WEBVTT 00:00.899 --> 00:03.970 How's it going , everybody ? Sir , good 00:03.970 --> 00:06.026 to see you . It's been a great day , 00:06.150 --> 00:08.206 really , uh , any , any day we could 00:08.206 --> 00:10.206 spend with the troops from the very 00:10.206 --> 00:11.872 early morning of PT with some 00:11.872 --> 00:14.649 high-speed guys and gals to two cocoms 00:14.649 --> 00:16.705 that are right in the front lines of 00:16.705 --> 00:18.705 advancing American interests , um , 00:18.705 --> 00:20.538 proud to be here today . Just an 00:20.538 --> 00:22.316 impressive display of , of what 00:22.316 --> 00:25.040 Americans are doing in far flung places , 00:25.409 --> 00:28.069 uh , for the American people . Proud to 00:28.069 --> 00:30.125 be here for sure . I think we have a 00:30.125 --> 00:32.013 local . Where's where's our local 00:32.013 --> 00:34.180 reporter ? I'd like to go first to our 00:34.180 --> 00:33.029 local . Thanks so much . So are you the 00:33.029 --> 00:35.140 newspaper in Germany . Well , it's my 00:35.140 --> 00:33.240 favorite now . 00:45.029 --> 00:47.830 You are visiting Africa as one of your 00:47.830 --> 00:50.229 first points in your duty . Does that 00:50.229 --> 00:53.869 mean that the American strategic aims 00:53.869 --> 00:57.040 in Africa are going to change ? Well , 00:57.049 --> 00:59.200 I think it's a reflection of the 00:59.200 --> 01:01.311 importance of that command as well as 01:01.311 --> 01:03.720 UCO . We spent this morning at UCO as 01:03.720 --> 01:06.040 well . It made sense to come to both if 01:06.040 --> 01:08.262 we're here in Germany , but it's also a 01:08.262 --> 01:10.480 reflection that you know the PRC's 01:10.480 --> 01:13.160 intentions are pernicious , not just in 01:13.160 --> 01:15.720 their part of the world , but also in 01:15.720 --> 01:17.553 South America and on the African 01:17.553 --> 01:21.099 continent and . America's posture 01:21.099 --> 01:23.419 there along with allies and partners is 01:23.419 --> 01:25.530 going to matter about contesting that 01:25.530 --> 01:27.620 space so it certainly remains a 01:27.620 --> 01:29.453 priority . You saw the strike in 01:29.453 --> 01:33.339 Somalia on February 1st that as 01:33.339 --> 01:35.506 we talk to the command , that's that's 01:35.506 --> 01:37.617 a reflection also of pushing decision 01:37.617 --> 01:39.728 authority down . Untying the hands of 01:39.728 --> 01:42.319 war fighters who in the previous 01:42.319 --> 01:44.430 administration made multiple requests 01:44.430 --> 01:46.597 and were often denied for that kind of 01:46.597 --> 01:48.708 kinetic action or the decision had to 01:48.708 --> 01:50.652 be made at the White House when it 01:50.652 --> 01:52.763 should be made at the 4 star level or 01:52.763 --> 01:52.720 at the Secretary of Defense level more 01:52.720 --> 01:55.000 quickly based on the ability to degrade 01:55.000 --> 01:57.639 the enemy . So this is a very important 01:57.639 --> 01:59.361 part of the world for us . The 01:59.361 --> 02:01.528 president feels that way as well , and 02:01.528 --> 02:03.695 we're honored to be here . Thank you , 02:03.695 --> 02:05.750 Mr . Secretary . Are you planning to 02:05.750 --> 02:07.806 cut the number of American forces in 02:07.806 --> 02:09.806 Europe , shift to the Pacific , and 02:09.806 --> 02:11.830 focus on China ? There are no plans 02:11.830 --> 02:14.163 right now in the making to cut anything . 02:14.360 --> 02:15.990 Uh , there are , there is an 02:16.649 --> 02:18.760 understanding that we're gonna review 02:18.760 --> 02:21.038 force posture across the world , right ? 02:21.038 --> 02:22.816 Uh , President Trump's planning 02:22.816 --> 02:25.093 assumptions are different in many ways , 02:25.093 --> 02:27.260 or at least strategic assumptions than 02:27.260 --> 02:29.371 Joe Biden's were . We certainly don't 02:29.371 --> 02:31.093 want a plan on the back of the 02:31.093 --> 02:30.960 withdrawal from Afghanistan and what 02:30.960 --> 02:32.960 happened on October 7th and the war 02:32.960 --> 02:35.016 that was unleashed in Ukraine . Uh , 02:35.016 --> 02:37.127 you have to manage and mitigate those 02:37.127 --> 02:39.349 things by coming alongside your friends 02:39.349 --> 02:41.516 in Israel , ensuring their defense and 02:41.516 --> 02:43.571 peacefully resolving the conflict in 02:43.571 --> 02:45.627 Ukraine . But those shouldn't define 02:45.627 --> 02:47.682 how we orient and with a hopefully a 02:47.682 --> 02:49.793 rapid peace deal in Ukraine which the 02:49.793 --> 02:49.759 president is committed to delivering . 02:50.229 --> 02:52.639 We can then review force posture and 02:52.639 --> 02:54.750 encourage as we're gonna you're gonna 02:54.750 --> 02:56.861 see tomorrow in Ukraine and uh at the 02:56.861 --> 02:58.806 Ukraine contact group and the NATO 02:58.806 --> 03:00.917 ministerial we're gonna have straight 03:00.917 --> 03:02.972 talk with our friends . This kind of 03:02.972 --> 03:05.195 urgency of this moment requires friends 03:05.195 --> 03:07.417 talking to friends about capabilities , 03:07.417 --> 03:09.583 about leadership , about stepping up , 03:09.583 --> 03:12.110 about burden sharing and the incentives 03:12.360 --> 03:14.559 to say the European continent deserves 03:14.559 --> 03:17.389 to be free from any aggression , but it 03:17.389 --> 03:19.611 ought to be those in the neighborhood . 03:19.611 --> 03:22.139 Investing the most in that collective 03:22.139 --> 03:24.139 individual and collective defense , 03:24.139 --> 03:26.195 that's common sense as the president 03:26.195 --> 03:28.417 talks a lot about . Common sense is you 03:28.417 --> 03:30.250 defend your neighborhood and the 03:30.250 --> 03:32.306 Americans will come alongside you in 03:32.306 --> 03:34.306 helping in that defense if and when 03:34.306 --> 03:36.361 that happens , and I believe it will 03:36.361 --> 03:38.528 because of President Trump , uh , your 03:38.528 --> 03:40.639 most NATO countries are already close 03:40.639 --> 03:42.639 to 2% . We believe that needs to be 03:42.639 --> 03:44.806 higher . The president has said 5% . I 03:44.806 --> 03:46.639 think he's right . Um , that's a 03:46.639 --> 03:48.750 reflection of a need to invest on the 03:48.750 --> 03:50.695 continent if and when that happens 03:50.695 --> 03:52.417 through investments in defense 03:52.417 --> 03:54.472 industrial base as well , then yes , 03:54.472 --> 03:56.695 America as the leader of the free world 03:56.695 --> 03:58.806 defending American interests is gonna 03:58.806 --> 03:58.789 need to make sure we're focused 03:58.789 --> 04:00.910 properly on the communist Chinese and 04:00.910 --> 04:03.270 their ambitions in the Indo-Pacific and 04:03.270 --> 04:05.548 as I mentioned before around the world , 04:05.710 --> 04:07.599 uh , so we would be remiss in not 04:07.599 --> 04:09.654 reviewing force posture everywhere , 04:09.654 --> 04:11.599 but it would be the wrong planning 04:11.599 --> 04:13.321 assumption to say oh America . 04:13.321 --> 04:15.210 abandoning something or America's 04:15.210 --> 04:17.135 leaving . No , America's smart to 04:17.295 --> 04:20.464 observe , plan , prioritize and project 04:20.464 --> 04:23.214 power where we need to deter conflict . 04:23.265 --> 04:25.432 We don't want conflict with China . We 04:25.432 --> 04:27.543 don't want that the president has ran 04:27.543 --> 04:29.543 on being a peace president and he's 04:29.543 --> 04:31.543 delivered that . But being strong , 04:31.543 --> 04:33.765 peace through strength is how you deter 04:33.765 --> 04:35.821 that and we want to posture for that 04:35.821 --> 04:37.765 just like we believe the Europeans 04:37.765 --> 04:37.424 alongside our support need to on the 04:37.424 --> 04:39.368 continent as well . Is the biggest 04:39.368 --> 04:41.424 threat to the United States ? Well , 04:41.424 --> 04:43.368 right now . The biggest threat was 04:43.368 --> 04:45.535 securing our own border , which we are 04:45.535 --> 04:47.646 addressing rapidly , and I'm proud of 04:47.646 --> 04:49.813 what NorthCOM has done and the Defense 04:49.813 --> 04:52.035 Department has done is shifting there . 04:52.035 --> 04:51.440 You don't have a country if you don't 04:51.440 --> 04:53.440 have borders , as the president has 04:53.440 --> 04:55.607 pointed out , and we've been defending 04:55.607 --> 04:55.529 other people's borders for a long time , 04:55.559 --> 04:57.726 time to defend ours , so we're sealing 04:57.726 --> 04:59.837 that border . We're continue to doing 04:59.837 --> 05:02.059 that , but as far as external threats , 05:02.059 --> 05:04.059 there's just no doubt the communist 05:04.059 --> 05:06.309 Chinese ambitions are robust . Their 05:06.309 --> 05:08.365 view of the world is quite different 05:08.365 --> 05:09.365 than ours , 05:21.239 --> 05:23.183 and whoever carries that mantle is 05:23.183 --> 05:21.459 going to set the tone for the 21st 05:21.459 --> 05:23.570 century . Why was it so important for 05:23.570 --> 05:22.709 you to do this and I did do PT with the 05:22.709 --> 05:25.429 troops this morning . Uh , I , I , I , 05:25.500 --> 05:27.722 it's not that long ago that I was right 05:27.722 --> 05:29.611 there with them . I probably , no 05:29.611 --> 05:31.778 offense , General , I probably connect 05:31.778 --> 05:33.889 more with those guys than I do with 4 05:33.889 --> 05:35.778 star generals , but now I get the 05:35.778 --> 05:35.760 chance of working with 4 stars and , 05:35.769 --> 05:37.779 and others who are committed to the 05:37.779 --> 05:40.001 troops . But when I can get down , uh , 05:40.001 --> 05:42.299 do pushups and , uh , deadlifts with 05:42.299 --> 05:44.355 the troops , um , and just hear from 05:44.355 --> 05:47.739 them what's working , what isn't . Um , 05:48.369 --> 05:50.591 how , how do you see your mission set ? 05:50.591 --> 05:52.647 I love , I love that . Uh , so there 05:52.647 --> 05:54.869 was never a doubt even though we got in 05:54.869 --> 05:53.850 at 2 in the morning that we were 05:53.850 --> 05:55.794 getting up a couple , couple hours 05:55.794 --> 05:58.070 later to go do do PT . Uh , it's a 05:58.070 --> 06:00.369 reminder that you guys , the press in 06:00.369 --> 06:03.119 Washington might think I'm young . But 06:03.119 --> 06:05.679 in military terms I'm old , uh , and 06:05.679 --> 06:07.679 that showed this morning with these 06:07.679 --> 06:09.901 young guys who ran circles around me in 06:09.901 --> 06:12.989 that parking lot . Thanks for doing 06:12.989 --> 06:14.878 this . You mentioned earlier that 06:14.878 --> 06:17.100 President Trump wants NATO countries to 06:17.100 --> 06:20.559 spend 5% of their GDP on defense . Do 06:20.559 --> 06:22.670 you think the US should also spend 5% 06:22.670 --> 06:24.837 of its GDP on defense ? Well , I think 06:24.837 --> 06:26.948 the US needs . To spend more than the 06:26.948 --> 06:29.170 Biden administration was willing to who 06:29.170 --> 06:31.059 historically underinvested in the 06:31.059 --> 06:33.170 capabilities of our military , so the 06:33.170 --> 06:35.392 president is committed as he was in the 06:35.392 --> 06:37.337 first term to rebuilding America's 06:37.337 --> 06:39.503 military by investing and you're gonna 06:39.503 --> 06:39.049 see that in the conversations on 06:39.049 --> 06:40.938 Capitol Hill . We've already been 06:40.938 --> 06:43.049 intimately involved with the folks on 06:43.049 --> 06:45.216 Hask and Sask and the appropriations , 06:45.329 --> 06:47.329 uh , talking about the capability . 06:47.329 --> 06:49.551 We're gonna need not just next year and 06:49.551 --> 06:51.662 the year after that or for the next 4 06:51.662 --> 06:53.718 years but for power projection going 06:53.718 --> 06:55.885 forward and then the reforms needed to 06:55.885 --> 06:57.718 make sure that every dollar goes 06:57.718 --> 06:59.940 further now at a minimum we should , we 06:59.940 --> 07:02.107 should not go below 3% . That's a view 07:02.107 --> 07:04.162 I know the president shares , but as 07:04.162 --> 07:06.218 far as going forward in that , those 07:06.218 --> 07:08.385 are decisions he will make based on my 07:08.385 --> 07:10.496 consultations with him . Listen , any 07:10.496 --> 07:12.496 defense secretary would be lying if 07:12.496 --> 07:14.607 they said they didn't want more . You 07:14.607 --> 07:16.773 always want more , uh , but we live in 07:16.773 --> 07:18.773 fiscally constrained times where we 07:18.773 --> 07:18.540 need to be responsible with taxpayer 07:18.540 --> 07:21.540 dollars . We're $37 trillion in debt . 07:21.619 --> 07:23.841 That's a national security liability as 07:23.841 --> 07:26.063 well . So we're gonna work with Capitol 07:26.063 --> 07:28.119 Hill , president . Going to lead the 07:28.119 --> 07:30.286 way on making sure the troops have the 07:30.286 --> 07:29.809 resources they need and that we truly 07:30.019 --> 07:31.741 rebuild our military just like 07:31.741 --> 07:33.963 President Trump did in the first term . 07:33.989 --> 07:36.100 Biden vowed against sending US troops 07:36.100 --> 07:38.190 into Ukraine . Would you be open to 07:38.190 --> 07:40.470 sending US troops into Ukraine to track 07:40.470 --> 07:42.637 weapons shipments ? We are not sending 07:42.637 --> 07:44.192 US troops to Ukraine . Uh , 07:47.519 --> 07:49.297 you talked to Elon Musk and the 07:49.297 --> 07:49.269 Pentagon in the next few weeks . Do you 07:49.269 --> 07:51.102 expect him to start unilaterally 07:51.102 --> 07:53.269 cutting programs and contracts the way 07:53.269 --> 07:55.380 he's done at USA and other agencies , 07:55.380 --> 07:57.602 and are there any limits or supervision 07:57.602 --> 07:57.200 you'd want to place on his team given 07:57.200 --> 08:00.399 his conflicts of interest ? Well , uh , 08:00.429 --> 08:02.485 we've been in touch with , I've I've 08:02.485 --> 08:04.707 been in touch with with Elon Musk who's 08:04.707 --> 08:06.485 a great patriot . Interested in 08:06.485 --> 08:08.818 advancing the America first agenda , um , 08:08.818 --> 08:10.707 knows that President Trump got 77 08:10.707 --> 08:12.707 million votes in a mandate from the 08:12.707 --> 08:14.818 American people , and part of that is 08:14.818 --> 08:14.619 bringing actual businesslike efficiency 08:14.619 --> 08:16.563 to government , hence what Doge is 08:16.563 --> 08:18.786 doing . Uh , we've been talking to them 08:18.786 --> 08:20.952 in partnership with them and as I said 08:20.952 --> 08:23.063 on social media , we welcome those to 08:23.063 --> 08:24.952 the Pentagon , uh , and I hope to 08:24.952 --> 08:27.063 welcome Elo to the Pentagon very soon 08:27.063 --> 08:29.175 and his team working in collaboration 08:29.175 --> 08:31.230 with us . There is , there are waste 08:31.230 --> 08:33.239 redundancies and headcounts and 08:33.239 --> 08:35.517 headquarters that need to be addressed . 08:35.517 --> 08:37.628 There's just no doubt . Look at a lot 08:37.628 --> 08:39.795 of the climate programs that have been 08:39.795 --> 08:41.795 pursued at the Defense Department . 08:41.795 --> 08:41.559 Defense Department is not in the 08:41.559 --> 08:44.479 business of climate change , solving 08:44.479 --> 08:46.559 the global . Thermostat we're in the 08:46.559 --> 08:48.837 business of deterring and winning wars , 08:48.880 --> 08:50.880 uh , so things like that we want to 08:50.880 --> 08:52.991 look forward to find efficiencies and 08:52.991 --> 08:55.102 many others the way we acquire weapon 08:55.102 --> 08:56.991 system procurement , uh , there's 08:56.991 --> 08:59.213 plenty of places where we want the keen 08:59.213 --> 09:01.436 eye of Doge , but they'll , we'll do it 09:01.436 --> 09:03.491 in coordination . We're not gonna do 09:03.491 --> 09:05.491 things that are to the detriment of 09:05.491 --> 09:05.440 American operational or tactical 09:05.440 --> 09:07.440 capabilities . There's just the 09:07.440 --> 09:09.384 President Trump is is committed to 09:09.384 --> 09:11.607 delivering the best possible military . 09:11.607 --> 09:13.718 The Defense Department is not USAID . 09:13.849 --> 09:15.905 USAID's got a lot of problems that I 09:15.905 --> 09:18.016 talked about with the troops pursuing 09:18.016 --> 09:20.016 globalist agendas that don't have a 09:20.016 --> 09:21.960 connection to America first . Um , 09:21.960 --> 09:24.182 that's not the Defense Department , but 09:24.182 --> 09:26.127 we're also not perfect either . So 09:26.127 --> 09:28.349 where we can find billions of dollars , 09:28.349 --> 09:30.516 and he's right to save billions inside 09:30.516 --> 09:32.627 the Defense Department , every dollar 09:32.627 --> 09:32.229 we save there is a dollar that goes to 09:32.229 --> 09:34.340 warfighters , and that's good for the 09:34.340 --> 09:38.200 American people . I have a 09:38.200 --> 09:40.270 question about Africa . Now when you 09:40.270 --> 09:42.270 serve , you jihadists in the Middle 09:42.270 --> 09:44.437 East and there's a lot of jihadists in 09:44.437 --> 09:46.659 Africa , whether it's ISIS , Al Qaeda , 09:46.659 --> 09:49.349 al-Shabaab , go on and on . How do you 09:49.349 --> 09:51.469 plan to handle that ? I'm not saying 09:51.469 --> 09:53.580 put troops on the ground in Africa to 09:53.580 --> 09:55.802 fight them , but are you concerned that 09:55.802 --> 09:57.913 there could be some sort of cell that 09:57.913 --> 10:00.136 might be plotting attacks against other 10:00.136 --> 10:02.413 parts of the world , trying to recruit . 10:02.413 --> 10:04.358 because it's Africa with a growing 10:04.358 --> 10:06.302 population . How concerned are you 10:06.302 --> 10:08.247 about the jihad threat in Africa ? 10:08.247 --> 10:10.469 Definitely concerned . I mean , anybody 10:10.469 --> 10:12.691 of anybody of my generation that served 10:12.691 --> 10:14.858 in Iraq and Afghanistan or been a part 10:14.858 --> 10:17.025 of post 9/11 understands the threat of 10:17.025 --> 10:19.247 global jihad , especially the desire to 10:19.247 --> 10:21.136 export that against our allies in 10:21.136 --> 10:23.025 Europe or Israel or certainly the 10:23.025 --> 10:24.913 United States of America . So the 10:24.913 --> 10:26.969 counterterrorism threat . Focused on 10:26.969 --> 10:29.080 those who would seek to do us harm is 10:29.080 --> 10:29.030 at the highest priority , which is why 10:29.030 --> 10:31.950 you saw what AFRICO did so well in that 10:31.950 --> 10:34.780 strike in Somalia where we see those 10:35.229 --> 10:37.118 growing plotting or planning with 10:37.118 --> 10:39.340 increased capabilities , we will strike 10:39.340 --> 10:42.380 and that that that pertains to Islamist 10:42.380 --> 10:44.658 organizations all across the continent , 10:44.658 --> 10:46.769 um , but it also we have to work with 10:46.769 --> 10:48.824 partners and allies . I mean foreign 10:48.824 --> 10:51.030 internal defense and uh security force 10:51.030 --> 10:53.030 assistance . I was with Green Green 10:53.030 --> 10:55.030 Berets this morning . You know , we 10:55.030 --> 10:57.030 think of Green Berets , uh , in the 10:57.030 --> 10:59.197 context of post 9/11 , right , kicking 10:59.197 --> 11:01.419 down doors and they they're really good 11:01.419 --> 11:03.530 at that , but what they're best at is 11:03.530 --> 11:03.320 doing security force assistance and 11:03.320 --> 11:05.320 foreign internal defense where they 11:05.320 --> 11:07.264 work with local security forces to 11:07.264 --> 11:09.264 build up their capabilities so that 11:09.264 --> 11:11.130 it's indigenous forces fighting 11:11.130 --> 11:13.241 Islamists because they want to secure 11:13.241 --> 11:15.352 their country as well , uh , and AFRO 11:15.352 --> 11:17.400 is very directly committed to doing 11:17.400 --> 11:19.622 that . That's a mission very much worth 11:19.622 --> 11:23.159 resourcing . And if I mean Africa is 11:23.159 --> 11:25.210 very much the front lines of a of a 11:25.210 --> 11:27.099 fight from Islamists . You've got 11:27.099 --> 11:29.154 Christian populations that are under 11:29.154 --> 11:30.988 siege in Africa and have been uh 11:30.988 --> 11:33.280 ignored for far too long and American 11:33.280 --> 11:35.447 interests there , uh , it , it matters 11:35.447 --> 11:37.613 a great deal and Islamists , we're not 11:37.613 --> 11:39.724 gonna allow them to maintain a . Hold 11:39.724 --> 11:42.002 especially to try to strike at America . 11:42.002 --> 11:44.002 We're going with two questions from 11:44.002 --> 11:46.169 these two local one more here and then 11:46.169 --> 11:48.391 here the strikes also related to Africa 11:48.391 --> 11:50.613 and Somalia during the end of President 11:50.613 --> 11:52.836 Trump's first term , he elected to pull 11:52.836 --> 11:54.836 forces out of Somalia and switch to 11:54.836 --> 11:56.558 more of a rotational concept . 11:56.558 --> 11:58.960 President Biden sent Troops back in 11:58.960 --> 12:01.159 there on a full time basis . What's 12:01.159 --> 12:03.950 your vision going forward for Somalia ? 12:04.440 --> 12:06.496 Do you want to maintain troops there 12:06.496 --> 12:08.662 continuously , or are you looking more 12:08.662 --> 12:10.718 towards pulling them back ? Well , I 12:10.718 --> 12:10.159 mean , I want to listen to the 12:10.159 --> 12:12.130 commanders on the ground first and 12:12.130 --> 12:14.352 foremost , as does the president . He's 12:14.352 --> 12:16.408 charged me with , hey , give me your 12:16.408 --> 12:18.630 best advice , but also keep your ear to 12:18.630 --> 12:20.741 the ground of what's most effective . 12:20.741 --> 12:22.686 But he's also been Very clear that 12:22.686 --> 12:24.908 we're not trying to have American boots 12:24.908 --> 12:26.852 all over the globe where we can do 12:26.852 --> 12:28.963 counterterrorism effectively over the 12:28.963 --> 12:31.074 horizon , that's the preference , but 12:31.074 --> 12:33.130 we'll review the force posture there 12:33.130 --> 12:35.297 with with the generals doing the heavy 12:35.297 --> 12:36.908 lifting and and take it into 12:36.908 --> 12:36.375 consideration , no doubt , but 12:36.375 --> 12:38.455 thankfully we had the intelligence 12:38.455 --> 12:40.566 capabilities to do the kind of strike 12:40.566 --> 12:42.622 that we saw and we believe we can do 12:42.622 --> 12:46.159 more of that . So , so you , um , 12:46.169 --> 12:49.119 renamed the name of Fort Liberty into 12:49.119 --> 12:51.690 Fort Bragg , and you are not a private 12:51.690 --> 12:53.579 first class who lost his life for 12:53.579 --> 12:55.849 liberating Germany . What does that 12:55.849 --> 12:59.830 mean for the US forces ? Well , first 12:59.830 --> 13:03.049 it means rag is back . It means the 13:03.049 --> 13:04.919 legacy of an institution that 13:04.919 --> 13:07.210 generations of Americans have mobilized 13:07.210 --> 13:09.377 through and served at is back . I mean 13:09.377 --> 13:12.049 it's a shame what was done to vets , 13:12.090 --> 13:14.312 service members , their families , uh , 13:14.312 --> 13:16.423 who were born there , deployed out of 13:16.423 --> 13:18.479 there , lived there , gave the I was 13:18.479 --> 13:20.479 with airborne troops here , some of 13:20.479 --> 13:22.646 which spent 25 years at Fort Bragg and 13:22.646 --> 13:24.868 never called it Fort Liberty because it 13:24.868 --> 13:27.090 wasn't Fort Liberty , it's Fort Bragg . 13:27.090 --> 13:27.030 And so I was honored to be able to put 13:27.030 --> 13:29.197 my signature on that by the way , with 13:29.197 --> 13:31.197 the support of the President of the 13:31.197 --> 13:33.363 United States who set the tone on this 13:33.363 --> 13:35.641 and said , I want Fort Bragg back , uh , 13:35.641 --> 13:37.710 and we're honored to to to support a 13:37.710 --> 13:40.390 private first class who received a 13:40.390 --> 13:43.190 Purple Heart and the Silver Star at the 13:43.190 --> 13:45.301 Battle of the Bulge , uh , you know , 13:45.309 --> 13:47.476 we've got , we're honoring a private . 13:47.476 --> 13:49.642 First class and I'm proud that we have 13:49.642 --> 13:51.420 a a Marine Corporal is the vice 13:51.420 --> 13:51.390 president of the United States too . 13:51.880 --> 13:53.936 Junior listed have never seen better 13:53.936 --> 13:55.880 days , uh , but it's , it's , it's 13:55.880 --> 13:57.824 about that legacy . It's about the 13:57.824 --> 13:59.880 connection to the community to those 13:59.880 --> 14:01.936 who served , uh , and we're not , as 14:01.936 --> 14:04.158 the president has said and I've said as 14:04.158 --> 14:06.380 well , we're not done there . There are 14:06.380 --> 14:08.602 many of there are other bases that have 14:08.602 --> 14:10.824 been renamed that erodes that very same 14:10.824 --> 14:12.936 legacy . There's a reason I said brag 14:12.936 --> 14:14.880 and Benning when I walked into the 14:14.880 --> 14:14.799 Pentagon on day one , but it's not just 14:14.799 --> 14:17.021 brag and Benning . Uh , there are a lot 14:17.021 --> 14:18.966 of other service members that have 14:18.966 --> 14:21.077 connections , uh , and we're gonna do 14:21.077 --> 14:20.659 our best to restore it . It's an honor 14:20.659 --> 14:22.937 to do so . Thank you all for your time . 14:22.937 --> 14:25.270 I appreciate it . Thank you . Thank you . 14:25.500 --> 14:26.460 Thank you . Thank you .