Transcripts For CSPAN2 Major General Arnold Punaro Discusses

CSPAN2 Major General Arnold Punaro Discusses On War And Politics January 14, 2017

Program library and, i would like to welcome you all, the book is entitled on war and politics the battlefield inside washingtons beltway which i think the friends of the library. And the cheese and fruit, and the reception. When i asked about your cell phones, interrupt the presentation, tonight i have the introduction, the author talk and a question and answer session. There will be a mike set up in the center aisle to approach the make. After the program, and there are others who are interested. And have wine and cheese. This program will be taped by cspan and will be airing at a later date the next few weeks. I will turn the program over to longterm friend and colleague Major General Arnold Punaro. Please join me in a warm welcome. [applause] turn your cell phones back on while i am talking. It is an honor for me to be your mc and the role the author has seen me play a number of times in the days together, Science Application International corporation and this is the second time in my mc career to do the honors at a book event, the first was the late great hall of fame golfer billy casper. That was quite an honor. This should be a piece of cake compared to that. If there was a hall of fame for service to country arnold would be an early inductee as would his wife who is sitting in front. Let me tell you what we have in store for you this evening which i will interview our guest author and he will speak interminably without taking a breath. If you know our arnold, that is not true but he will talk about 25 minutes and i will ask questions in an interview format which is why you see the chairs here and we will open up to your questions and i will call on you when i see your hands go up. Once we run out of things to say, those who would like that on war and politics and throughout the evening event, keep helping yourself to wine and cheese in the back of the room. Take a brief moment, and the legislative assistant on capitol hill, the house of representatives gavel to gavel, and early and avid watcher, they expanded beyond the house, for millions of americans, Arnold Punaro thought as a marine corps infantry commander, the bronze star medal with combat and purple heart. He later served as director of Marine Corps Reserve during 9 11 commanding general of the marine corps mobilization command and commanding general retiring with the rank of Major General. Arnold in georgia. Then as a staff director for the Senate Armed Services committee. Later as an executive Vice President and as a as responsible for Corporate Business Development and was Deputy President of the federal business segment donald is chair who serves on numerous commissions on National Security guard and reserve and department of defense reforms. Recently completed a two year stint as chair of the National Defense industrial association. He chairs the reserve forces policy board and serves on the defense business board which focuses on bringing worldclass Business Practices to the pentagon was when he is not writing a book arnold is the ceo of the Arnold Punaro group, specializing in federal budget and market analysis, business strategy, government relations, communications and Crisis Management among other things but tonight we are here to learn from Arnold Punaro, author of on war and politics the battlefield inside washingtons beltway. He presents stories from his personal and public life from sobering account of his days in combat during the vietnam war to colorful anecdotes about political luminaries of our time like senator john mccain, president and secretary clinton, president s bush i and ii and secretaries colin powell, robert gates and asked carter. Please welcome my good friend, Arnold Punaro. [applause] thank you and good evening. I want to thank the Arnold Punaro library and Eileen Hauser and their friends it may books for hosting this event. Thank you for acting as master of ceremonies. Welcome many colleagues from the military that i served with over the years. And the United States senate, did a lot over the years to make the navy as powerful as it is today to get better as the new commander in chief arrives on the scene. I want to thank dave tilton who worked with me. He did the book cover, this book from cover was done by his firm and also supports my business and all additional things. Thanks for coming out tonight to learn about my book on war and politics the battlefield inside washingtons beltway. The primary reason i wrote the book was to honor the marines i served with in vietnam. More people should know their stories, incredible dedication, courage and sacrifice they made in a war you supported and even fewer thanks to. In vietnam as draftees they served with honor and did everything their country asked of them and more. I also wanted to describe a realistic picture of life as an Infantry Division for the rifleman in combat, through prior zones for weeks and months at a time, seeking an elusive and lethal enemy never knowing if someone is an enemy or friendly. They didnt wear uniforms. It is a war without a frontline. We were confidently cold, wet, hungry and tired was a resupply would never arrive on time and we had to ration our food, our ammo and even our water. We never had any heat. It heated up the awful c rations that were our meals and we never had any dry socks. I hate to say it but every day was pretty much the same. Up at the crack of dawn, trudged for miles to our nighttime positions, 85 pounds of gear on our backs, clear areas en route, set up ambushes, stayed up half the night on watch, many a firefight in between. That is the life of a rifleman in combat. One of those rifleman was caught corporal roy hammond of third Platoon Lima Company and i would like to read a passage from my book about Corporal Hammond. A shot rang out. The men crouched taking cover. At a signal, 5 or 6 enemy aks opened up on the far side of the drama, grew to a metallic roar and hail of lids came. Our m16s opened up in reply, a thin screen, the relentless patter of rain, i am hit. Corpsman up. Of familiar cry of stuff hitting the fan. Take cover, take cover, i yell. This was the ambush i dreaded. I rolled and embraced my rifle but against the ridge, triggered half a magazine towards the incoming fire. I looked downhill and saw a body between two bushes, legs sprawled in a street. Martin rushed in short dashes and set up a defensive position to the flank. Bullet swept through the brush and cracked into trees, showering bark and white pulpy would. The Fire Team Leader collapsed next to me. Got the dark. I measured the distance, impacts were mounting up. 16 mortars, get fire on top of the ridge line. Here, lieutenant, my radioman handed me the handset, put artillery on top of the hill and cover me, i yelled and burst from behind the trees. Projectile flying past as i dodged the banks, the wounded man lay prone in the middle of the stream. Our machine guns were hammering away at the ridgeline. Bullets were dicing around and became smaller impacts of the rain drops. When i reached in the corpsman with hacking and coughing, space smeared with blood. I turned him over, his chest was torn open, air bubbles deep in the pulpy red mass, blood ran from his mouth, he tried to Say Something but i couldnt make it out. He needed that chesterfield quick with a bullet smacked into the creek, spraying us with cold water. That wasnt an ak round, there was a sniper. Hunting my shoulders to stay low, i press the rubber band over the gate and healed with my left and around the vantage, pass a roll between the shoulders. As soon as the bandage was tied off, started pulling them out of the line of fire. And the bulldozer hit my back down in the stream. And gazing after it thinking, when i realized i could still move my days sharp and into an urgent need to scramble for cover. Bullets whacking all around, wailed at it with sledgehammers. And my brain seem to be budgeting, returning fire to the east to the back. And enemies to the north on the ridgeline. I shouted out new coordinated, fire everything we got. And without having moved when it separated us. I took a deep breath and let it. Dying the clearwater scarlet, it is called, had to find cover. Didnt feel like moving. Will not close my eyes and rest. Boots counted coming our way through the rattling crack of incoming fire. Someone was thundering down the slope, the pounding grew louder and and someone incredibly brave. Incredibly risky. Lets go, lets go. My hands came back covered with blood. And unfamiliar pale long face came back, i didnt know him. I cant move, lay there on top of me jerking as bullets hammered his jacket. We got to get out of here, i said. I pulled him off, drag him through the mud and walked toward the bank and bullets peppered the water around us. I was worried doc might be dying but maybe i could save this one. And up a slight rise to the dense foliage. Once undercover i checked him out. Wasnt breathing. I pressed my mouth in his and began cpr. His lips were cold and tasted of blood. I sat back on my heels, this was gone, the power double cheeks slack. Core discipline didnt abandon. He wasnt in my platoon. You are okay, my radioman yelled. It was reloading with shaking hands. We pinned down and have a bunch of wounded and the Company Commander wants to sit there. Jerking my mind back, the steady rattle of small arms, shattering war of artillery working the top of the ridge louder than i ever heard it. We stumbled on a regiment, i had to call in more hour, you are hit, bleeding bad. I fumbled at a first aid kit and a hole in my back, i looked down at the terrines fighting again, his blue eyes were open, seems to be following me. You know this marine . I asked my radioman. That is hammond, lieutenant, third platoon. He only had a couple weeks to go. You better call in a chopper and get yourself taken care of. I look around at the dead and wounded, sprawl beside the screen. A leave in the pattering reign seem to be speaking in a language i had forgotten. Why had the kids done it . Sacrificed himself for a stranger . His own return home had been so near but a wounded man began screaming, salvo came in, quaking concussions detonated along the crest, shaking rain from the trees, smoke drifted like bitter incense but there was Something Else too, something important and i remembered in a rush like a wave carrying it and breaking over me, moved to contact a regiment commander says move out. I force myself to my knees, my legs held up and at the moment i could lift a hand but a did marine was still looking up at me wideeyed, a question waiting for an answer. My radioman stuff the handset in my palm like a nurse presenting a scaffold. We are following back, lieutenant. I took a deep breath, shuddered and tore my gaze, couldnt puzzle things out now but would think about it later. Help me get this tourniquet on. Have third platoon consolidate the dead and wounded and follow it race was going to take this hill so we can get everyone out. No marine gets left behind. So we dug in and consolidated our position behind a wall of steel from our mortars and grenade launchers. After i radioed our situation to the Lieutenant Commander i ordered squad leaders to maintain a tactical perimeter, returned fire and didnt tell them i had been hit. There was nowhere for the helicopter to land in heavily wooded terrain. They would have to drop a Neil Robertson or jungle sling. You bundled a wounded marine into it and he was foisted through the canopy but the First Casualty rose through the branches, a shattering boom sounded overhead, shredded aluminum rain down. Must have been a rocket propelled grenade. The line snapped so marines grabbed the wounded man, chop restraints to remain airborne but slowly staggered down a few hundred yards away impacting with an earthshaking flood. It was clear we couldnt medevac are wounded from this ravine, we had to find our way to the top of the mountain to get a secure zone for the birds to land. The trek wouldnt be quick. It would be a daylong battle against withering enemy fire and inhospitable terrain, dodging bullets and climbing in a steep hillside covered with vines and other obstacles, nothing like the combat course we trained, we havent been carrying a wounded and dead. I was losing blood, my trousers, the quebec exit room completed the trip and it began in my lower back. Never leave a fellow marine behind had been drilled into us. We kept our dead and wounded when our formation. A ragtag bunch of survivors a formation, might been generous. One squad was under responsible for clearing the ground in front of us. The two remaining squads were deployed left and right 25 m protecting our flanks which i was in the middle with the rest of the wounded and dead trying to maintain communications, calling in air strikes and artillery to keep the north vietnamese enemies heads down so they wouldnt fire on us. I had no choice but to get close to our position saying danger closed over the radio would other pilots or artillery men to be extra careful but sometimes they fire, since we would be dead if they didnt i didnt bother with a warning. It took the better part of the day to carry the dead and wounded in the final punishing climb of a fight to the top. It was dusk before we reached the mountaintop. By then i had almost forgotten i was wounded and tourniquet advantages hours earlier, my Company Commander heard it and yanked me out but then persuaded, tried to persuade me to leave but i wasnt going to go before my marines were safe. When i got to the crest it was murder. Our bombs left the smoking wasteland of toppled trees, smoldering jungle, ripped up or and grotesquely shredded and corpses. It smelled like the devils pit barbecue. The fire slackens, the north vietnamese killed or retreating down the reverse slope melting back into the jungle. At that point the choppers came in. Are wounded went emergency medevac which means get the seriously wounded out as quickly as possible even under fire. The less seriously wounded, last, the permanent routine, radio shorthand for marines killed in action. I went out on the last one, my dad rescuer and i to each other on the slaughterhouse floor, by then blood loss had caught up with me, i was in serious pain but still clearheaded. Until this fateful day he and i had never met i didnt know what caused Corporal Hammonds 21 texas to come to my rescue. He had been in country since february 25, 1969, and within weeks of going home. As i lay there beside them i began to wish he had not come after me. Marines in dress blues would be knocking on his familys front door. They wouldnt know what he had done to me or told how he died. When it rose to a deafening war and the rotor swooped, the thick jungle fell away. In the last feeding golden light i went over the Rolling Hills of the country we were leaving and laid protective arm over roys body, two marines, we had never spoken to each other, never shaken hands even at the end but we were bound in spirit forever. So that [applause] thank you. That is why i dedicated my book to Corporal Hammond. His sacrifice left a lasting impression on me and every day i vow to make myself worthy of his sacrifice. This can bring a fiery intensity to my work and why i dedicated my life to ensuring Corporal Hammonds of the military dont when i return from vietnam i went to graduate school at the university of georgia. Then i continue my career in Public Service working for a new senator from georgia hoping to better the lives of our war fighters which i had the honor to work with other senators on a bipartisan basis, john warner, john glenn, john power, barry goldwater, legendary figures of the United States senate. Many of our great military leaders, general jim jones, general jim matus, the president elect announced today he is going to nominate to be our next secretary of defense. With all the other luminaries in the National Security field, these individuals with individuals like myself Work Together to solve the most challenging problems of the 70s, 80s 90s, the volunteer force to be moved away from the draft which was so unpopular and went to the volunteer force in 1973, its a struggle in the decade of the 70s had to be saved, senator warner and senator dunn join together for benefits package to keep the volunteer force going. We worked on the strategic arm limitations treaty for the soviet union, the panama canal treaty had to deal with the devastating bombing in 1983, working on the legendary changes to the military chain of command with the Goldwater Mickelson reforms that strengthen civilian control of the military, put in a crystallized chain of command the commander in chief, the secretary of defense, dave packard of hewlettpackards commission in looking at reforming the way the varmints of defense buys weapon systems, the iran contra controversy, the first Gulf War Desert Shield desert storm and many more. As i look at all the issues we dealt with and they were challenging, difficult times, none of those issues could have been solved by any one person or any one party. It took both sides working together finding compromises, earning votes, working cooperatively with the pentagon, the best results for the men and women in uniform and their families. I did that for 24 years and when senator dunn decided not to run for reelection in the senate i decided to serve our war fighters in a different capacity as a defense Major General<\/a> Arnold Punaro<\/a>. Please join me in a warm welcome. [applause] turn your cell phones back on while i am talking. It is an honor for me to be your mc and the role the author has seen me play a number of times in the days together, Science Application International<\/a> corporation and this is the second time in my mc career to do the honors at a book event, the first was the late great hall of fame golfer billy casper. That was quite an honor. This should be a piece of cake compared to that. If there was a hall of fame for service to country arnold would be an early inductee as would his wife who is sitting in front. Let me tell you what we have in store for you this evening which i will interview our guest author and he will speak interminably without taking a breath. If you know our arnold, that is not true but he will talk about 25 minutes and i will ask questions in an interview format which is why you see the chairs here and we will open up to your questions and i will call on you when i see your hands go up. Once we run out of things to say, those who would like that on war and politics and throughout the evening event, keep helping yourself to wine and cheese in the back of the room. Take a brief moment, and the legislative assistant on capitol hill, the house of representatives gavel to gavel, and early and avid watcher, they expanded beyond the house, for millions of americans, Arnold Punaro<\/a> thought as a marine corps infantry commander, the bronze star medal with combat and purple heart. He later served as director of Marine Corps Reserve<\/a> during 9 11 commanding general of the marine corps mobilization command and commanding general retiring with the rank of Major General<\/a>. Arnold in georgia. Then as a staff director for the Senate Armed Services<\/a> committee. Later as an executive Vice President<\/a> and as a as responsible for Corporate Business Development<\/a> and was Deputy President<\/a> of the federal business segment donald is chair who serves on numerous commissions on National Security<\/a> guard and reserve and department of defense reforms. Recently completed a two year stint as chair of the National Defense<\/a> industrial association. He chairs the reserve forces policy board and serves on the defense business board which focuses on bringing worldclass Business Practices<\/a> to the pentagon was when he is not writing a book arnold is the ceo of the Arnold Punaro<\/a> group, specializing in federal budget and market analysis, business strategy, government relations, communications and Crisis Management<\/a> among other things but tonight we are here to learn from Arnold Punaro<\/a>, author of on war and politics the battlefield inside washingtons beltway. He presents stories from his personal and public life from sobering account of his days in combat during the vietnam war to colorful anecdotes about political luminaries of our time like senator john mccain, president and secretary clinton, president s bush i and ii and secretaries colin powell, robert gates and asked carter. Please welcome my good friend, Arnold Punaro<\/a>. [applause] thank you and good evening. I want to thank the Arnold Punaro<\/a> library and Eileen Hauser<\/a> and their friends it may books for hosting this event. Thank you for acting as master of ceremonies. Welcome many colleagues from the military that i served with over the years. And the United States<\/a> senate, did a lot over the years to make the navy as powerful as it is today to get better as the new commander in chief arrives on the scene. I want to thank dave tilton who worked with me. He did the book cover, this book from cover was done by his firm and also supports my business and all additional things. Thanks for coming out tonight to learn about my book on war and politics the battlefield inside washingtons beltway. The primary reason i wrote the book was to honor the marines i served with in vietnam. More people should know their stories, incredible dedication, courage and sacrifice they made in a war you supported and even fewer thanks to. In vietnam as draftees they served with honor and did everything their country asked of them and more. I also wanted to describe a realistic picture of life as an Infantry Division<\/a> for the rifleman in combat, through prior zones for weeks and months at a time, seeking an elusive and lethal enemy never knowing if someone is an enemy or friendly. They didnt wear uniforms. It is a war without a frontline. We were confidently cold, wet, hungry and tired was a resupply would never arrive on time and we had to ration our food, our ammo and even our water. We never had any heat. It heated up the awful c rations that were our meals and we never had any dry socks. I hate to say it but every day was pretty much the same. Up at the crack of dawn, trudged for miles to our nighttime positions, 85 pounds of gear on our backs, clear areas en route, set up ambushes, stayed up half the night on watch, many a firefight in between. That is the life of a rifleman in combat. One of those rifleman was caught corporal roy hammond of third Platoon Lima Company<\/a> and i would like to read a passage from my book about Corporal Hammond<\/a>. A shot rang out. The men crouched taking cover. At a signal, 5 or 6 enemy aks opened up on the far side of the drama, grew to a metallic roar and hail of lids came. Our m16s opened up in reply, a thin screen, the relentless patter of rain, i am hit. Corpsman up. Of familiar cry of stuff hitting the fan. Take cover, take cover, i yell. This was the ambush i dreaded. I rolled and embraced my rifle but against the ridge, triggered half a magazine towards the incoming fire. I looked downhill and saw a body between two bushes, legs sprawled in a street. Martin rushed in short dashes and set up a defensive position to the flank. Bullet swept through the brush and cracked into trees, showering bark and white pulpy would. The Fire Team Leader<\/a> collapsed next to me. Got the dark. I measured the distance, impacts were mounting up. 16 mortars, get fire on top of the ridge line. Here, lieutenant, my radioman handed me the handset, put artillery on top of the hill and cover me, i yelled and burst from behind the trees. Projectile flying past as i dodged the banks, the wounded man lay prone in the middle of the stream. Our machine guns were hammering away at the ridgeline. Bullets were dicing around and became smaller impacts of the rain drops. When i reached in the corpsman with hacking and coughing, space smeared with blood. I turned him over, his chest was torn open, air bubbles deep in the pulpy red mass, blood ran from his mouth, he tried to Say Something<\/a> but i couldnt make it out. He needed that chesterfield quick with a bullet smacked into the creek, spraying us with cold water. That wasnt an ak round, there was a sniper. Hunting my shoulders to stay low, i press the rubber band over the gate and healed with my left and around the vantage, pass a roll between the shoulders. As soon as the bandage was tied off, started pulling them out of the line of fire. And the bulldozer hit my back down in the stream. And gazing after it thinking, when i realized i could still move my days sharp and into an urgent need to scramble for cover. Bullets whacking all around, wailed at it with sledgehammers. And my brain seem to be budgeting, returning fire to the east to the back. And enemies to the north on the ridgeline. I shouted out new coordinated, fire everything we got. And without having moved when it separated us. I took a deep breath and let it. Dying the clearwater scarlet, it is called, had to find cover. Didnt feel like moving. Will not close my eyes and rest. Boots counted coming our way through the rattling crack of incoming fire. Someone was thundering down the slope, the pounding grew louder and and someone incredibly brave. Incredibly risky. Lets go, lets go. My hands came back covered with blood. And unfamiliar pale long face came back, i didnt know him. I cant move, lay there on top of me jerking as bullets hammered his jacket. We got to get out of here, i said. I pulled him off, drag him through the mud and walked toward the bank and bullets peppered the water around us. I was worried doc might be dying but maybe i could save this one. And up a slight rise to the dense foliage. Once undercover i checked him out. Wasnt breathing. I pressed my mouth in his and began cpr. His lips were cold and tasted of blood. I sat back on my heels, this was gone, the power double cheeks slack. Core discipline didnt abandon. He wasnt in my platoon. You are okay, my radioman yelled. It was reloading with shaking hands. We pinned down and have a bunch of wounded and the Company Commander<\/a> wants to sit there. Jerking my mind back, the steady rattle of small arms, shattering war of artillery working the top of the ridge louder than i ever heard it. We stumbled on a regiment, i had to call in more hour, you are hit, bleeding bad. I fumbled at a first aid kit and a hole in my back, i looked down at the terrines fighting again, his blue eyes were open, seems to be following me. You know this marine . I asked my radioman. That is hammond, lieutenant, third platoon. He only had a couple weeks to go. You better call in a chopper and get yourself taken care of. I look around at the dead and wounded, sprawl beside the screen. A leave in the pattering reign seem to be speaking in a language i had forgotten. Why had the kids done it . Sacrificed himself for a stranger . His own return home had been so near but a wounded man began screaming, salvo came in, quaking concussions detonated along the crest, shaking rain from the trees, smoke drifted like bitter incense but there was Something Else<\/a> too, something important and i remembered in a rush like a wave carrying it and breaking over me, moved to contact a regiment commander says move out. I force myself to my knees, my legs held up and at the moment i could lift a hand but a did marine was still looking up at me wideeyed, a question waiting for an answer. My radioman stuff the handset in my palm like a nurse presenting a scaffold. We are following back, lieutenant. I took a deep breath, shuddered and tore my gaze, couldnt puzzle things out now but would think about it later. Help me get this tourniquet on. Have third platoon consolidate the dead and wounded and follow it race was going to take this hill so we can get everyone out. No marine gets left behind. So we dug in and consolidated our position behind a wall of steel from our mortars and grenade launchers. After i radioed our situation to the Lieutenant Commander<\/a> i ordered squad leaders to maintain a tactical perimeter, returned fire and didnt tell them i had been hit. There was nowhere for the helicopter to land in heavily wooded terrain. They would have to drop a Neil Robertson<\/a> or jungle sling. You bundled a wounded marine into it and he was foisted through the canopy but the First Casualty<\/a> rose through the branches, a shattering boom sounded overhead, shredded aluminum rain down. Must have been a rocket propelled grenade. The line snapped so marines grabbed the wounded man, chop restraints to remain airborne but slowly staggered down a few hundred yards away impacting with an earthshaking flood. It was clear we couldnt medevac are wounded from this ravine, we had to find our way to the top of the mountain to get a secure zone for the birds to land. The trek wouldnt be quick. It would be a daylong battle against withering enemy fire and inhospitable terrain, dodging bullets and climbing in a steep hillside covered with vines and other obstacles, nothing like the combat course we trained, we havent been carrying a wounded and dead. I was losing blood, my trousers, the quebec exit room completed the trip and it began in my lower back. Never leave a fellow marine behind had been drilled into us. We kept our dead and wounded when our formation. A ragtag bunch of survivors a formation, might been generous. One squad was under responsible for clearing the ground in front of us. The two remaining squads were deployed left and right 25 m protecting our flanks which i was in the middle with the rest of the wounded and dead trying to maintain communications, calling in air strikes and artillery to keep the north vietnamese enemies heads down so they wouldnt fire on us. I had no choice but to get close to our position saying danger closed over the radio would other pilots or artillery men to be extra careful but sometimes they fire, since we would be dead if they didnt i didnt bother with a warning. It took the better part of the day to carry the dead and wounded in the final punishing climb of a fight to the top. It was dusk before we reached the mountaintop. By then i had almost forgotten i was wounded and tourniquet advantages hours earlier, my Company Commander<\/a> heard it and yanked me out but then persuaded, tried to persuade me to leave but i wasnt going to go before my marines were safe. When i got to the crest it was murder. Our bombs left the smoking wasteland of toppled trees, smoldering jungle, ripped up or and grotesquely shredded and corpses. It smelled like the devils pit barbecue. The fire slackens, the north vietnamese killed or retreating down the reverse slope melting back into the jungle. At that point the choppers came in. Are wounded went emergency medevac which means get the seriously wounded out as quickly as possible even under fire. The less seriously wounded, last, the permanent routine, radio shorthand for marines killed in action. I went out on the last one, my dad rescuer and i to each other on the slaughterhouse floor, by then blood loss had caught up with me, i was in serious pain but still clearheaded. Until this fateful day he and i had never met i didnt know what caused Corporal Hammond<\/a>s 21 texas to come to my rescue. He had been in country since february 25, 1969, and within weeks of going home. As i lay there beside them i began to wish he had not come after me. Marines in dress blues would be knocking on his familys front door. They wouldnt know what he had done to me or told how he died. When it rose to a deafening war and the rotor swooped, the thick jungle fell away. In the last feeding golden light i went over the Rolling Hills<\/a> of the country we were leaving and laid protective arm over roys body, two marines, we had never spoken to each other, never shaken hands even at the end but we were bound in spirit forever. So that [applause] thank you. That is why i dedicated my book to Corporal Hammond<\/a>. His sacrifice left a lasting impression on me and every day i vow to make myself worthy of his sacrifice. This can bring a fiery intensity to my work and why i dedicated my life to ensuring Corporal Hammond<\/a>s of the military dont when i return from vietnam i went to graduate school at the university of georgia. Then i continue my career in Public Service<\/a> working for a new senator from georgia hoping to better the lives of our war fighters which i had the honor to work with other senators on a bipartisan basis, john warner, john glenn, john power, barry goldwater, legendary figures of the United States<\/a> senate. Many of our great military leaders, general jim jones, general jim matus, the president elect announced today he is going to nominate to be our next secretary of defense. With all the other luminaries in the National Security<\/a> field, these individuals with individuals like myself Work Together<\/a> to solve the most challenging problems of the 70s, 80s 90s, the volunteer force to be moved away from the draft which was so unpopular and went to the volunteer force in 1973, its a struggle in the decade of the 70s had to be saved, senator warner and senator dunn join together for benefits package to keep the volunteer force going. We worked on the strategic arm limitations treaty for the soviet union, the panama canal treaty had to deal with the devastating bombing in 1983, working on the legendary changes to the military chain of command with the Goldwater Mickelson<\/a> reforms that strengthen civilian control of the military, put in a crystallized chain of command the commander in chief, the secretary of defense, dave packard of hewlettpackards commission in looking at reforming the way the varmints of defense buys weapon systems, the iran contra controversy, the first Gulf War Desert Shield<\/a> desert storm and many more. As i look at all the issues we dealt with and they were challenging, difficult times, none of those issues could have been solved by any one person or any one party. It took both sides working together finding compromises, earning votes, working cooperatively with the pentagon, the best results for the men and women in uniform and their families. I did that for 24 years and when senator dunn decided not to run for reelection in the senate i decided to serve our war fighters in a different capacity as a defense Business Executive<\/a> with our industry provides the cuttingedge technology for our war fighters. We never want our troops to be in a fair fight, we never want that to be the case. Our industry and many of them located here in the san diego area do a terrific job ensuring that. All the while i was privileged to serve in the Marine Corps Reserve<\/a>s and had the privilege of being called up to be in the first gulf war, the tour in bosnia after 9 11 so in summary my book is a combination of political and business memoir with all the important lessons i learned throughout my career that i believe should be applied by todays leaders which many of you are experts in this area, the world is more complex and dangerous than at any time i observed including the peak of the cold war. Very unstable, very unpredictable and we truly need the most enlightened leadership in working together that we ever had. These problems are not insurmountable. Our country faced touch problems before and they can be solved. We have to face it in a bipartisan way and when it comes to National Security<\/a>, when it comes to National Security<\/a>, politics at the waters edge. My last chapter is a chapter i call Lessons Learned<\/a> and i draw on my experience in combat and the military working in the senate and the Business World<\/a>, things i learned with my great family, my wife jan and my four kids and my seven grandkids and they are things that follow, those of you who served in the military, served with the military, you have to lead from the front, you cant lead from behind, can took all the toughest things up front, you got to take the objective, in the middle of a firefight and say i think i will relax and go in the other direction. If you are leading from the front you carry through to the mission. You also have to maintain unit cohesion. You got a unit, people of individual different skills, come from different backgrounds but if youre in a military unit your new Business Unit<\/a> and if you cant Work Together<\/a>, can lead people and bring it together, that outfit wont successful just like our country wont be successful if you dont do that. You have to be willing to take a bullet. I dont mean a bulletin warfare but if you are a politician if you are not willing to do the right thing and maybe lose an election and go back home you are not going to be a good leader and our Founding Fathers<\/a> never intended our Political Class<\/a> in washington to be there forever and ever and ever. I wouldnt have said this 20 years ago but i have come around in favor of term limits and a lot of the restrictions president elect trump is talking about in terms of the revolving door and ethical standards we need to bring to the government. You got to follow your moral compass, you got to have divination the marine corps, second lieutenant, dont have a Global Positioning<\/a> system, we had a lens added compass and topographical map. The United States<\/a> marine corps going back to the bases, teaching again how to use a map and a compass because we know the kind of fights we are going to be in our up close and personal and make sure our marines are ready to go you never leave anyone behind. That is not just on the battlefield of the military, it is in the battlefield of our society. There are people that need help, cant take care of themselves. In a Great Society<\/a> we do that. The other thing, the next votes always the most important. You may be in a big firefight, a big shouting match and have somebody opposing you on this particular vote. Guess what . The same individual two weeks from now may be your biggest ally on another issue. You dont burn bridges or take it personally. In the final lesson learned, you have to take the long view. None of the problems we are dealing with today, physical problems, can be solved in a shortterm. It takes somebody to look at it longterm. If we are going to have the kind of increase in Infrastructure Spending<\/a> and defense spending, tax cuts, protection of entitlements, you got to do it in a way that doesnt balloon the deficit. It takes a 10, 15, 20 year approach and bipartisan compromise. There are a lot of challenges, we met them in the past and we need them in the future so i say in closing let us never forget all those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. We owe it to them to come together and lead from the front. Thank you very much and i look forward to answering any of your questions. [applause] [inaudible conversations] whatever nations finest at the podium. I am not kidding. He can do anything. There we go. Secretary gates is interviewed and, ask him about our their too many generals being considered for high posts on the National Security<\/a> side of the cabinet for example the defense secretary, general David Petraeus<\/a> coming into states, general flynn and so forth. Is it okay to have been many generals . What do you think . Is it something they should mix up a little bit . I hate to give the answer it depends but the one you mentioned, those are not a problem and they are not all going to be the same. Take general john kelly, another marine, a marine who lost his son in afghanistan. He knows about war. Many people here have been in the military, frankly a lot of people dont realize, the last people who ever want to get in a conflict with the us military they basically know what the consequences are. John kelly was commander of the us Southern Command<\/a> which dealt with drugs and immigration so he probably would be as knowledgeable as you want for somebody at Homeland Security<\/a> and Homeland Security<\/a> is not just protecting the boards for protecting our country against terrorists, homegrown terrorists and things like that. Having an operator, having someone that has those military skills would not be a bad thing at this point in the history of our country. General David Petraeus<\/a>, i served with all of these is a scholar warrior too. He has a phd. He wrote the counterinsurgency manual, one of the best witnesses i have seen before the u. S. Congress, very knowledgeable individual, and would do well in any position. I know people say he ran into this issue or this problem, not one of them sitting here hasnt made some mistakes. Right now the world is dangerous as obligated as it is, we need the smartest people we can get. Every one of these individuals will make an incredible personal and financial sacrifice to come into our government. General David Petraeus<\/a> works for a big Financial Firm<\/a> in new york and i guarantee you he is not having trouble meeting the mortgage and john kelly has plenty of opportunity. Asking them to serve again when they serve for 40 plus years, you have to have a balance. I certainly, if you were going to have those kind of military folks with department of Homeland Security<\/a>, department of defense, director of National Intelligence<\/a> at the state department you want to have more of a civilian focus and they are looking at very prestigious and prominent civilians for the department of state. I personally, a lot of folks are stirred up about it, the media will write a lot of articles about it, in the final analysis, the troubled times we are in both at home and abroad. You want to have people who have seen the pointy end of a bayonet and know what it takes to keep the country and our family safe. I certainly want that. [applause] let me stay with the secretary gates issue. As you know, one strangest elections we have ever seen was never seen candidates who said what they said, never seen anything like this was a lot of folks said things about those candidates during the election, now a change of opinion, change of heart, mitt romney said the toughest things about President Trump<\/a> of anybody and he was considered for secretary of state but gates himself said tough things about trump during the election such as he was unfit to be commanderinchief. A number of folks signed a letter, strong letter against trump. He was asked, have you changed your mind you called him unfit, since from what you have seen, november 8th, he entered the question have you seen a change in president elect trump he was elected . You are more comfortable that you were in july, august, september . I worried about his comments about the purple heart. I had Young Marines<\/a> die in my arms that never wanted to earn the purple heart, it bothered me his comments about john mccain because i served with john mccain, but the judgment about whether someone is fit to serve as commanderinchief is made by the American People<\/a>. The American People<\/a> made their judgment. As i said, in the military we are up old to defend the constitution, it is the job of everything a person in this room, two of us on the stage to help him be the most accessible i have tremendous confidence in the American People<\/a>. The American People<\/a> are likely Young Marines<\/a> who served with me in vietnam, the come from all parts of the country come all socioeconomic circumstances and they did the best they can. The American People<\/a> in their wisdom, this is why you have elections, why we have a great democracy. They made that decision and frankly he is a businessman and i can see a lot of the way Business People<\/a> think in the way he goes about making decisions. In the Business World<\/a> you are dealing with somebody give you a hard time you get on the phone and job own with the men lose whatever leverage you have with you have a press Conference Today<\/a> where he was up in indiana with the head of carrier owned by United Technology<\/a> announcing they would keep their plan in indiana, he job owned them into that, he brings in somebody like mitt romney that beat up on him during the campaign, that shows as a businessman he understands that was another thing in my Lessons Learned<\/a>, you pick the very best people and hold them accountable. By the way if he brought in a good person and put him in in a job. We were talking earlier who we might get to come in as secretary of the navy and he brings in somebody and they get confirmed and they are off to a good start and all of a sudden they are not implementing the direction of the president , i expect to call them up and say you are fired. What is wrong with that . He is the commanderinchief. Everybody coming into this outfit needs to follow the president. I think they will. The other thing gates said that worried people, they asked the gate to serve with tween 9 president s what is the main thing you learned about serving with tween 9 president s, it is important for president to know what they dont know and listen to people that do know. Since he has been elected you see him bring in people of tremendous diversity, democrats, republicans, independents, people that didnt support him, really smart people to talk to them about the budget, talk about energy, things like that i have been through a lot of transitions. I have been working with their Transition Team<\/a> and they are on top of everything. They know government needs to be reformed, i spent most of my career trying to reform the pentagon because we spend a lot of money, dont get the bang for the buck we necessarily should in every instance, they will do some dramatic reform of the covenant, particularly huge agencies that were not responsive to the people. We are spending more money on the va, the veterans are not getting the service they need. Agent orange which was a terrible thing in vietnam and the government told us it wont cause any harm, give me a break, this is a chemical defoliant that killed all vegetation and all life and we were sleeping in it and the government says it isnt a problem, dont worry about it. We have a lot of people, agent orange diseases take a long time to incubate and we are seeing that now and im going to too many funerals of our Young Marines<\/a> so the veterans are not taken care of the way they should. Im very encouraged by what i am going to see. I will talk loud. Let me turn to the reforms you have done. You have been active in the Garden Reserve<\/a>, you lead a study, you chaired a study of reforms that need to be made in the reserve. Have you seen a lot of progress made in that field, if you have or havent what would you recommend to the incoming secretary of defense doing for the Garden Reserve<\/a>. The Garden Reserve<\/a>, i had no intelligent intention of staying in the reserves, never thought about it. The reserves, the garden nearly 70s is not looked on with pleasure, a lot of people join the Garden Reserve<\/a> so they didnt have to go to vietnam. Army chief of staff craig abrams, one of the greatest army leaders we ever had came by to visit, i was one of the few that had a combat abrams told senator nunn we could never do what we did in vietnam ever again. This nation should never go to war unless the American People<\/a> are behind it. That was a huge mistake we made in vietnam. The only way the American People<\/a> will get behind it is if the reserve is involved, Senior Citizen<\/a> soldiers, live in the communities and when they are called up the American People<\/a> get behind it. If you look at the first gulf war, when president bush basically since our initial troops over there the American Public<\/a> was not supportive of that effort. When he called out the guard and reserve and deployed them to the first gulf war Public Opinion<\/a> changed in favor. In 9 11 i was privileged to be the head of the Marine Corps Reserve<\/a> which we had the largest mobilization of the Marine Corps Reserve<\/a> in history. Since 9 11 over 900,000 members of the reserve have been called up in afghanistan and iraq and they have gone back to their communities. We had studies that show that on weekly they didnt perform as well as counterparts. The Garden Reserve<\/a> talked about an active duty or soldier or marine cost and when you put them in a combat formation they are cheaper because you dont have to maintain schools or Grocery Stores<\/a> or Family Housing<\/a> 24 hours a day for the active military so the Garden Reserve<\/a>, the active military and the carrier battle group, or replace the 82nd airborne. In terms of the combat teams, and the true bargain for the taxpayer. They are doing extremely well. We turned the corner on that, have the total force, current leadership in the military or civilian leadership is very proreserve but you have to keep pushing so as new people come in we hope to keep the wellinformed of what the reserve are capable of doing. The National Guard<\/a> does thousands and thousands of Homeland Security<\/a> missions every year. Anytime there is a flood or Natural Disaster<\/a> the guard is supported. If you ever had a major incident, the department of defense is the only outfitting government that comes to the rescue. If you have a multistate emergency the department of Homeland Security<\/a> is in charge but they have no helicopters, they have no fuel, transportation. You can keep the marine corps f amphibious ship, navy 30, 40, 50 bed hospital on that ship, put it on shore in Hurricane Sandy<\/a> and providing food, water and medical care when hospitals and things are down. In the Garden Reserve<\/a> and military, supporting country at home. Im encouraged by where we are going in that direction as well. [applause] let me change gears, you spend a lot of time with senator nunn who is widely restricted on both sides of the aisle. What was he like as a boss and what is he doing now . Senator nunn was a great boss, not to say that because he was a great boss. Senator nunn was a tough taskmaster, a perfectionist, he was always overprepared for everything he did. Of senator nunn got invited, never sought publicity, he was a very objective individual, he would not speak unless he had all the facts, he was careful not to overreact. Nowadays with the media you have talking heads on tv the minute something happens you have five people trying to explain what happened and dont Pay Attention<\/a> for the first two days because anything they tell you will be dead wrong. We all know that so get the facts. Senator nunn wanted to get the facts. If he was on one of the National Tv Shows<\/a> on face the nation, we put three or four, 10 inch briefing book that he would read every paper in their. It in. Senator nunn was a deep thinker, he was looking down the road. He and senator warner put together the initiatives to reduce tensions between the us and soviet union in the peak of the cold war. The soviet unions Warning Systems<\/a> were very poor and we were very worried they might mistake, i wont say a bird flight but an aircraft or something for a missile attack and launch a missile attack against us. And improve the Warning Systems<\/a> at the same time. And most of the soviet Nuclear Missiles<\/a> and nuclear programs, he was very worried the soviet union collapsing all these Nuclear Scientists<\/a> and generals, were not going to work with our enemies, he put in place a program to ensure, and on washington the, senator nunn, with senator quayle and senator alan dixon, scratch golfers, they will go out and get around the golf end so that was a nice respite. Our great leader was a sailor so he would always be sailing friday afternoon so i was headquartered on the east coast and not on the west coast and on the east coast we went to work at 5 00 in the morning and stayed until 9 00 at night 7 days a week on the west coast. They took off every afternoon. We live in the greatest most perfect weather place in the country. Senator done was extremely bipartisan, he felt no one person, no one artie, and very bipartisan. President reagan wanted to sell the Airborne Warning<\/a> command in saudi arabia to help us basically keep the middle east stable, the republicans control the senate but only by two or three vote and 50 republican senators came against the sale because israel was opposed to it. Senator nunn thought it was a good idea and other democrats so he worked with president reagan and provided needed moderate votes, if saudi arabia, and in the 1980s, we would not have been able to prevail in the early days of the air war in the first gulf war and a lot of that was in place, training and Work Together<\/a> with commanding systems in president reagan. Senator nunn supported president jimmy carter on ratifying the panama canal treaty after he got reservations in place. It was extremely unpopular in the state of georgia. In fact there were Bumper Sticker<\/a>s, we got more mail about senator nunn over that than anything in all the years i was there. There was a Bumper Sticker<\/a> we see in georgia from time to time that said we used to have a car now, now we have done. By the way, when you are in a senators off as you get 5000 letters a day and a lot of crackpot mail, senator nunn called it not mail so a Senior Citizen<\/a> from georgia, senator nunn had a rule where we had to answer all the mail. This letter is totally incoherent. Why do we have to answer that . Senator nunn visited about that and senator nunn told us i talked to the senator and he said sam, you have to answer all the not mail. If you dont answer the not mail you wont win an election in the state of georgia. We answered all the not mail. What we got a lot of telephone calls, there was a guy in georgia that basically but there was a communist behind every tree. He called me once a weekend i knew it would be a long time but put the phone down and every 5 minutes, how is it going . I got ridiculed from time to time, you have been in washington 20 years and still have a southern accent, yes, when people from georgia call it into the phone and go how are you doing, they like that. What is he doing now . Senator nunn, he wanted to do Something Different<\/a> so he started what is called the Nuclear Threat<\/a> initiative, it is an effort to reduce Nuclear Weapons<\/a> and nuclear fissile material and running that for over 25 years, been extremely successful. He was chairman of the center for strategic and international studies, the National Think<\/a> tank in the world, and a lot of corporate boards, served on ges board, and a very smart businessman. He is 78 years old, looks like he is 35, stays in good shape. My wife is always the nonme, can you be more like senator nunn . That is great. You and i were lucky to have served at a time when there was collegiality in the house and senate. The administrations came and went. How do we get back to that . We know about the polarization, you talked about it earlier, we all hear about it and were feeling it, the parties do not they dont talk to each other. That was not the case when we were working there. How do we get ck to that . I would say the first thing is all the politicians in washington ought to learn a lesson from this election. If theres ever a signal sent to the people in washington, it was sent. Folks, we want to change, we dont like gridlock, we want you guys to change so if i am the Minority Party<\/a> i better look at what we can Work Together<\/a> on, how to solve common problems and how to restore americas confidence in the government at all levels is one of the examples i use that i get stirred up about, we all want clean air and clean water and safe this and safe that, eight years of the Obama Administration<\/a> they put a tremendous amount of resources and effort into the Environmental Protection<\/a> agency. They get complaints about it. Too green and things like that but all that money and all that effort to protect the Drinking Water<\/a> in flint, michigan. It was not just the federal government the State Government<\/a> and local government. If im a citizen of the United States<\/a> of america i would be outraged by that. My government cant make sure my kids have clean Drinking Water<\/a>. That is what i think people are stirred up about, they see that in the va and many government and tuitions. We are never going to fix that so forget that. Most of the rest of government turned out like the bureaucrats, they want it fixed. If i was sitting there and mister trump looks like he will reach out with the olive branch. He has done it with people in his own party that gave him a lot of grief during the election, he reached out to a lot of folks that gave him, there was nobody that was more critical of him on the republican side than mitt romney. He met with him and had dinner with him, trump picked up the bill. Let me open it up to all of you. Eileen will put the microphone back in the middle. If you will come back to the mic and line up behind it and everyone will hear your question better. Line up behind each other and go one at a time rather than me calling on you, it will go faster. [inaudible question] what we did when i got out of the hospital and got back to the states, i actually served on the staff of the Marine Corps School<\/a> in quantico and one of my duties, not a very pleasant duty was a casualty assistance officer. There were so many casualties in those days i was one of the marines that had to knock on the family app store to let them know their son had been killed in combat. I tried to find Corporal Hammond<\/a>s family but there was no internet, records were really bad, and for a number of years i was not able to find him. Luckily, i kept at it and had some help from folks like dave tilson that know how to work facebook and twitter and everything and located his sister and connected with her and related to them what Corporal Hammond<\/a> has done and we kind of exchanged over time. I was not able to track down the family when i got back from vietnam. [inaudible question] number one would be every day show them they are appreciated and what they have done to appreciate it. That is a friendly gesture that means a lot to any veteran. Thank you for your service. We see that in airports and halls. When i was in a National Airport<\/a> people would spit on me when i was in uniform. I was not the greatest in the world because i spit back. I got in a lot of fights. While i am thinking about that, one other story in the book, when we were going to vietnam we were going through San Francisco<\/a> and we heard they had all the hippies and folks with purple hair and earrings and things like that which i shouldnt be talking about this in california. By the way, you know what harry truman said about how california was formed . Can i say this . They turned the country on its side, shook the loose screws and nuts into california. That is what harry truman said. I didnt say that. We go to ashbury and sure enough, all the flower children up there and there was an alley and the skies with motorcycles and black jackets, and these were the hells angels was we were in uniform and we were going to start a little ruckus and it turned out they had superior weapons and superior firepower and they beat the living you know what and i learned my lesson, never go into a fair fight. The first thing is show their appreciation. Second thing is put pressure on the local politicians. They can put pressure on the va. Offer to help them. The thing we worry about most now is the traumatic brain injuries, the concussions they get with these huge explosions like in the sports world. It doesnt show up for seven or eight years. There are kids that have been out of the military that are is tied into any medical system, the symptoms like the agent orange symptoms. A couple things, your opinion on f, and a separate one on being a retired naval aviator it seems throughout my career, you keep doing more and more. We have a lot of issues with resources and a huge debt and one of the things i always thought if we could scale back on commitment. I want to know your thoughts on that. Let me answer your first question by mentioning another soviet leader i had the privilege of accompanying, gorbachev. Gorbachev was a different soviet leader, we met with soviet leaders before, they had a 3 x 5 card and didnt matter what you said, they had a long speech, gorbachev was different, he had terrorist strike and glass noticed. That the wall came down. Vladimir putin was a different soviet leader. Is a throwback to the old days. He comes right out of the linen stalin kgb playbook. He is a throwback to the cold cold war. He is an intelligence apparatus, grew up in the kgb, they manipulate people and he takes advantage of peoples weaknesses, there is no doubt in my mind he was behind the hacking during our election or things of that nature. You have to understand who you are dealing with. Then we took them back, but ukraine is a different situation , so i think its important and i can guarantee you that joe dunford, chairman of the joint chiefs see russia as our number one threat and we had to be prepared to deal with that with the clear eyes and i think our new president elect will come around to the point of view because i think most of the people around him now have that same point of view. In terms of our commitments we have to decide in this country what is art interest in when you deploy our military or make a commitment it should be only those things in our vital interests, not just in our interest, but our vital interests. Im not smart enough to know how to solve the problems in the middle east. I mean, these people have been fighting each other for 10000 years and i dont think theres anything anyone can do to stop that, so the question is what is our vital interest and we should protect our vital interests. We are Energy Independent<\/a> now and we will get more Energy Independent<\/a> and thats a good thing when it comes to our reliance on the middle east, but a lot of our allies the reason our allies in europe are not willing to be as harsh on russia is because they need the Russian Energy<\/a> and by the way that is the we could joke that down. We could put a real hurt a lock on them. I think we have been very lax in counter cyber. We have offense of capability and we should start using its and do things to the russians that hurts them and then they may not they may take a deep breath. That was really the concept in the Nuclear Weapons<\/a> era. You filed your fire your misled us and we will fire a thousand back at you and both of us will not be around anymore. Rational people will not do that, so the cyber world if you counter attack and they find out this hurts us, then maybe that will be some element of deterrence. The forthcoming defense appropriations bill apparently has a number of changes that they say are dramatic in terms of nickel goldwater era and john mccain and others got into it. I wonder if you could summarize what those changes are. Certainly. So, the Goldwater Nichols<\/a> changes in 1986, were focused on the military operational chain of command. At the same time dave packard from hewlettpackard led a commission to see how the management was working, particularly how we buy our weapons system and what john mccain in the senate is focused on this years more in the management side and not the operational side. Of they have not changed any fundamentals of Goldwater Nichols<\/a>. We still have the crystal chain of command and the chairman is still the principal military advisor and things like that, but they have recognized that the Packard Commission<\/a> changes on our acquisition processes, we spend 400 billion a year at the pentagon on goods and services, supplies and equipment about the only nice thing you can say about the outcome is spend more, take longer and get less. I mean, look at the problem with the carrier. We need Aircraft Carrier<\/a>s. We spent 50 billion. There is something wrong with the system, so what john mccain and max born very have done broken up this large bureaucracy called acquisition term and would just ask that has layers and layers and layers of management and has functions that were never envisioned. They put energy, environment, installations and their and so they created they have taken aback to what used to be. One part will be the director of research and engineering. That job will be to focus on the Cutting Edge Technology<\/a> we need to bring into our government and pentagon, so our military will never be in a fair fight and thats one of the leaders of breaking his outfits up your the second one will focus on the acquisition and a sustainment, so i think these are good moves and positive moves any other than john mccain has done is cutting the bureaucracy down, cutting the layers of management, cutting at some of the senior civilians. We have a hundred thousand civilians in the pentagon, more today than we did on 911 and yet we have cut 125,000 activeduty military, but none of the civilians, so we cut to the war fires and out the bureaucrats also we need need to straighten that out and then we were talking, there is fairly significant changes in the medical establishment. I think the congress is always trying to make sure we are providing the best medical care for our troops, families and retirees, so they have changes their. In my judgment what they did not do in this years bill is, we have got 25 defense agencies, literally agencies that frankly are large businesses. The defense logistics agency, which provides everything from tires and toilet paper to fuel to blackbox radio parts does 48 billion of business a year with the department of defense. Thats more than lockheed martin, our largest defense contractor that only does 32 billion and thats a lot of money. Doa bought 12 billion worth of inventory they did not need. How you do that . How youd buy 12 billion with the stuff you dont need . The other agencies are like that, so we need to bring in worldclass Business Practices<\/a> and mccain at thornberry will look at that this year, so the changes they made this year i think a pretty positive. I will tell you the leadership of the pentagon is not in favor of it, but they are never in favor of any change and i have this old saying that i have used, hey, folks, the pentagon is not always right, so im glad we have the congressional oversight. Congress needs to reform as well and as someone mentioned they have not passed all 12 appropriations by the first of october, in 20 years so theres a lot of gridlock that needs fixing as well. I congratulate you, general, and your performance of your book. I have had two tours in vietnam. I would like to ask you a question. I was there and 71 and 72 at the height of the drug season. Were you affected in your unit by drugs in your 70, 71 performance . I was not. We were very fortunate as we are in the bush the whole time and never got back in the rear, so we never had an opportunity for the troops to interface with that. There was no way to have drugs in the field, so we never had that. My biggest problem with my troops was they would fall asleep on watch during the middle of the night because they were so tired and in an infantry platoon youre supposed up 50 marines of the most i had missed what he. If you send out one squad in an ambush that is 12 of your marines gone and even if you only had 25a would not be good to send only 10 out and that means you have a 360 in your foxhole and you were supposed up for people or fox home and that means three with sleep and one would be up 25 of the time. The problem was you were lucky to have too, so you are up to 50 of the time, so that was the problem i had. You were lucky you are not involved in the drug performance from 712 next 72. I heard about that and i know it was a huge problem. Robert mcnamara was the secretary of defense during the vietnam war and i dont have any charitable thoughts about him at all. He has passed on from this world and i shouldnt say where i hope he is, but i hope he is, but he brought in 100,000 troops that were middle category that had no business being in the mode military. They never would have been recruited, but he said to cut down on the draftees of the wealthy people or the people, we will bring these kids in. Out a couple in my putting that were decent kids. They had 10 weeks of training and had no clue about weaponry or rifles. In one firefight we were running out of ammunition and i said the two back to get resupplied and they never came back and so after we got out of the firefight i sent a team to look for them in a just decided to take a nap on the trail because they didnt know any better, so i sent them back to the rear, so those were the problems i was dealing with, but i was very very fortunate to not have to deal with the drug problem, but a lot of people did have that. One other thing. I have volunteered in the va, for 25 years. There is nothing wrong with the va in the Health Portion<\/a> down below, the nurses, the doctors. Those people work their tail off and they are very kind to the people that commit. Her problem at the va is the layer of management that is about those people who really dont perform the function. If you could cut the management of the gay couch or reduce it by 90 , that would be a functioning outfit. I am with you on that and thank you for what you have done for 25 years and by the way, we need to do that and Education Field<\/a> as well. I have two daughters that were teachers and all the money goes to the bureaucrats sitting on a desk is somewhere. We dont like people that fly desk in the military. Thank you for your service. 27 years in the military. I feel like a lone ranger. Thank you, sir. [applause]. I look forward to reading the book and when you talked about the importance of a map, that sounded in this age of technology its a bit surprising, so i wonder if you talk about technology and the war fighter and what is your opinion about the stove piping of the military branches versus j sock and integration to try to achieve the goal. Thats a great issue and theres a lot of debate going on with that very question back in washington. I mean, i have kind of i may have the wrong perspective, but i have an infantry rifle perspective and we basically come from the perspective that basically small units win wars and conflicts and basically until you get that small unit up close and personal with the enemy and take care of the enemy look at the world war ii, air wars did not stop, did not stop with bombing in vietnam and we have not stopped it with the bombing in middle east, i mean, technology is great and i want our troops to have all of the technology, its a marine with the bayonet or soldier with a rifle that will close within the story of the enemy. Technology, look, we have the ward Aircraft Carrier<\/a> that supposed to be the best Aircraft Carrier<\/a> every bill. The only problem is a cant launch airplanes and its propeller doesnt work, i mean, we have a lot of smart people in the room, so i think im probably in the minority because everyone is a big believer in technology, and by the way all of their weapon systems today are dependent on software. Software can be screwed up, so i really think our military has to get back to basics. The folks that know how to fly, john glenn knew how to fly an airplane when the wing was shot off. Doesnt have all those fancy gizmos, so i think our military needs to be able to perform in combat when the technology is not working because you know murphys law and communication by the way, every exercise we ever did in military the communication never worked and is so we had one little old radio in vietnam and because of the jungles and everything you were lucky if it worked between you and the radioman 3 feet away by the way, the army has been trying to build a new radio with the jitters and jammers and still doesnt work and the last thing when i read about is the boot. The army has 11 massachusetts and they are supposed to design all of the loadbearing gear and personal gear for infantry soldiers and marines. The jungle boots we had in vietnam was about a worthless because you can ever get. First ball at a metal plate in the bottom that was supposed to keep the boobytraps from going through your feet and that did not work, but also make the boot heavy. And then it was supposed to have these holes in the side so when the water from the rice paddies got into your boot it would flow out except the holes were always clogged so the water never flowed out so we had to cut holes in the top of the boots of the water would turn out there by the way, they have not had a good boot sense and they what they dont do is in the plane, you fly before you buy, but when they build this loadbearing gear they just design and give it to someone and then the boot shut it shows up and it doesnt work in there like must buy for more, so im not a big fan of technology. I like the basics. Im a basic civil marine. Give me a bayonet that never needs sharpening and im in hog heaven. [applause]. Spherical head and clapped for him. Keys done a job. This is bringing back a lot of memories of us working together and you can see why its such a great honor to be in the presence of someone like arnold. Arnold, we love you and miss working with you. For those of you that dont know him and are just meeting him youre getting a good taste of what its like to be his presence and why hes been so successful throughout a very long and incredible career. There is still one more question and then we will stop and go sign books. You are the last one. My question is to tap into your experience as a reserve officer and lots of experience on policy. Do you for cne changes with the current of mobilization authorities that allow us access to our reserve. In other words i think without the declaration, the yearly declaration of Natural National<\/a> emergency that forces are not being forced to program and continue to rely on contingency operations. I see those changes coming because we have a reserve and guard that is now an operational regard not a Strategic Reserve<\/a> and to maintain that proficiency and again, over 900,000 have served in combat and they are highly trained and battled tested. You have to keep the readiness up and do that you need funding. We can now use the title x reserves in natural reset disasters, so if you been Natural Disaster<\/a> is not just have to be the guard. Those units have to be ready as well, so comes down to military readiness and that requires money. Ic policy changes moving in the right direction and i do think the guard and reserve by the way for those that dont know the National Guard<\/a> runs all of our inner defense for the entire United States<\/a> of america and our missile defense. The navy reserve has got tremendous capabilities in the seabees. Army reserve has virtually all of the army combat support and service support. Our military cannot go to war without the army and the reserve , so we need to make sure its maintained at that level of readiness. When you have these Natural Disaster<\/a>s you dont know when they will pop up, so they have to be ready for that as well. Im optimistic and bullish that the laws have changed favorably, but you are correct the one on the National Emergency<\/a> we need to make sure that a certain level of access of guard and reserve any other big problem we have is 32 duty status is regarding server were observed and that read creates complications. You are either on active duty or you are not. The defense review of 2011 said six and the pentagon said for over 10 years we will change it and have not changed its yet, so even when they are favor of doing the right thing it takes them a long time to get there, but it is definitely moving in the right direction. [applause]. Give him a big hand. [applause]. Thank you for coming. The books are for sale. 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