Annual meeting of the association of the association of the united dates army. You know him. He is wellknown and is known internationally. The privilege of serving alongside of him, and you can define our keynote speaker with one word, and i would choose patriot. His veryhat he is at core. They dos and gentlemen, please welcome the secretary of ladieshe honorable and gentlemen, please welcome the secretary of defense, the honorable james mattis. [applause] thank you. Attis take you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, general. Is an absolute delight to be here with you all, and i do appreciate being invited to Something Like this. I probably could find no place in washington, d. C. , today to be more inhome back with you. Secretary mccarthy, it meeting in those uncertain days after afghanistan, and we served for many years after that. Thank you for coming back, sir. It is a pleasure to serve with you once again. General millie, we served together. We have known each other over , and you bleed red, white, and blue, and sergeant besides deciding to go out on the Obstacle Course , that army 10 miler yesterday, i guess that was just your warmup for this morning, so in the truest tradition of you puts, where yourself in difficult circumstances voluntarily, thank you for your leadership, as well. After that presentation, i am going down to the recruiting office and signed up for another 40 years. I guarantee you. [applause] it was also sos the to remind us about the priorities, something they made very clear in their time in office, and that is something we will talk more about. Very pleased to take some questions at the end of this, so lets see if i can close the gap between the secretary of defense and all of you out there for a little bit. I would just tell you that i recognize that whatever ranks we in thisay or once wore, inm, we are all coequal this wonderful experiment we call america and protecting our people and our constitution, and we are home equal we are coequal, and we have always had devotion. Coequal i am glad to be here with you, those who hold the line in this world, and i want to Say Something about veterans. Frontg to people on the lines, and i just returned from afghanistan a few years ago, the only thing i think they fear is letting down you at the legacy you bequeath to them, because they know based on that there than whathing worse you face in difficult days, and that build their confidence, and especially for me on a personal level, thank you to the vietnam who, as we heard a presentation, stayed in the army, rebuilt the army. They were the veterans that raised me in the marine corps and made me the marine that i am, so to all veterans and especially vietnam veterans, you have my affection for what you have done for our country. Thank you. [applause] mattis thanks very much. To our medal of honor winner into all of you who have been decorated and recognized for valor in combat, i just want to say for you, in great deeds, something abides. Regardless of which core where you earned the respect of your fellow warriors, it it echoes down our ranks. To our families who join us here today, as general chamberlin said, in the years after the civil war, we prayed daily to be worthy of your sacrifice. Thank you. [applause] secretary mattis as your secretary of defense, i am honored to join you. I am grateful to serve once again alongside the soldiers of the greatest army and the most trusted army on earth, to serve once again among the disciplined, ethical, capable, highspirited soldiers, whose character i have seen rise to every occasion in the worst possible circumstances, soldiers who are always at their best when the times are at their worst, soldiers, of whom general George Washington would be proud. Years now, you have set the standard, because you are the descendents of those who left bloody footprints at valley forge. Generation after generation, you have carried our flag in your hearts and the patriots fire in your belly, a fire that keeps alive the experiment we call america, an experiment to determine whether a government for the people and by the people could long survive. A united army, united in commitment that stands as a model for our fellow citizens and americans who stand united and what they can do, and in our armys ranks today, they are filled with high quality patriots, all volunteers, and, again, i am very proud to serve with you. The International Situation is the most complex and demanding that i have seen in all of my years of service, and that is over four decades, and terrorists continue to conduct terror and mayhem despite accelerated losses. One state sponsor of terrorism cannot hide behind its nationstate status while, in effect, it is actually a destabilizing revolutionary regime. In europe for the First Time Since world war ii, we have seen National Orders changed by the force of arms, as one country proved willing to ignore International Law and decided to Veto Authority over its neighbors rights to make decisions in the economic, diplomatic, and security domains. In the pacific, we have seen north korean provocations threatening regional and even global peace, despite universal condemnation by the united nations, so this is the reality that faces our department of our likeminded allies, and we must have militaries fit for their purpose, fit for their time, in these days of emerging challenges, and these challenges include new do manes of conflict, new domains of conflict, including space and cyberspace, with attacks even on our democratic processes. Your department of defense is adapting because we do not want to be dominant and at the same time it are relevant, and i offer this statement for what do. How do we maintain a safe and effective deterrent so these and ourare never used nonproliferation efforts can be recharged . Second, how to maintain a conventional force at the same time as that Nuclear Deterrent, one that will include space and cyberspace capability to deter decisively if conflict occurs, and third, we must at the same time maintain an irregular capability so that we can fight across the spectrum of conflict. This is our problem statement, how to maintain a safe and secure Nuclear Deterrent and maintain a decisive conventional force that can also fight warfare. Has three lines of effort to fight these issues. First, everything we must do must contribute to the increased military. We must never lose sight of the fact that we have no godgiven right to victory on the battlefield. Secretary mccarthy and the general are examine every personnel policy, our training time, our organization, and more to assure they contribute to make us the most lethal joint force in the world. Even as our Competitive Edge over our foes and adversaries decreases due to budgetary confusion in this town and the budget caps. I am among the majority of this country that believes our nation can afford survival and once the congress back in the budget seats, not in the spectator seat of automatic cuts. [applause] greatary mattis i have congress, in the u. S. But i have no confidence in automatic, mathematic budget cuts. Second, we are following the example of the greatest generation coming home from the tragedy of world war ii, looked around and said, what a crummy it,d, but we are part of whether or not we like it, and we are going to do something about it, and in that spirit, they build alliances and partnerships. In the same spirit today, we are strengthening alliances and building new partnerships, whether it be nato, to counter the Isis Coalition, the 39 nations standing together in expandingn, and friend and partner bonds in the region. Secretary of state tillersons Isis Coalition is only one example of what this looks like in practice, 69 banded together thatorganizational international organizations, the european union, and interpol, all working in concert to defeat isis. With ourso stand traditional allies as well as building new coalitions, and we Work Together to defend our values, and to our allies here in this room today, i will tell you i have the honor of fighting many times for america. Thought in an all american or solely american formation. It was always alongside allies, and i will tell you from nato to europe to deep a civic, the message to our allies is we are from nato to europe to the pacific, our message to her allies is we are with you. , fullw deputy secretary of vigor, under him is the effort for number three, which is the Key Direction that he is helping to provide secretary mccarthy and his fellow appointees to rework our Business Practices to gain full benefit from every dollar spent on defense. We are taking aggressive action to reform the way we do business and to gain and to hold the trust of the congress and the and we areople, responsible stewards of the money allocated to us, and that translates directly every dollar into the defense of our country and what we stand for. This, the armys importance is absolutely fundamental. A historian once wrote, you may fly over a nation forever. You may want it, atomize it, may bomb it, you it,atomize it, pulverize but if you want to keep it, you must do it on the ground as the romans did, by putting your young men in the mud. And for today, it is putting the young men and women in the mud. [applause] secretary mattis and this is why it is so critical to our nations security. I have grown remote from so many of you, those of you who look past the hot political rhetoric to rally to our flag in the age of a highquality allvolunteer force, and while i no longer have the opportunity to get to know you personally, i do know your character. Get out of the army and make more money. You could get out of the army and see more of your families. You could do any number of things, but you have the habit of putting others first, putting our country first, and at a cemetery, the statue of the lone soldier stands on top of a pillar, looking out across the graves of his fallen comrades. He is a private, and he is isknamed old isaac, and it inscribed on the pillar he stands above, not for themselves but for their country. You spend a few years of your youth in the u. S. Army or go gray in the service to our beloved nation and its constitution, rest assured you will always look back on the sacrifices of war and the demands of sergeants and the frustrations of unpredictable deployments as the best years of your young lives. Denied theose of us opportunity by our ranks to stand physically beside you every day, nonetheless, we join for yourow citizens ability to sign a blank check payable to the American People, a blank check payable with your lives, to defend the revolutionary ideas enshrined in our declaration of independence and our constitution, putting freedom above all else. Now, if you want to know where i see modern war trending, i just ask you to read read the generals remarks from one year read i just ask you to re the generals remarks from one year ago. If you want to see why i believe command and feedback must supplement our approach to command and control, read call to the game by gordon. About strategy, read the future the bestgy, strategist alive today, and most important, when it comes to your willing and magnificent soldiers , from general George Washington , with their hopes on your soldiers, i say you only need follow the army creed that we all just saw on the screen and recited. We need you at the top of your game in body, mind, and spirit. I salute the generals in itiative to top or the physical standards for the u. S. Army. Im reminded of general schwarzkopf who served under a korean war veteran, a Brigade Commander who insisted on tougher soldiers, knowing what he had faced in the korean war. Mentally, i want you to enhance skills, fighting assuming every week in the army is a week to get better and integrating all army and joint efforts to become more tactically cunning. Be met and mind must with spirit. Spiritually, ladies and gentlemen, we need our soldiers to build your own and your comrade in arms resilience to of yourbat tests character in stride in the most primitive environment on earth. Let me close with a reminder to todays troops from a veterans eyes. Back to world war ii, the greatest generation. Today, as we sit here, there is a 91yearold world war ii combat veteran from maine. Mr. Richardis lincoln, and he is now living in a Veterans Home in maine. He and his three brothers all faught in world war ii, and he is the last surviving one. Mr. Lincoln has a remarkable story. As a 17yearold from a very small town in wayne, maine, a town of less than 1000 people, and standing just five feet, five inches tall, i wondered if i read that, was that the effects of malnutrition during the depression mr. Lincoln served as a first scout in the Infantry Division at a battle which, as you all know, was a grueling and historically important Amphibious Assault in the italian campaign, and Amphibious Landing against long odds which prevented the capture of rome. He repeatedly risked his life on the front line to identify enemy artillery, and regularly and during enemy fire and never shrinking from enormous dangers. The First Division to enter a combat zone in world war ii, and in 344 days of combat, that Infantry Division lost 2,298 men killed in action more than 9000 wounded. The blue devils prove that rigorous training, sound teamwork, competent leadership, an allce determination ftee division fought a battle hardened enemy. On june 4, everyone wanted to be the first into rum, but they became the First Division to wanted to be the first into rome, but they became the First Division into the city. For his Heroic Service in that campaign, mr. Lincoln was awarded the bronze star medal, and on june 4, 1944, the day when he and his fellow soldiers of that Infantry Division entered rome, Richard Lincoln turned 18 years old. Mr. Lincoln was and is today a humble, ernest, selfeffacing man, grateful to be an american. He knew what it feels like to be ,hot at from very close range since being a scout was about as close to the front lines as it at street today, he wonders how he survived when so many comrades to not. He says he thinks it might have been because i was short, which is a point. Man on theied tall battlefield myself. But mr. Lincoln was one of those who created the legacy of the american army, the most trusted, the most ethical, the most capable army in the world. One that is physically tough and tactically confident soldiers under ncos and officers at the top of their game. From the delta and the desert of when troubleon, looms, the army has always stood and delivered. So to all of the veterans in the an uncompromising bar that all of us today must live up to. We know we will never face something worse than what you maintain your dignity and honor throughout, so to every veteran in this room, to every mr. Lincoln who has hailed from maine to hawaii, from alaska to puerto rico, thank you for standing by the red, white, and blue. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you again for having me here. May i take your questions . [applause] thank you very much, mr. Secretary. We took the liberty of collecting some questions from our members and others and appreciate you taking time to answer just a few. The first one is, we saw a program that highlighted how the army expanded and transformed quickly 100 years ago to meet the demands of world war i. What insights from world war i seemed most relevant to you as the army faces challenges today . Appreciate the earlier. Ion whenever you look at get history, you realize while Technology May change we face nothing new under the sun area we oftentimes, with good ideas in old books and reading history. The message i was thinking as i watched that presentation was the need for readiness. Comrade by the name aid,ohn avenue is a abiz are said to me, if you were sitting in this chair, and he in 1810, where are we going to fight in the next 10 years, not one of us would have guessed, the royal navy will sail up the window outside my window and earn this town to the ground. You say that is a long time ago. He says think about 1910, how many would have said that we are going to be in europe in the next 10 years and the u. S. Army strung out from fords all across the indian fighting west would not forecast they would be wearing gas masks with airplanes dropping bombs and charging machine guns and barbed wire. The need for readiness must ensure that we have a shock observer built inside the army and out of world war i where the first advance we made, the first offensive remade went horribly wrong because troops could not get to the front lines in the right order, there was a traffic jam, it is a reminder we have to be brilliant in the basics of blogging and tackling. Blocking and tackling. Well the cost of not being ready and right now what we want to do is be so ready and to the very much aware that we fight the way we come, that everybody in the world wants to the department of state, not the department of defense and the United States army. [applause] you mentioned congress in your remarks, so this question is related to this in the followup. How can the republican the american followup and industry and the u. S. Army and likeminded associations, how can those groups influence congress to fulfill its constitutional responsibility to provide for the common defense . Ladies and gentlemen, i think what is probably most important right now is wheelie out the problem layout the problem in compelling and persuasive terms. Going back to einsteins point when asked how he would compose his thoughts if he was given one hour to save the world and he said, i would spend 55 minutes defining the problem and i would save the world in five minutes. There are times when those of us who wear the uniform can be rightly condemned for being overly conservative, wanting more insurance and more boats and planes and guns and tanks and i understand tha