An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : Media : News : News Article View
NEWS | May 9, 2023

U.S. Military Has Formed Chain of Honor Which Must Be Strengthened, Biden Says

By Jim Garamone DOD News

The military has forged a chain of honor and the leaders of today must ensure each generation of military leaders makes that chain stronger, President Joe Biden said at the Combatant Commanders Dinner at the White House last night.

The Commander-in-Chief meets with the assembled military and civilian leaders each year. The dinner is in conjunction with the Senior Leaders Conference at the Pentagon.

The president said the chain of honor becomes stronger when there are no artificial restraints on service. He noted the military is marking the 75th anniversary of President Harry S. Truman's executive order banning segregation in the military. It is also 75 years since women were integrated into the military. Finally, he noted it is 50 years since the all-volunteer force became a reality.

"Each one of you over the years — [knows] this chain has grown stronger," Biden said. "And as a mark of these milestones, … I challenge you to keep strengthening that chain in big and small ways — to keep sharpening our military edge in the field and across the forces, to keep taking on the challenges of today and tomorrow."

The president said it is not a hyperbole to state the U.S. military is the finest the world has ever seen. "I think other leaders around the world who don't share the same view as we do, are beginning to understand that," he said.

But the credit belongs to the men and women of the force. Defense leaders have a "sacred obligation … to prepare those we send into harm's way and take care of them and their families when they come home — and to care for them in a way that they deserve," the president said.

The president also thanked the commanders for their impressive leadership of the past year as Russia has continued its war on neighboring Ukraine. "You've armed, you've equipped, and you've trained a proud and brave Ukrainian army and helped them preserve their liberty and their democracy," he said. "I have to admit to you, I was a little bit surprised just how … courageous, how amazingly brave, not only the military is but … the Ukrainian people. They're just doing an incredible job."

He also noted the smooth process of evacuating the U.S. embassy in Khartoum, Sudan and "the treatment and capabilities and commitments of our armed forces helping American people anywhere in the world," Biden said. "You probably don't think about it, but you're just remarkable, remarkable, remarkable group of people."

"You continue to take terrorists off the battlefield with precision and professionalism, protecting our nation and our allies and interests against the enduring threat," he said. "And each and every day, you put our nation in the strongest possible strategic position around the world."

The president also noted the critical day-to-day work strengthening of American alliances from NATO to Japan and the Republic of Korea, the Philippines and Australia. This work continues even as the combat environment grows to include space and the cyber world.

Biden noted that two of the combatant commanders, Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the commander of U.S. European Command and Marine Corps Gen. Michael Langley of U.S. Africa Command, "couldn't be with us tonight because they're standing guard right now. They're at their posts, dealing with the war in Europe and the crisis in Sudan."

Biden also thanked the spouses and families of the commanders. "You also serve," he said. "You also sacrifice. You also strengthen our nation."

More than 50 defense and national security leaders attended the Combatant Commander Dinner. In addition to the combatant commanders and their spouses, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and the civilian leadership of the Defense Department also attended. The members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commandant of the Coast Guard were also there.

CONNECT WITH USINDOPACOM
Facebook

Like Us
X
363,185
Follow Us

ENGAGE & CONNECT MORE WITH PACOM

                                                 

IN THE USINDOPACOM NEWS
The Pentagon Transfers Authority to the Navy to Ensure the Safe Closure of Red Hill
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
March 28, 2024 - The Department of Defense announced today that the Joint Task Force-Red Hill has completed its defueling mission at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Hawai’i and shifted command and control of the facility to the...

U.S. Marines, Sailors arrive in Darwin for 13th iteration of MRF-D
U.S. Marine Corps Col. Brian Mulvihill, right, the commanding officer of Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 24.3, shakes hands with Royal Australian Navy Capt. Mitchell Livingstone, the commanding officer of Headquarters Northern Command at Royal Australian Air Force Base Darwin, NT, Australia, March 24, 2024. MRF-D 24.3 is part of an annual six-month rotational deployment to enhance interoperability with the Australian Defence Force and Allies and partners and provide a forward-postured crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific. Mulvihill is a native of New York. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Cristian L. Bestul)
March 28, 2024 - A new group of Marines and Sailors arrived in the Northern Territory to begin the 13th annual iteration of Marine Rotational Force – Darwin...

Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Call with Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr.
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
March 27, 2024 - Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout...

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia Lindsey Ford Concludes Visit to Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
March 27, 2024 - Department of Defense spokesperson Lt. Col. Martin Meiners provided the following readout...

DIU Partners With AUKUS Pillar II for International Prize Challenge
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
March 26, 2024 - The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is launching the first trilateral prize challenge through AUKUS Pillar II— a defense and security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (U.S.)— to...