DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, June 24, 2015 – The annual Baltic Operations
exercise demonstrates the United States’ commitment to defend the alliance in
light of recent Russian actions in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, Defense
Secretary Ash Carter told service members aboard the USS San Antonio in Estonia
yesterday.
The secretary said he wanted to impart two messages as he
spoke to service members aboard the ship, which was in Estonia to serve as the
lead U.S. ship of the 43rd BALTOPS sea exercise, a recently concluded
multinational exercise held annually since 1971. This year’s BALTOPS concluded
June 19.
Carter first emphasized how the ship’s operations in the
Baltic Sea are important to Europeans.
“And the reason for that is you stand in a long line of
Americans who have stood behind Europe and freedom in Europe,” he said.
BALTOPS is about the U.S. alliance with NATO and its
commitment to defend all NATO territory, Carter said, particularly in light of
recent Russian aggression.
“We didn't want this new challenge, because we've been busy
for the last decade and a half,” the secretary said. “We've had Iraq [and]
Afghanistan. We've got plenty going on in the world, but then all of a sudden,
you have behavior by Russia.”
BALTOPS Important to Europe
The BALTOPS mission is “highly, highly visible in Europe,”
Carter said, calling it a “very big deal.”
Europeans find the exercise reassuring because of what U.S.
service members in the BALTOPS mission stand for, he said.
“So thank you on behalf of not only your own country, but
all of these countries here in Europe for what you've been doing here,” Carter
told the service members.
People Make U.S. ‘Greatest Fighting Force’
“The reason we're the greatest fighting force the world has
ever known isn't just because we've got magnificent ships like the San Antonio
[and] it's not because we have great weapons and that kind of thing,” Carter
said. “It's because of the people we have; it's because of you.”
The secretary said he wakes every morning to that thought.
“You're what it's all about. I know that. And your
readiness, your welfare, your equipment, your deployments are what I give my
utmost care to,” he said.
“So my heart is so with you guys all day, every day, and I
wanted you to know that. We're not only very proud of what you're doing for the
world, but we're proud … to be associated with you,” Carter added.
People “are what matters most to me and [that is] my highest
priority as secretary of defense,” Carter said, “I wanted to meet with you
tonight.”
He greeted each service member and gave them a defense
Challenge coin.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment