THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE WITH SUCH AN ENTHUSIASTIC CROWD, WITH MEMBERS FROM ALL THE SERVICES, AND TO SEE SO MANY CADETS HERE. I'M TRULY GRATEFUL TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO SUCH A DISTINGUISHED GROUP OF PUBLIC SERVANTS AND TO HELP SET THE TONE FOR SOME OF YOUR DISCUSSIONS ABOUT MILITARY CORE VALUES.

I WANT TO START RIGHT UP FRONT BY TELLING YOU THAT I'M A STRONG BELIEVER IN CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND THE MILITARY CORE VALUE MOVEMENT THAT WE HAVE GOING ON IN THE ARMY. I HAVE MY ARMY VALUES WRITTEN DOWN RIGHT ON THE VALUES CARD THAT I CARRY ON MY KEY CHAIN. I DON'T NEED IT TO REMIND ME WHAT THEY ARE; I KNOW WHAT THEY ARE. WE HAVE THE SEVEN VALUES ARRANGED IN AN ACRONYM THAT SPELLS "LDRSHIP" (THOUGH IT'S MISSING SOME OF THE LETTERS): LOYALTY, DUTY, RESPECT, SELFLESS SERVICE, HONOR, INTEGRITY, PERSONAL COURAGE. I CARRY THIS CARD ON MY KEY CHAIN BECAUSE I THINK THEY'RE IMPORTANT TO EVERYTHING THAT WE DO.

ETHICAL BEHAVIOR IS AND MUST BE AT THE VERY HEART OF EVERYTHING THAT THE ARMY DOES. WE HAVE BOTH THE OPPORTUNITY AND A RESPONSIBILITY TO INSTILL IN OUR SOLDIERS A MORAL CODE THAT WILL SERVE THEM WELL ON THE BATTLEFIELD AND SHAPE THEIR LIVES, WHETHER IT IS IN UNIFORM OR AS CITIZENS OF THIS GREAT COUNTRY.

ABOUT TWO WEEKS AFTER I WAS SWORN IN AS SECRETARY, WE UNVEILED A VALUES DISPLAY IN THE PENTAGON AS PART OF OUR CAMPAIGN TO EMPHASIZE THESE VALUES ACROSS THE FORCE. IT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT I DID AS I WAS GETTING REACQUAINTED WITH THE ARMY. I HAD BEEN AWAY FROM THE ARMY SOME FIFTEEN YEARS, SAW THAT WE WERE STRESSING VALUES, AND SAID, "BOY, THIS IS GREAT. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY THE RIGHT THING FOR US TO BE DOING."

I THINK PART OF MY ENTHUSIASM FOR ARMY VALUES COMES FROM MY EARLY INTRODUCTION INTO THE ARMY. AS A YOUNG MAN LIVING IN CALIFORNIA IN THE MID-SEVENTIES, HAVING GONE THROUGH THE VIETNAM WAR PERIOD, I HAD BEEN COGNIZANT OF THE ETHICAL AND SOCIAL CHALLENGES WHICH FACED OUR NATION. IT WAS A TIME OF PERMISSIVENESS AND DRUG USE. I DON'T THINK THAT DRUGS WE'RE A PROBLEM EARLY IN MY HIGH SCHOOL CAREER, BUT BY THE TIME I LEFT HIGH SCHOOL, A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE EXPERIMENTING WITH THEM.

THEN AN UNSOLICITED CATALOGUE CAME THROUGH THE MAIL THAT SAID, "THERE'S A SCHOOL CALLED WEST POINT; YOU OUGHT TO THINK ABOUT IT." I OPENED THE CATALOGUE AND READ ABOUT A GREAT VALUES-BASED ORGANIZATION THAT HAD A HERITAGE OF PREPARING LEADERS FOR OUR COUNTRY UNDER AN HONOR CODE. I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT APPEALED TO ME THE MOST -- THAT IT HAD THIS VERY DEMANDING HONOR CODE. THAT CADETS DID NOT LIE, CHEAT, OR STEAL, OR TOLERATE THOSE WHO DO. THAT IT HAD VALUES THAT YOU WERE EXPECTED TO LIVE UP TO WHATEVER THE COST. THAT CADETS DIDN'T USE DRUGS AND TRIED TO LIVE LIFE ON A HIGHER LEVEL. ALL THAT VERY MUCH APPEALED TO ME. I SAID, "BOY, THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF PEOPLE I WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL WITH. THAT IS THE KIND OF ENVIRONMENT THAT I WANT TO BE CHALLENGED BY."

OUR YOUNG SOLDIERS COMING INTO THE ARMY ARE COMING FROM THE SAME KINDS OF CIRCUMSTANCES FROM WHICH I CAME. THEY'RE GETTING A LOT OF MIXED MESSAGES OUT THERE IN SOCIETY ABOUT WHAT ARE THE RIGHT THINGS, WHAT ARE THE WRONG THINGS, WHETHER THEY SHOULD HAVE A MORAL CODE, WHETHER THEY SHOULD CRITICIZE OTHERS ABOUT BEHAVIOR THAT DOESN'T MEET UP TO THEIR STANDARDS. AS THEY COME FROM THAT SOCIETY AND FROM ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF BACKGROUNDS -- SOME FROM BROKEN HOMES, SOME FROM DIFFICULT LIFE EXPERIENCES -- IT IS IMPORTANT THAT EARLY ON WE CONNECT WITH THEM ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A PART OF THE ARMY AND TO LIVE UP TO THE VALUES OF THIS GREAT ORGANIZATION.

OUR ARMY, LIKE OUR NATION, HAS DEEPLY HELD VALUES AT ITS CORE AND, AS AN ORGANIZATION, WE'VE DEVELOPED OUR OWN WAYS OF PRESERVING AND OF EXPRESSING THOSE CORE VALUES. WE DO THINGS THAT HELP REMIND OUR SOLDIERS OF THE ARMY'S GREAT HERITAGE. WE HAVE UNIT DESIGNATIONS AND ENCOURAGE SOLDIERS TO KNOW THE HERITAGE OF THEIR UNITS. WE DISPLAY BATTLE STREAMERS. WE NAME OUR BUILDINGS AND GYMS AFTER MEDAL OF HONOR WINNERS AND PUT UP PLAQUES THAT TELL WHAT THOSE INDIVIDUALS DID. WE WEAR REGIMENTAL CRESTS. WE DO ALL THESE THINGS TO COMMUNICATE TO SOLDIERS THE HERITAGE OF THE GREAT ARMY THAT THEY'RE A PART OF. THESE ARE AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF HELPING TO TRANSMIT ARMY VALUES.

I WAS IN ALASKA JUST LAST WEEK AND HAD A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE PART OF THAT IN A VERY TANGIBLE WAY. WE TOOK A CIVILIAN AID TO THE SECRETARY OF THE ARMY, ONE OF OUR GREAT SUPPORTERS IN THE CIVILIAN WORLD, BACK TO THE UNIT THAT HE HAD BEEN A PART OF ON D-DAY, FIRST BATTALION OF THE 1/501ST PARACHUTE INFANTRY REGIMENT. HE WENT BACK TO VISIT THAT BATTALION, AND WE GAVE HIM THE P.O.W. MEDAL BECAUSE ON THE DAY THAT HE AND HIS BATTALION LANDED BEHIND OMAHA BEACH, PARACHUTED IN WITH THE 101ST, AFTER AN INTENSE FIRE FIGHT IN WHICH SEVERAL SOLDIERS WERE KILLED AND SEVERAL INJURED, INCLUDING HIMSELF, HE WAS CAPTURED BY THE GERMANS. THREE TIMES HE ATTEMPTED TO ESCAPE, EVEN AFTER BEING TAKEN FAR FROM U.S. LINES, TO A POW CAMP DEEP IN POLAND. THE THIRD TIME HE WAS SUCCESSFUL IN NOT BEING RECAPTURED. HIS COURAGE IN ATTEMPTING TO ESCAPE, TO GET BACK TO HIS UNIT, WAS A TREMENDOUS INSPIRATION AND A GREAT EXAMPLE.

THERE HE WAS, THERE IN FRONT OF THE UNIT THAT HE HAD SERVED IN, AND WE GAVE HIM THE P.O.W. MEDAL. THOSE EIGHTEEN YEAR OLD SOLDIERS STANDING IN THE RANKS, WATCHING THE CEREMONY, GOT A CHANCE TO MAKE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE UNIT WERE SERVING IN AND ITS PROUD HERITAGE. THEY LEARNED THAT THEIR UNIT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST TO PARACHUTE INTO FRANCE ON D-DAY. THEY LEARNED ABOUT THE HEROIC EXPLOITS OF A MEMBER OF THEIR BATTALION. I THINK IT'S TREMENDOUSLY IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO SEE THE LIVING EMBODIMENT OF THE KIND OF COURAGE THAT THEY MAY SOMEDAY BE CALLED TO DISPLAY.

A CEREMONY LIKE THAT IS PART OF WHAT WE HAVE TO DO TO MAKE SURE OUR SOLDIERS KNOW ABOUT THE GREAT HERITAGE OF THIS COUNTRY, AND THE ARMY THAT THEY ARE A PART OF, AND THE VALUES THAT UNDERPIN ITS HERITAGE.

I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT ARMY VALUES, AND HOW I DESCRIBE THEM. I THINK EVERY PERSON HAS A SENSE OF WHAT THEY MEAN FOR THEMSELVES.

LOYALTY: THAT WE KEEP FAITH WITH OUR NATION'S FOUNDING PRINCIPLES. THAT WE KEEP FAITH WITH OUR UNIT, WITH OUR SQUAD, WITH EACH OTHER.

DUTY: THAT WE DO THOSE THINGS THAT HAVE TO BE DONE. THAT WE DO THE UNPLEASANT THINGS, THE TOUGH THINGS. WE MAKE OURSELVES DO WHAT WE ARE ASKED TO DO.

RESPECT: THAT WE HONOR THE CONTRIBUTION THAT EVERY SOLDIER HAS TO MAKE. EVERY SOLDIER -- WHETHER THEY'RE ACTIVE, RESERVE, OR GUARD. EVERY SOLDIER -- WHATEVER THEIR BACKGROUND IS, WHATEVER THEIR GENDER IS, WHATEVER THEIR RACE IS. WHETHER THEY'RE AN OFFICER OR ENLISTED. WHETHER THEY'VE BEEN HERE A LONG TIME OR JUST GETTING INTO THE SERVICE; THEY ALL CAME TO SERVE OUR COUNTRY, STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE AND SAID, "I'M HERE BECAUSE I WANT TO SERVE MY COUNTRY." THEY ALL HAVE SOMETHING TO CONTRIBUTE. WE HAVE TO HONOR THAT CONTRIBUTION. WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE AND SUPPORT WHAT THEY WANT TO DO AND HELP THEM DEVELOP AND USE THEIR TALENTS TO SERVE OUR COUNTRY TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITY. IF WE BUILD THAT KIND OF RESPECT AMONG OUR SOLDIERS FOR EACH OTHER, THAT RESPECT WILL CARRY OVER TO HOW THEY DEAL WITH PEOPLE FROM OTHER NATIONS, HOW THEY DEAL WITH OTHERS IN OUR OWN COUNTRY.

HONOR: LIVING UP TO OUR HIGHEST IDEALS.

INTEGRITY: DOING EVERYTHING YOU DO JUST AS THOUGH IT WAS IN THE FULL EXPOSURE OF THE LIGHT OF DAY, SO YOU WOULD NEVER BE ASHAMED OR EMBARRASSED BY ANY ACTION THAT YOU TOOK.

PERSONAL COURAGE: HAVING THE COURAGE TO PERSEVERE IN THE FACE OF DANGER.

THAT'S WHAT THE ARMY VALUES ARE ALL ABOUT. THEY'RE VERY SIMPLE. THEY'RE VERY EASY FOR OUR SOLDIERS TO UNDERSTAND.

AS I TRAVELED AROUND THE ARMY, I WAS REALLY CURIOUS WHETHER OUR RENEWED EMPHASIS OF THESE CORE VALUES HAD TAKEN ROOT WITH OUR SOLDIERS, WHETHER THESE PRINCIPLES WERE RESONATING WITH THEM OR BEING RECEIVED AS SOMETHING THAT MAYBE WE WERE JUST PAYING LIP SERVICE TO.

I KNOW WE, THE ARMY LEADERSHIP, CARED ABOUT THEM. IN FACT, I PERSONALLY BELIEVE THAT THESE VALUES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THERE. THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN THE THINGS THAT HAVE UNDER GIRDED THE REASON WHY SOLDIERS SERVE, AND WHY OUR MILITARY, OUR ARMY, AND OUR SOLDIERS HAVE NEVER FAILED OUR COUNTRY.

BUT WE HADN'T NECESSARILY TALKED ABOUT THEM, AND WE HADN'T NECESSARILY HAD A CAMPAIGN AROUND THEM. AND WE HADN'T BEEN SO CONCRETE ABOUT THEM. AND I THINK SOMEWHERE IN THAT PERIOD BETWEEN THE SIXTIES AND THE EIGHTIES, WE HAD ALMOST GOTTEN A LITTLE BIT EMBARRASSED ABOUT EVEN TALKING ABOUT VALUES.

AND SO NOW WE HAVE A CAMPAIGN WHERE WE'RE VERY CLEARLY TALKING ABOUT VALUES, AND WE'VE GOT THINGS LIKE VALUES POSTERS. AND I WANTED TO SEE IF THIS HAD REALLY TAKEN ROOT AND RESONATED OUT THERE WHERE OUR SOLDIERS DO THEIR DUTY.

I WAS PLEASED TO FIND OUT THAT, FROM OUR BASIC TRAINING UNITS TO OUR LINE UNITS, THESE VALUES HAVE INDEED TAKEN ROOT.

I WENT TO FORT JACKSON THIS PAST SUMMER WHERE WE DO OUR BASIC COMBAT TRAINING. I TALKED TO SOME SOLDIERS WHO WERE JUST IN THEIR SECOND WEEK OF BCT [BASIC COMBAT TRAINING]. THEY HAD JUST GONE THROUGH A VERY DIFFICULT OBSTACLE COURSE. THEY START ON AN EASIER ONE, AND THIS IS WHERE THEY HIT THE LITTLE BIT HARDER ONE THAT REQUIRES THE SQUAD TO WORK TOGETHER.

I TALKED TO THE SOLDIERS FOR A WHILE AFTER THEY HAD JUST FINISHED THE COURSE, AND I ASKED THEM, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE STANDARD ARMY VALUES ARE? "OH, YES SIR!" AND THEY ALL WANTED TO TELL ME WHAT THEY WERE AND TO RECITE THEM. ADDITIONALLY, THEY WANTED TO SHOW ME THAT THEY ALSO KNEW THE SOLDIER'S CREED, SO THEY RECITED THAT FOR ME AS WELL.

AND THEN, AS WE WERE TALKING, I ASKED, "WHY DID YOU DO WHAT YOU JUST DID? IT'S KIND OF A DANGEROUS, SCARY THING TO GET OVER ALL THOSE OBSTACLES. WHY DID YOU DO THAT WHEN, TWO OR THREE WEEKS AGO, YOU NEVER WOULD HAVE EVEN CONSIDERED DOING THOSE THINGS?" AND THEY SAID, "SIR, I JUST DID MY DUTY." "WELL," I ASKED, "HOW DID YOU PULL TOGETHER AS A TEAM?" "SIR," THEY REPLIED, "WE JUST DID OUR DUTY TO EACH OTHER." SO THEY'RE WERE ANSWERING IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR VALUES AND WHAT THEY MEAN TO THEM.

ARE OUR VALUES A VITAL PART OF OUR ARMY BEYOND BASIC TRAINING? I THINK THEY HAVE TO BE. IF WE GET THESE YOUNG SOLDIERS IN BASIC TRAINING AND WE SET HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR THEM AS SOLDIERS, AND THEN THEY GO OUT INTO THAT ARMY AND THEY THINK EVERYBODY LIVES UP TO THESE VALUES, THEN WE'D BETTER LIVE UP TO THEM. SO I WAS CURIOUS AS WE WENT OUT TO OUR ARMY UNITS, OUR LINE UNITS, TO SEE WHETHER THEY HAD EMBRACED OUR VALUES CAMPAIGN.

SO, I ASKED SOME OF OUR NCOs AND SENIOR LEADERS, DOES THIS MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE? AND THEY SAID, "ABSOLUTELY. FIRST OF ALL, IT GIVES US A FRAMEWORK TO TALK TO OUR YOUNG SOLDIERS ABOUT WHAT OUR EXPECTATIONS ARE OF THEM. AND THEY GET IT. BUT ALSO IT HAS GIVEN US - IT HAS MADE EXPLICIT FOR US -- AN UNDERSTANDING THAT WE'RE THE ROLE MODELS FOR THESE VALUES. IT'S NOT JUST FOR THE YOUNG JUNIOR ENLISTED SOLDIERS; WE ALSO HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO LIVE TO THESE VALUES; TO MODEL THESE VALUES; TO BE THE EXEMPLARS, NOT TO LET THOSE YOUNG SOLDIERS DOWN BY DOING ANYTHING THAT CONTRADICTS THEM."

WE HAD AN INITIATIVE THAT WE CALL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT XXI, TO TRY TO SUPPORT THIS EFFORT, AND IT CONTAINS A NUMBER OF INITIATIVES:

ONE IS DISTRIBUTION OF POSTERS STRESSING EACH ARMY VALUE. YOU SEE THEM IN ALL THE BARRACKS, WHETHER IT'S A BASIC TRAINING UNIT OR A LINE UNIT. VIRTUALLY EVERY UNIT I'VE VISITED HAS THEM DISPLAYED.

WE LENGTHENED BASIC TRAINING. THERE WERE A COUPLE OF REASONS WE DID THIS. ONE WAS TO GIVE BASIC TRAINING MORE RIGOR. BUT ANOTHER WAS TO BUILD IN TIME SO THAT EVERY WEEK DRILL SERGEANTS CAN TALK TO TRAINEES ABOUT VALUES USING REAL, CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES OF SOLDIERS WHO HAVE LIVED UP TO THOSE VALUES. THEY LEARN NOT ONLY WHAT THE VALUES REALLY MEAN, BUT HOW THOSE VALUES ARE A PART OF THE HERITAGE OF THE ARMY THAT THEY ARE JOINING.

WE'VE PUT VALUES INTO OUR OFFICER EFFICIENCY REPORTING SYSTEM AND WE'RE GOING TO PLAN TO DO THE SAME IN OUR NCO REPORTING SYSTEM.

WE'VE INCORPORATED THEM INTO OUR NEW LEADERSHIP DOCTRINE, WHERE THEY UNDERPIN OUR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT MODEL AND SERVE AS THE BASIS FOR A SURVEY TOOL THAT ALLOWS LEADERS TO ASSESS THE ETHICAL CLIMATE OF THEIR ORGANIZATIONS.

WE'VE REVISED THE CURRICULA OF OUR SCHOOLS SO THAT VALUES ARE EMPHASIZED THROUGHOUT THE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION PROCESS.

AND, WE'VE ALSO ADOPTED THE "CONSIDERATION FOR OTHERS" PROGRAM, WHICH STARTED AT THE MILITARY ACADEMY, TO EMPHASIZE THE VALUE OF RESPECT AS A VERY IMPORTANT ONE FOR AN ARMY THAT SERVES THE TREMENDOUSLY DIVERSE COUNTRY THAT WE NOW HAVE, AND THAT SEEKS TO BE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE GREAT DIVERSITY OF THAT COUNTRY.

THE IMPACT OF THESE INITIATIVES ISN'T GOING TO BE MEASURED IN HOW MANY POSTERS WE PUT UP OR HOW MANY VALUES CARDS WE PASS OUT. THE SUCCESS IS GOING TO BE MEASURED BY THE DEGREE TO WHICH WE INCULCATE THESE VALUES INTO THE CHARACTER OF OUR SOLDIERS.

AS GENERAL COLIN POWELL RECENTLY EMPHASIZED TO THE WEST POINT CADETS, IN A SPEECH WHERE HE ACCEPTED THE THAYER AWARD, THE "SIMPLE CODE [OF DUTY, HONOR AND COUNTRY] IS NOT SOMETHING WEST POINT GIVES YOU, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WEST POINT HELPS YOU GIVE YOURSELF." HE SAID, "YOU CAN INSCRIBE DUTY, HONOR, AND COUNTRY ON EVERY GRANITE BLOCK AND IT WOULD MEAN NOTHING UNLESS THOSE WORDS ARE ENGRAVED IN YOUR HEART." HE BROUGHT THESE WORDS TO LIFE FOR THE CADETS BY GIVING THEM EXAMPLES. HE TOLD THEM, WHEN SOLDIERS STOP BRINGING THEIR PROBLEMS TO YOU, YOU'VE FAILED AS A LEADER OF SOLDIERS. BECAUSE BEING AVAILABLE TO LISTEN TO THEIR PROBLEMS IS WHAT THE VALUE OF SELFLESS SERVICE IS ALL ABOUT.

LET ME GIVE YOU JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOLDIERS ENGRAVE ARMY VALUES IN THEIR HEARTS -- AN EXAMPLE NOT FROM PEACETIME, BUT FROM WAR, WHEN THOSE VALUES WILL MEAN THE MOST.

LAST YEAR, ARMY MAGAZINE PUBLISHED AN EXCHANGE OF LETTERS BETWEEN A THEN-PLATOON SERGEANT IN VIETNAM, DAN GARCIA, AND HIS COMPANY COMMANDER, BARRY McCAFFREY, WHO IS NOW OUR NATION'S DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY. THE EXCHANGE OCCURRED SOME THIRTY YEARS AFTER THEY SERVED TOGETHER IN VIETNAM. DAN GARCIA HAD BEEN UNDER THE IMPRESSION HIS COMPANY COMMANDER HAD BEEN KILLED, AND THEN DISCOVERED THAT, IN FACT, HE HAD NOT. MR. GARCIA WAS MOVED TO WRITE TO GENERAL McCAFFREY. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THIRTY YEARS, HE RE-LIVED THAT PERIOD, TALKED ABOUT THE UNIT, AND TALKED ABOUT WHAT THAT PERIOD IN TIME MEANT TO THEM. HE WROTE:

"ONE OF US HAS LIVED TO TELL YOU NOW, DIRECTLY, ON PAPER, HOW IMPORTANT YOU WERE TO US. YOU WERE THE FIRST COMPANY COMMANDER WE HAD WHO CARED ABOUT US. I THINK WE WOULD HAVE DONE ANYTHING FOR YOU. IT WAS NOT LOST ON ANY OF US THAT DESPITE THE COMBAT IN THESE MONTHS AND THE AWESOME LOSSES IN OUR SISTER COMPANIES, OUR OWN LOSSES WERE LIGHT. BUT MORE THAN THAT, WE CAME TO TRUST YOU AND BELIEVE IN WHO YOU WERE. IN THAT WAY YOU ALLOWED US TO BELIEVE IN OURSELVES, AND IN DOING SO YOU SAVED SOME PART OF EACH OF US. THIS MAY HAVE BEEN YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT IN THAT THEATER."

HOW DID GENERAL McCAFFREY DO THAT? HE DID IT THROUGH TRUE COMMITMENT TO SELFLESS SERVICE. HE DID IT THROUGH TRUE COMMITMENT TO HIS PROFESSION -- BEING THE ABSOLUTE BEST OFFICER HE COULD BE, NOT JUST TECHNICALLY PROFICIENT BUT CARING ABOUT THOSE SOLDIERS, HAVING THE COURAGE TO LEAD THOSE SOLDIERS IN A WAY THAT INSTILLED AND INSPIRED THAT KIND OF CONFIDENCE IN HIM.

THAT'S THE WAY WE MEASURE SUCCESS. WE MEASURE IT BY THE WAY YOUNG COMPANY COMMANDERS LIVE THOSE VALUES, BY GIVING THEM LIFE, BY RETELLING THOSE STORIES TO OUR NEW SOLDIERS WHO HAVEN'T BEEN IN COMBAT SO THAT THEY KNOW HOW OTHERS HAVE LIVED THOSE VALUES AND HOW THEY HAVE EARNED THE LOYALTY AND SUPPORT FROM THE SOLDIERS THEY HAVE LED INTO COMBAT. BY TELLING AND RETELLING THOSE STORIES AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THOSE VALUES -- THAT'S HOW WE WILL CONTINUE OUR ARMY'S GREAT TRADITIONS AND THE GREAT HERITAGE THAT HAS NEVER FAILED OUR COUNTRY.

I TRULY BELIEVE THAT THESE VALUES THAT WE CALL ARMY VALUES ARE THE SAME VALUES THAT HAVE MADE THIS A GREAT COUNTRY. THAT WE, IN THE ARMY, HAVE TO STRIVE EVERY DAY TO LIVE UP TO THESE PROUD VALUES IN ORDER TO BE AN EXAMPLE, NOT ONLY TO EACH OTHER BUT TO OUR FELLOW COUNTRYMEN. THAT THESE ARE THE RIGHT VALUES FOR OUR ARMY. THAT MORE OF OUR BEST YOUNG PEOPLE NEED TO HEAR THAT SELFLESS SERVICE AND RESPECT FOR OTHERS -- WHETHER IN OR OUT OF UNIFORM -- ARE THE HIGHEST VALUES OF CITIZENSHIP. AND THAT THOSE WHO ARE WILLING TO PUT ON THE UNIFORM AND LIVE THESE CHERISHED VALUES ARE THE PEOPLE THAT OUR NATION HOLDS IN THE HIGHEST ESTEEM AND WHOSE SERVICE AND SACRIFICE WE MOST HONOR AND RESPECT.

THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU.