[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 147 (Tuesday, October 28, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11288-S11289]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[[Page S11288]]
RETIREMENT OF GENERAL SHALIKASHVILI
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, on September 30, our Nation witnessed a
changing of the guard with the retirement of the Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, Gen. John Shalikashvili.
General Shali, as he is affectionately known, served this country
with honor and distinction for 39 years, rising from the rank of
private to the top military post in our Nation, a record that will
inspire the next generation.
For the past 4 years, as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, he has been
the principal military adviser to the President of the United States
and the Secretary of Defense during a period when we witnessed a
proliferation of new and unknown threats throughout the world.
Those in the Senate who have had the privilege of working closely
with him during these years of new challenge will always remember and
admire his honesty, his sound judgment, and--most importantly--his
concern for the men and women of our Armed Forces and their families.
During the traditional farewell ceremony at Fort Myer, General Shali
was honored with the award of the Medal of Freedom and the earned
recognition of President Clinton and Secretary of Defense Cohen. I ask
unanimous consent that the speeches of Secretary Cohen and President
Clinton from General Shali's farewell ceremony be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the speeches were ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Remarks of William Cohen, U.S. Secretary of Defense at Farewell
Ceremony for Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, September 30, 1997
Secretary Cohen: Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, Vice
President Gore and Mrs. Gore, Secretary Albright, General
McCaffrey, members of Congress, the service secretaries and
service chiefs and combatant commanders and spouses, foreign
dignitaries and honored guests. Let me pay particular note of
former secretary of defense, Bill Perry and Lee, and also
former deputy secretary John White and Betty.
Welcome, all of you, and thank you for joining Janet and me
in paying tribute to two very special people, John
Shalikashvili and his wife, Joan.
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said, alas, gentlemen, that
is life. We cannot live our dreams. We're lucky enough if we
can give a sample of our best, and if in our hearts we can
feel it's been nobly done.
Well today, we express our gratitude to a man who has given
more than a sample of his best, he's also lived his dreams.
His dreams have taken him from the streets of Warsaw that he
knew as a child to the corridors of Washington he has walked
as chairman, and none of us know how much of our lives are
determined by chance or choice or by the guiding hand of
providence.
And John Shalikashvili, we only know that he has stood at
the crossroads of key moments of history. He was there, a boy
of three, when Hitler's tanks rolled into Poland from the
west. He was there, a boy of eight, when Stalin's columns
rolled in from the east. He was there with his family,
fleeing to Germany when he first met the American forces
that he would one day come to command.
He was there on the free side of Berlin, the Berlin Wall,
when George Marshall built a bridge of help and hope across
the Atlantic. Well, John and his family crossed the bridge to
a place called Peoria, in the heart of America, and John took
America to heart.
To learn the language, he turned to a legend, John Wayne.
Imagine this teenage boy in terms of what he saw in those
early movies. Perhaps a calling in ``The Sands Of Iwo Jima,''
perhaps the courage of ``The Rider Of Destiny,'' perhaps the
character of ``The Quiet Man,'' whose words speak volumes.
Well, this boy grew into a man who would create his own
legend. A man of great heart, and yes, true grit. When the
times called for bravery and boldness in Vietnam, Major Shali
was there leading his comrades against the Viet Cong, winning
the bronze star for valor.
When the times called for a firm hand with a human touch to
help the Kurds of Iraq, General Shali was there providing
comfort and compassion to the sick and to the suffering. When
the times called for a new supreme allied commander in Europe
with a touch and toughness of a warrior diplomat, General
Shali was there reshaping the alliance to meet the demands of
a new era.
And then the times called for a new chairman of the joint
chiefs of staff, a chairman who could marshal our forces and
harness them wisely in a brave new world of great expectation
and uneasy peace. And President Clinton wisely chose General
Shali, the right man for our time, but also a man with the
timeless qualities of military leadership set forth by the
first chairman, Omar Bradley.
The qualities of firmness, not harshness; understanding,
not weakness; humanness, not intolerance; generosity, not
selfishness; pride, not egotism.
Bradley's litany of leadership can be seen shining in
Shali's eyes, etched in his brow and painted in the ribbons
that brighten his chest and tell his epic story.
Dwight Eisenhower once warned General Bradley that being
chairman was the hardest job in Washington.
Mr. President, I'm not sure whether Eisenhower issued that
warning before or after he became president. But surely, it
has remained one of the hardest jobs in Washington. And for
Chairman Shali in his time it was the job of building a
military force that was both smaller and better that would
remain the best trained, the best led, the best equipped
force in the world. It was a job of responding to threats
while shaping the world for the better; bringing more
democracy to more nations, more stability to more regions,
and thus, more security to our nation.
And the service of John Shalikashvili in the cause of
freedom has come full circle. The boy who fled his home of
Poland for freedom is helping to welcome Poland back home
into the family of free nations. Something that has made the
job a little less difficult has been the helping hand, the
wise counsel and yes, the deep friendship of the vice
chairman of the joint chiefs, General Joe Ralston.
The president, General Shali and I rely upon Joe Ralston on
a daily basis. And our nation is safer and more secure
because of his devotion to duty.
And another person serving at Shali's side is a hero, as we
have indicated, in her own right, Joan Shalikashvili.
If being chairman of the joint chiefs is the hardest job in
Washington, then being married to him has to be the second
hardest. And Joan--through 31 years of love and dedication
you two have been there for our troops and their families. No
ship has been too far, no base too remote, no soldier too
junior than devoting your life to the quality of their lives.
And so, for the miles that you've traveled and the lives
you've touched, we are all profoundly grateful.
On the wall in my office hangs a portrait of Joshua
Chamberlain who fought in the Civil War with legendary
gallantry and generosity of heart. Chamberlain once spoke of
developing the kind of character which allows ordinary people
to become extraordinary or heroic. He said, we know not of
the future and cannot plan for it much. But we can hold our
spirits and our bodies so pure and so high, we may cherish
such thoughts and such ideals and dream such dreams of lofty
purpose that we can determine and know what manner of men we
will be whenever and wherever the hour strikes that calls us
to noble action.
General Shali, long after the sound of those cannons and
the celebration of this day have faded, you can take comfort
in knowing that as a result of who you are and what you've
given and what all of us have received, that whenever and
wherever the hour strikes that calls us to noble action, the
men and women of America's military, following your example,
will always be there. And they too will give a sample of
their best. And like you, they will know in their hearts it's
been nobly done.
Thank you.
(Applause)
____
Remarks of President Clinton at Farewell Ceremony for Chairman of Joint
Chiefs of Staff, September 30, 1997
President Clinton. Mr. Vice President, Secretary Cohen,
Secretary Albright, Secretary Gober, National Security
Adviser Berger, Director Tenet, General McCaffrey, to the
service secretaries, the joint chiefs, the unified commanders
in chief, the members of Congress, the members of our armed
forces, to all the friends of General Shalikashvili who are
here today, including former Secretary Perry, former chairmen
and members of the joint chiefs, former officials of the
Department of Defense, we all come together in grateful
tribute to John and Joan Shalikashvili.
This is, frankly, a bittersweet day for me. I am full of
pride but also some regret. For the last four years I have
counted on Shali for his wisdom, his counsel, his leadership.
He has become an exceptional adviser and a good friend,
someone I knew I could always depend upon when the lives of
our troops or the interests of America were on the line, and
I will miss him very much.
General Shali is a great American with a great American
story. A childhood seared by war, he has given his life to
the cause of peace.
From an immigrant learning English, he has become the
shining symbol of what America is all about. He's never
forgotten what his country gave him nor has ever stopped
giving back to it. His service to our nation spanning 39
years rises from the ranks of Army private to the highest
military officer in the land.
Of course, the road even for him has not always been
smooth. I am told that after a grueling first day at Officer
Candidate School, Private John Shali sneaked out of his
barracks looking for a place to resign. Our nation can be
very grateful that probably for the only time in his entire
career, he failed in his mission.
I am convinced that when future students look back upon
this time, they will rank John Shalikashvili as among the
greatest chairmen of the joint chiefs of staff America ever
had.
[[Page S11289]]
Greatness is something that cannot be bestowed like a
medal, a ribbon, a star. It cannot be taught or bought. It
comes in the end only from within. General Shali has said
that the three indispensable traits of a great leader are
confidence, care and character. He ought to know. He embodies
them.
His confidence shines in a sterling record of innovation
and achievement--managing the downsizing of our forces while
upgrading their capability and readiness; upholding the most
rigorous standards for the use of those forces in the world
where threats to our survival have faded, but threats to our
interests and values have not; dramatically improving joint
doctrine and training and taking joint planning far into the
future for the very first time; and of course, helping bring
Europe together at last in liberty, democracy and peace.
One of the proudest moments of my presidency was standing
with Shali in Warsaw as we celebrated NATO's enlargement and
welcomed the people of his original homeland back home to the
family of freedom.
And if the baseline measure of a chairman's competence is
successful military operations, Shali has filled a resume
that would turn others all a drab with envy.
In the last four years, our troops have been tested in more
than 40 operations. From Bosnia to Haiti, the Taiwan straits,
Iraq, Rawanda, Liberia and more, our armed forces have
performed superbly with Shali at the helm.
Our troops trust him because they know him, how much he
cares for them. They have seen that caring in his constant
contact with our service men and women; in the way he warms
their hearts with his pride in them; and the humility, the
honesty, the graciousness, the respect he always shows to
others; in the wonderful way he listens--even to bearers of
bad news.
Our troops know that he never expects their gratitude or
applause, but he does want to sharpen their capabilities,
improve their welfare and lift their morale, and in his most
important duty, to make sure that whenever they go into
danger, the planning is superb, the risks are minimized, and
every reasonable measure is taken to ensure their success and
safe return.
For Shali, caring transcends our obligations even to one
another. He believes in America's unique ability to help
others around the world, sheltering freedom, defending
democracy, relieving fear and despair.
He knows that what sets our troops apart is not just their
courage, strength and skill, but also the ideal they serve,
the hope they inspire, the spirit they represent.
As some may recall, during the crisis in Haiti, Shali
visited with refugees in the camps observing and listening
with quiet understanding, the quiet understanding of one who
had also been in that position. And he ordered improvements
to make those camps as comfortable as possible, to alleviate
boredom and brighten hopes and bring toys to the children at
Christmas.
That story also reveals something about his character, a
clear sense of what is right and wrong, a man who's
conscience is always his guide.
I'll miss a lot of things about Shali, but perhaps most of
all, I'll miss the integrity he always displayed in being my
closest military adviser.
In every conversation we have ever had, he never minced
words, he never postured or pulled punches, he never shied
away from tough issues or tough calls. And most important, he
never shied away from doing what he believed was the right
thing.
On more than one occasion, many more than one occasion, he
looked at me. I could see the pain in his eyes that he
couldn't tell me what I wanted to hear and what he wished he
could say. But with a clear and firm voice and a direct
piercing gaze, he always told me exactly what he thought the
truth was.
No president could ever ask for more.
Shali has had the support of a proud and dedicated family.
His son, Brandt; his brother, himself a distinguished green
beret veteran; his sister; and of course, there are his dogs.
I understand that they are the only living creatures who have
never obeyed his orders.
And most importantly, there is Joan. Joan, you have been a
terrific support for our men and women in uniform.
They know you are always looking out for them and their
families, from around the corner to around the world. You
were the chairman's personal inspector general. When it came
to how families are cared for, no one had more commitment, a
better eye or a bigger heart, and we thank you.
General, very soon now, you and Joan will be settling into
your new home in Washington State. You can tuck your uniform
into a drawer. You can carry an umbrella. You can even grow a
beard.
Maybe you'll actually even open that hardware store you'd
been talking about. I don't know if you know the first thing
about power tools or mixing paint, but the brand you have to
offer is the top of the line.
Our nation is safer. Our armed forces are stronger, and our
world is a better place because of your service. Thank you
for all you have done.
God bless you, and Godspeed.
____________________