073 --> 02:07.970 seats very good . They did teach us 02:07.970 --> 02:10.137 something about drilling ceremonies at 02:10.137 --> 02:12.248 Princeton , but not much . Hey , look 02:12.248 --> 02:14.940 at your class , earn your motto . The 02:14.940 --> 02:17.760 first West point class ever to , I have 02:17.760 --> 02:21.270 a motto in latin pro multi is patchy 02:21.270 --> 02:24.490 president And I know that every single 02:24.490 --> 02:27.490 one of you , especially the 56 of you 02:27.500 --> 02:30.210 who are on the five year program . I 02:30.210 --> 02:34.130 know that you know what that means for 02:34.130 --> 02:38.030 many stand the few . So keep 02:38.030 --> 02:40.560 this phrase in your mind and close to 02:40.560 --> 02:42.980 your heart and here you have become a 02:42.980 --> 02:45.260 team and you're gonna be drawing upon 02:45.260 --> 02:47.460 each other for the rest of your lives 02:48.440 --> 02:51.700 and your commitment . It's not just to 02:51.700 --> 02:55.250 a job is to a calling a way of 02:55.250 --> 02:58.270 life . Your parents today , up in the 02:58.270 --> 03:00.950 stadium . They see their sons and 03:00.950 --> 03:03.720 daughters on the field before you , but 03:03.720 --> 03:07.450 your nation see soldiers , leaders 03:08.040 --> 03:10.262 who are going into the infantry and the 03:10.262 --> 03:12.429 cavalry and engineers , intelligence , 03:12.429 --> 03:14.762 logisticians and all the other branches . 03:15.440 --> 03:19.000 You will be critical to the joint 03:19.000 --> 03:21.520 force . I should have said you're going 03:21.520 --> 03:23.409 in the infantry and all the other 03:23.409 --> 03:23.260 branches , 03:27.140 --> 03:30.150 Was it 136 infantry . It should be 03:30.150 --> 03:33.300 236 . We'll fix that afterwards . 03:36.740 --> 03:38.907 In all seriousness . You represent the 03:38.907 --> 03:41.018 quality that gives America are unique 03:41.018 --> 03:43.600 strength . You are what makes the 03:43.600 --> 03:45.370 United States undaunted by the 03:45.370 --> 03:47.560 difficult and motivated by the 03:47.560 --> 03:49.550 impossible and the strength of our 03:49.550 --> 03:52.380 nation . This experiment in liberty is 03:52.380 --> 03:54.760 captured in another simple latin phrase 03:55.340 --> 03:57.600 that's familiar to all of us . E 03:57.600 --> 04:00.470 pluribus unum . Out of the many come 04:00.470 --> 04:04.400 one and you are a living example of 04:04.400 --> 04:05.900 that american experiment . 04:06.940 --> 04:10.560 112 years after West Point was founded 04:11.340 --> 04:15.200 In the summer of 1914 , A pistol shot 04:15.210 --> 04:17.840 in Sarajevo cast the world into the 04:17.840 --> 04:19.951 cataclysm of deadly global conflict , 04:19.951 --> 04:22.560 unleashing destruction on a scale yet 04:22.560 --> 04:25.010 unseen by humanity and setting the 04:25.010 --> 04:27.230 conditions For the Second World War . 04:27.230 --> 04:29.460 Only 20 years later , the bloodiest war 04:29.900 --> 04:32.690 in all of human history . In fact , 04:32.700 --> 04:36.060 between 1914 and 19 04:36.440 --> 04:40.150 45 , 3 short decades , the 1st and 04:40.150 --> 04:43.210 2nd wars laid waste to countries 04:43.210 --> 04:46.760 everywhere . 150 million people 04:47.540 --> 04:50.180 were killed in World War One and World 04:50.180 --> 04:52.630 War Two . The most violent three 04:52.630 --> 04:56.130 decades ever recorded all in the 04:56.130 --> 05:00.130 conduct of great power war . To give 05:00.130 --> 05:02.320 us a sense of what great power war 05:02.320 --> 05:05.050 means . Consider for a moment 05:05.940 --> 05:07.950 That 26,000 05:08.840 --> 05:12.570 26,000 soldiers and marines 05:13.140 --> 05:16.970 were killed In only six weeks From 05:16.970 --> 05:19.560 October to November 1918 in the battle . 05:19.990 --> 05:22.101 Well , the meuse Argonne in World War 05:22.101 --> 05:24.260 One , consider also that 05:24.940 --> 05:28.620 26,000 us troops were killed In the 05:28.620 --> 05:32.270 eight weeks In the summer of 1940 . For 05:32.570 --> 05:34.570 from the beaches of Normandy to the 05:34.570 --> 05:37.110 liberation of Paris At the same time , 05:37.110 --> 05:41.080 18,000 more Americans were killed in 05:41.080 --> 05:43.080 the central pacific in the marianas 05:43.080 --> 05:45.136 campaign , but my father was hitting 05:45.136 --> 05:49.030 the beach in total . In that summer of 05:49.030 --> 05:52.980 1944 50 , Americans 05:52.980 --> 05:56.760 were killed in action in the air at sea 05:57.540 --> 06:01.420 and on land In five theaters of war and 06:01.420 --> 06:05.070 only eight weeks . That's the human 06:05.070 --> 06:08.050 cost of great power war . The Butcher's 06:08.050 --> 06:11.470 Bill At the end of World War II , 06:12.100 --> 06:15.830 the leaders of 1945 designed our 06:15.830 --> 06:18.052 current rules based international order 06:18.940 --> 06:21.670 And we are now in the 77th year of the 06:21.670 --> 06:24.550 Great Power . Peace that followed World 06:24.550 --> 06:27.300 war two and the structure is currently 06:27.730 --> 06:30.770 under intense stress . It will be your 06:30.770 --> 06:33.760 generation that will carry the burden 06:34.440 --> 06:36.384 and shoulder the responsibility to 06:36.384 --> 06:38.700 maintain the peace to contain and to 06:38.700 --> 06:42.550 prevent the outbreak of great power war . 06:43.540 --> 06:46.600 When America faced its darkest days , 06:47.040 --> 06:49.410 it was West point graduates who stood 06:49.410 --> 06:51.960 ready to answer the call 06:52.940 --> 06:55.107 Revolutionary change is going to occur 06:55.107 --> 06:57.329 while you were in service and right now 06:57.329 --> 06:59.273 at this very moment of fundamental 06:59.273 --> 07:01.496 changes happening in the very character 07:01.496 --> 07:04.850 of war . We are facing right now to 07:04.850 --> 07:07.860 global powers china and Russia , 07:08.540 --> 07:10.860 each with significant military 07:10.860 --> 07:14.270 capabilities and both who fully 07:14.270 --> 07:17.450 intend to change the current rules 07:17.450 --> 07:21.270 based order . Yet again in 07:21.270 --> 07:23.950 Ukraine , we are learning the lesson 07:24.600 --> 07:27.980 that aggression left unanswered only 07:27.980 --> 07:30.990 emboldens the aggressor . Let us never 07:30.990 --> 07:33.550 forget the massacre that we have just 07:33.550 --> 07:36.750 witnessed in Buka nor the slaughter 07:37.440 --> 07:40.340 that occurred in Mario opal and the 07:40.340 --> 07:43.650 best way to honor their sacrifice is to 07:43.650 --> 07:46.320 support their fight for freedom and to 07:46.320 --> 07:50.200 stand against tyranny As we 07:50.200 --> 07:53.080 are entering a world that is becoming 07:53.090 --> 07:55.970 more unstable . The world you are being 07:55.970 --> 07:59.010 commissioned into has the potential for 07:59.010 --> 08:01.450 significant international conflict 08:01.840 --> 08:04.760 between great powers and that potential 08:04.760 --> 08:08.730 is increasing not decreasing . We 08:08.730 --> 08:12.290 are also on the cusp of a change in the 08:12.290 --> 08:14.700 fundamental character of war . The 08:14.700 --> 08:16.867 nature of war is not going to change . 08:16.867 --> 08:19.089 It's immutable . It's still a political 08:19.089 --> 08:21.033 act . It's a decision by humans to 08:21.033 --> 08:23.144 impose their political will and their 08:23.144 --> 08:25.200 opponent by the use of violence . As 08:25.200 --> 08:27.311 you all studied here . War will still 08:27.311 --> 08:29.478 be characterized by chance and fog and 08:29.478 --> 08:31.478 friction and its causes will likely 08:31.478 --> 08:33.367 still adhere to the city's famous 08:33.367 --> 08:36.350 analysis of fear , pride and interest 08:37.240 --> 08:39.500 but the character of war , how wars are 08:39.500 --> 08:41.740 fought where wars are fought with what 08:41.740 --> 08:43.910 weapons technologies , organizations 08:43.910 --> 08:46.170 and doctrines in short the ways and 08:46.170 --> 08:48.690 means of war that is undergoing a 08:48.690 --> 08:50.746 fundamental profound and significant 08:50.746 --> 08:53.690 change . As you get commissioned , the 08:53.690 --> 08:56.760 organizations and weapons and doctrines 08:57.440 --> 09:00.570 of the military in 2025 And all the way 09:00.570 --> 09:03.450 out to 2050 in that quarter century . 09:03.700 --> 09:05.950 In that short period of time it's going 09:05.950 --> 09:07.940 to be fundamentally different than 09:07.940 --> 09:10.720 anything we've seen before . Think of 09:10.720 --> 09:12.776 the difference between a smooth bore 09:12.776 --> 09:14.942 musket and rifle for the rifle and the 09:14.942 --> 09:16.998 machine gun . The difference between 09:17.340 --> 09:19.680 muscle power and machine power . The 09:19.680 --> 09:22.570 shift from guidance to radio and 09:22.570 --> 09:26.370 internet , the shift from sail to steam , 09:26.370 --> 09:28.490 the shift from dumb bombs to 09:28.490 --> 09:31.730 smartphones . That is the type , a 09:31.730 --> 09:33.841 fundamental shift in the character of 09:33.841 --> 09:35.850 war that is occurring right now and 09:35.850 --> 09:37.980 it's a result of a variety of 09:37.980 --> 09:40.147 geopolitical and economic and societal 09:40.147 --> 09:42.258 and technological developments , some 09:42.258 --> 09:44.500 of long duration and some relatively 09:44.500 --> 09:47.080 recent since the fall of the Berlin 09:47.080 --> 09:49.610 wall . The United States essentially 09:49.610 --> 09:51.666 was the unchallenged global military 09:51.666 --> 09:53.750 political and economic power and we 09:53.750 --> 09:55.583 were experiencing what some have 09:55.583 --> 09:58.770 labeled as a uni polar moment that has 09:58.770 --> 10:01.620 changed . You're entering a different 10:01.620 --> 10:04.290 world . The United States is under 10:04.290 --> 10:08.160 significant challenge in europe Asia 10:08.540 --> 10:11.220 in the Middle East in europe we see a 10:11.220 --> 10:13.260 revanchist Russia as we have just 10:13.260 --> 10:16.160 witnessed another invasion in Ukraine 10:17.140 --> 10:20.830 in Asia . We are in the 3rd decade of 10:20.830 --> 10:22.930 the largest global economic shift in 10:22.940 --> 10:26.130 500 years resulting in a rapidly rising 10:26.130 --> 10:28.100 china as a great power . With a 10:28.100 --> 10:30.690 revisionist foreign policy backed up 10:30.690 --> 10:33.160 with an increasing capable military . 10:34.240 --> 10:36.620 Also in Asia , we are faced with a 10:36.620 --> 10:38.509 rogue north Korea that is rapidly 10:38.509 --> 10:40.600 increasing their missiles and 10:40.600 --> 10:42.660 deliverable nuclear weapons in the 10:42.660 --> 10:44.716 Middle East and parts of Africa . We 10:44.716 --> 10:46.549 continue to see instability from 10:46.620 --> 10:50.060 terrorism in many places . And lastly 10:50.840 --> 10:53.170 the maturity of various technologies 10:53.630 --> 10:55.519 that either exist today or in the 10:55.519 --> 10:57.519 advanced stages of development when 10:57.519 --> 10:59.408 combined are likely to change the 10:59.408 --> 11:01.519 character of war just by themselves . 11:01.519 --> 11:03.741 Information technology that exploded in 11:03.741 --> 11:06.460 the 1800s , it's been an upward curve 11:06.940 --> 11:09.870 For over 150 years . You bet you this 11:09.870 --> 11:12.970 effect is almost unbelievable . No 11:12.970 --> 11:15.303 matter where you are in the world today , 11:15.303 --> 11:17.359 you can be observed from some device 11:17.440 --> 11:20.350 and as you all know what can be seen 11:20.740 --> 11:23.180 can be hit . And the proliferation of 11:23.180 --> 11:25.260 information technologies is also 11:25.260 --> 11:27.427 rapidly diffusing political power once 11:27.427 --> 11:29.149 held by nation states and it's 11:29.149 --> 11:32.960 accelerating instability . You'll be 11:32.960 --> 11:35.540 fighting with robotic tanks and ships 11:35.540 --> 11:38.360 and airplanes . We've witnessed a 11:38.360 --> 11:40.930 revolution and lethality and precision 11:40.930 --> 11:44.890 munitions . What was once the exclusive 11:44.890 --> 11:47.057 province of the United States military 11:47.057 --> 11:49.270 is now available to most nation states 11:49.270 --> 11:52.150 with the money and will to require them . 11:52.840 --> 11:55.007 There's a wide variety of technologies 11:55.007 --> 11:57.200 developing and synthetic fuels , three 11:57.200 --> 11:59.256 D . Manufacturing , medicine , human 11:59.256 --> 12:01.330 engineering and enhancement of which 12:01.420 --> 12:03.142 will have significant military 12:03.142 --> 12:05.380 implications as well . And finally 12:05.940 --> 12:08.162 there is the mother of all technologies 12:08.162 --> 12:10.329 artificial intelligence where machines 12:10.329 --> 12:12.551 are actually developing the capacity to 12:12.551 --> 12:15.700 learn and to reason these rapidly 12:15.700 --> 12:17.700 converging developments in time and 12:17.700 --> 12:20.230 space or resulting in that profound 12:20.230 --> 12:23.240 change . The most profound change ever 12:23.250 --> 12:26.640 in human history and whatever overmatch 12:26.850 --> 12:28.572 we , the United States enjoyed 12:28.572 --> 12:31.330 militarily For the last 70 years is 12:31.330 --> 12:34.530 closing quickly and the United States 12:34.530 --> 12:36.450 will be in fact , we already are 12:36.460 --> 12:39.050 challenged in every domain of warfare 12:39.540 --> 12:41.651 in space and cyber maritime , air and 12:41.651 --> 12:43.600 of course land . So what are the 12:43.600 --> 12:46.960 implications for you ? The first thing 12:47.340 --> 12:49.507 is to understand the basic outlines of 12:49.507 --> 12:51.870 this future world . Although we cannot 12:51.870 --> 12:53.981 determine the exact environment we're 12:53.981 --> 12:56.148 gonna be in the 30s and 40s and 50s or 12:56.148 --> 12:58.960 beyond . We can , through rigorous 12:58.960 --> 13:01.127 analysis determine what the world will 13:01.127 --> 13:03.293 look like . There's surely going to be 13:03.293 --> 13:05.390 a lot of surprises along the way in 13:05.390 --> 13:07.750 development of forces and weapons . But 13:07.750 --> 13:09.861 the structure and organization of our 13:09.861 --> 13:12.083 joint forces is going to have to change 13:12.083 --> 13:14.860 drastically and we know that and all of 13:14.860 --> 13:17.320 us , we're gonna have to be open minded . 13:17.330 --> 13:20.490 You most of all , we can no longer 13:20.490 --> 13:23.390 cling two concepts and organizations 13:23.390 --> 13:25.960 and the weapons of the past . We may 13:25.960 --> 13:29.510 not have divisions and cores . We may 13:29.510 --> 13:31.288 not have tanks and Bradleys and 13:31.300 --> 13:33.940 carriers and manned fighters and 13:33.940 --> 13:37.050 bombers . Additionally , the 13:37.050 --> 13:39.217 battlefield will be highly complex and 13:39.217 --> 13:41.820 almost certainly decisive in urban 13:41.820 --> 13:44.260 areas against elusive , ambiguous 13:44.260 --> 13:46.460 enemies that combined terrorism and 13:46.460 --> 13:48.182 warfare alongside conventional 13:48.182 --> 13:50.290 capabilities , all embedded within 13:50.290 --> 13:53.770 large civilian populations in this 13:53.770 --> 13:57.620 world . Your world , you're 13:57.620 --> 13:59.676 going to have to optimize yourselves 13:59.780 --> 14:02.350 for urban combat , not rural combat . 14:03.240 --> 14:05.700 That has huge implications for 14:05.700 --> 14:07.644 intelligence collection vehicles , 14:07.644 --> 14:09.367 weapons design , development , 14:09.367 --> 14:11.660 logistics , camo and all of the other 14:11.660 --> 14:14.270 aspects of our profession . The 14:14.270 --> 14:16.326 battlefield is going to be nonlinear 14:16.326 --> 14:18.381 compartmented and units are going to 14:18.381 --> 14:20.437 have non contiguous battlespace with 14:20.437 --> 14:22.437 significant geographical separation 14:22.437 --> 14:25.650 between friendly forces . You're gonna 14:25.650 --> 14:27.730 be much more lonely on a future 14:27.730 --> 14:30.360 battlefield . This type of battlefield 14:30.360 --> 14:32.471 is going to place a very high premium 14:32.540 --> 14:34.429 on independent , relatively small 14:34.429 --> 14:36.720 formations that are highly lethal and 14:36.720 --> 14:38.720 linked to very long range precision 14:38.720 --> 14:41.450 fires the exact details we don't know 14:41.450 --> 14:45.010 yet . But we need to change and we need 14:45.010 --> 14:46.843 to change our current methods of 14:46.843 --> 14:49.750 thinking . Training and fighting . The 14:49.750 --> 14:52.030 joint warfighting concept currently 14:52.030 --> 14:54.252 under development will help guide us as 14:54.252 --> 14:56.510 a roadmap to the future . But we need 14:56.510 --> 14:59.350 to chart that course very fast and for 14:59.350 --> 15:03.020 speed we need to look no further then 15:03.020 --> 15:04.964 the incredible than the incredible 15:04.964 --> 15:07.076 innovative work that the army futures 15:07.076 --> 15:09.530 command in austin texas has done and 15:09.530 --> 15:11.830 paving the way for the future . The new 15:11.830 --> 15:13.910 concepts they've developed in the 15:13.910 --> 15:16.210 weapons systems in just 36 months . 15:16.330 --> 15:19.160 They brought 20 for new programs into 15:19.160 --> 15:21.049 low rate production , a record of 15:21.049 --> 15:23.560 innovation in scale and scope and speed , 15:24.340 --> 15:26.760 unprecedented in US . Army history 15:27.740 --> 15:29.518 technology will change but this 15:29.518 --> 15:32.370 institution is about you . It's about 15:32.370 --> 15:34.640 people and the ones who are going to 15:34.640 --> 15:38.570 follow you into battle . You 15:38.570 --> 15:41.420 are our most valuable asset . You are 15:41.420 --> 15:43.198 our most significant asymmetric 15:43.198 --> 15:45.520 advantage . You represent what is 15:45.520 --> 15:47.687 inherent in the United States military 15:48.040 --> 15:49.950 for we come from a society of 15:50.280 --> 15:52.447 improvisers , a society of tinkerers , 15:52.540 --> 15:54.540 a society of innovators and problem 15:54.540 --> 15:56.800 solvers . Tech savvy at a very early 15:56.800 --> 15:59.490 age and independence of action comes 15:59.490 --> 16:03.080 natural to all americans . Self 16:03.080 --> 16:05.360 starting initiative . Disdain for 16:05.360 --> 16:08.000 boundaries and rules nonlinear , 16:08.000 --> 16:10.150 critical thinking and an aggressive 16:10.150 --> 16:12.440 will to win . Coupled with an eternal 16:12.440 --> 16:15.840 optimism to overcome all obstacles and 16:15.840 --> 16:18.170 achieve the objective . All of that is 16:18.170 --> 16:20.990 hardwired in our national D . N . A . 16:21.250 --> 16:23.417 And it's hard wired into the heart and 16:23.417 --> 16:25.980 soul of the american soldier . In the 16:25.980 --> 16:27.950 absence of supervision , the 16:27.950 --> 16:30.420 willingness to disobey specific orders 16:30.430 --> 16:32.720 to achieve the intended purpose , the 16:32.720 --> 16:34.930 willingness to take risks to meet the 16:34.930 --> 16:37.890 intent , the acceptance of failure in 16:37.890 --> 16:39.890 practice in order to learn from our 16:39.890 --> 16:42.290 experimentation . These are all the 16:42.290 --> 16:44.068 qualities that you will have to 16:44.068 --> 16:47.460 demonstrate . And finally there is 16:47.460 --> 16:50.640 character on a non contiguous , 16:51.140 --> 16:53.790 non linear battlefield with very little 16:53.790 --> 16:56.550 higher command supervision and maximum 16:56.550 --> 17:00.450 decentralization . We must we have 17:00.450 --> 17:03.070 to develop leaders who have incredible 17:03.070 --> 17:06.350 character under the intense pressure of 17:06.350 --> 17:08.740 ground combat . And there is no greater 17:08.740 --> 17:12.390 crucible than ground combat leaders who 17:12.390 --> 17:15.630 will make the right moral and ethical 17:15.630 --> 17:17.850 choice along with the right tactical 17:17.850 --> 17:20.300 choice in the most emotionally charged 17:20.300 --> 17:23.650 environment you will ever face . Each 17:23.650 --> 17:27.410 of you are those leaders . So in 17:27.410 --> 17:31.060 short , The next 20 or 25 years , 17:31.840 --> 17:34.080 it's not going to be like The last 20 17:34.080 --> 17:37.230 or 25 . The accumulating challenges we 17:37.230 --> 17:39.670 face and the changing character wars 17:39.680 --> 17:42.290 unlike anything our nation has faced 17:42.290 --> 17:45.850 before globally , there's an 17:45.850 --> 17:47.760 increase in nationalism and 17:47.760 --> 17:50.230 authoritarian governments . Regional 17:50.230 --> 17:52.341 arms races and unresolved territorial 17:52.341 --> 17:55.950 claims , ethnic and sectarian disputes 17:57.140 --> 18:00.290 in an attempt by some countries To 18:00.290 --> 18:02.346 return to an 18th century concept of 18:02.346 --> 18:04.700 balance of power politics with spheres 18:04.700 --> 18:08.260 of influence . So I went back in time a 18:08.260 --> 18:11.890 little bit when I was you 43 years 18:11.890 --> 18:15.420 ago and and I recalled some lyrics from 18:15.430 --> 18:19.050 bob Dylan and we can feel 18:19.940 --> 18:22.810 the light breeze in the air and right 18:22.810 --> 18:25.050 now as we sit here on the plain at West 18:25.050 --> 18:28.140 Point we can see the storm flags 18:28.840 --> 18:31.520 fluttering in the wind and we can hear 18:31.520 --> 18:34.520 in the distance the loud clap of 18:34.520 --> 18:37.580 thunder and howard rain 18:38.640 --> 18:42.350 it's about to fall . So let us right , 18:42.840 --> 18:44.960 let us here and now in the present , 18:45.740 --> 18:47.930 let us commit to not march into that 18:47.930 --> 18:51.010 abyss blind to the changes . Let us be 18:51.010 --> 18:53.177 prepared for the first battle . As you 18:53.177 --> 18:55.177 march off the plane of West , point 18:55.177 --> 18:57.121 into your future , let us have the 18:57.121 --> 18:59.570 vision to change and to prevent war 18:59.570 --> 19:01.640 from happening in the first place by 19:01.640 --> 19:04.170 maintaining the peace through strength 19:04.610 --> 19:06.870 of our military and the example of our 19:06.870 --> 19:10.460 values . It is up to us here today . 19:11.140 --> 19:12.990 When you graduate as you get 19:12.990 --> 19:16.960 commissioned to commit You the 19:16.960 --> 19:20.180 class of 2022 , you're gonna lead us as 19:20.180 --> 19:22.350 a nation to the environment . I just 19:22.350 --> 19:26.020 described 20 years from now in 19:26.020 --> 19:28.260 2040 to many of you are going to be 19:28.260 --> 19:30.720 colonels or brigadiers . 40 years from 19:30.720 --> 19:32.720 now , one of you is going to be the 19:32.720 --> 19:34.887 Chief of Staff of the army and another 19:34.887 --> 19:36.998 one is going to be the chairman . But 19:36.998 --> 19:38.998 no matter how long you serve and no 19:38.998 --> 19:41.690 matter what rank your rise to your job 19:41.690 --> 19:43.760 is going to be deter great power war 19:44.060 --> 19:46.860 and maintain the great power of peace . 19:48.240 --> 19:51.270 Lastly , you're about to take an oath 19:52.040 --> 19:54.760 as a commissioned officer in just a few 19:54.760 --> 19:56.704 minutes , you've already taken the 19:56.704 --> 19:58.649 south . When you first entered the 19:58.649 --> 20:00.704 academy , this oath is going to be , 20:01.040 --> 20:04.000 you're forever North Star . And by 20:04.000 --> 20:05.944 taking this oath , you're publicly 20:05.944 --> 20:08.056 stating that you're willing to suffer 20:08.056 --> 20:09.944 grievous wounds . You're publicly 20:09.944 --> 20:12.167 stating that you're willing to separate 20:12.167 --> 20:14.389 from your family for unknown periods of 20:14.389 --> 20:16.611 time to lose an eye or an arm or leg to 20:16.611 --> 20:18.810 make great sacrifice . In fact , 1628 20:18.810 --> 20:22.660 of you cadets graduated before you 20:23.440 --> 20:25.440 have been killed in action . They 20:25.440 --> 20:28.120 sacrifice all of their tomorrows . For 20:28.120 --> 20:31.370 today they laid the last full measure 20:31.370 --> 20:33.690 of devotion on the altar of freedom to 20:33.690 --> 20:35.690 protect the values enshrined in our 20:35.690 --> 20:38.180 constitution . And this is the essence 20:38.710 --> 20:41.070 for the long gray line . You are 20:41.070 --> 20:43.181 connected to them , to each other and 20:43.181 --> 20:45.348 to all who come before you and all who 20:45.348 --> 20:47.403 will follow you . And if there's one 20:47.403 --> 20:49.900 message you remember from today , it's 20:49.900 --> 20:52.400 the message of your oath . The message 20:52.400 --> 20:54.511 of what we stand for . The message of 20:54.511 --> 20:56.630 why we fight and embedded within the 20:56.630 --> 20:58.574 documents that we call the U . S . 20:58.574 --> 21:00.650 Constitution and the declaration of 21:00.650 --> 21:03.320 Independence is the idea the idea that 21:03.320 --> 21:06.090 is american . And this idea is simple , 21:07.040 --> 21:09.320 but it's incredibly powerful . It's so 21:09.320 --> 21:12.470 powerful that the nazis were definitely 21:12.470 --> 21:14.860 afraid of it . We defeated Imperial 21:14.860 --> 21:17.250 Japan because of it . The communists 21:17.250 --> 21:19.417 feared that the soviet union collapsed 21:19.417 --> 21:21.528 because of it , the fascists in Italy 21:21.528 --> 21:24.180 and the terrorists of Al Qaeda and ISIS . 21:24.190 --> 21:26.730 They hate it . They hate this idea 21:28.240 --> 21:31.870 and we take an oath not to a person , a 21:31.870 --> 21:34.800 king or queen , not to a dictator or a 21:34.800 --> 21:37.530 tyrant or would be dictator . We don't 21:37.530 --> 21:39.700 take an oath to a religion or a tribe 21:39.880 --> 21:43.680 or even a country . No , we swear an 21:43.680 --> 21:47.170 oath to an idea . No idea . That is 21:47.170 --> 21:50.670 America . So what is this powerful idea ? 21:51.540 --> 21:53.596 Well , look around you as you sit in 21:53.596 --> 21:55.818 front of me , look around you right now 21:55.818 --> 21:57.929 and you can see that idea . Just look 21:57.929 --> 22:00.420 to your left and your right and the 22:00.420 --> 22:03.760 idea is that Every single one of you , 22:04.240 --> 22:06.650 it doesn't matter if you're male or 22:06.650 --> 22:09.060 female or gay or something in between . 22:09.530 --> 22:11.990 It doesn't matter . It doesn't matter 22:11.990 --> 22:14.590 if you're black or you're white , asian 22:14.590 --> 22:16.940 or indian , it doesn't matter the color 22:16.940 --> 22:19.220 of your skin . It doesn't matter if 22:19.220 --> 22:21.442 you're catholic or you're protestant or 22:21.442 --> 22:23.442 you're muslim or a jew . It doesn't 22:23.442 --> 22:25.664 matter if you don't believe at all . It 22:25.664 --> 22:27.887 doesn't matter where you came from what 22:27.887 --> 22:29.998 your last name is , what your country 22:29.998 --> 22:29.830 of origin is . Doesn't matter if you're 22:29.830 --> 22:33.140 rich or poor , famous or common . None 22:33.140 --> 22:37.030 of that matters . The idea that's 22:37.030 --> 22:39.490 in that document . The idea for which 22:39.490 --> 22:41.940 you are willing to die . The idea that 22:41.940 --> 22:44.520 in this constitution has propelled our 22:44.520 --> 22:47.270 nation to some of our darkest days , 22:47.940 --> 22:50.750 all it says that in this country , in 22:50.750 --> 22:53.200 these United States , under these 22:53.200 --> 22:55.990 colors of red , white and blue , no 22:55.990 --> 22:59.090 matter who you are , every single one 22:59.090 --> 23:01.170 of us , by the grace of the Almighty 23:01.170 --> 23:03.870 God in heaven is an american and every 23:03.870 --> 23:07.600 single one of us is born free and equal 23:07.610 --> 23:10.060 and you will rise or you're gonna fall 23:10.440 --> 23:12.850 based on your talent . You're married , 23:13.240 --> 23:15.730 your attributes , your hard work , your 23:15.730 --> 23:18.390 perseverance and you're gonna be judged 23:18.400 --> 23:20.580 by the content of your character , not 23:20.580 --> 23:22.636 the color of your skin . And we hold 23:22.636 --> 23:25.950 these truths to be self evident that 23:25.950 --> 23:28.280 all men and all women are created equal 23:28.280 --> 23:30.410 and they're endowed by their creator 23:30.410 --> 23:32.570 with certain inalienable rights and 23:32.570 --> 23:35.390 among those are life , Liberty and the 23:35.390 --> 23:37.830 pursuit of happiness . That is what you 23:37.830 --> 23:40.230 are committing yourself to today in 23:40.230 --> 23:42.119 just a few minutes . That is what 23:42.119 --> 23:44.341 you're all about . That is why you will 23:44.341 --> 23:46.508 fight . That is why you will win . And 23:46.508 --> 23:48.960 you will never ever ever turn your back 23:48.960 --> 23:51.340 on that constitution . No matter what 23:51.340 --> 23:54.160 the prices to yourself , that's what 23:54.160 --> 23:56.327 guides every beating heart in the long 23:56.327 --> 23:58.327 gray line today . And that's what's 23:58.327 --> 24:00.382 guided it ever since the first day . 24:02.340 --> 24:05.210 Yeah . Okay , 24:11.340 --> 24:14.450 so it's now time for you The class of 24:14.450 --> 24:18.300 22 to take the torch and protect and 24:18.300 --> 24:20.411 defend the Constitution of the United 24:20.411 --> 24:22.467 States against all enemies , foreign 24:22.467 --> 24:25.230 and domestic . Lieutenants . We're 24:25.230 --> 24:27.410 proud of you . Mhm . You have a 24:27.420 --> 24:29.850 difficult and dangerous road ahead and 24:30.640 --> 24:32.890 No one should underestimate it . But 24:32.890 --> 24:36.160 you also have the opportunity the 24:36.160 --> 24:38.980 opportunity to navigate through those 24:38.980 --> 24:42.120 dangerous roads ahead and to lead our 24:42.120 --> 24:44.700 nation's most precious resource , the 24:44.700 --> 24:46.920 young men and women who donned the 24:46.920 --> 24:48.920 cloth of this nation , the american 24:48.920 --> 24:50.698 soldier . We all have faith and 24:50.698 --> 24:53.031 confidence in each and every one of you . 24:53.031 --> 24:55.309 Congratulations to you and your family . 24:55.309 --> 24:57.253 May God bless West Point , May God 24:57.253 --> 24:59.309 bless the United States Army and May 24:59.309 --> 25:01.587 God bless the United States of America . 25:03.140 --> 25:03.350 Mhm .