DEFENSE SECRETARY SAYS U.S. TO REMAIN PRINCIPAL SECURITY POWER IN PACIFIC

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Defense Secretary Ash Carter addresses attendees at the U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. Pacific Fleet change-of-command ceremonies in Honolulu, May 27, 2015. Navy Adm. Harry B. Harris, who previously commanded U.S. Pacific Fleet, assumed command of Pacom from Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III. Carter’s stop in Hawaii is his first in a 10-day trip to advance the next phase of the Asia-Pacific rebalance. DoD photo.  

Carter Urges Peaceful Resolution of South China Sea Disputes
By Terri Moon Cronk
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, May 27, 2015 – The United States will continue to remain the principal security power in the Pacific region for decades to come, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in Hawaii today.

The secretary also urged countries to work toward a peaceful resolution to territorial disputes in the South China Sea region.

Change of Command

Carter made his remarks during change-of-command ceremonies at U.S. Pacific Command, the U.S. Pacific Fleet, and at the retirement of outgoing Pacom commander Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu.

Former U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Navy Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr. will take over as the Pacom commander from Locklear, while Navy Adm. Scott H. Swift, formerly assigned to the Pentagon as the Navy Staff director, will command Pacfleet.

“We come together at Pearl Harbor, 70 years after the end of World War II, to mark the change of command at Pacom, our oldest and largest combatant command,” Carter said. “Pacom’s leaders -- and all who serve under them -- are charged with protecting the nation while assuring the peace that’s been the hallmark of the Pacific region for many, many years.”

As Pacom’s commander, Locklear inspired and led DoD’s rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region, said Carter, adding that the admiral commanded 350,000 military and civilian personnel, nearly 2,000 aircraft and 180 naval vessels to meet commitments made by President Barack Obama when he announced the U.S. rebalance to the Asia-Pacific.

Outgoing Commander’s Legacy

Locklear was a diplomat, strategist and leader who recognized the importance of people, Carter said. Locklear’s legacy will make the rebalance a reality, the secretary added.

“But along the way, he also taught so many of us, including me, about America’s enduring interests and commitments in the Asia-Pacific,” Carter said. “Sam has advised a generation of government and military leaders -- secretaries of defense, national security advisors, and the Joint Chiefs -- and we’re going to remember those lessons and build on his legacy as we enter the next phase of our rebalance.”

But as Locklear knows, Carter said, the region’s security is rooted in something deeper and more fundamental: a commitment to shared values and principles, such as a commitment to the rule of law, to resolving disputes through diplomacy instead of coercion, and maintaining freedom of navigation and overflight in the region.

“The United States, DoD, and Pacom have always stood up for those principles and we always will because they’ve assured the Asia-Pacific’s peace and prosperity for decades,” the secretary said.

South China Sea

Carter said he wants to be clear about the United States’ position on the South China Sea, where several Asia-Pacific countries, including China, have been engaged in territorial disputes.

“First, we want a peaceful resolution of all disputes and an immediate and lasting halt to land reclamation by any claimant,” the secretary said. “We also oppose any further militarization of disputed features.”

Carter added, “Second, and there should be no mistake: The United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows, as we do all around the world.”

And, “with its actions in the South China Sea, China is out of step with both international norms that underscore the Asia-Pacific’s security architecture, and the regional consensus in favor of noncoercive approaches to this and other long-standing disputes,” the secretary said.

China’s actions “are bringing countries in the region together in new ways,” Carter said. “And they’re increasing demand for American engagement in the Asia-Pacific. We’re going to meet it. We will remain the principal security power in the Asia-Pacific for decades to come.”

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL'S REMARKS ON POLICY AND DIPLOMACY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

U.S. Foreign Policy and Diplomacy

Remarks

Tom Kelly

Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs

Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies

Fort DeRussy, Waikiki

April 17, 2014

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Aloha! I work in the Foreign Ministry of the United States, the U.S. State Department. I’ve been a diplomat my entire life, and so I’m usually dressed a lot more formally than I am today. If it were up to me, I’d always dress like this. For the past few years, I’ve overseen the State Department’s Bureau of Political Military Affairs. This bureau is the connective tissue between the Department of State and the Department of Defense. We work closely with the Department of Defense to make sure that the work that we do is complimentary and consistent with U.S. foreign policy goals.

I know that many of you are leaders in your own nations on issues affecting defense, security, and foreign policy. So I thought that I would spend some time this morning giving you an overview of how, in our own government, we have tried to bring two distinct parts of our government – diplomats and soldiers – together so that we better serve the foreign policy and security interests of the United States. As someone who grew up on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, I’d also like to put the recent U.S. “rebalance to Asia” in proper context, and discuss with you our current security priorities in the Asia-Pacific region.

Now I realize that it may strike some of you as odd that you have a diplomat rather than a soldier standing before you today to talk about U.S. security policy. But from the way we handle national security policy in the United States, it actually makes sense. For us, defense and foreign policy are two sides of the same coin. When the United States enters a military partnership with a foreign country, our bilateral relationship becomes more intimate and enduring. And we diplomats can help our military colleagues to handle the many challenges that confront them in foreign theaters of operation. As all of you know, it’s a complicated world out there.

At the forefront of the United States’ foreign policy is the notion that America helps itself by helping others. At his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Secretary of State John Kerry said that, “Global leadership is a strategic imperative for America, not a favor we do for other countries. It amplifies our voice and extends our reach….and it really matters to the daily lives of Americans.”

And in a world dominated by sovereign nation states, the United States can’t lead without looking at the question of security, which is the fundamental preoccupation of any nation. Security cooperation plays a central role in American foreign policy. As we in the US Government take on the challenges that this world presents, we look first and foremost to building the right kind of security partnerships to meet them.

The challenges we face today typically can’t be solved by just our military, or our economic engagement, and – while it pains me to say this as a State Department official – we can’t resolve everything just with our diplomatic efforts, either. No, addressing today’s challenges demands we utilize all of these elements of national power. Addressing the world’s toughest problems really does take a whole-of-government effort. So at our President’s behest, the Secretaries of State and Defense are working harder than ever before to improve our cooperation and coordination with the Defense Department and other agencies.
Building security partnerships starts at home. It requires our diplomacy and defense to be on the same page and it requires the Departments of State and Defense to coordinate and work more closely than ever before. And today I can tell you that the current level of cooperation between State and Defense is truly unprecedented. We are seeing more interaction, more coordinated engagements, more personnel exchanges than ever before.

One way we work with the Department of Defense is through personnel exchanges. We have more than 100 Foreign Service Officers working as Political Advisors, or Polads, in various areas within the Department of Defense. They work at, among other places, the Pentagon, Europe and, of course, in PACOM, the Pacific Command. In return, the Department of Defense has a large number of military personnel serving in various capacities at the Department of State. The guy who sits next to me at the State Department is a two-star Navy Admiral. The reason we trade personnel like this is that we understand the need to better understand each other so that we can work together more effectively, now and in the future. To achieve our objectives in today’s globalized world, we want diplomats to be able to think like soldiers, and soldiers to be able to think like diplomats.

When the United States – through our security cooperation efforts – enhances the military capabilities of our allies and partners, we inherently strengthen their ability to handle their own security. All countries benefit from a global environment that is stable and prosperous, and many could do more to take an active role in supporting it.

Building the capacity of our partners and allies reflects more than strategic reality, though. We are also acutely aware that because of the budgetary pressures that our government faces, the U.S. Government is looking for cost-effective ways to achieve its strategic objectives at home and abroad. In short, building partner capacity is a prudent investment which deepens our strategic ties and helps defend our interests in an era of diminishing resources.

One vital tool that I would like to talk a bit more about is our ability to deliver security assistance to allies and partners. These programs can be a critical tool to support states trying to build their security capacity. Security is often the foundation for economic growth, democratic governance, and the preservation of human rights. Therefore, by helping our partners to take on greater security responsibilities, our assistance helps empowers others to advance peace and stability, while at the same time reducing the likelihood of putting our military forces in harm’s way.

To our great fortune and benefit, countries want to partner with the United States. One indication of that is the tremendous growth of U.S. defense trade in recent years. In 2013, we saw $27.80 billion in for foreign military sales by American defense companies. A significant number of these potential sales in the region were with allies such as South Korea, Australia and Japan, but a large proportion was also with partners such as India. These sales strengthen our alliances and partnerships in the region—a top goal of the “rebalance” to the Asia-Pacific as well as the Department’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review and our Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs’ Joint Regional Strategy—but also bolster the U.S. economy.
To put that into perspective, 2012 was our largest year in history of foreign military sales to date by American defense companies, amounting to nearly $70 billion in calendar year 2012. The year before that, in 2011 we saw $32.1 billion in Foreign Military Sales, which broke previous record the year before, at $31.6 billion. We also completed the UK and Australia defense trade treaties, which will help our defense industry and make our partnerships with these two nations even closer. In 2013, we also processed more than 78,000 licenses for direct commercial sales with an average processing time of 21 days.

Washington Priorities

Building partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region takes up a lot of time and attention at the top of our government in Washington. For many of us, thinking about Asia and the Pacific is nothing new. The Pacific Ocean has always been a part of my life. For those of you who know the United States, I grew up in Manhattan Beach, a beach town in Southern California that is right next to Los Angeles. And our President was born right here on this island. He still comes back to Hawaii with his family every year. For people like us, and many millions of other Americans, the Pacific isn’t just a strategically important location or a good place to make money. It’s our home.

So it’s no surprise that the Asia-Pacific has been a priority for President Obama since he took office in 2009. The administration based this vision on America's stake in a prosperous and stable region. In this, President Obama’s second term, we continue to build on those commitments to modernize our alliances, strengthen regional institutions and respect for rule of law, and engage more effectively with emerging powers such as China. Our policy is not merely words: we are dedicating more diplomatic, public diplomacy and assistance resources to the region. And we are diversifying to put more of a focus on economic development, on energy, people-to-people exchanges, and education.

The Rebalance Towards Asia: Cooperative Opportunities

The Asia-Pacific is home to many of the world’s most heavily traveled trade and energy routes. $555 billion in U.S. exports to the region last year supported 2.8 million jobs in America. The security and prosperity of the United States are inextricably linked to the peaceful development of the Asia-Pacific. Peaceful development means economic partnership opportunities that can tie our societies closer together.

When I look at the history of the Asia-Pacific over the past sixty years, I see a period of extraordinary prosperity. Hundreds of millions of people have lifted themselves out of poverty, providing an example to the rest of the world. In just a few generations, the Asia-Pacific has fostered innovative economies that today are fueling global growth.

At the Asia Pacific Economic Conference in October, Secretary Kerry described how U.S. economic engagement is good for both the region and good for the United States. Within APEC and as part of our ongoing rebalance toward Asia, we worked to strengthen regional economic integration; promote energy cooperation, private sector investments, and education exchange; reduce barriers to trade and investment; improve connectivity; and support sustainable growth.

On the margins of APEC, Secretary Kerry joined Trans Pacific Partnership Leaders in announcing that the negotiations are on track to complete the historic agreement this year. With its high ambition and pioneering standards for new trade disciplines, the TPP will be a model for future trade agreements and a promising pathway to our APEC goal of building a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific.

The Secretary also spoke at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Kuala Lumpur, also in October, to more than 3,000 entrepreneurs, investors, academics, startup organizers, business people, and government officials from over 100 countries.

In short, the Asia-Pacific is a by-word for opportunity for investment and win-win partnerships.
But reaching the goal of universal prosperity also depends on security – in this case, maritime security. We know that you don’t get trade within Asia, and with Asia and the Americas, without open sea lanes. The way we see it, twenty-first century capitalism cannot function unless the sea lanes throughout Asia-Pacific remain secure. A Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific includes freedom of navigation.

In Asia as in the rest of the world, the key to effective security is effective security partnerships. We’re working to modernize our alliances and ensure that we can cooperate seamlessly with partners to respond to crises and contingencies. The potential problems are not limited to those caused by people. Mother Nature sometimes reminds us that she is in charge. Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines is a case in point. The U.S. played an important role in supporting the recovery. That crisis demonstrated that a credible U.S. security presence is very important. And that security presence in itself is essential for economic progress to occur.
The most recent example, I think, of our interest in the security of Asia is our joining the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia. This is better known as ReCAAP. We recently signed the accession agreement. I understand that the United States received a warm welcome at the meeting of the ReCAAP Information Sharing Center at the beginning of March. We look forward to a long and close relationship. ReCAAP, of course, is not the only multilateral program in which we participate. We also take part in the ASEAN Regional Forum or the East Asia Summit, Pacific Islands Forum, and APEC, as well as in the bilateral engagements on the margins of those multilateral meetings. When you look at U.S. participation in those meetings, you will see again and again evidence of how much the Obama Administration is committed to the Asia-Pacific as a strategic component of our foreign policy and economic agenda.

This island is also the home port of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. The United States Navy obviously has a huge role to play in the safety of the Asia-Pacific’s sea lanes. As the U.S. rebalances toward Asia, we will increase the percentage of our surface ships in the Pacific theater from about 50 to over 60. But it’s not just a quantitative shift; it’s also a qualitative one. The United States is moving its most technologically advanced platforms to the Pacific. For example, all the ships of the Zumwalt Guided Missile Destroyer Class will come to the Pacific. The first P-8s—an incredible improvement in Maritime Patrol Aircraft capabilities—will come to the Pacific first. Our Navy’s newest surface combatant, the Littoral Combat Ship, has already completed one deployment to the South China Sea. We’ll see another rotational deployment this summer. When we do field the Joint Strike Fighter, it will go first to the Pacific theater.

The challenges in the maritime domain remain complex and complicated. Our Chief of Naval Operations has spoken at length about partnerships and our Navy’s ability to contribute to the global challenge of maintaining freedom of navigation and overflight. These partnerships will enable all navies to take advantage of each other’s strengths and build a maritime community that enables all of us to sail the seas without intimidation or interference. Working together in partnerships, whether bilaterally or multilaterally, allows us to also respond more quickly to humanitarian and disaster assistance when needed.

The Rebalance as Continuity of U.S. Policy

The story of the rebalance is a story of continuity. The United States has been and will continue to be a Pacific Power. Our strategic rebalance to the Asia-Pacific recognizes the important role the region will play in the 21^st century and the fact that the region is critically important to U.S. security and economics. As a marker of how important we see continuing our support of Asia-Pacific, the Obama administration has begun a process which will increase foreign assistance to the Asia-Pacific region by seven percent.

You may have noticed that in the rebalance much of our effort seems to be aimed at South and Southeast Asia. One of the reasons for that is that we have always had a very strong presence, including the stationing of several thousand American soldiers and sailors, in Northeast Asian countries like the Republic of Korea and Japan. We seek to deepen our engagement with new partners and multilateral institutions in Southeast Asia, to find opportunities to work together to advance our shared interests.

And quickly, I want to address the issue of China. I know that there are some in Beijing who think our rebalance to the Asia-Pacific is part of a broader American effort to contain China. Let me be clear: that is not the case. On the contrary, the United States seeks to continue building a cooperative partnership with China. A positive and cooperative relationship with China is a key element of our rebalance strategy. We understand that China will play an important role in critical global challenges like fighting climate change, wildlife trafficking, and countering proliferation. We welcome that role: those problems won’t get fixed without China’s help. And we recognize that our two economies are deeply intertwined. We consistently seek to engage with China on all levels on a wide range of issues. We want to do more with China in many areas, including economic relations. National Security Advisor Susan Rice recently said that the United States welcomes China and any other nation interested in joining and sharing the benefits of the Trans-Pacific Partnership so long as they can commit to the high standards of the agreement.

The United States is committed to building healthy, stable, reliable, and continuous military-to-military relations with China. We maintain a robust schedule of military-to-military exchanges and dialogues in pursuit of that goal and to encourage China to exhibit greater transparency with respect to its military capabilities and intentions. In addition, U.S. military, diplomatic, and defense officials participate in a range of combined civilian-military dialogues with the Chinese in which we work to build mutual trust and understanding. I’ve participated personally in some of them, both in Washington and Beijing.

Farther Into Asia

South Asia, where I’ll travel in a few days, also merits some comment. I’ve travelled several times over the past few years to India. I think it’s fair to say that there is growing interest in both Washington and New Delhi in greater security cooperation. There is a significant degree of coincidence of strategic interests. During the Obama Administration, the United States carried out our first political-military dialogue with India in six years. And it was significant because we were able to help our Indian counterparts work through the challenges of our interagency process on national security issues. Indian officials told us that the dialogue is especially helpful in helping them to coordinate the same issues within their own government, as well as giving them a better idea of how to deal with our own large and admittedly complicated bureaucracy. The Indian military is also increasingly interested in buying equipment from the United States. Our foreign military sales to India have grown from virtually zero in 2008 to more than $9 billion. In comparison, we had only $363 million in military sales with India from 2002-2006.
I’m not going to India on this trip, but I will travel to Bangladesh, another important South Asian partner. I’ll visit the port city of Chittagong, where the Bangladeshi Navy will show me the Somudra Joy, formerly the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Jarvis, which enables the Bangladeshi Navy to promote maritime security. This transfer has achieved real results by contributing to a seventy percent reduction in piracy in the Bay of Bengal.

My conviction and my experience is that our ongoing rebalance strategy that dates back to 2009 is broad, is deep, and encompasses not just regional security, but also economic prosperity, and people-to-people ties. This is the subject of a very intense ongoing interagency collaboration within the U.S. Government, precisely because it is a strategic priority of the President, of the Administration, and of the nation.

This brings me back to the beginning of my speech, and what motivates U.S. leaders to invest significant resources to support U.S. leadership in the Asia-Pacific and around the globe. Citizens of this country are learning what you already know – that world events are closer to home than we may think, and can change rapidly. That means we need to be on our toes, adapting and evolving to enhance and sustain U.S. global leadership. This can be challenging, but we really need to remember that in this changing world it has been international partnerships that have brought about stability and prosperity, not only to the United States, but across the world.

By tackling the world’s toughest problems together, we can bring new perspectives and expanded capabilities to bear. And we can build partnerships to be proud of – within government, with civil society, and with nations around the world.

Thank you again for your personal contributions to that effort. And with that, I will be happy to take your questions.

HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE PREPAREDNESS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
U.S. sailors and Marines aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan load humanitarian assistance supplies onto an HH-60H Seahawk helicopter in the Pacific Ocean, March 19, 2011 in support of support Operation Tomodachi. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Nicholas A. Groesch
Center Strives to Build Humanitarian Assistance Preparedness

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

CAMP SMITH, Hawaii, Aug. 27, 2012 - A unique organization within U.S. Pacific Command is gathering lessons in natural disaster response from around the world and applying them to help nations improve disaster preparedness and resilience.

The Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance stood up here in 1994, two years after Hurricane Iniki – the most powerful hurricane to strike Hawaii in recorded history -- devastated Kauai.

With three subsequent hurricanes and two tropical storms hitting the Hawaiian Islands over a one-year period, the center was established to improve the state, military and interagency responses, Army Col. Phillip Mead, the center's director, told American Forces Press Service.

The center has a unique mission within the Defense Department of focusing solely on improving disaster response, not just within the Pacom area of responsibility, but also around the world.

"Our authorities are to train, educate, conduct research and to disseminate best practices, not only through our organization, but also through partnerships within the Department of Defense and also with our key allies and partners," Mead explained.

Nowhere in the world are natural disasters as prevalent as in the Asia-Pacific region. It sits on the earthquake-prone "Ring of Fire" and is tormented by hurricanes, cyclones, tsunamis, floods and mudslides.

"It is not a matter of if they are going to have the next disaster," Mead said. "It is really when. If there is something common across the [area of responsibility], it is that there is going to be another disaster."

With natural disasters increasing in number as well as magnitude, Mead emphasized the importance of building a response capacity before they strike. "There is a definite need to address this challenge," he said. "There is a need to work together and ... share good ideas and information in order to build resiliency across the region."

That starts with education and information-sharing, which the Center of Excellence staff promotes through forums that bring together officials from across regional governments and their militaries to plan coordinated, effective responses.

Seminars and panel discussions include experts from the United States and regional partners with proven records in dealing with natural disasters.

Several countries, including the Philippines and Indonesia, have become experts in preparing for and responding to cyclones and catastrophic flooding, Mead noted. "So they have a tremendous amount of knowledge with regard to building systems, not only within the local government level, but at the national level on how to handle these specific types of natural disasters," he said.

Meanwhile, based on its long history of responding to earthquakes, Japan has emerged as a regional expert in marshaling an effective whole-of-government response. That expertise was on full display in March 2011, when Japan suffered a devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake that triggered a tsunami and nuclear disaster.

Japan, too, has learned through trial and error. When a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Kobe in 1995, Japan's military leaders quickly realized they didn't have the authorities required to launch a speedy response. Japan fixed that, and after the so-called "3/11" triple disaster rocked the country last year, some 10,000 Japanese Self Defense Force troops were able to respond within the first six or eight hours, Mead noted. Within a couple of days, that number had soared to about 80,000.

"That could not have occurred if the Japanese did not learn a lesson and then rectify it," Mead said.

The Center of Excellence staff, which served as advisors both from its headquarters here and embedded with U.S. Forces Japan during the Operation Tomodachi response, is compiling lessons learned about that and other disaster responses in a new developmental repository that Mead hopes will improve future responses.

The repository, once complete, will include input from throughout the region. "I believe that, as we capture lessons learned from a U.S. perspective, that there is also a tremendous amount of lessons learned within our allies and partners across South and Southeast Asia, as well as Northeast Asia, that we need to capture and disseminate," Mead said.

In support of that effort, the center will publish a journal in October on civil-military lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake, he said. Among the authors are representatives of the Japanese government, including the Defense Ministry, as well as from the United Nations and partner nations that responded to the crisis.

While marshaling regional preparedness, the Center for Excellence also is working to build relationships with interagency and nongovernmental entities that would be part of a disaster response.

Pacom recently agreed to partner with U.S. business interests and nongovernmental organizations to support disaster preparedness and coordinate responses. The agreement, signed in November at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, joins the command with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Ford Foundation, the University of Hawaii and the U.S. Agency for International Development, and other groups in the effort.

Meanwhile, to ensure joint force commanders and their staffs are prepared if called on to lead a real-life response, the Center of Excellence staff incorporates disaster scenarios and role players into Pacific Command's exercise program.

The idea, Mead said, is for them to work through the challenges – equipment interoperability, communications and information-sharing, both within U.S. staffs and with partner nations – before a real crisis.

"We develop events that get injected during the exercises to stress out the joint force commander and staff, forcing them to go through a very deliberate decision process," he said. "And all those issues you work during the exercise will be leveraged during a regional response to a natural disaster."

By helping to build regional resilience, the Center of Excellence staff hopes to improve partners' ability to respond to all but the most devastating disasters themselves, or with help from their neighbors.

That, Mead said, reduces their need for Defense Department support, enabling DOD and manpower to remain fixed on their primary security mission.

Using the past year as a gauge, Mead said the effort appears to be paying off. Of 80 declared disasters in the Pacific area of responsibility during the past 12 months, the U.S. military was called in to support just three.

"When [regional nations] are successful in coming together to support each other, it is a win-win for the state that is affected, a win-win for their partners that are able to their neighbors, and it is also a win for DOD," he said.

DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY CARTER THANKS SERVICE MEMBERS FROM ONBARD THE USS MISSOURI

120718-N-WX059-066 PEARL HARBOR (July 18, 2012) Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter delivers remarks to service members aboard the USS Missouri Memorial. Carter wanted to personally thank service members for their Participation in the military. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Sean Furey/Released

FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Presenter: Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter July 18, 2012 remarks by Deputy Secretary of Defense Carter Aboard the Battleship Missouri
Thank you, Admiral Watters. Good morning, everybody. (inaudible). Thanks for being here this morning, and what a spectacular vessel this is. This is -- as you all know -- here, right here in Pearl Harbor, is where World War II started and right here on the deck of this ship is where World War II ended. And the folks who fought that war were about your age, or some for you, who are younger, and they were -- they were the greatest generation of that time.

And I guess the main thing I want to say for myself and for Secretary Panetta is, you all are the greatest generation of this time. And so, the first thing that we all have in our minds in Washington when we think about you and what you're doing out here, is to thank you. And I want each and every one of you to go home tonight, to your family or your close friends, or call your parents or whomever is close to you, and say that today, you were thanked by the leadership of the Department of Defense, and your country, for what you do. We don't take it for granted, and it's incredibly important to us.

And I think for you, if you're like me and most of us who work in national defense, it's a great feeling to wake up in the morning and to go to work doing something that's bigger than yourself. What we do is bigger than us; it's even bigger than the great country that we all serve, because the United States still provides security to much of the world.

Especially to the Asia-Pacific region, and you know what you do out here to build military capability that serves as a deterrent to violence in this part of the world; to build the partnerships, alliances and friendships upon which our security and the security of everyone else in this region depends; to build the capacities of partner militaries -- that's being done right now, here, at the RIMPAC fleet exercises, right off the coast here of Hawaii, at this moment.

So it's a good feeling to do what we do, and I hope you share and feel that good feeling.

And you all, right here, right now, in PACOM, are at the heart of the great transition that our country's defense is undergoing in these coming years. We have been, as you all know, understandably and justifiably preoccupied with two wars -- in Iraq and Afghanistan -- two wars of a certain kind. Counterinsurgency war. And with fighting a battle against the terrorism that we first saw evidence of on September 11th of 2011 [sic 2001]. Those are important things to do, and they're important things to bring to an end. And we have, and we will.

Iraq we have brought to an end, and in Afghanistan, we have a plan that is shared with all our coalition partners, to bring that down -- our activity in Afghanistan -- to an enduring presence starting in 2015. What the President and Secretary of Defense have told us is that they understand that as this era -- the era of Iraq and Afghanistan -- ends, we need to lift our heads up out of the foxhole we've been in, look up, look around, and see what the problems are, and the security opportunities there are, that will define our future -- your future. And those issues, those challenges and those opportunities are, very importantly, in the Asia-Pacific region, which you now serve. So this is where our future lies, and you, right here, right now, are a very important part of that transition, that great transition that this great military is embarked upon.

Secretary Panetta was out here not long ago, the President was out here, the Secretary of State was out here. And I'm out here in their wake, to show that when they talked about rebalancing our security effort to the Asia-Pacific theater, that we aren't just talking the talk, we're walking the walk. And so in all of the allies and partnerships where we have forces deployed or forces rotating and acting in partnership, I want to check on their status -- our own people. I want to check on the health of our alliances and relationships; make sure that we're doing all the things that we can do, all the things that we said we would do, all the things that we're planning to do, to rebalance our effort to this region.

We do this at a time of great strategic transition, as I've already said. We also do it at a time when the country is trying to rebalance its own fiscal situation. And the other thing I'd tell you is that we understand that, and we can do what we need to do here within the constraints of the amount of money that the country is able to give us -- in important measure because much of the capacity that we have been using in Iraq and Afghanistan we can now apply to this region. So we're going to do it, we can do it even within the budgetary circumstances that we find ourselves. And so, as I go on from here to Guam, and then to Japan, and then to Thailand, and then to India and finally to Korea, I'll be looking at our relationships with those countries and implicitly with all of the other countries in this area, and saying, "What is it that I need to go back to Washington and make sure we're doing on our end to hold up our bargain with you, out here, who are at the point of the spear on this effort?"

There are a number of different aspects to the rebalancing here. I'll just say that it really starts with the principles that we stand up for, that we uphold, and that we have stood for in this part of the world for 70 years now, since World War II ended aboard this vessel. I always try to summarize it in the following way: I say that this region of the world has enjoyed peace and prosperity for 70 years now. It's a remarkable achievement. In that environment of peace and security, first Japan was able to rise; then Korea was able to rise; and now, yes, China, able to rise to develop their own people, to develop economically. And that's only possible in an environment of peace and security.

And that doesn't come automatically out here. It was the United States and our presence -- constant and strong -- in this region over a period of 70 years, that created that environment of peace and security. We think that's been a good thing. It's been good for us, and it's been good for every other country in this region. We aim to keep that going. We aim to continue to be the pivotal factor for peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region.

That's what you're about. It's about the whole region. It's not about us; it's not about any one country, or any one group of countries. It's about the entire region.

So that's why we're here; that's why you're here. It's a period, it's a moment in history, that you should always, as you go forward in your lives and your careers, keep in your mind. This was an important moment to be here, to be doing what you're doing.

So once again, thank you from us in Washington. Go home tonight, call a parent, say this to a spouse, to kids, to a good friend, whatever -- say that you were thanked today for what you do for our country, and that you were summoned to a new purpose in a new moment in our nation's national security history.

I look forward to getting a chance to chat with some of you, standing out here in this lovely weather -- a lot better than Washington. So please come on up. We have some photographers, we can take pictures, we can chat a little bit, I've got coins. And once again, well done, thank you. I have high hopes for you and high expectations of you. Thanks in advance.