| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
|
unidentified
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Welcome folks from every part of our district. | |
| It's a district bigger than the state of Pennsylvania. | ||
| So, as you can imagine, when folks make the trek from a place like Reserve, New Mexico, or Lordsburg, New Mexico, or Deming, New Mexico, to watch this historic event, we want to welcome them with open arms. | ||
|
unidentified
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And so, that'll be a large focus of what we're doing today. | |
| Are you going to be at the inauguration on Monday? | ||
|
unidentified
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Well, you know, I think what's important here is to recognize that obviously these ceremonies are really important. | |
| And, you know, we'll see what the cards have in stock for us. | ||
| Congressman Gabe Vasquez, Democrat of New Mexico, it's the second district. | ||
| Appreciate your time this morning. | ||
|
unidentified
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Thank you so much. | |
| We're going to go back up to Capitol Hill to the Cannon Rotunda. | ||
| It's Congressman Jim Baird joining us. | ||
| Republican represents Indiana's 4th Congressional District, also a member of the Foreign Relation Committee. | ||
| Congressman Baird, good morning to you. | ||
| On foreign relations, can we start on that ceasefire deal that was announced yesterday? | ||
|
unidentified
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Who to leave this, but you can find Washington Journal on our C-SPAN Now app as we take you live to Joint Base Meyer in Northern Virginia, where we'll hear from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the chair of the Joint Chiefs, General Charles Brown, hosting a farewell to honor President Biden, live here on C-SPAN. | |
| Step, ceremonial, at easy. | ||
| Ceremonial, delicious, | ||
| and delicious, and five, | ||
| step, ten, honor, go, hold, and ten, shoot, turn on, easy, | ||
| hold it, and easy Working towards. | ||
| Go! | ||
|
unidentified
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Go! | |
| Ladies and gentlemen, taking her seat is the First Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden. | ||
| Also taking his seat is Mr. Doug Emhoff. | ||
| Second gentleman. | ||
| Now taking her seat is Mrs. Charlene Austin. | ||
| And taking her seat is Mrs. Shereen Brown. | ||
| Stand by. | ||
|
unidentified
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Stop. | |
| 10, 7, 1, go! | ||
| Distinguished guests, please stand for the arrival of the official party and remain standing as honors are rendered and for the invocation given by Chaplain Colonel James D. Key. | ||
| Taking their positions on the reviewing stand are the host for today's ceremony, the Honorable Lloyd J. Austin III, the 28th Secretary of Defense, accompanied by the 21st Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Q. Brown Jr. | ||
| Distinguished guests, the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris. | ||
| Distinguished guests, the President of the United States. | ||
| Step, up, right, rest. | ||
|
unidentified
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Distinguished guest, Chaplain Key. | |
| Let us all pause and bow our heads and close our eyes for a word of prayer. | ||
| Morning by morning, new mercies I see. | ||
| All I have needed thy hand hath provided. | ||
| Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me. | ||
| Dear God, we pause right now and ask that you bless today's farewell tribute for President Joseph Biden. | ||
| His 50 years of dedicated public service work is an example of what it means to be the keeper of the flame. | ||
| His unshakable commitment and loyalty to our great nation has not gone unnoticed. | ||
| His selfless service has allowed him to work faithfully during moments of joy and challenge. | ||
| Over the years, he has adapted to many changes and sacrificed personal time when duty called. | ||
| And so, dear God, on this day, please keep President Biden and his family under your influence. | ||
| If you will, dispatch an angel from heaven to protect the family from hurt, harm, and danger. | ||
| And during moments of uncertainty or stormy weather, remind them that you surely can and you surely will. | ||
| Remind them that where you lead, you provide. | ||
| And finally, dear God, compel all of us here today to be thankful for what has been and grateful for what has yet to be. | ||
| For it is in your mighty and liberating and holy name we pray, and we all say together on this great day, Amen and amen. | ||
| Please be seated. | ||
| Attention! | ||
|
unidentified
|
The services representing America's Armed Forces and participating in today's review from left to right are the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, the United States Army Band, the Presidential Marching Platoon from the Army's 3rd United States Infantry Regiment, the Old Guard, the United States Marine Honor Guard from Washington, 8th and I. | |
| The colors have always been one of the most important elements of a military unit. | ||
| At the center of our formation is an Armed Forces Color Guard bearing the national colors and the service flags of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. | ||
| Following is an element from the United States Navy Honor Guard from Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. | ||
| The next element online is comprised of a flight from the United States Air Force Honor Guard from Joint Base Anacostia Mole. | ||
| And last is an element of the United States Coast Guard Honor Guard from Coast Guard Station Alexandria. | ||
| Mr. Secretary, this concludes honors. | ||
| Post the staff! | ||
| Staff, right? | ||
|
unidentified
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Distinguished guests, please stand for the advancing of the colors and remain standing for the playing of the national anthem. | |
| Colour forward more left | ||
| Thanks for covering the presentation. | ||
| Pre-zenter Detachment pre-set arms. | ||
|
unidentified
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Please be | |
| seated. | ||
| Detachment. | ||
| Order. | ||
| Art. | ||
| Order. | ||
| Art. | ||
| Ceremonial. | ||
| Ceremonial. | ||
| At ease. | ||
|
unidentified
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Stop. | |
| Ceremonial. | ||
| Up east. | ||
| The Distinguished | ||
| Public Service Medal is being awarded to Joseph R. Biden Jr. | ||
| President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is recognized for distinguished public service as the 46th President of the United States from January 2021 to January 2025. | ||
| In the face of unparalleled national security challenges, American global leadership under President Biden left both the United States and the Department of Defense far stronger and far better postured for the challenges of the 21st century. | ||
| His leadership ensured a strategic focus on competing with the People's Republic of China, achieved through consistent investment and historied progress with allies and partners in the region. | ||
| Notably, President Biden's leadership delivered the landmark Australia, United Kingdom, and United States Trilateral Security Partnership, a generational opportunity to enhance deterrence and ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region. | ||
| His leadership galvanized the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and helped marshal support for Ukraine's defense against Russia's unprovoked invasion, including the provision of tens of billions in critical security assistance. | ||
| President Biden's leadership also ensured America's ironclad support for Israel's self-defense following the horrific attacks of October 7, 2023. | ||
| He showed a profound and personal commitment to the Department of Defense and a deep respect and concern for our troops and their families, which resulted in and enabled critical efforts to take care of America's military community. | ||
| As Commander-in-Chief, President Biden believed in and invested in the United States military, securing historic funding for the Department of Defense to ensure that the United States will have the capabilities that it needs to defend itself and lead far into the future. | ||
| His extraordinary leadership left America safer and will ensure that the United States military remains the strongest fighting force on earth. | ||
| The distinctive accomplishments of President Biden reflect great credit upon himself, the Department of Defense, and the United States of America. | ||
| The Distinguished Public Service Medal is being awarded to Dr. Jill Biden. | ||
| Dr. Jill Biden is recognized for distinguished public service in support of members of the United States Armed Forces from January 2021 to January 2025. | ||
| As the First Lady of the United States of America, Dr. Biden brought a lifetime of personal experience, determination, and selfless service to institutionalize a range of key programs and policies benefiting service members, veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors. | ||
| Building upon her previous work as Second Lady, she launched the second phase of joining forces in 2021, a White House initiative to support military and veteran families, caregivers, and survivors. | ||
| Through joining forces, Dr. Biden led policy efforts focused on supporting military family employment and entrepreneurship, military child education, and military family health and well-being. | ||
| This was accomplished through interagency collaboration, working directly with service members, veterans, and family members, and linking arms with the non-profit community. | ||
| She strengthened the economic security of our military families to include enabling military spouses who are federal employees teleworking overseas access to safer and more secure working and living environments. | ||
| With personal expertise and passion, Dr. Biden supported the academic achievement of military children by enhancing awareness of the unique needs of military children, specifically military children with disabilities and their families. | ||
| She also called urgent attention to critical quality of life issues and worked with non-governmental organizations to ensure that all service members, veterans, and their families have the tools they need to succeed. | ||
| Through joining forces, Dr. Biden inspired, educated, and sparked action from all sectors of society to ensure service members, veterans, and their families have the support they have earned and deserve. | ||
| The distinctive accomplishments of Dr. Biden reflect great credit upon herself, the Department of Defense, and the United States of America. | ||
| Stand by. | ||
| Step. | ||
| Attention! | ||
| Honor, go! Go! | ||
|
unidentified
|
Distinguished guests, please stand for the posting of the colors. | |
| Post the colors. | ||
| Step. | ||
| Right. | ||
|
unidentified
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Faithfulness, faith, and | |
| Please be | ||
| seated. | ||
| Step. Left. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Peace. | |
| He is trampling out the vintage where the grace of wrath are sword. | ||
| He hath loosed the faithful lighting of his perilous sword. | ||
| His truth is what he glory high. | ||
| Amen. | ||
| Glory of glory high. | ||
| His truth is what he is seeing in the watch fires of heart and circling hands. | ||
|
unidentified
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They have visited him and water in the evening to dance. | |
| I can read his righteous sentence in the death and bearing lance. | ||
| His name is much he draws. | ||
| Glory, glory, hallelujah, glory, glory, hallelujah. | ||
| Glory, glory, hallelujah. | ||
| His truth is mighty power. | ||
| In the beauty of the lies, Christ was born across the sea with the glory that transfigures you and meet | ||
| hearts to make men woe. | ||
| Let us make men free while God is mighty home | ||
| Glory, glory, hallelujah Glory, glory, hallelujah Glory, Glory, glory, hallelujah This good is mighty God Glory, glory, hallelujah Glory, glory, hallelujah | ||
| Glory, glory, hallelujah. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| the storm gathered for across the sea. | ||
| Let us wear allegiance to a land that's free. | ||
| Let us all be grateful for a landless warfare as we raise a voice in a song. | ||
| God bless America, love that I love. | ||
| Stand beside her and guide her through the night with a light from above. | ||
| From the mountains to the prairies, to the oceans, waiting for God bless our perfect war. | ||
| This patriotic song. | ||
| Beside her and guider, through the light, with the light from above, from the mountains to the rest of the ocean, I hope this America | ||
| Distinguished guests, General Brown. | ||
| Well, good afternoon. | ||
| That is a very, very tough act to follow. | ||
| Now, today we gather to honor and say farewell to our commander-in-chief, a man who has dedicated his life in service of our nation. | ||
| A man who, for over 50 years, has fought for those who serve in uniform, fought to prepare our military for the challenges they face defending our nation for the four deployed back at home. | ||
| He fought as a senator from Delaware to ensure our service members, veterans, and their families were taken care of. | ||
| He fought as vice president for stronger Veterans Affairs programs and more support for service members transitioning back to civilian life. | ||
| And as our president, he continued to fight, lead our nation through an uncertain and dynamic geostrategic environment while strengthening our force to protect our future. | ||
| Mr. President, Dr. Biden, Madam Vice President, Missionary Inhoff, government and elected officials, civic leaders, Department of Defense leadership, general and flag officers, senior enlisted leaders, and distinguished guests, welcome and thank you for being here. | ||
| President Biden's work with Congress on bipartisan legislation has set our military on a course to confront the threats of tomorrow to ensure our warfighters are ready when the nation calls. | ||
| He supported significant investments in shipbuilding to modernize and expand our naval fleet. | ||
| We are on track to increase the number and lethality of our fighters and bombers and expand our space domain capabilities. | ||
| We are now on a trajectory to increase long-range fires, implement next-generation combat vehicles, and improve air and missile defense. | ||
| International modernization of U.S. nuclear triad is underway, bolstering our deterrence capabilities. | ||
| And we're on a pathway that has been set to streamline adopting emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and uncrewed systems into our fighting force. | ||
| Simultaneously, President Biden has worked tirelessly to care for our men and women in uniform and their families, improving the quality of military housing, providing historic pay raises, and implementing new programs to expand the benefits available to all service members. | ||
| I'd also like to recognize the incredible work of Dr. Joe Biden. | ||
| She has done what she has done with Joining Forces Initiative, supporting service members, veterans, caregivers, and their families. | ||
| As our Commander-in-Chief, President Biden has fought for our military time and time again. | ||
| Today's ceremony is just a small, small token of our appreciation. | ||
| So thank you, Mr. President, for all you have done for this nation and its military. | ||
| Your unwavering commitment to the strengthening of our force and the welfare of our service members, veterans, and families stands as a testament to the deep responsibility you have carried throughout your service. | ||
| On a personal note, I want to thank you for the trust and confidence you placed in me as the 21st Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. | ||
| It's truly an honor to serve our nation and have this opportunity to lead the joint force. | ||
| Mr. President, your lifetime of selfless service, your unwavering commitment to those that answer our nation's call, and your leadership as our Commander-in-Chief has profoundly shaped our nation. | ||
| To paraphrase 2 Timothy 4, verse 7, you have fought the good fight. | ||
| You have finished the race, and you have kept the faith. | ||
| On behalf of our 2.1 million men and women in uniform, our military families, and our veterans, thank you, Mr. President, for keeping the faith and those past and present who defend our great nation. | ||
| Simply said, thanks for your leadership. | ||
| May God bless you and your family. | ||
| May God bless our service members and their families. | ||
| May God continue to bless the United States of America. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Distinguished guests, Secretary Austin. | ||
| Well, good afternoon, everybody, Mr. President, Dr. Biden, Madam Vice President, Mr. Imhoff, Department of Defense Leadership, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Armed Forces Farewell Tribute in honor of our 46th President. | ||
| For more than five decades, President Joe Biden has thrown himself into public service. | ||
| And over the past four years, he's secured his place in history as one of our great foreign policy presidents. | ||
| As Secretary of Defense, I have seen this, and I've seen his leadership up close. | ||
| He took the oath of office as America faced a moment of great challenge. | ||
| The COVID pandemic was raging, and our allies and partners feared that America had lost its way. | ||
| President Biden helped America and the world recover from the pandemic. | ||
| And he renewed American leadership around the planet. | ||
| President Biden dramatically strengthened our unmatched global network of allies and partners. | ||
| He rallied the free world to help Ukraine fight for its freedom after Putin's indefensible invasion. | ||
| He positioned America to succeed in strategic competition with the People's Republic of China. | ||
| He orchestrated a new convergence in the Indo-Pacific around a shared vision of security, openness, and prosperity. | ||
| He reinforced NATO, which is now larger, stronger, and more united than ever. | ||
| He shored up Israel's security after the vile October 7th terrorist assault by Hamas. | ||
| He helped defend Israel from outrageous direct attacks by Iran. | ||
| And he's prevented the Middle East from erupting into an all-out regional war. | ||
| And he has just secured a ceasefire that will stop the fighting in Gaza, surge more humanitarian aid to suffering Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families. | ||
| In Afghanistan, he ended America's longest war, one that spanned four presidents, and he refused to hand it over to one more. | ||
| And he has always understood that the power of our example counts for more than the example of our power. | ||
| President Biden showed the world the strength and the resolve that only a democracy can muster. | ||
| Now, as I said, his leadership is rooted in his decades of expertise. | ||
| President Biden processes policy at graduate levels. | ||
| And I learned quickly that whenever I went over to the White House, I needed to be prepared to dive deep on key issues because inevitably, the President will send a question your way. | ||
| And he'll ask something that takes it to the next level. | ||
| He insists on hearing a range of views. | ||
| And he's not afraid of making the big decisions. | ||
| And he also has a secret weapon because he's not just the president, he's also Dr. Jill Biden's husband. | ||
| America knows Dr. Biden as a great educator and a role model. | ||
| But at the Department of Defense, we also know that she's a proud daughter of a World War II veteran. | ||
| And she's a long-term, long-time champion of our military families and veterans. | ||
| Dr. Biden, we are deeply, deeply grateful for your continued leadership of joining forces. | ||
| Your work increased employment opportunities for military spouses. | ||
| It improved education for military children. | ||
| It enhanced military family health and much, much more. | ||
| And it was great to get to visit Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama with you recently, where we got to see a universal pre-K class and a Department of Defense school up close. | ||
| Now, our first family is also a military family. | ||
| President Biden and Dr. Biden know firsthand what our military families carry, both the worry and the pride. | ||
| And you can see it in their fierce love for our troops. | ||
| And I've seen it over and over again. | ||
| I've been there, Mr. President, when you've reached out to grieving families. | ||
| I've seen you focus your entire being on a service member, a military spouse, or a military child. | ||
| And by the way, nobody is going to stop Joe Biden from wading into a crowd of troops. | ||
| He loves to grab a service member's cell phone and call a stunned loved one. | ||
| And of course, everyone gets a selfie. | ||
| Mr. President, that's just who you are. | ||
| You've pushed hard to make life easier for our troops and their families. | ||
| Base pay for our troops is up almost 10% since you were sworn in. | ||
| We're expanding access to affordable child care. | ||
| And we're doing far more to help military spouses excel in their own careers. | ||
| President Biden has also worked hard with Congress to invest in America's future. | ||
| The Department's budget last year was $100 billion more than in his first year. | ||
| And that will help keep our United States military the strongest fighting force on earth. | ||
| Now, President Biden always ends his speeches the same way, with the same five words. | ||
| He always says, may God protect our troops. | ||
| And he means every word, every time. | ||
| Mr. President, it has been an honor to serve with you. | ||
| And I hope that future presidents and secretaries of defense will enjoy similar relationships of trust, candor, and friendship. | ||
| Our entire department stands together today. | ||
| We salute your service to the republic that we defend. | ||
| And we are deeply, deeply grateful for your love of our troops. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. President and Dr. Biden. | ||
| May God bless you and your family, and may God continue to bless the United States of America. | ||
| Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to introduce one last time the President of the United States, Joe Biden. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Every time I'm here, it's made me so damn proud to be an American. | ||
| And it must all of you as well. | ||
| 1% of you are defending 99% of us. | ||
| We owe you, we owe you big. | ||
| Just over 240 years ago, George Washington gave his farewell address to the Continental Army. | ||
| Still astonished by their victory and by their unity, Washington asked, and I quote, who that was not a witness could imagine the men who came from different parts of the continent would instantly become one patriotic band of brothers. | ||
| That's what you are, one patriotic band of brothers. | ||
| Vice President Harris, Jill Doug, Secretary Austin, Secretary Brown, two of the best decisions ever made in my career by my dad. | ||
| Service secretaries, members of Congress, and most importantly, this patriotic band of service members before me. | ||
| Serving as your commander-in-chief has been the greatest honor of my life. | ||
| While I'm deeply grateful for your thanks and affection, I'm here to thank you. | ||
| Thank you for your service to our nation and for allowing me to bear witness to your courage, your commitment, your character. | ||
| As I listened to the choir sing, I thought about it. | ||
| You all represent what America is, character, honesty, integrity, commitment. | ||
| Like Washington, it left me astonished, and I mean it. | ||
| Over the years, I've frequently seen you in action in war zones in Bosnia, Baghdad, Fallujah, Kabul, I was going to bore the hell out of you, but Helmont, Kandahar, and other places. | ||
| I remember one trip to Afghanistan as vice president. | ||
| I was at a Ford operating base in Wurdock Province, which is in eastern Afghanistan. | ||
| I was asked by a commanding officer to pin a bronze star on a soldier for his heroism. | ||
| A soldier's teammate was hit while driving in a Humvee. | ||
| This soldier did everything possible to rescue his colleague from the burning flames. | ||
| But when I went to pin the medal on him, the soldier looked at me and said, I don't want it. | ||
| I don't want it. | ||
| He died. | ||
| I don't want it. | ||
| In that moment, all I could think about was the encouragement, incredible courage and humility and moral compass that this soldier had, that all of you have. | ||
| This is not hyperbole. | ||
| You are simply the greatest fighting force in the history of the world, in the history of the world. | ||
| That's a fact. | ||
| That's not hyperbole. | ||
| That's a fact. | ||
| And there's never been a time in history when we've asked our military to do so many different things, so many places, all at the same time. | ||
| And I want to be clear, you've done all, all these missions with strength and maybe even importantly, in integrity. | ||
| When I ask you to end our nation's longest war, it rose to the occasion, evacuating Americans, allies, and our Afghan partners, accomplishing the largest airlift in military history, and ending the war with the same courage as defying American service in Afghanistan for over 20 years. | ||
| I believe history will reflect it was the right thing to do, but I know, I know it was hard. | ||
| After decades of losing your brothers and sisters, including the withdrawal, the pain was still real. | ||
| And it was for me as well. | ||
| Every day I still carry, every single day, it's my schedule. | ||
| On the back of the schedule, every single day at the top since I've been here, it says, U.S. daily U.S. troops in Afghanistan, U.S. troops have died in Afghanistan, 2,465, not over 2,000, 2,465 troops wounded, 20,769. | ||
| And every day will honor their sacrifice for continuing the mission for which they gave their lives. | ||
| Fighting terrorism, defending our homeland, and protecting the American people. | ||
| Six months after that war ended, when Russia began its largest war in Europe since World War II, I asked you to help defend Ukraine. | ||
| You didn't hesitate. | ||
| You kept Ukraine in the fight, trained Ukrainian soldiers and pilots, troops, bolstered NATO's eastern flank, and above all, you showed the world America stands up for freedom, stands with our friends. | ||
| America stands strong with our allies. | ||
| We never bend down. | ||
| We bend down to no one, certainly not Putin. | ||
| And now, nearly three years later, Putin has failed to take Kyiv, failed to make large territorial gains, and failed to break NATO. | ||
| As a matter of fact, when I spoke to him on the phone, he talked about he wanted us to be the Finland of Europe. | ||
| And I pointed out to him at the time for real that you not only get the Finland of Europe, you're going to get the finalization. | ||
| Not of Europe. | ||
| You're going to see Europe joining NATO, Finland joining NATO, Sweden joining NATO. | ||
| And America's watch. | ||
| Dictators do not get to do whatever the hell they want. | ||
| Then following Hamas's terrorism, October the 7th, I asked you to excuse my back, by the way. | ||
| My mother would be very upset. | ||
| I asked you to deploy to the Middle East. | ||
| Again, you stepped up, pulling long nights and long deployments to weaken Hamas, to defend Israel against unprecedented attacks on Iran. | ||
| Imagine had we not. | ||
| If we don't lead the world, who will lead the world? | ||
| Who? | ||
| And twice, you stood up to the attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea. | ||
| Last year, I spoke with the women and men aboard the destroyer that took down the first Houthi attacks. | ||
| It was the USS Kearney. | ||
| And I want you to tell you all what I told them. | ||
| We owe you. | ||
| We owe you. | ||
| And back in May, yesterday I announced, the proud announced a ceasefire, the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. | ||
|
unidentified
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The road to that deal was not easy. | |
| It was eight months ago I laid down the elements of that deal in May, embraced by countries around the world because they know we say what we mean. | ||
| Endorsed overwhelmingly by the UN Security Council. | ||
| It's taken eight months of non-stop, relentless effort of my administration to get it done. | ||
| But because of you, all of you standing behind me, because of you, because of so many diplomats and defense professionals, we kept the pressure on Hamas. | ||
| And we got it done. | ||
| We got it done. | ||
| And finally, when I asked you to strengthen America's position in the Pacific, in the middle of all the other conflicts and crises, you said, no problem. | ||
| You kept China in check. | ||
| Remember when we take off, took office? | ||
| China was going to overcome the United States economically and politically by 2030. | ||
| Everybody wrote that, except here in this building. | ||
| The skies open, the seas free, and our allies close. | ||
| You established our first trilateral defense partnership with Australia and the United Kingdom. | ||
| Our first trilateral partnership that we said couldn't get done with Japan and the Philippines. | ||
| And our first triad of partnership between Japan and South Korea. | ||
| Remember that? | ||
| Camp David that said we couldn't do it. | ||
| It wasn't me. | ||
| It was America. | ||
| We did it. | ||
| That's what America does. | ||
| And people know America is acting out of character. | ||
| Our nation is so much that so many others. | ||
| Our nation has asked so much of so many others as well. | ||
| Doctors and nurses helping service members to learn to walk again, eat again, speak again. | ||
| The National Guard members who dropped everything to help their fellow Americans during the fires and hurricanes. | ||
| The Marines guarding embassies around the world. | ||
| The scientists making sure we have an edge over adversaries. | ||
| Interpreters who make our missions possible. | ||
| And perhaps most importantly, your families. | ||
| They sacrificed so much. | ||
| And I might add, the doctors and nurses. | ||
| Excuse the point of personal privilege, as he used to say in the Senate. | ||
| Came home one, I commuted every day, every single day, over 2,100,000 miles on Amtrak because I lost my family when I first got here. | ||
| My oldest son, one day, I went home, he was attorney general. | ||
| He said, Dad, what are you doing Friday? | ||
| I said, what do you want me to do? | ||
| He said, why don't you pin my bars on? | ||
| I said, what? | ||
| He said, you're married with two children. | ||
| He said, no, Dad, but someone's got to go. | ||
| He spent a year in Iraq, won the Bronze Star, Conspicuous Service Medal. | ||
| But like many others, he has exposed those burn pits, which are within about half a mile of where he bunked at stage four Gliabostoma, like so many other of our folks. | ||
| And I watched the nurses and the doctors who took care of him for so long. | ||
| And by the way, I want to take a moment to speak to all military spouses, kids, and parents here today. | ||
| Most Americans never see the sacrifices that you make every single day. | ||
| They'll never see all those holidays and birthdays with an empty seat at the dinner table because mom or dad was deployed. | ||
| They'll never see all the moves you had to make to new states, to new schools, to new jobs. | ||
| But I see it, and Jill saw it. | ||
| She made it her life's work. | ||
| And she's done everything big and small from helping military spouses find child care and build their own careers by hanging photos, employed moms and dads outside classrooms of those National Guard folks. | ||
| Because every holiday, every time there's something going on, their moms or dads weren't there, but no one ever mentioned it. | ||
| She started getting every classroom in America to put a picture of an employed mom or dad outside the classroom. | ||
| Even this morning, she held an event for joining forces, an historic White House initiative to support military and veterans' families. | ||
| Because as a poet John Milton wrote, they also serve who only stand and wait. | ||
| They also serve who only stand and wait. | ||
| So for the last time as Commander-in-Chief, I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you to all the families we owe you. | ||
| I've long said as a nation, we have many obligations. | ||
| But I say we only have one truly sacred obligation. | ||
| That's to prepare those we send into harm's way and care for them and their families when they come home and when they don't. | ||
| Over the last four years, Camel and I have worked to make good that obligation. | ||
| We passed more than 40 bipartisan laws to support you, including something I felt so strongly about the passage of the PAC Act. | ||
| We drafted that law and we passed it. | ||
| Now it's already helped over one million service members and their survivors, their children, their access, everything from college to health care. | ||
| These people were exposed to toxins in my generation to Agent Orange, my son's generation to burn pits. | ||
| But we had to prove that what you had with your disease, all the brain damage, all the brain cancers were a direct consequence of those toxins or Agent Orange. | ||
| But we changed that. | ||
| And I want to publicly thank the 9-11 Commission. | ||
| All those folks, all those firefighters who are so badly, badly damaged because of the fumes and the toxins associated with the 9-11. | ||
| And those of you who are the Vietnam generation, finally, all you had to prove is that stuff dropped on you and it didn't cause. | ||
| They didn't have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt it caused your disease. | ||
| Just state the fact and you're covered. | ||
| We've invested over a trillion dollars in our defense industry base. | ||
| In real dollars, that's more than America did at any four-year period during the Cold War. | ||
| We've also invested record resources to fight the scourge of military suicide. | ||
| No more calling and saying, my husband needs help. | ||
| He needs help. | ||
| You get an answer. | ||
| We fought Federal Homeland. | ||
| We brought veterans' homelessness to record lows. | ||
| Made historic changes in the military justice system, which has reduced the rates of sexual assault for the first time in nearly a decade. | ||
| We ended the ban on transgender service. | ||
| We took landmark steps to create more economic opportunities for military spouses. | ||
| We expanded opportunities for women in combat roles. | ||
| And I'm proud to have appointed the first woman as a service chief in the history of this country. | ||
| clap for that folks because she deserves it i don't know about the rest of you guys but the women in my step family are a hell of a lot smarter than the men in my family Look, if there's one thing I hope to take away from today, it's this. | ||
| This is not hyperbole. | ||
| You're truly the finest fighting force in the history of the world. | ||
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That's not hyperbole. | |
| That's true. | ||
| Everything I and others have asked of you, you've done. | ||
| You've done. | ||
| With honor, commitment, grit, and guts. | ||
| Let me close with a final request. | ||
| I say it not as your president or commander-in-chief, I say it as a man who spent 50 years of his life serving his country in a different way. | ||
| Remember your oath. | ||
| My son, Major Beau Biden, used to call it home base. | ||
| That's a set of principles of values that give you light and darkness, that guide you. | ||
| It's true to the military, it's the best weapons, the best training in the world. | ||
| We're the most cutting-edge ships, planes, and subs. | ||
| We are the smartest, most well-trained force on earth. | ||
| That's all critical. | ||
| But that alone is not what makes us strong. | ||
| This is not what brought Washington, this band of brothers together all those years ago. | ||
| It's our values. | ||
| I mean this sincerely, it's our values, American values, our commitment to honor, to integrity, to unity, to protecting and defending not a person or a party or a place, but an idea. | ||
| Literally unlike, as student officials, I can say, unlike any other in human history. | ||
| That idea is the United States of America is unique in the world. | ||
| Virtually every other nation in the world is based on geography, ethnicity, or religion, or some defining feature. | ||
| We're the only nation in the world. | ||
| Only nation in history built on an idea. | ||
| An idea. | ||
| An idea that we're all created equal. | ||
| We know the words by heart. | ||
| We're endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights. | ||
| Among them, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. | ||
| That's the idea that generations of service members have fought for. | ||
| An idea you have sworn an oath to defend. | ||
| As a nation, we've never fully lived up to that idea, but we've never, ever, ever walked away from it. | ||
| Our country is counting on you to ensure that that will always be true. | ||
| As I said when I began, 1% of you defend 99% of the people across this nation. | ||
| That's why you all deserve a special place in our hearts and in God's heart. | ||
| May God bless you all and may God protect our troops. | ||
| Thank you, thank you, thank you. | ||
| shoulder, forward, right, hold. | ||
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Pass and review. | |
| Honor guard, pass in review rightwards, fight, shoulder, And we'll go. | ||
| All right. | ||
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Distinguished guests, please stand for the service songs of the Armed Forces OF THE United United States, Distinguished | |
| Guests, this concludes today's farewell tribute in honor of our Commander-in-Chief, Joseph R. Biden, the 46th President of the United States. |