Interesting being here in new york but i hope some of you [inaudible] ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the official party. Present arms. Ladies and gentlemen, pleasey the honorable■ christine warmut. [applause] general randy a. Ge ge. [applause] and the uniteates military Academy Lieutenant general steven pass pass ■. President of the United States of america,■ ■e ladies and gentlemen, pase invocation by father matt kowosky. Almighty god, we live Interesting Times which we seem to have seen before, 100 days ago general martin noted uncanny sim between 1974 and 2024. So prophetcly declared this classs motto, what we want them to be, what they believe they can ■■v so while this class came of age, taking classesc[ and screaming n the night, totalitarians invade ghbors and spew hatred here at home. Youe world and you make all things new. In this darkness we see glimmers of. Bold, strength of character is needed to lead, to inspire our army and our nation. So mighty god, this morningbu, r class of 2024. [applause] 4 please be seated. Please welcome the 61st superintendent of the u. S. Military academy. Mr. President , congressmen, secretary,■i generals, alumni, teammates, family and good morning and welcome to west point and your u. S. Military academy. [applause] on behalf of the team, wered toy to celebratecadets, class of024, graduating and commissioned, th. First, a special welcome to the parents, grandparents, siblings, family and friends of our graduates here today. [applause] a very special welcome and thank you for the love and support and encouragement you have gen joure u. S. Military academy. I would like to■z acknowledge te members of the 50 year affiliate class, the pride of the core, class of 1974. U7thank you for gripping hands with these newst four years. We are grateful for them and showing them the connectivity and strength. Developing leaders takes a village d hank you for being part of our village these past four years. Class of 2024, like none before, congratulations and well done. [applause] perience may come to an end but it marks a milestone in your personal journey as you assume the mantle of leadership, as■ officers in the u. S. Army. We■m know you are looking forwad to what is ahead. Moving, living on your some of you getting married in the next few days. Take a moment to reflect on these last four years. Think about the experiences you had, the challenges you have overcome on the road to becoming a leader of character. Think aboue blood, a lot of sw, grit, confidence, determination an. Think about the friends yous de, the camaraderie withcoaches, oly members and friends who supported you. Take a moment to appreciate and thank the people who helped you get here, to be grateful for ities that helped shape you these past four years. As you pursue this journey as a leader of character, remember this is about responsibility and service, to unit is about challf and hers to be better. Better teammates, officers, better leaders of character. It starts with every day. Its also about the leadership as army officers. Your responsibility to support and defend the constitution. Your responsibility to be standardbearers, embody what rit looks like, most importantly, your responsibility,bligations to the citizens of our nation and to our soldiers, americas sons and daughters. You are obliged to give them your very best leadership every day. Nt to reflect and understand what itns be a graduate of the u. S. Military academy. ■opeople expect more from you. Our nation expects more. You represent this institution and the u. S. Army. You will grip hands with generations past and present, leaders of character who have answered the call to ser by the, duties, honor to country. Just as they have inspired you, you will now in turn inspire future generations. Class of 2024, you face the challenges that await you. I have no doubt. Prepare to honorably and demonstrate excellence in all youcongratulations and godspeedo all of you. ■ . President , madam secretary, general george, on behalf of your teammates at the u. S. Military academy, its an honor to present this outstanding class to you this■x nation newest leaders of character. [applause] ■÷ gentlemen it is my honor to introduce this mornings commencement speaker, the 46th president of the United States, president joe biden. [applause] pres. Biden thank you tha you general, members of congress. Fellow graduates. [applause] faculty, staff, soldiers, w famy and friends, most of all, west point class of 2024. 1776, general Washingtons Army went to new york cy. The british navy dominated the coast of newlaif they could cone hudson, they could cut t■5he had conquer. Classic strate. General washington saw it coming. He knew there was a place on the hudson, with a plateau . Overhe. American artillery batteries placed along the river, off the water, at a place called west point. [applause] George Washingtons west point was the key. He was right. The british never captured it. Failed to divide and conquer. A few years later, they surrendered at the battle of yorktown. An army of ordinary people. The sacred cause of freedom. You are about to become fulltime members of the most honorable and mt force in the f the world. Thats not hyperbole. Of the world. Thats the truth. [applause] ever since, men and women at west point have stayed true. Today, 13 class of 2024 0 graduates, the class of 2024 joins ad never never will. [applause] z8■ytogether, through countless hours, rigorous academics, at americas First Engineering school, and of course, no one is perfect, even ulysses s g dwt eisenhower. Getting. If that sounds familiar to yo, maybe i can help you. As commanderinchief,ve all cadets of minor conduct offenses. [applause] ■l questions, the superintendentan clarify what minor means. [laughter] ■ course, your time here wasnt all difficult. [applause] you b now look. Lots of west point classes have some wins over navy but notevers beat times. [applause] hey say in delaware, you done goo ago i was on at the whe son was a decorated major n the u. S. Army, spending years in iraq. Clear. [indiscernible] i was appointed when i was 29 years old, to the naval academy. I was one of 10. The day i was supposed to go down for the interview, a classmate of mine, who was also appointed, he came to pick me up. I found out two days earlier, they had a starbucks and joe mg there. I went toby the way, that felloa when i was■j 29, first questioe was asked was,o you have any regrets senator . He said no. At the end of the debate, i spoke, then he stood up and said, i was asked if i h aregre. I said no but i have one. That joe biden h joe biden gotten into the academy when i appointed him, he would still veand wouldnt be able to run. Ca today, your family is prouder. [speaking another language] ago, because of the pandemic, it was a challenging way to begin the west point experience. Get to see you here. Day. We know, cadets it is time for you to thank your parents. Stand up. [applause] ■c class of 24, this extraordinary includes the armys time home run leader, athletes on manhatta island, which i could never quite figure you hail from all 50 states. Arn west pointers. Others of the first in the family to join the u. S. Armed forces. Brother in annapolis this year. I wont want to be at that family reunion. [laughter] time there ia game, i dont know how youre going to do it but anyways. [laughter] look, i wish i could praise every cadet one by one because you deserve it. You make your nation proud. As your commanderinchief, congratulations, you have earned every bit of what you have been given. Class, lik none before, was an appropriate choice. You are graduating into a world like none before. I have been a senator since i was 29. Never left government. Ladies and gentlemen, thezj word is changing rapidly. Pace of change is accelerating. There has never been a time in history when our military does so many Different Things in so many places around the world at the same time. Right now, americas soldiersais in the fight for freedom. We are working around thetions t moving. Buy land, sea and their training ukrainians how to use advanced weapons systems. Constantly. G lessons and there are no american soldiers at war in ukraine. Way but we are standing strong with them. Ne and [applause] we are standing against a man who i have known well for many years, a tyrant. We will away. Putin wants to see nato frtuwe talked about thisi shous probably. [laughter] excited. I said to him innd, if you want ukraine, you are going to get nato in europe. The greatest Defense Alliance in historyfinland and sweden are or newest members. He east, conducting ■ diplomacy, our army and navy deployed on the mediterranean. In record time weve gotten lifesaving aid to the palestinians. The air force delivers thousands off4 aid to gaza. We brought partners together, including arab natio■ ns to quel the sustained assault. The head of u. S. Central command, wes point, 88. He has done a superb job. He was on the screen from the region. Would begin. At 6 34 p. M. , the general said mr. President , we jgot of a Ballistic Missile launch from iran. Six minutes lateri we sent 30 missiles in the air. Then 75. Then over 100 missiles. Credible pressure, the general and the task exceptionam sea, air and bases nearby. 99 of thenever reached their ts because of the quality of our forces. [applause] it could have been a devastating attack. We deescalate in the conflict. It could have gone the other way. World, and the indo pacific, w like aucusmr partnership with australia and the u. K. Cooperation with japan and the republic of korea, otheranks to. We have begun a new Trilateral Partnership with japan and the philippines. We elevated the quad together with japan andfree, open and ser indo pacific. We are standing up stability, we are dependent on our strategic partnerships. I wonder if the classes of 74 n they were sitting where you were at during vietnam. Across vastly different regions, very different challenges, our women and men in uniform are hard at work, strengthening our alliances. Theres no question deterrence, so anyone who thinks they can threaten us, thanks again. Defending our values by standing up to tyrants and safeguarding the piece, protecting freedom and openness. Thanks to u. S. Arme are doing would only america can do, as the indispensable nation, the worlds only superpower and the leading democracinhe world, we are strongest when we lead by of our example. [applause] u that. Progress. Every member of our armed forces for the first time in a decade,d harassment have gone forces. It is long past time toru the scourge of Sexual Violence in the military. Prove once and for all we can do this. Cadets, make no mistake. There remains a hard world. We cannot draw any other conclusions when powerful nations tried to coerce their natis terrorists reply. I am making historic investments in the military. For■÷ decades, america has had e most powerful military in the world. That happens because we choose to make it happen. I have always been willing to root tose force when it comes to protecting a nation. Enservices, we will deliver ned earlier this year wh three hermembers of the army reserve were killed in a drone attack in northeast georgia. To respond, relaunched successful airstrikes against iran backed militants. To honor the memory of those warriors who gave their lives. Cadets, west point has made you leaders of character. Minutes, you will be u. S. Army officers. In time, some of you will serve in powerful to confront challenges the previous generation of soldiers couldnt imagine. T happens, hold fast to your values. You learned re at west point, duty, honor, country, the honor lie, steal or cheat, nor tolerate those whabor oath. On your very first day at west point, you raised your right hand and took anat not to a Political Party or a president , but to the constitution of the u. S. Against a e [applause] along line have given their lives to the constitution, fighting to declare th freedoms that protect the right to vote, the right to right to raise your voice in protest. They havsaacrificed. As president lincoln saidrnmente people, for the people shall not perish from the earth. West pointers know better than anyone, freedom is not free. It requires vigilancefrom the b■ guaranteed about our democracy in america. Every generation has an obligation to defend and protece it. Now is yourover 1000 graduates t point wrote to the class of 20 14, the oath you have taken here has no expiration date, not for you, not for your country. Support your nation, keep it, it. Let me close with this. In the early days of our said, t point was the key of america. Today you are still the key. Your commitment to protect is what makes america america. We are unique in the world. We are thenlunworld founded on. Countries are founded based on geography, religion. Were the only one founded on an idea. E idearve to be treated equally. Ideas need to fenders to make them real. Defenders to make them real. That is what you are about. Champions of liberty, guardians, i mean this, of american democracy. Just as this historic free two centuries ago, a generations of west point graduates kept us free, through every challenge and you must keep us free at this time. Likeone i know you can, i know f america and there is nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together. May god bless you all and may god protect our troops. Congratulations, class of 2024. [applause] ■ ladies and gentlemen, at this time please remain standing for the e flag. Will present a panoramic photo of the class president biden, of the class 2020 four, please accept this ass picture as a token of our appreciation your commencement address today. Thank you, mr. President. President yo biden i will hang t proudly [applause] ca ladieand gentlemen, at this time please remain standing for the singing of the court, cherished west point song second only to the alma mater. It was first sung at the Graduation Ceremony in 1911. Class, attention the corps being performed ■2 v39u class, take please be seated. ■ ■o the academic the dean of the■8 academic board. [applause] class of 2020 four, your education has prepared you to be a leader of character sworn to uphold the values embodied in our constitutionso on behalf ofc board, we■ rommend each worthy as for the bachelor of the signs to. Class valedictorian. The first captain, class president and the army as lead a good winner. He members of the class of 2024 now come forward to receive their diplomas. Congratulations [applause] u ■a [graduates names being ] 0