[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 18, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8119-S8122]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING GENERAL ERIC SHINSEKI ON HIS RETIREMENT AS ARMY CHIEF OF
STAFF
Mr. INOUYE. Madam President, on June 11, 2003, I had the honor and
privilege of attending the retirement ceremony at Fort Myer, VA, for
GEN Eric Shinseki, who served with distinction during his 4 years as
Army Chief of Staff. A native of Hawaii who rose through the ranks
while devoting 38 years of his life to defending our Nation, General
Shinseki ended his career as the highest ranking Asian-American in the
history of the United States military.
His farewell speech was a message of thanks, a reminder of the need
for shared values, and an underscoring of the importance of inspired
leadership and the dangers of arrogance.
I ask that General Shinseki's speech, as well as the remarks that
Acting Secretary of the Army Les Brownlee made during General
Shinseki's retirement ceremony, be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the speech was printed in the Record, as
follows:
Speech by General Eric K. Shinseki, 34th Chief of Staff of the U.S.
Army, at his Retirement Ceremony, at Fort Myer, VA, on June 11, 2003
Secretary Brownlee, thank you for the generosity of your
remarks, and for hosting today's ceremony. You lead the Army
through a difficult period; best wishes in the execution of
your important duties.
Secretary and Mrs. Norm Mineta, Transportation, thank you
for being here.
We have received tremendous support from the defense
oversight committees: Senate Armed Services Committee--
Senators Warner and Levin; Senate Appropriations Committee
for defense--Senators Stevens and Inouye; House Armed
Services Committee--Congressmen Hunter and Skelton;
Congressman Bill Young, Chairman of the House Appropriations
Committee; and Congressmen Lewis and Murtha, House
Appropriations Committee for Defense. Thank you all and your
dedicated staffs, Sid Ashworth, Valerie Baldwin, John
Bonsall, Dan Cox, and former Staff Director Steve Cortese,
for your support of the Army, its initiatives for the future,
and its soldiers.
Let me also acknowledge the leadership of the Senate and
House Army Caucuses: Senators Inhofe and Akaka, Congressmen
McHugh and Edwards. We truly appreciate the tremendous
support you provide for the Army's initiatives.
We are fortunate to have some members of Congress with us
today: Senators Dan Inouye, Daniel Akaka, Jack Reed, and
former Senator Max Cleland; Congressmen Jerry Lewis, Ike
Skelton, Gene Taylor, Neil Abercrombie, Rodney Frelinghuysen,
Sylvestre Reyes, Charles Taylor, Chet Edwards, Eni
Faleomavaega. Patty and I are honored that you could join us.
Thank you.
Sincere thanks to the members of Congress who paid kind
tributes to my service in recent days: Congressmen Lewis,
McHugh, Edwards, and Skelton. I deeply appreciate the
graciousness of your remarks.
Senator Dan Inouye, special thanks to you, sir, for your
friendship and mentoring. I am indebted to you for
introducing me at my Senate confirmation hearing. Your words
then and your support over the last four years have been
humbling. Thank you for your patriotism and your leadership.
Deputy Secretary England--Homeland Security, Secretary and
Mrs. Jim Roche--Air Force, General Al Haig, thank you for
honoring us with your presence. General Barry McCaffrey and
Jill, thank you for honoring us as well.
Secretary Togo West, 16th Secretary of the Army, Secretary
Tom and Susan White, 18th Secretary of the Army, thanks for
your unwavering support of soldiers and the Army, for your
friendship, and for being her today. When they call the roll
of principled, loyal, tough guys, you will be at the top of
the list.
General Dick Myers, our Chairman, his wife, Mary Jo, and
Lynne Pace, wife of our Vice Chairman, fellow members of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff and your ladies: Vern and Connie Clark,
CNO; John and Ellen Jumper, CSAF; Mike and Silke Hagee,
Commandant, Marine Corps; Tom and Nancy Collins, Commandant,
Coast Guard. To the Joint Chiefs, you have my respect and
admiration for the experience you bring to deliberations, the
responsibilities you bear for the nation, and the care you
engender for people.
Former Army Chiefs of Staff, General and Mrs. Reimer,
General and Mrs. Sullivan, General and Mrs. Vuono; members of
our outstanding Army Secretariat, including Joe Reeder and
Mike Walker; former undersecretaries of the Army; our Vice
Chief of Staff, Jack Keane and his wife, Terry, who have
worked tirelessly for four years on behalf of soldiers and
the Army, thank you both for your dedication and support.
Counterpart Army Chiefs who have traveled long distances to
be here today: General and Mrs. Gert Gudera, old friends from
Germany since our service together in Bosnia; General Edward
Pietrzyk, Poland; General
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and Mrs. Hillier, Canada; General Canelo-Franco, Paraguay;
General Morozov, Russia; General Marekovic, Croatia. Patty
and I are deeply honored by your presence.
Other fellow U.S. general and flag officers, serving and
retired, active and reserve components, and your spouses,
especially the retired four stars who are here today, thank
you all for your support and your leadership. The Army is in
good hands and it keeps rolling along. Let me particularly
acknowledge the serving four-stars: Jim Ellis, Charlie
Holland, Larry and Jean Ellis, Paul and Dede Kern, Leon and
Judy Laporte, B.B. Bell, Tom and Toni Hill, Kevin and Carol
Byrnes; and those recently retired from active duty, John and
Ceil Abrams, Buck and Maryanne Kernan, Jay and Cherie
Hendrix, Tom and Sandy Schwartz, John and Jan Coburn. Let me
also acknowledge the important service and presence of the
Joint and Army Staffs and the Army's general officers in
command who provide strong, steady, and enduring leadership.
Sergeant Major of the Army Jack and Gloria Tilley, the Army
could not have asked for two more enthusiastic proponents for
soldiers and families. To you and the MACOM Sergeants Major
who have gathered here today, thanks for your wise counsel
and friendship. We are indebted to all of you for your
leadership and your care and concern for soldiers.
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy and Mrs. Scott,
former SMAs Hall, Kidd, and Bainbridge and your ladies,
civilian aides to the Secretary of the Army.
My beloved family, some 70-strong, has journeyed great
distances to be here. Grandma Shinseki, who turns 92 this
year, has chosen not to travel, and my sister, Yvonne, has
remained at home with her. But just about everyone else is
here--my older brother, Paul, and his family, then Patty and
our children--Lori, Ken, and their spouses who have made
Patty and me grandparents five times over. Many others from
Patty's and my wonderful family are gathered in strength--
uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, cousins, nephews and
nieces--wonderful people who live simple lives in proud and
vocal support of this Chief. God bless you all.
So many other dear friends and associates--too numerous to
name but whose journeys have brought them miles, years, and
memories to be here today. Kauai High School classmates,
classmates from Hunterdon Central High School, where I spend
a defining year of my life as an exchange student in New
Jersey; the men and women of the distinguished West Point
Class of 1965, representatives from industry and the
nonprofits who have done so much for the Army and soldiers,
especially Frances Hesselbein of the Leader to Leader
Institute, members of our superb, professional media--Joe
Galloway, Thom Shanker, Dick Cooper, Dave Moniz, Greg Jaffe,
Ann Roosevelt, Joe Burlas, and others--who have helped to
tell our soldiers' stories, the international representatives
of the attache corps, our wonderful Army Arlington Ladies,
who represent the Chief of Staff at each and every Army
funeral in Arlington to honor our soldiers when they are laid
to rest, thank you.
Youngsters from my front office and the Quarters 1 staffs,
John Gingrich and members of my staff group; my XOs, Joe
Riojas and Tom Bostick; and Lil Cowell, the steady hand in
the office of the CSA for four Chiefs, who quietly retired
last week; CW5 Dan Logan; SGM Bruce Cline and Team CSA; SFC
John Turk and the Admin Section; Major Pedro Almeida, the
last in a series of world-class aides; Linda Jacobs and the
heroes of protocol, all kept the office of the Chief well-
represented through sheer hard work and dedication, making my
life and Patty's most rewarding. Thank you all.
Teri and Karen Maude and the Brian Birdwells, survivors of
11 September 2001, among the many hurt and scarred that day;
spouses of the generals who ran the ground war in Iraqi
Freedom; Carmen McKiernan, Kimberly Webster, Dee Thurman, and
Bea Christianson, thank you for coming today and for your
generosity, grace, and courage. Other distinguished guests,
ladies and gentlemen.
My name is Shinseki, and I am a soldier--an American
soldier, who was born in the midst of World War II, began his
service in Vietnam 37 years ago, and retires today in the
midst of war in Afghanistan and Iraq. The strategic
environment remains dangerous and we, in the military, serve
our nation by providing the very best capabilities to restore
order in a troubled world. Soldiering is an honorable
profession, and I am privileged to have served every day for
the past 38 years as a soldier.
The Good Book tells us, to everything there is a season and
a time to every purpose. Today is a time for thank yous, and
our purpose is to say farewell. As we speak, more than
370,000 soldiers are deployed and forward stationed in 120
countries. Their missions range from combat to peacekeeping
to rebuilding nations to humanitarian assistance to disaster
relief--and a host of other missions in between. And as busy
as they are, there have been no dropped balls--none, on any
mission. They are trained, disciplined, focused, and well-
led. The soldiers arrayed before us represent the
magnificence of that Army. Their parade formation stretches
not only from left to right across this field, but also
backwards in history to a time before the republic was
formed. Precision counts in this profession, and no one does
it any better than the Old Guard and Pershing's Own. Please
join me in thanking the soldiers on parade today and on duty
here, behind the stars and around the world.
Thanks also to former bosses, mentors, friends, and fellow
soldiers who trained me as a soldier, and grew me as a
leader--some of them are here today. General Fred Franks, who
more than anyone else has been coach and mentor in all the
years I served as a general officer. Generals Butch Saint, Ed
Burba, Rich Cardillo, Tom Tait, who fought to keep me on
active duty after a service-disqualifying injury, Dick Davis,
Colonel Greynolds, my hospital bunkmate Bill Hale, and
Sergeant Ernie Kingcade, noncommissioned officer, who, while
under way by ship to Vietnam, provided me the only officer
basic course I would receive before going into battle--and I
could not have had a better education. Ernie, it has been a
long journey, and the example you set has been with me for 38
years. Thanks for that early model of what noncommissioned
officers were supposed to be. I have never expected less, and
it has made all the difference.
To the men of '65--strength and drive. Thirty-Eight years
since we stepped off together as soldiers. You have been role
models, friends, associates, and fellow soldiers for these
many years. Your notes in the days following 11 September
and during the height of Iraqi Freedom were of great
comfort--wonderful reminders of all that we had been
through together. Thanks for standing my last formation
with me. It's been my distinct honor to have been
associated with you and with what we've accomplished as a
class. Your presence is most appreciated.
To Patty, my wife of 38 years, you taught me the meaning of
selflessness, of elegance, of courage, and of a bright spirit
undiminished by time or adversity. You have seen me at my
worst and stuck with me--and you've seen me at my best and
chuckled in disbelief. Throughout it all, your patience, your
balance, your encouragement, and your love and support have
sustained me. You stood beside my hospital bed for days.
Helped me learn to walk a second time, enabled me to regain
confidence and a sense of direction, helped me reestablish a
professional career, moved our children and our household 31
times, and always, always provided great strength when it was
needed most. You could have been and done anything you chose;
yet you chose to be a soldier's wife. The profound grace of
that decision has blessed me immeasurably. Thank you for 38
wonderful years in a profession I loved nearly as much as
you.
Lastly, I want to thank the men who have served in this
position, those who saw the Army through some dark days
following Vietnam. It was a daunting and enormous task, but
they, with others who are present today, did it. They gave us
back an NCO Corps, and they gave us back an Army that fights:
Generals Creighton Abrams, Fred Weyand, Bernie Rogers, Shy
Meyer, John Wickham, Carl Vuono, Gordon Sullivan, and Denny
Reimer.
These leaders rose to their enormous task because they
understood the important distinction between command and
effective leadership. They taught us that command is about
authority, about an appointment to position--a set of orders
granting title. Effective leadership is different. It must be
learned and practiced in order for it to rise to the level of
art. It has to do with values internalized and the
willingness to sacrifice or subordinate all other concerns--
advancement, personal well-being, safety--for others. So
these men of iron invested tremendous time, energy, and
intellect in leader development--to ensure that those who are
privileged to be selected for command approach their duties
with a sense of reverence, trust, and the willingness to
sacrifice all, if necessary, for those they lead. You must
love those you lead before you can be an effective leader.
You can certainly command without that sense of commitment,
but you cannot lead without it; and without leadership,
command is a hollow experience--a vacuum often filled with
mistrust and arrogance.
Our mentors understood that mistrust and arrogance are
antithetical to inspired and inspiring leadership, breeding
discontent, fostering malcontents, and confusing intent
within the force. And so our mentors worked to reestablish
that most important of virtues in our army--trust--the
foundation upon which we have built our reputation as an
army. We owe them all a tremendous debt of gratitude for the
magnificent Army we have today, and the legacy of trust and
honor they sustained.
This week, we celebrate the Army's 228th birthday--228
years. The Army's long history is, in so many ways, also the
history of our nation, a history including 10 wars and all
the years of restless peace in between. In those years,
soldiers have been both servant and savior to the nation.
Today, our nation is once again at war. The current war
brings me full circle to where I began my journey as a
soldier--the lessons I learned in Vietnam are always with me.
They involve changes in the way many of my generation learned
to train, to lead, to fight, and to always offer our best
military judgment to our superiors. These were hard-learned
lessons. Lessons about loyalty, about taking care of the
people who sacrifice the most for the good of the nation,
about uncompromising readiness that is achieved only through
tough, realistic training, about the necessity for inspired
and inspiring leadership, about the agility and versatility
demanded by a dynamic, strategic environment, and most
importantly that the Army must do two things well each and
every day--train soldiers and
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grow them into leaders, leaders who can unequivocally and
without hesitation answer the critical question asked of any
war fighter. ``Can you fight? Can you fight?''
That question and those lessons are enduring ones for the
profession of arms. Four years ago, with these lessons in
mind, with the results of our comprehensive Army transition
assessment in hand, and with our eyes always on the dynamic
strategic environment, we decided to undertake fundamental
and comprehensive change. Those initiatives informed the Army
vision, a vision that consists of three imperatives. People.
Readiness. Transformation.
Secretary Brownlee, thank you for so well capturing the
Army's progress toward achieving that vision, a result of
hard work by so many people. I'll only reinforce that
transformation has never been about just one thing--the
future combat system or the objective force--and the Army
vision has never been about one person. The Army vision and
transformation are about comprehensive change at the very
heart of our institution, of our culture: doctrine,
organization, training, leader development, materiel, and
soldiers. This is the message we have consistently reiterated
to all who are listening.
In these last months, the performance of soldiers and Army
families has spoken loudly, clearly, and eloquently--since 11
September, we have been enormously successful operationally.
In Afghanistan, as members of a combined, joint team,
soldiers banished the Taliban and Al Qaeda in weeks. In Iraq,
they fought with speed and agility to As-Samawah, An-Najaf,
Al-Hillah, Karbala, and Baghdad, unseating a dictator,
freeing an oppressed people, defeating a persistent enemy
in spite of the harsh, unforgiving environment. Our
soldiers demonstrated unprecedented agility and
flexibility: JSOTF West--special operators fighting with
armor and conventional artillery, JSOTF North--the 173rd
ABN BDE--1,000 paratroopers make a night jump and fight
alongside TF 1-63 Armor--1st ID, and TF 2-14 INF and a
field artillery battery from the 10th Mountain; the 82nd
ABN DIV Task organized with 2nd ACR(-), TF 1-41 (MECH)
from Fort Riley, and a brigade of the 101st Air Assault
Division; the 101st(-) fighting with TF 2-70 Armor of the
1st AD. With the greatest of agility, versatility, and
courage, they fought to victory, demonstrating once again
that all our magnificent moments as an Army are delivered
by our people. They won the fights, and they are now
facing and overcoming tremendous challenges to ensure the
Afghan and Iraqi people have the opportunity to rebuild
their societies and create governments characterized by
democracy, prosperity, peace, and hope rather than
barbarity, instability, and pervasive fear. Just as
impressively, soldiers have simultaneously allowed our
nation to fulfill commitments in other important regions--
the Sinai, the Balkans, the Philippines, and Korea to name
but a few. And had the situation in Korea gone hot, we'd
have been there, too. With deeds, not words, they have
unequivocally answered the question, ``Can you fight?''
They do not flinch. They do not waiver. Our Army fights
and wins.
Those successes are enabled by our great young leaders--
noncommissioned officers, lieutenants and captains, battalion
and brigade commanders--who understand both what a privilege
it is to lead soldiers, and the tremendous responsibility
that accompanies that privilege. They love their units and
the soldiers who fill them--that is the essence of
leadership.
Leadership is essential in any profession, but effective
leadership is paramount in the profession of arms--for those
who wear the uniform and those who do not. We, in the Army,
have been blessed with tremendous civilian leadership, most
notably in the service of Secretary Tom White, who we
farewelled last month. We understand that leadership is not
an exclusive function of uniformed service. So when some
suggest that we, in the Army, don't understand the importance
of civilian control of the military, well, that's just not
helpful. And it isn't true. The Army has always understood
the primacy of civilian control. We reinforce that principle
to those with whom we train all around the world. So to muddy
the waters when important issues are at stake, issues of life
and death, is a disservice to all of those in and out of
uniform who serve and lead so well.
Our Army's soldiers and leaders have earned our country's
highest admiration and our citizens' broad support. But even
as we congratulate our soldiers when we welcome them home
from battle, we must beware of the tendency some may have to
draw the wrong conclusions, the wrong lessons from recent
operations, remembering all the while that no lesson is
learned until it changes behavior. We must always maintain
our focus on readiness. We must ensure that the Army has the
capabilities to match the strategic environment in which we
operate, a force sized correctly to meet the strategy set
forth in the documents that guide us--our national security
and national military strategies. Beware the 12-division
strategy for a 10-division army. Our soldiers and families
bear the risk and the hardship of carrying a mission load
that exceeds what force capabilities we can sustain, so we
must alleviate risk and hardship by our willingness to
resource the mission requirement. And we must remember that
decisive victory often has less to do with the plan than it
does with years invested in the training of soldiers and the
growing of leaders. Our nation has seen war too many times to
believe that victory on the battlefield is due primarily to
the brilliance of a plan--as opposed to leadership, tactical
and technical proficiency, sheer grit and determination of
the men and women who do the fighting and the bleeding.
Throughout my career, it has been an honor to serve with
leaders who understand and are committed to uphold those
obligations and duties to soldiers. Today, we find that kind
of dedicated and caring leadership at every level in our
Army. We are an institution that lives our values. Loyalty.
Duty. Respect. Selfless service. Honor. Integrity. Personal
courage. Army values--the bedrock on which our institution is
built.
Those values are demonstrated outside our ranks as well as
within, shared by Army families, as well as soldiers. In
these last months, at the toughest times of greatest sadness
and hardship, I have again and again been reminded that Army
families and spouses are the most generous people I know.
As I was on the first day of my tenure four years ago, I am
humbled to stand here on my last day as the 34th Chief of
Staff of the United States Army. I thank the President for
his confidence and trust in allowing me the opportunity to
serve the nation, and this Army that has been my family for
38 years. To soldiers past and present with whom I have
served, you have my deep and abiding respect and my profound
thanks.
There is a magnificent Army out there--full of pride,
discipline, spirit, values, commitment, and passion. General
Creighton Abrams reminded us that ``soldiering is an affair
of the heart,'' and it's never been better to be a soldier.
We are a magnificent Army, and the nation knows it, and
honors our profession. Soldiers represent what's best about
our Army and our nation. Noble by sacrifice, magnificent by
performance, and respected by all, they make us better than
we ever expected to be. And for 38 years now, soldiers have
never allowed me to have a bad day.
My name is Shinseki, and I'm a soldier. God bless all of
you and your families. God bless our soldiers and our
magnificent Army, and God bless our great nation. Thank you,
and goodbye.
____
Speech by the Honorable Les Brownlee, Acting Secretary of the Army, at
the Retirement Ceremony for General Eric K. Shinseki at Fort Myer, VA,
on June 11, 2003
Welcome everyone, and thanks for joining the Army family
for this special retirement ceremony in which we are honoring
a great American soldier, General Ric Shinseki, and his wife,
Patty.
Secretary and Mrs. Mineta, Senator Inouye, Senator Akaka,
Senator Reed, Senator Cleland, Congressman Skelton,
Congressman Lewis, Congressman Faleomavaega, Congressman Gene
Taylor, Congressman Abercrombie, Congressman Charles Taylor,
Congressman Frelinghuysen, and Congressman Reyes.
Secretary Gordon England, General Alexander Haig, former
Secretary of the Army Togo West, General and Mrs. Barry
McCaffrey, Secretary of the Air Force and Mrs. Roche, Jim and
Diane, former Secretary of the Army and Mrs. White, Tom and
Susan.
The members of our Joint Chiefs of Staff, beginning with
our Chairman, General Dick Meyers, and his wife, Mary Jo; the
wife of our Vice Chairman, Mrs. Lynne Pace; Chief of Naval
Operations, Admiral Vern Clark, and Mrs. Clark; Commandant of
the Marine Corps, General Mike Hagee, and Mrs. Hagee; the
Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Thomas Collins, and
Mrs. Collins; our distinguished former Chiefs of Staff,
General Vuono, General Sullivan, and General Reimer; the Vice
Chief of Staff, General Jack Keane, and his wife Terry.
Our distinguished counterpart Chiefs of Staff from Canada,
Germany, Croatia, Poland, and Russia. And our great Sergeant
Major of the Army, the master of the one-armed pushup, Jack
Tilley, and his wife, Gloria.
Senior Army leaders from the Secretariat and the Army
Staff, our civilian aides to the Secretary of the Army, other
distinguished general officers. Three generations of the
Shinseki family. Soldiers, family members, and friends of the
Army.
Welcome.
To Colonel Laufenberg and the Old Guard, and to Colonel
Lamb and the Army Band, ``Pershing's Own,'' you are
tremendous representatives of all of our soldiers defending
freedom around the globe.
Thank you for your professionalism, and your willingness to
serve your country. Let's give them a round of applause.
It has been my distinct privilege to serve with and around
Ric Shinseki for the last four decades--from the jungles of
Vietnam, through the Cold War, on Capitol Hill, and more
recently, in the halls of the Pentagon.
In all of those environments, he has epitomized the quiet
professional. And, being the genuinely humble and modest man
that he is, Ric Shinseki will never take personal credit for
the enormous impact that he has had on our Army.
In organizing these comments for today, I thought back to
remarks General Shinseki made in July 2000 at the Hall of
Heroes induction ceremony for 22 Medal of Honor recipients of
Asian and Pacific Island heritage. He said then:
``Whenever I attend a function of one of these units . . .
I am always struck by this
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same kind of reticence, this unwillingness ever to bring
attention upon oneself. In fact, it usually takes a friend to
tell the story of another friend, which is why sometimes even
family members of those veterans have never heard those
stories. They are unaware of the fact that someone they've
known only as a father or husband or uncle or a brother is,
to many others, a hero of magnificent proportions.''
Well, I think he has summed up how all of us feel about Ric
Shinseki. He is that quiet warrior, reluctant to speak for
himself, always deflecting the spotlight to those around him
and, most importantly, to the soldiers he has served so well
and so faithfully.
General Shinseki has always said that the Army vision
cannot be linked to one man, that it must be embraced by the
entire Army.
But on this day of his retirement after 38 years of
faithful and honorable service, it is fitting that we
recognize his personal contributions to our nation and our
Army.
Ric Shinseki saw a need to transform the Army and he had
the courage, perseverance and intelligence to make it happen.
When war came, as he knew and predicted it would, he
ensured that our great soldiers could fight--and that they
had what they needed to guarantee victory for our nation.
Simply stated, the Chief looked to the future, and
conceived a vision for what our Army must be able to do to
protect our nation in the 21st century.
He translated that vision into an ambitious, yet doable,
plan of action--revolving around people, readiness, and
transformation.
He went out and got the resources and implemented his plan
with tremendous intellect, courage, and sheer force of will,
irrevocably changing our Army for the better.
All of this took tremendous courage on the Chief's part, at
a time when the word ``transformation'' was relatively
unknown.
There are some leaders who might have been able to
accomplish one or maybe two of the above, but I know of no
one else who could have accomplished it all.
While his strategic leadership skills were essential to the
Army's successes, equally important have been the Chief's
strength of character and love of our soldiers.
Many of you already know the story of the formative years
of General Ric Shinseki's life.
He was born during World War II, when many Americans of
Japanese ancestry were interned and labeled ``enemy aliens,''
even as their young men etched a legacy of heroism that
remains unrivaled in the annuals of our Army's history.
He grew up among these heroes, indeed was appointed to West
Point by one of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team's Medal of
Honor recipients, Senator Daniel Inouye, who we are honored
to have with us here today.
After graduation from the academy in 1965, Ric served twice
in Vietnam, both times seriously wounded. His second wound
was so severe, and his recovery so difficult, that the
doctors wanted to put him out of the military.
He could have easily accepted the honor and accolades
justly due a wounded warrior forced from service before his
time, but he did not.
His love of soldiers--soldiers who had carried him out of
combat on their backs--twice--and his love of our Army--was
so deep that he persevered.
The iron will and depth of character that the Chief
developed through the long, painful months of recovery
steeled an already proven warrior. His willingness to fight
on behalf of the Army has had as much to do with our
Army's accomplishments as his skills as a strategic
leader.
As we all know, transformation has grabbed many headlines,
but the Chief's contributions to the warfighting readiness of
the entire Army set the conditions for the successes our
soldiers have delivered in Afghanistan and Iraq and elsewhere
around the globe.
As he said in 1999, he didn't know when or where it would
occur, but he knew the Army would fight during his tenure as
the Chief. This motivated his focus on preparing for that
moment. Nothing escaped his scrutiny, from filling combat
units to 100-percent ensuring we had sufficient spare tank
engines. The victories in Kabul and Baghdad were accomplished
by our soldiers, but those soldiers were supported by an
institution that had been keenly focused by the Chief on
preparing them for battle. And one thing is certain: No army
in history was equal to the Army that this Chief of Staff
prepared for battle in Iraq. No Army was ever better
equipped, trained, or motivated. All of us are proud of that
Army, and about what they accomplished, and continue to
accomplish today.
But, Ric, you will always enjoy a special pride--because
this was truly your Army--molded and sculpted as a reflection
of your leadership and your character.
As an Army, we also owe an enormous debt of gratitude to
Patty Shinseki, who epitomizes all that is good and wonderful
about Army spouses. Her genuine concern for others, her
energy, and her grace under fire are remarkable.
She has known the fear of a wife whose husband goes to
combat and returns wounded--twice.
She has moved over 30 times in 38 years, raised a wonderful
family in the process, and has served as the senior
leadership's greatest ambassador to Army families and so many
other constituencies.
Patty and Ric Shinseki are a remarkable team. When Ric set
his sights on improving the well-being of our Army, Patty
turned a laser-like focus on these issues. The result was:
spouse orientation and leadership programs, Army Family Team
Building, and the Army Spouse Employment Summit, to name but
a few.
In an Army in which over half of our soldiers are married,
these measures enable us to retain soldiers and their
families despite the many sacrifices they make on behalf of
the nation.
Patty, thank you so much for all you have done for our
soldiers, their families, for our communities, and the Army.
We will deeply miss you.
Once again, I'd like to paraphrase from General Shinseki's
own words: ``It has been said, `Poor is the nation that has
no heroes, but beggared is the nation that has and forgets
them.' The man we honor today answered his nation's call to
duty, and in doing so, honored his heritage and his
country.''
In short, he is a soldier.
Ric, thank you for a lifetime of service and sacrifice, for
your vision, your courage, your steadfastness, and for all
you have done for our soldiers who are the Army. We will be
forever in your debt.
May God always bless you and Patty and your family, our
magnificent soldiers, our Army and this great nation. Thank
you.
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