Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivers the keynote address and Navy Rear Adm. Shoshana S. Chatfield, president of the Naval War College, confers degrees during a virtual graduation ceremony, June 24, 2020. The Naval War College is in Newport, Rhode Island.
Transcript
Hello and good morning. I’d like to thank everyone for joining me today as we celebrate, our graduates of the U. S. Naval War College class of 2020 were clapping here, and I know Eric was popping online. I’m here with my husband, David, scalable to mark this momentous occasion. And I am just so proud to be able to be here to congratulate these remarkable achievements from our 2020 graduates. It’s so unfortunate. We can’t be together today to be out on the field, to be under the tent and see each other in person. But I am very, very happy that you made the choice to come to this online venue and celebrate together and with our Naval War college community. I appreciate this time with you, and I know that you appreciate the time with our community and especially this special day with your family and close friends. Before we get begin to get today’s ceremony, I would like to take a moment to make some two very special announcements, and that is this year’s honor graduates. So these out undergraduates were selected for their academic performance, their participation in Naval War College activities, participation in civic and community activities, and promotion of armed forces and government services in the public interest. And so, without further ado, I am proud to announce this year’s Stephen Liquor Loose Award from the College of Naval Warfare Commander John Cell would Commander Cell would was seminar leader for Jomo Final exercise. Hey was a seminar leader for India semfinal exercise. The 1st 1 he was selected by moderators, the 2nd 1 by his fellow students. Hey was the NCC board member and the yearbook lead and I have seen the yearbook. U za also participated in various community involvement, invents a both back home in New Zealand and while here in Newport and might I say that this is the very first time that one of our international military students has received this award. Congratulations. Uh, commander, someone coordinated and accompany the first visit to U S Naval War College by a New Zealand ambassador That happened this fall and I was so delighted to meet her on um Commander Salad and Dispels Boat took a leading role in maintaining a social connection for the NCC and for all of his colleagues throughout the year. So once again congratulations and next. Receiving the William Snowden Sims Award from the College of the Naval Command and Staff Major Albert Evans, United States Marine Corps. Hey was his Jomo seminar leader and his TDS M seminar academic representatives. He received honorable mention for a paper submitted for Vice Admiral James H. Doyle junior military operations and international law. He traveled to believes to lecture, believes defense Forces on international law and cooperation with the U. S forces. In February, he coached locals youth soccer team and he participated in the Presidents Cup and in specifically in the Car Dean’s Baseball Classic, which is such a great event for our college in our community. What a great afternoon and evening that waas um, our award recipient recipients will be printed in a printed graduation program, which you will receive with your diplomas as they go out to you in your own world. Travel and thes awardees will also be presented oclock from our Navy League, and I’d like to thank the Navy League for sponsoring and supporting thes two awards and congratulations again to our honor crabs 2020. So without further do, I would like to turn over the presentation to our fantastic team that has been compiling your achievements and working so hard to give us a quality experience today I’d like Teoh add my specific congratulations. And I’d like to say that on behalf of the faculty and the staff of the United States Naval War College, we couldn’t be prouder. And it has been our honor to be associated with the class of 2022 have been there alongside you as we faced. Ah, very, very unique challenges in the spring. And we are so proud of you and your accomplishments. And so now let’s see our graduation ceremony. Ladies and gentlemen, Good morning and welcome to the United States Naval War College graduation ceremony for the class of 2020. I’m captain, died early, Dina students and your emcee for today’s ceremony. The national anthem will be sung by musicians. Second class Rachel Vano from Navy Band Northeast. Oh, see, Can you see my The times, The light What? So wait at I night last leading who is broad stripes and write stuff the way watched waas so gather at least three being good Theo through the night that way no or the oh. Commander Robert S. Nelson, chaplain of the Naval Leadership and Ethics Center, will deliver the invocation. I invite you to join me as I pray God of power and might wisdom and justice. As we mark the graduation of these men and women from the Naval War College, we offer our gratitude for the gifts and talents you have lavished upon them for their family, friends and faculty who have cheered them on through the process for the commands that let them go so that they might return Mawr ably fit for higher levels of leadership and for the commands that will receive them and put them quickly toe work. There’s was a remarkable journey, unlike any class before them, and they are returning to commands in the midst of unprecedented historic challenges. I ask that you would continue to fuel their passion, sharpen their reason that they might creatively exploit chance on behalf of the defense of the people, nations and alliances they represent and the values they share. May your spirit move among us today that we may be dispersed in presence. May we be united in spirit and made this graduation be a fitting testament to the vital work they have accomplished in your holy name, I pray. Amen. It is my honor to present Rear Admiral Shoshana S Chatfield, 57th president of the United States Naval War College. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Honored guests Deans Chairs are extraordinary professors and scholars, family and friends and most importantly, the class of 2020. It is an honor for me today to introduce the 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark A. Millie. General Milley is our nation’s highest ranking military officer and the principal military adviser to the President, Secretary of Defense and National Security Council. Prior to becoming chairman on October 1st 2019 General Milley served as the 39th Chief of staff of the United States Army. A native of Massachusetts, General Milley graduated from Princeton University in 1980 where he received his commission from Army ROTC. General Milley has had multiple command and staff positions in eight divisions and special forces throughout the last 39 years. While serving as the commanding General Three Corps General Milley deployed as the commanding General International Security Assistance Force Joint Command and Deputy Commanding General U. S. Forces Afghanistan. In addition to his bachelors degree in political science from Princeton University, General Milley has a master’s degree in international relations from Columbia University and one from the United States Naval War College in national security and Strategic Studies. He is also a graduate of the M. I T Seminar 21 National Security Studies program. General Milley and his service chiefs recently signed their vision and guidance for professional military education and talent management. Titled Developing Today’s Joint Officers for Tomorrow’s Ways of War. General Milley We here at the United States Naval War College appreciate your guidance and focus on the development of strategically minded joint warfighters so that we may better produce the leaders our nation needs. Thanks Apple Chatfield for that introduction. But more importantly for your leadership, the Naval War College, as sustained standards of excellence and delivering world class education since 18 84 this college is created leaders who positively affect substantive change in the military, across the government and among our many allies and partners around the globe. As a proud graduate of this institution 20 years ago, I’m proud and humbled to be with you today. Take a moment to look to your left and look to your right. Among you is a future chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a service chief, a combatant commander, agency directors and many of you undoubtedly will soon be generals and admirals. You will all lead this nation’s joint force in our Allied and partner militaries at the highest levels. Each of you will have the responsibility to protect our country, and you’re all exceptionally talented, steeped and fundamental values and ready for the challenges ahead. All of you have been operating in dynamic environments for the better part of two decades, whether conducting counterinsurgency operations in the Middle East, flying strategic deterrence missions around the Pacific or sailing through chokepoints critical to our nation’s economic security interests. None of you are strangers to difficult missions. Reflect for a moment on what you have seen just while here China and Russia and every domain and actively seek opportunities to challenge America’s security. Both countries are determined, undermine our network of allies and partners as they seek to weaken existing international order. North Korea threatens our regional allies and potentially our homeland with the development of nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, Iran is the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, and they’ve taken advantage of instability to expand their malign influence and challenge the interests of the United States and our allies and partners throughout the Middle East and violent extremism. It remains a trans regional struggle requiring sustained political fiscal on military effort and here at home. The recent medical crisis has cost 120,000 American lives and as stressed or health system our economy in the social fabric of our communities. We have also been witnessed widespread civil unrest that is roots deep into our historical past. All of these challenges and many more contribute to a security environment that is increasingly unpredictable and under strain. This is the environment which each of you will operate a senior officers. The dynamic nature of the current security environment is kind of balanced by an international order established 75 years ago at the end of World War two, the bloodiest war in human history. In the short period of 31 years, from 1914 to 1945 world wars one and two are fun. Among the great powers of the day. 150 million people around the world were killed in the conduct of great power war in World War One. From September to November 1918 just eight weeks, the American Expeditionary Force fought the battle of the music, gone at the expanse of 26,000 Americans killed in action in another 96,000 wounded 26 years later at the height of World War Two. In another eight week period from June to August 1944 Americans hit the beaches in Normandy on their way to liberate Paris from Nazi control. In that campaign, 24,000 Americans were killed in action at another 100,000 were wounded At the same time around the world. In the central Pacific, we took Sigh pad, Guam and Tinian, suffering another 26,000 casualties in the Marianas campaign. We fought from Anzio to Rome to seize it from the Nazis and give our bombers reach into Germany. In the southwest Pacific, we fought in the berm er and beginning campaigns, all in the summer of 1944 and those intense eight weeks. American soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and coast guardsmen suffered more than 210,000 casualties with 57,000 paying the ultimate sacrifice. And that does not include the hundreds of thousands of allies and innocent civilians who were killed that his great power war. That’s what the international order is designed to prevent. Today we talk about terms like great power competition and great power, war and conversations in classrooms so easily. But not so for the greatest generation. One year ago, I had an opportunity to go to the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings. I was talking to several of the veterans there and asked one of them simply, What is your lesson from World War Two? What is the great lesson for most of us in uniform today? He looked up at me and tears came to his eyes, and he said, General never let it happen again. Never. But it happened again in 1945 people throughout the world said never again. So they set up processes, policies, laws and organizations that today we commonly referred to as the international order with the goal of preventing another great power war Twice before in history, I’m aware of from 16 48 to 17 50 under the Treaty of was failure from 18 15 toe 1914 under the Concert of Europe, there was an international order established on the continent of Europe. Both lasted about 100 years. We’re now in the 75th year of the current international order and it’s under tremendous stress today. Your mission. My mission is to prevent another great power war and maintain the great power piece IR for you. Three lessons to consider on how to prevent great power wars. You shortly become senior leaders. The first is vigilance. We must identify signs of aggression, especially during periods when were wary from conflict or otherwise preoccupied. These are the times when aggressors sense opportunities For many historical examples, we know the indicators. Rapid military expansion, aggressive foreign policies, economic intimidation, violations of international norms, growing nationalism in bellicose rhetoric. We see many of these indicators in today’s international environment, demonstrated by the potential adversaries identified in our national defense strategy. Hone your ability to understand the context of what you read day to day by being an avid consumer of multiple forms of media, daily review of current intelligence or committed study of international politics and geo strategy, and a very deep understanding of military history and history itself. It never repeats, but it does rhyme, to paraphrase Mark Twain. More importantly, they can help each of us think through similar challenges that we may face. The second lesson is to maintain a high degree of readiness throughout the joint force so that we may preserve the peace through strength. Our adversaries will be deterred by our military capabilities, and I resolved to use them. If deterrence fails, you must be prepared to fight and win. That includes preparing our leaders to observe Orient, decide and act with skill and confidence. Often amid the fog of war, you eat your finishing intense year of study to do just that. After World War two, we embarked on a multi decade challenge of forming and sustaining the global order that we know today. For 7.5 decades, we have not had a great power war for sure. There’s been many wars since 1945 but none have been a great power war, in large part because of the capability of the United States military. We’re not the only reason, but we have one of the most significant reasons, and lastly, the third observation I would offer is the importance of allies and partners. We are most successful when we collaborate with allies and partners to achieve common security goals. Alliances and key partners have ensured a period of stability by discouraging aggressive behaviors from our adversaries. We must continue to develop these relationships and maintain the strength we have is a network of nations to encourage a stable world order. There’s great strength in times of crisis when we and our allies and partners remain equally committed to a common cause. So we’re now in the 75th year of the international Order bestowed upon you and me are those that came before us and that is the national order is under stress. It’s being challenged in the return of great power. Competition is highlighted in our NDS, which all of you have studied this year and a key element of great power. Competition is the changing character of war, with its rapid technological improvements to maintain our strength in order to prevent great power war, we are modernizing our joint force to innovative concept development, advanced technology and new capabilities for the security challenges of the future. The battlefields of today and tomorrow, span all domains and feature operations of increasing speed and reach compared with operations during the last great power conflict, the speed of information flow between the strategic operational and tactical echelons of command is exponentially greater today and only getting faster. The speed of information in today’s world offers not only instant feedback to facilitate decision making, but it also creates unforeseen internal friction and can compound the fog of war that comes from information overload and makes it very difficult to separate the signal from the noise. We know that autonomous systems, supported by artificial intelligence and high capacity wireless connectivity, are the foundation for future military operations. But how we integrate these systems may be decisive in the next conflict within the context of the changing character of war, This will be one of the great military modernization challenges that will happen on your watch. I trust that your experience this past year is put you on a path to better understand and leverage these and many other areas. A development to secure our nation with cutting edge technologies and systems alone will not win the next war. It’s our people are people that solve complex problems and develop innovative ideas. It will soon be your fight to recruit, retain and promote our very best. As you know, it takes decades to grow a senior uniformed leader, and each of you are products of 2 to 3 decades of sacrifice and service. So continue to do everything you can to cultivate and protect your ability to keep an eye open mind and an eye on the future in the way of doing things, but also your openness to people whose appearance is not the same as yours or who come from a different place than you. Mentor a junior officer listed member with a different background than yours. You will learn from them while they learn from you. I remember that cohesion is a force multiplier and divisiveness leads to defeat just a Z. Each service was a different uniform and brings different strengths to the table. It’s an organization. Our different experiences and backgrounds is people make us better than we would be alone. The whole is always greater than the sum of its parts. Eliminate anything that divides us. We need all the brands of the American people to effectively compete against our adversaries. Our responsibility is military leaders is to ensure that each and every one of our service members are treated fairly with dignity and respect and are inspired to give this institution their very best. Lastly, never forget why you joined the military or decided to serve your country. Remember our oath to support and defend the Constitution and its essential principle that all men and women a born free and equal and have freedoms of speech and press and religion, the right to peaceful assembly and to vote our oath to support and defend the Constitution is the foundation of our military ethos way as service members as an institution are defined by that oath. At our core, we have the values of honor, integrity, duty and commitment. But it’s all defined by our oath. We must live those values every day. Just as we pledge our lives to protect them in war, Will you wear the cloth of our nation? Was hold dear. Also, the principle of in a political military that is so deeply rooted in the very essence of our republic so relished the opportunity relative to lead the young men and women who embody all that is good about America. You have a responsibility to prepare our future generations of leaders uphold our values and face our security challenges with unmatched knowledge, skill and innovation. And all of you. Congratulations. I applied your achievement. Look forward to watching you take the helm of our great joint force well into the future. Thank you, General Milley, for your remarks and thank you for your participation in this ceremony today and your continued support of this college our spring semester would normally have been filled with visits from senior leaders. The vast majority of those visits, however, were put on hold due to covert restrictions. So hearing from General Milley truly did increase our knowledge of what’s happening with our senior leadership. And we are so grateful for those valuable insights as our graduates move on to greater levels of responsibility within our Department of Defense, the inter agency and the military’s of our important international partners to our honored guests who may be watching today at a typical June graduation under the big white tent, we would have approximately 100 distinguished visitors in attendance with our virtual format for this graduation, though we have no way of knowing just how many of you are tuned in to witness the conferring of degrees upon these graduates. But we want to welcome you and thank each and every one of you. For those of you who are watching. Thank you for joining us. We look forward to welcoming you to Newport in the future to Mr George Lang and are fantastic members of the Naval War College Foundation. Thank you for your incredible support of the college. Over this past year, our students have benefited tremendously from your contributions and so has our institution, our navy and our nation to our international programme. Sponsors. I know many of you are watching today. Your support for our international students remains unmatched. You play an invaluable role in enhancing the Newport connection and in building trust and friendship with our maritime partners throughout the globe. Thank you for your support to our faculty and staff. You set the standards of educational excellence in learning research and operational expertise. You anticipate the needs of our students and their agencies. And today you see before you the fruits of your labor as you send our graduates, professionals, scholars and warfighters out into the world to the assignments where they are needed most. Your efforts in educating and developing these leaders will play dividends in their contributions to our nation and our national security in the future. Thank you for your service, your dedication, your enormous adaptability to achieve this mission in the face of a global pandemic and our first complete transition to virtual platforms and tele work to the families and friends of today’s graduates. Thank you for participating today and thank you for all the future viewing. I hope youll dio to share in the celebration of your graduates achievements as they depart from this extraordinary year. Your continued encouragement is critical to your loved ones. Future success you have been and you will continue to be a tremendous and valued part of their accomplishments. Thank you for your patients, especially this year, during moments of uncertainty and change over the last few months and as always, for your unwavering support and now to our graduates. Upon your arrival here in Newport, you began an intellectual journey, and for most of you, it was a new experience. It was your full time job breaking out of your existing paradigms and mental frameworks, studying new ideas and participating vigorously in academic discussions that transcended your positions and ranks. You were charged to think critically to analyze, to strategize and to innovate. You were test to study through the lens of leadership and ethics, history, strategy and policy, operational art and diplomacy and through the same lens. You were asked to tackle the myriad challenges that lie ahead for our great nations together, drawing from your diverse backgrounds and professional paths. You answered that call. You challenged your faculty, you challenged each other. And, most importantly, you challenged yourselves. You have emerged as a class of scholars with commonality in your purposes. You should be rightfully proud of your accomplishments individually and as a class. Congratulations, You’re you here in Newport is concluding in a very different manner than the way it began last summer. Your adaptability and resilience in the face of the enormous changes admirable. We asked each of you to convert your homes into your offices, your classroom, your lecture hall and your research library, all while your families or roommates were doing exactly the same thing. Your final weeks in Newport brought to the forefront important social justice, questions facing Americans and our American government, an examination off our commitment to the universal values of equality, personal freedom, access to prosperity and fair treatment under the law. Once again, our rugged and tenacious commitment to freedom of expression and the American dream has been echoed throughout the world. You persevered through the stress of these disruptions, improved your ability to manage complex challenges. Your year here has proven that the future will continue to be characterized by unpredictability and momentous change. This is a new reality in which our senior leaders view continuous learning as a key strategic enabler to the success of our national security forces and their commitment to resource. This kind of education is a direct investment in our warfighting advantage. Your charge now, as you prepare to re enter your operational world, is to commit to the transformative power of education and to link what you’ve just learned to how we operate, how we organize and invest in preserving the peace and how we developed the strategies to fight and win. How you will frame problems, develop and assess solutions and build winning teams depends on enacting what you learned here and continuing to iterated through that process this year was just one part of the continuum of learning throughout your career, and you must continue to invest your energy in that personal and professional development for yourselves and for those you lead, do not be content to sit comfortably inside your area of expertise. Instead, press to the edges and seek opportunities to collide with others whose different backgrounds, different exposures and different ways of thinking will inform you. And together you will develop innovative ideas which are the key to our future successes. Take with you what you learned here as a different lens to view the challenges you will inevitably face in the future. Now that you have experienced new ways to influence the future here at the Navy’s home of Thought, you are duty bound to take your enhanced intellect, your improved analytical skills and your expanded perspective, and to lead to all graduates. Today, you join a large yet distinguished group of U S Naval War College alumni, a group whose membership spans 135 years. I challenge you to continue the growth and success that you started here at the Naval War College and cultivate the relationships that you created here by participating in our alumni community. Please stay connected with each other. And with all of us back here in Newport and to all of our families and friends here today, I thank you again for being your graduates. Touch point. They’re pillar of strength and for taking the time to be here today, virtually to witness their accomplishment, you should all be rightfully proud. Congratulations, graduates and safe travels. Beyond the requirements for graduation, certain individuals have distinguished themselves through academic excellence. A diploma with highest distinction is awarded to the top 5% of each graduating class. A diploma with distinction is awarded to the next 15% of each graduating class. Rear Admiral Chatfield, I have the honor to present the United States Naval War College class of 2020. They have been thoroughly examined and approved by the faculty. By the power vested in me by the Congress of the United States, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the New England Commission of Higher Education. I confer upon you the appropriate degrees and diplomas from the United States Naval War College with all the honors rights and privileges pertaining there, too. Yeah. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in saluting with our applause The graduates of the United States Naval War College class of 2020. Ladies and gentlemen, in a time honored tradition, we will now play the service songs of our armed forces. Let us celebrate the achievements of this remarkable and resilient group of graduates. While we enjoy the photos and the memories they have shared with us from this past year, a Commander Nelson will deliver the benediction. Join me as we pray, eternal father strong to save. As we mark the end of our celebration, I asked that you would bless each graduate with a deeper commitment to those values that make the military the most trusted public institution in our nation. In view, in each of us a renewed sense of purpose and direction and an invigorated desire to serve with honor and courage, whether students or faculty, staff or family Mayor peace be with us, Mayor Grace, shine in us. And may your strength be evident in all that we do. We ask these things in the confidence of your holy name. Amen. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today’s ceremony. We thank you for joining us