Well, good afternoon, everybody.
[Cadets respond, “Good afternoon.”]
Sorry, I couldn’t hear that.
Let’s try that again.
Good afternoon, everybody!
[Cadets respond loudly, “Good afternoon!”]
Now we’re talking.
Sorry for butting into your lunch hour.
But it’s great to be back at West Point. This is where leadership happens. And every day as Secretary of Defense, I draw on the lessons and the values that I learned right here as a Cadet nearly half a century ago.
And of course, as Secretary of Defense, I am all about the Joint Force.
Or at least I’m all about the Joint Force for 364 days a year.
But for just one day a year, let me say: Beat Navy!
[Cheers and applause]
Alright, got a little blood flowing there.
There are “nine and a butt” days until we face the Midshipmen on the gridiron. And I am confident that Bryson and the team will be ready!
[Applause]
You know, the Army-Navy Game is so important because it represents discipline, teamwork, determination, and a winning spirit. And these are the same qualities that will determine your
success going forward—not just on the fields of friendly strife, as General MacArthur noted, but in other circumstances of even greater consequence.
I’ve seen this firsthand over my nearly 50-year career. And I guess I’m officially an “Old Grad,” by the way. And as an Old Grad, I thought that I’d give you a bit of advice that I’ve gathered over these past five decades since graduating as a member of the Class of ’75—”Courage and Drive,” huah!
[Applause]
That’s probably one of my classmates in the back over there. How about waking him up?
[Laughter]
You know, when I first came to West Point, I had never been north of Georgia. I took the first airplane ride of my life to New York City.
And I was blown away by the firsties who met me on R-Day back in 1971. They were clipped, commanding, and squared-away. And they just seemed like perfect people. And I said to myself: what am I doing here? I will never be this good.
But West Point made me better. West Point made me stronger. And West Point made me wiser.
You know, you’ve got a big mission ahead.
You’re not just going into any army. You are going into the United States Army.
And make no mistake. The United States military is the finest and most lethal fighting force on Earth!
[Applause]
Our job is to fight and win our nation’s wars. We will always deter conflict when we can. But if we are forced to defend our country, we will fight, and we will win—and we will win decisively.
[Applause]
You know, over the decades, our uniforms have changed. Our weapons have changed. Our tactics have changed. But one thing won’t ever change. And that’s the power and the capability of our people.
You are the key to our strength and our warfighting power. And the security of the United States will always depend on two huge strategic assets: the talents and the commitment of the American people, and the values of our democracy. And I’d like to talk about both today.
And so let me start with our people—and what it takes to lead in the United States military.
We are an all-volunteer force. And so we take really good people—and we make them even better.
Our North Star is warfighting effectiveness. We don’t lower our standards for our recruits. We bring our recruits up to our standards, and way beyond. And we show them how to be all that you can be.
And these extraordinary patriots demand extraordinary leadership.
Now, I’ve had a front-row seat to the greatest stage in history. I wore a United States Army uniform for 41 years. And I spent almost six years serving in combat—with three long tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. And I’ve now served for four years as Secretary of Defense.
And after all of those years of service, I keep coming back to one core tactical lesson.
On the battlefield, troops will only go as far as they have to for poor leaders. But troops will go the distance for good leaders.
And I have seen this personally over and over again.
American soldiers will run through walls for good leaders. And I mean that literally.
They will do amazing things. They will show phenomenal courage.
And it is more powerful than anything that you’ll see in any war movie.
But you have to lead them from the front. You have to lead with principle. You have to lead with guts. You have to lead with humility. And you have to lead by example.
As my first platoon sergeant, Sergeant First Class “Fox” Ballard, told me, the most important thing that you must do as a leader is to take care of your people. Take care of them, and they will follow you anywhere.
You know, this is the most valuable lesson that I learned in my 41 years in uniform—and it’s proven true time and time again.
When I was a one-star general in Iraq, I was talking to an infantry unit right after a firefight. Their squad had been pinned down by heavy enemy fire. And then suddenly, one young Soldier got up from behind his covered position, and he charged toward the enemy. He risked his own life, and he eliminated the threat—and saved his squad.
And afterward, once we had evacuated the unit and they were out of harm’s way, I approached that young Soldier. And I asked him, “Hey, what made you do that? What made you run toward that automatic weapon?” And I asked him, “Weren’t you afraid?”
And he said, “Sir, I was scared shitless.”
And then he said, “But I heard my squad leader’s voice, and I knew that it was going to be OK.”
I heard my squad leader’s voice and I knew that it was going to be OK.
Ladies and gentlemen, there is no other profession on Earth where a 19-year-old kid will get up and run toward enemy fire to save his buddies. That young man did so because he trusted his squad leader. He looked up to him, and he respected him. And he knew that his squad leader was there with him, leading him, and he knew that he would take care of him.
You know, his sergeant probably never imagined the impact that he had. But you will need to be that strong and steady voice for your Soldiers. And there will be times when all eyes and ears are on you.
I’ll never forget the night before we led the 3rd Infantry Division through the Karbala Gap in southern Iraq in the spring of 2003. The fighting was really heavy. An incredible artillery duel ensued as we exchanged gunfire with elements of Iraq’s Republican Guard. Our goal was to suppress the enemy in preparation for our movement through the Gap starting the following day. It was one of the most difficult maneuvers of the U.S.-led Iraq invasion. The enemy could have inflicted a good bit of damage, given the complexity of the terrain. We had to get an entire armored division through an area that was only about two kilometers wide.
And the intensity of the fighting throughout the night was extraordinary. Shells were coming in close and shaking the tent of my CP. Artillery was exploding all around us.
And so I was laser-focused, on the radio giving orders to the brigade commanders. Then at one point, I paused and looked up. And I realized that all eyes were on me, and there was near total quiet. There wasn’t a sound in the room beyond the radio transmissions and the steady beat of artillery beyond the walls of the tent. The troops in the TOC had stopped what they were doing, and they were watching me intently—waiting to hear what I had to say.
And at that moment, I realized that they would follow me through fire—if they trusted that I knew the way forward. They wanted to know that I had a plan, and that I was confident that we could be execute that plan.
I would never forget that moment. Troops look to their leaders—even when you’re not aware of it. Hemingway wrote that “Courage is grace under pressure.” Well, leadership is steadiness under pressure. If the lieutenant panics, the platoon fails. If a leader loses their compass, the unit loses its way.
That’s what leadership means.
You’ve also got to learn from your mistakes. And that means always being willing to listen and to learn from others.
And let me mention one of our great strengths—and that’s the quality of our NCO corps. You know, we invested in our NCOs years ago, in all of our services. And it has paid huge dividends.
I can’t think of anyone who taught me as much early on as one NCO. And that was Fox Ballard, my first platoon sergeant.
Back when I was a Second Lieutenant, I was assigned to Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Infantry in West Germany. One day, I was leading the platoon on a training exercise through the countryside. I took a wrong turn, according to the map.
But eventually, we got our bearings and we started heading in the right direction. And Fox Ballard didn’t say anything—until we got back to garrison.
And then he pulled me aside and he said, “Hey sir, I want to go back out to the local training area tomorrow—just you and me.”
So the next day, we went back. And Fox told me that we were going to go over land navigation.
So I said, “Sergeant Ballard, I do not need to do this. I’m a graduate of Ranger School. I know how to navigate.”
And Fox replied, “Sir, you missed a turn yesterday. And you can’t tell me that you knew where you were at that point, because I know that you didn’t. And I am never going to let you make that mistake again.”
It was a pretty humbling moment. But he made me keep at it. And I eventually went on to become the scout platoon leader for the battalion.
And that’s how you get better.
Ladies and gentlemen, let’s be clear. Humility is not weakness. Humility is a command virtue.
The strongest people whom I’ve ever known, the greatest leaders whom I’ve ever served with, have learned from their shortfalls. That’s part of being “leaders of character.”
You are training for combat. You are training to deter America’s enemies. And if you fail to admit your shortcomings and correct them, it can cost the lives of those that you’re leading.
And so you are not here to look good. You’re not here to strut. You are here to be effective warfighters.
The United States military is a learning organization, down to our bones. And when things don’t go according to plan, we don’t give up. We don’t get defensive. We get better. We learn from it. You know, success feels great. But let me tell you, failure feels awful. I’ll also tell you that you can learn a lot from times when you feel like hell.
And so I would challenge you to always keep learning. Continue to read and study history—as well as policies and regulations and trade journals. And be mindful, as the first Secretary of War, Henry Knox, put it, “Officers can never act with confidence until they are masters of their profession.”
And so you’ve got to put in the work, day in and day out. And you should expect the same of those who you lead.
You know, leadership isn’t just about talent. It’s also about sweat. I’ve learned over the years that troops will do in combat exactly what they’ve been trained to do. Exactly. So you’ve got to put in the reps and sets. You know, the great basketball players are typically the last ones to leave the court. So you can’t cut corners. Talent is a gift, but hard work is a choice. And for 45 years—41 years in uniform, and four as Secretary of Defense—I have insisted that no one will ever outwork me. The combination of discipline and hard work is the difference between good intentions and good results.
And I’ve seen the truth of these words demonstrated countless times through those short 45 years in uniform and as Secretary of Defense. I’ve seen young soldiers and leaders, in combat and peacetime, making the impossible possible, through their grit, their determination, their creativity, and their courage.
They were also that good because they operated as a team. As General C.Q. Brown, our outstanding warfighter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said, “Success takes a team, but failure you can do alone.”
In the many operations that I was a part of while in uniform, we weren’t just confident in our training. We weren’t just confident in our platforms. We were confident in each other.
And that commitment to teamwork and confidence in one another is a huge part of what makes the United States military special.
We are one team. One team. And in today’s complex national-security environment, we don’t have one warrior to spare.
And with this in mind, I do want to say just a word about the women of the United States military.
You know, in 2003, as the assistant division commander for maneuver during the march on Baghdad, I wanted to keep my command post right up at the front. I knew that I needed to be able to see and to feel the fight. And I knew that I needed to keep up with my mechanized units and understand the battlefield conditions.
So shortly before we crossed the line of departure, I called my team together, my CP. And that team included several extraordinary women serving in my command post. And I told my team, “Look, we need to win this fight. So I need to be at the front. I know what will happen to me if I’m captured. I have no intention of being captured, and I will fight to the last bullet. But the risks are serious. And I am enormously proud of all of you, and that won’t ever change. So if anyone here thinks that they can’t deploy forward, I fully understand. And no one will ever think any less of you.”
The women and men of that incredible team looked at me. And finally one of the women popped up and said, “Sir, what are you talking about?”
Those women didn’t flinch.
They were facing the same dangers as the men. In fact, they were facing more.
And in no uncertain terms, they were telling me to stop talking and get to the fight.
And that is who the women of the United States military are.
And everywhere I’ve gone on a battlefield, I’ve seen women fighting for America.
And they are incredibly capable, incredibly accomplished, and incredibly brave.
So look, if I get a little fired up about this, it’s just because this isn’t 1950. It isn’t 1948. It is 2024.
And we need each and every qualified citizen who steps up to wear the cloth of our nation. And any military that turns away tough, talented patriots—women or men—is just making itself weaker and smaller.
So enough already.
This enterprise works because of your trust in one another. You know, you can surge capability. You can surge troops. But you cannot surge trust.
You build up trust day by day, drill by drill. Trust takes a lifetime to forge—and an instant to shatter.
And a key part of trust is treating others with dignity and respect. When I took office, the numbers of sexual assaults at the military service academies, all of them, were at alarming levels. But we—you and I, and others—tackled this head-on, and we’ve turned the tide. Congratulations to the Supe. We know that upholding our values is core to military leadership.
Trust helps you rise through the ranks. You know, we have extraordinary senior leaders in this enterprise. And I have total confidence in them. They don’t want recognition or thanks. They just want to serve with integrity and keep America safe.
And I fully expect that some of you will join them one day. This academy is devoted to excellence, and so is this military. But there are no free rides. You’ve got to earn your place. And I know that you will.
Leadership takes strength of character, the eagerness to work, the humility to learn, and the drive to succeed.
You know, you can’t just push someone into combat. You’ve got to lead them into combat.
And the same can be said for most of what we do in this business—and in life.
I’ve carried the lessons and values that I learned decades ago, here at West Point, and out in the field, with me to the Pentagon. And they have shaped my priorities as Secretary of Defense. And those priorities are defending our nation, taking care of our people, and succeeding through teamwork.
And over the past four years, I am proud of the work that the Department has done to do right by our service members and their families.
Now everywhere that you go, you will be required to work together with others—whether they’re in your own unit, the Joint Force, or the civil service, or with allies and partners around the globe. Indeed, the Department’s most important accomplishments over the past four years have all been achieved through our close cooperation with allies and partners.
That includes the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which brings together some 50 countries. And since April 2022, I’ve convened this group 24 times, and I am enormously proud of the work that we’ve achieved together.
It also includes the progress that we’ve made in the Indo-Pacific, which I’ve visited 12 times over my tenure as Secretary of Defense. And we’ve built and strengthened historic partnerships in that important region—and again, that’s a testament to teamwork and cooperation.
When you leave West Point, you will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our unmatched network of allies and partners. This global network is a strategic asset that our rivals envy and that our foes want to wreck. And those alliances and partnerships deepen our security and magnify our power. And working together with friends abroad has been central to American security ever since Lafayette kept faith with General George Washington.
We value our partners. We honor our allies. But I still believe that America is the greatest country on Earth. And one reason that we are special is the oath that you swear.
You see, every military on Earth defends a country—but we also defend a Constitution. The power of our military is rooted in the power of our ideals. And that is the oath that you swear. And I know that you will never compromise it.
We are here to protect our people, to defend our country, and to uphold our Constitution. And that is not negotiable.
We believe in truths that we hold self-evident: that we are all created equal, and that we are all endowed by our Creator with unalienable rights. We defend government of the people, by the people, and for the people—and we do not bend on matters of honor, integrity, or law.
We are here to defend the American people and the American idea.
You know, our troops will always lay their lives on the line for their teammates. And American troops will also lay their lives on the line for the principles, and the laws, and the spirit of our democracy.
Times change. But the values of West Point do not change. Duty, honor, country: those values will always steer you home.
The graduates of West Point have always been tested by history—and so will you.
We face serious security challenges today: coercion from the People’s Republic of China; aggression from Putin’s Russia; malice from North Korea, Iran, and transnational terrorist groups; and autocrats around the world who insist that democracy’s day is done.
But they are wrong. In turbulent times, America always looks to the men and women of West Point.
You will need your muscles, your heart, your brain, and your spine.
As President Eisenhower—a member of the Class of 1915—once said at West Point, we gauge a person’s capacity by their “flexible adjustment to the new and novel without sacrifice of principle or abandonment of standards.”
So leadership isn’t just about what you do. It’s about who you are.
So I am incredibly proud of you. And to the Class of 2025: I am proud to have you join me in just a few months as the newest members of the Long Gray Line. Huah!
[Cadets respond, “Huah!”]
I have said this before here at West Point, but it is even more important today.
You will join the United States Army under extraordinary circumstances.
But let’s be clear. Extraordinary circumstances is what the United States Army does. And you are up to the task.
[Applause]
Believe in yourselves. And trust in the training, the education, and the confidence that you’ve gained here as Cadets.
Thank you.
[Applause]
