Good morning. I am peter lewis. We are at the John Hopkins International school. Before making my introductory remarks, i think we will start by asking everyone to silence or turn off your cell phones. We just finished our Holiday Season and i got an opportunity of going to a couple of movies so i am very mindful. It is a great honor to welcome you to todays presentation of the National Defense strategy. The nds is the foundational document that determines how the department of defense will contribute to the president s whichal Security Strategy was released in december of 2017. A first in a decade. It is highly anticipated not only because of the amount of time that has passed, but also because its author is the 26th of defense, our guest, jim mattis. As many of you know, before he became secretary, secretary mattis had a long and distinguishing career and the United States worrying core. United states marine core. Secretary mattis was a distinguished sick that visiting fellow at the stanford university. In our audience will know, secretary mattis is also known for his love of learning and research. He has coauthored a book on Civil Military relations. This is secretary mattis is firstpublic it mattis public address of 2018. We will answer questions from the audience and for this portion of the event, we asked that you write your questions on the no cards that are on your seat. Our student workers will be passing through the audience at two intervals during the presentation as questions occur, you can send those down. We hope to get to as many questions as possible. Following secretary mattis is , she will pose the questions to the secretary. We are very glad to be able to incorporate different members of our community. Honored to host you. Please join me in welcoming secretary jim mattis. [applause] secretary mattis good morning and thank you all for taking the time to come and listen to us here. National Defense Strategy but what it really is is an american strategy. Avalons to you. Belongs to oit you. Is aleisure to you pleasure to be here. He was so wise and how to select people. That man was none other than george schulz. It says something about his ability to see talent. There is a lot of talent that come through here. You all look like promising young men and women. He was also a great and avid scholar. He was someone that studied issues. You could agree or disagree but you would not find him flatfooted intellectually. He was a Guiding Light during the cold war. A guided many thanks. Guided many things. So we do have a sense of ownership for the man for whom this school is named. This is a fitting place to introduce our unclassified summary of the classified document. Parts are classified, because we owe a degree of confidentially to the troops who will carry up the strategy. It is our nations first National Defense strategy in 10 years. It is a moral obligation for leaders to layout clearly to their subordinates in the department of defense what it is we expect of them. It is designed to protect americanss Vital National interest. This was framed by president Trumps NationalSecurity Strategy. Itouple words out of that, is inside the framework of that national Security Strategy, specifically where it states that we are to protect the American People, the homeland and the american way of life, and it goes on to say and to preserve peace through strength. Those awards out of the national Security Strategy, and we carry those themes inside the pentagon where we say, what does that mean for us . National security is more than just defense. Part of the responsibility. Today, americas military reclaims an era of strategic purpose. Ofare alert to the realities a changing world and attentive to the need to protect our values and the countries that stand with us. Americas military protects our way of life, and i want to point out it also protects a realm of ideas. It is not just about protecting geography. This is a Defense Strategy that will guide our efforts in all realms. The world, to quote george awash in change. Prosecutentinue to the campaign against terrorists that we are that are engaged in today. Competition, not terrorism, is the focus of the security. For our time, fit provided the American People, the military required to protect the way of life, stand with our allies, and live up to our responsibility to pass intact to the next generation those freedoms that all of us enjoy here today. The strategy expands our competitive prioritizes fairness for war, provides clear direction for significant change , and builds a forced to compete strategically. The strategy makes a clear appraisal of our security environment with an eye on americas place in the world. This required tough choices, ladies and gentlemen, and we made a based upon a fundamental precept, mainly that america can afford survival. We face growing threats from refinish from refinished from revisionist powers. Rogue regimes like north korea and iran persistent taking outlaw actions that threaten regional and even global stability. Oppressing their own people and shredding their own peoples dignity and human rights, they push their warped views outward. Isis,e the defeat of violent extremist organizations like isis or al qaeda continue to sell hatred, destroying peace and murdering innocents across the road across the globe. In this time of change, our military is still strong, yet our Competitive Edge has eroded in air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace. It is continuing to the road. Rapid technological change, the negative impact on military readiness operating for nine of the last 10 years under continuing resolutions that have created an overstretched and under resourced military. Our military will keep the peace. We keep the peace for one more year, one more month, one more week, one more day to ensure our diplomats who are working to solve problems do so from a position of strength and giving allies confidence in us. This confidence is underpinned by the assurance that our military will win, should diplomacy feel. Nationaliling this Security Strategy, President Trump said weakness is the surest path to conflict and unquestioned strength is the most certain means of defense. Complacency,om for and history makes clear that america has no preordained right to victory on the better victory on the battlefield. It is incumbent upon us to field a more lethal force if our nation is to retain the ability to defend ourselves and what we stand for. The three primary lines of effort will restore our comparative military advantage. They are going to build a more lethal force, strengthen our traditional alliances, and building new partnerships with other nations at the same time, we will reform our departments Business Practices for performance and affordability. Doing this, we will earn the trust of American People and congress that their defense dollars are well spent. At theto start lithology. At the lethality. The enemy will attack any perceived weakness. Signal a adopt a single preclusive form of warfare, rather we must fight across the spectrum of conflict. The size and composition of our force matters. The nation must field sufficient, capable forces to deter conflict. If deterrence fails, we must win. We will modernize key capabilities, recognizing we cannot expect the sex expect success fighting with yesterdays equipment. Advancedefense, economist systems, and resilient and agile logistics will provide our troops what they need to win. Forces posture will prioritize readiness for war fighting for major combat, making a strategically predictable for our allies and and operationally unpredictable for any adversary. Increasing the lethality of our group our troops requires us to reshape our approach, reinvented it reinvigoratein. The creativity and the talent of the department is our deepest wellspring of strength and one that warrants greater investment. To those who would threaten americas experiment in democracy, they must know, if you challenges, it will be your longest and worst day. Work with our diplomats. You dont want to do fight the department of defense. The second line of effort, i noted, is to strengthen alliances as we build new partnerships. I past, i thought thought many times and never did i fight in a solely american formation. It was always alongside foreign troops. Theinston churchill said, only thing been fighting with allies is fighting without them. We are going to be stronger together, and our military will be designed and trained and ready to fight alongside allies. Tory proves that nations in keeping peace and winning more. Working by, with, and through allies who carry their equitable share allows us to a mass the greatest possible strength. We carry the disproportionate share of the defense burden for the democracies in the post world war ii. The growing economic strength dictates they must now step up and do more. Together, when we pool our resources and share responsibility for the common defense, individual nations security burdens become lighter. Bys is demonstrated today over 70 nations and International Organizations of the deflate of the defeat isis campaign that is successfully conducting operations in the middle east. The 40 odd nations that stand shoulder to shoulder in natos mission in afghanistan. To strengthen and work jointly with more allies, our organizations, processes, and procedures must be ally friendly. The department will do more than just listen to other nations ideas. We will be willing to be persuaded by them, recognizing that not all good ideas come from the country with most aircraft carriers. This line of effort will bolster an extended Network Capable of decisively meeting the challenges of our time. We will make the military morley full amend we are going the lee terry more we will make the military more lethal and we will find some new partners. Our third line of effort serves as the foundation for our Competitive Edge, reforming the Business Practices of the department to provide solvency and security. Thereby, gaining the full benefit from every dollar spent, in which way we will gain and hold the trust of congress and the American People. We are going to have to be good stewards of the tax dollars allocated to us, and that means results and accountability matter. With our times, the department will transition to a culture of performance and affordability that operates at the speed of relevance. Success does not go to the country that develops a new technology first. Rather, to the one that better integrate it, and more swiftly adapts its way of fighting. Our current bureaucratic processes are insufficiently responsive to the departments needs for new equipment. We will prioritize speed of delivery, continuous adaptation, and frequent modular upgrades. We must shed outdated management and acquisition practices while adopting American Industries best practices. Our Management Structure and processes are not engraved in stone. They are a means to when end, empowering our war fighters with the knowledge, quitman, and support needed to fight and win. ,he current structures inhibit if the current structures inhibit, i expect agency heads to consolidate, eliminate, or restructure to achieve. Defensety secretary of is leading this third line of effort to leverage the scale of our operations, driving better deals for equipment for equipping our troops. This National Defense strategy will guide all of our actions, aligning the departments in three lines of effort to gain synergy. We recognize no strategy can long survive without necessary funding and a stable, predictable budget required to defend america in the modern age. Failure to modernize our military risks leaving us to a force that could dominate but be irrelevant to tomorrows security. Last 16 years have been on our military, no enemy in the field has done more to harm the readiness of the u. S. Military than the combined impact of the budget control acts defense spending cuts, 10sened by the nine of the last years under continuing resolutions, wasting Copious Amounts of precious taxpayer dollars. Today, as our Competitive Edge erodes into two budgetary even with storm clouds gathering, American Military is operating under anothergling continuing resolution. For too long we have asked our military to stoically carry success at any cost attitude, as they worked tirelessly to accomplish the mission with inadequate and misaligned resources, simply because the congress did not maintain regular order. That we have performed well is a credit to our troops. Loyalty must be a twoway street. We expect the magnificent men and women of our military to be evenful in their service, in harms way. We must remain faithful to those who voluntarily sign a blank check, payable to the American People with their lives. Yesterday,ryan said our men and women in uniform are not bargaining chips. The consequences of not providing a budget are clear without a sustained budget, ships will not receive the required magnets to put to sea, the ships at sea will be extended outside of port, aircraft will remain on the ground, pilots not at the sharpest edge, and eventually ammunition training and manpower will not be sufficient to deter war. Congressmistic that will do the right thing and carry out responsibility. I may be in the minority when i say that. Optimist. Ternal as senator reid said last november, we need bipartisan investment in our troops to enhance military readiness and help us meet evolving National Security challenges. Under our constitution, it is congress that has the authority to raise armies and maintain navies. As i stand here this morning watching the news, as we all are, we are on the verge of a Government Shutdown or, at best, another debilitating, continuing resolution. In the congress back driver seat of budget decisions, not in the spectators seat of budget control action, indiscriminate and automatic cuts. We need a budget, and we need budget predictability if we are to sustain our militaries. Many of us in this room were born free in america, completely by accident. All of us can live here by choice, things to the veterans and patriots who served who served today. Today in our military. I believe this strategy, resource appropriately, will ensure we live up to our responsibility to our childrens generation. , and the dean did say he would help me answer questions, so thanks very much for that. [laughter] that is a slip of the tongue, but in this town that can get you in a lot of trouble. I speak with authority on that. [laughter] lets see where we are at. Lets have a dialogue now. We serve you. This is your strategy as much as it is ours. We have a responsibility to write it, and it is up to us to defend it intellectually alongside you and in the face of any questions you have. Lets hear what is on your mind. Where is catherine at . She is somewhere. Thank you for your remarks, secretary mattis. I am a second year student here. I will be reading the questions that have been submitted. Our first question, building capability and capacity are challenging to achieve at the same time. Do you see one of these as being more important in the nearterm . Secretary mattis very good question. Capabilities or what does before spring. You look at every capability in a force. You look at changing times, what are the threats . We try to define them to what i would call a jesuits level of satisfaction, which is tough. At that point, we then determine, do we need additional capabilities . Then, you have capacity, how big is the force you have . Age,is time, in this emphasizing the capabilities the force brings is probably the predominant effort that you have got to make. At the same time, capacity, the size of your force makes a difference. There are nations that have stood by as four years, and to whom we look many times for support. Some of those forces have been shrunk to a point that they no longer allow their diplomats to speak with strength. We have to make certain we keep a force of sufficient size, but my emphasis is on building the capacity. Do we have the cyber troops in their, the intelligence analysts that allow us to be at the top of the game when we make that great choice to send our young folks into a fight . Thank you. How does next question. Prepare u. S. Nds for conflict . Secretary mattis you have to accept the reality of what the world looks like and what are those challenges to our way of life. There is nothing in here that presupposes war. The whole point, and you saw it with the nato alliance. For how many years did nato stand strong, all of the democracies together from europe and north america, how long did we stand together, and what was a cold war never became a hot for on the plains of europe. The point is, how do we create a military that is that compelling . What you have to do is, you have to take the threats as they stand. You have to make certain you were integrated with the state departments foreign policies so we are operating with a depth to our state department, not outside the Foreign Policy, but inside it. It starts with me having breakfast every week with secretary of state tillerson, and we talk to or three times a day sometimes. We settle all of our issues between he and i, and then we walked together into the white house meetings, that we state and defense are together. Ais allows us, as we look at military that must adapt to its time, we also are in step with the Foreign Policy. You do not want to get detached from that. I think he will just automatically serve the needs of our country. When you get down to the discrete elements of mil