Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2021

May 28, 2021

I'll let you guys get comfortable. [*Laughter*]

Colonel RossâClint, it's wonderful to see you again. Thank you. When our path last crossed, as Jill said, you were serving in the White House. And I never thought we'd be standing here today doing what we're doing today. And, Chief Master Sergeant Peterson, thank you, and to all members of your team who helped put this visit together today. It means a lot to Jill and me.

When I was Vice President andâas chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, we tried to visit almost every major military base in the country and, as Vice President, around the world. And you areâsimply stated, you are the backbone of the country. You're the backbone of the country.

But then, he decided thatâI kept onâhe had contracted aâexposure to a virus inâwhen he was in Kosovo and in Turkey as a civilian. And he came back with a problem. But he kept going to Walter Reed. I couldn't understand why he wasâthey finally foundâit's called ankylosing spondylitis. They finally found a cure. It prevented him from having what they call "bamboo spine." But he kept going back.

I couldn't understand why. I thought I knew why, but, Gov, he went back because he was trying to get an exemption to be able to join the United States Army. He was a sitting attorney general, and as all my colleaguesâthe Governor and Bobby Scott and Congresswomanâthey all know is that when you do thatâhe joined the National Guard. And his unit deployed, and he wanted to deploy to Iraq with them.

So he literally had to give up his seat. Temporarily, he could not have any business doneâas you National Guard folks know, you can't do any business with a State if in factâyou're now Federal property. And so he gave up the seat and had the courage to appoint the fellow who had been a Republican attorney general as attorney general while heâwhile he went. The proudest thing he ever didâproudest thing he ever did.

And he spent a year in Iraq. And it was one of the great honors of his life to do it. Won the Bronze Star, the Conspicuous Service Medal, and other awardsâlike many of you haveâbut he never, ever talked about it.

I remember we had an event at the White HouseâI shouldn't be talking so much about my son, but I'm not going to apologize for it. We had an event for Iraqi veterans at the White House, and the President, without telling me and Jill, invited Beau to be there with another 75 soldiers and sailors and airmen. But he wouldn't wear any of his decorations. And General Odierno called himâhe served under himâand said, "Put them on now." Swear to God. Walking out of the VP Residence, he wouldn't put them on until then. That's the first time I ever saw the Bronze Star on him.

But I'm just telling you that isâhe's like a lot of you. You do your duty. You don't expect anything for it except be a littleâhaveâget a little respect. It deserves so much more. You deserve so much more.

And you know, I'm honored to be joined today by Governor Northam and by two great Representatives of the Commonwealth: Congresswoman Luria and Congressman Scott. And I want to thank you for all that you do to represent these service veterans, because they're devoted to you; for the family members, the caregivers, survivors who call Virginia home.

I'm especially honored to share the stage with Brittney and Jerdan and Nathan and Margrit Katherine. I love those barrettes in your hair, man. I tell you whatâand look at her; she looks like she's 19 years old, sitting there with herâlike a little lady with her legs crossed. [*Laughter*] Brittney, you're doing triple duty: as a veteran, a military spouse, and a teacher. And, kids, thank you for being there for your mom.

I can remember all those timesâand all of you remember, the spousesâwhen your husband or wife are deployed. Every morning, you wake up, you say that little extra prayer while you're drinking your coffee. You just spend a little more time wondering.

And you know, you onlyâyou make up 1 percent of the population. You're defending 99 percent of the rest of us. And we owe you. But you do your job so gracefully. You hardly ever say anything about what you're doing.

But it matters. It matters to your familiesâfor that time we're sitting across from an empty chair at the kitchen table and the dining room table; for those birthdays or Christmases or holidays when they're gone. You know, there's a famous English poet who said, "They also serve who only stand and wait." "Also serve who only stand and wait."

I know Major Bean having been deployed to Afghanistan during the pandemic has only made everything much harder during the pandemic. I want to thank you so muchâyour entire family's service to our country. You're all incredible. You so underestimate how important you are.

And there's nothing that Jill and I enjoy more than spending time with our troops here and abroad. If you're stationed here United States or deployed around the world, I've been in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan over 20âI think it's 25 times. And I've seenâI wish everyone could see what you do when you're there. I wish they could see every day how you saddle up, how you jump in that cockpit. Just seeâno, you're just doing your job.

Not to mention all of the troops I've had the chance to visit in the Middle East and Europe and the Indo-Pacific region. We've traveled all over. Jill has traveled all over with me on her own visits to servicemembers in Iraq. I think she's the only Second Lady ever to go into the middle of a war zone, because she wanted to be there and see you.

I always want you to knowâalwaysâthat the issues you and your family are facing, we need to know how we can support you better. I mean it sincerely from the bottom of my heart: support you better. There's reason for that. As I said, we Bidens are proud to have family in the military. And our son Beau's service was among the achievements, as I said, he was most proud of.

My heart swelled to see him in uniform. When I went into IraqâI was there for five timesâ when he was in Baghdad. [*Laughter*] And I remember, the first time I saw him, his name was "Hunter." I said, "What in the hell happened?" He said, "Dad, I didn't want anybody to do me any

special favors because my Vice President is my dad." He got permission to put a different name tag on.

I also remember what it was like to listen to him talk about the needs that people had when he got back home; about all the folks he served with who came back with posttraumatic stress. And he was back being attorney general, having to deal with that.

But here's the point: You do so much and you ask for so little. You know, our experience is a fraction of what so many of you and your families have gone through, a family like Brittney and her kids. You're the absolute best America has to offer: our heart, our honor, your solid steel spine.

So my message to all of you is quite simple: Thank you. Thank you. Not "thank you for your service"âjust thank you for who you are, because it's contagious. Thank you for choosing a selfless service to your country.

I know we have mostly soldiers and airmen in attendance today, but there can be a lot of friendly rivalries on a base. Each branch has its own proud, cherished traditions and culture. I know how proud Langley is of their premier fifth-generation Fâ22 Raptor Wing. Oh, God, I'd love to go up in one of those. I asked: "I'm your Commander in Chief. Why the hell can't I command you let me go up in one?" But you know, they won't let me do that.

And Fort Eustis hosts one of Army's busiest airfields, which is led by the Air Force, primarily used by the Navy. [*Laughter*] It's all about as joint as it can possibly get. Every day, the more than 20,000 members of the Air Force and Army, along with civilian personnel, come to work with a shared mission. No matter which branch of our Armed Forces you proudly represent, you're part of the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. That's not hyperbole. The greatest fighting force in the history of the world.

You're integral to the most powerful nation in the world. There's been no Army, Navy, or Air Force ever like youâor Marines. Here at Joint Base LangleyâEustis, you enable the success of our mission around the world. You provide intelligence support and airpower. You ensure our soldiers and airmen are ready, trained to deploy the COCOMs around the world, including, this year, adhering to COVIDâ19 safety protocols and quarantines before to ship out in order to minimize the spread of the virus.

I know that many of you deployed yourselves, probably more than once. Over the past 20 years, our volunteer force and our military families have made incredible sacrifices for this country. Early in my term as Vice President, when I traveled overseas, I'd sometimes meet service men and women who were deployed their fourth, fifth, sixth times. I remember going into Baghdad, just rememberâand those of you who had to fly in, you'd do those circular deals so we wouldn't get shot at and we wouldn't get hit.

I walked up in the cockpit of a silver bullet that they had me in. And I askedâI said, "How many"âthere were five people in the cockpit at the timeâthe loadmaster as well. I said, "How many is this your first tour?" Nobody raised their hand. "How many the second tour?" Nobody raised their hand. "Third tour?" Two raised their hand. "Fourth tour?" Two raised their hand. "Fifth tour?" One raised their hand. No other war have you gone in, served, and got back up and go back again and again and again. Once. Once.

Wiping the blood off the seat of an up-armored Humvee is enough to get you focused. Then, to saddle up next time and go back and back again? You're incredible. You're incredible. The countryâthey owe you, and they'reâthis time, they're more appreciative. In my generation, you didn't come home and get off an airplane in a uniform in an airport coming back from Vietnam. People will treat you with respect, but they have no idea the sacrifices you make in theater.

As we bringâas we get close to bringing down the longest war drawdown in American historyâour troop presence in AfghanistanâI want to recognize the significance toâof what all of you, the United States Armed Forces, have accomplished in the past 20 years.

We went to Afghanistan with a clear purpose: to get the people who attacked us on 9/11 and to prevent Al Qaida from using Afghanistan as a base from which to attack America in the future. We achieved that purpose; you achieved that purpose. Year after year, deployment after deployment, American troops pursued the terrorist threat through some of the most unforgiving terrain on the planet.

I have now had the pleasure, as they say, of being to every part of Afghanistan, from the FOBs up in the Kunar Valley; down south, looking at all those poppy fields; and all in between. It's one godforsaken landscape.

But you all just showed up and did your job, and it helped make sure there hasn't been another attack on the homeland from Afghanistan for the last 20 years. And you never gave up until we delivered justice to Usama bin Laden. I got criticized after 9/11 for saying, "We'll follow the son of a gun to the gates of hell until we get him." It's exactly what you did. That's exactly what you did. And you got him.

And now, as we draw down, we're also going to focus on the urgent work of rebuilding over- the-horizon capabilities that will allow us to take out Al Qaida if they return to Afghanistan, but to focus on the threat that has metastasized. The greatest threat and likelihood of attack from Al Qaida or ISIS is not going to be from Afghanistan, it's going to be from five other regions of the world that have significantly more presence of both Al Qaida and organizational structures, including ISIS.

We're going to update our security stance and turn our forces to the threats that will dominate our future to ensure the security of the American people for decades to come.

But we'll never, ever, ever forget the terrible cost that we paid as a nation. Many of you likely have lost friends and colleagues in Afghanistan and Iraq. I know this is personal to you, especially as you head into Memorial Day weekend. We as a nation will always remember and pay tribute to those we lost.

After I announced my decision to end the war in Afghanistan, the first thing I did was visit Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, just walk through those headstones, seeing all those stones. Our son did not die in Iraq, but he came backâwent as an incredibly healthy young man and came back with a severe brain tumor, because his hooch was just downwind from those burn pitsâI don't know if that's the reason. But he came homeâit was just a matter of how long he lived.

I still carry with meâevery single solitary day I have my staff, for the lastâsince the war beganâI have my schedule. In the back of my schedule, it says: "U.S. daily troop update. U.S. troops died in Iraq and Afghanistan: 6,927"ânot "over 6,000." Total fallen angels across the board: over 7,000.

Every one of these lives lost is a tragedy, an empty seat at the dinner table, a missing voice at the holidays. Every one of them left behind a whole communityânot just one, a whole community. We can never repay that debt. But I promise you thisâand to all the Gold Star families across the countryâwe will never, ever, ever, ever forget. Each year, Memorial Day offers us a chance to reflect on the enormity of the sacrifices that generation after generation of Americans has made and the responsibilities that we bearâthe citizens bearâin return.

I've said many timesâit used to get me in trouble 25 years ago, 30 years ago in the Senateâ I said: "America has many obligations. We only have one sacred obligation. We have obligations

to our children, to the elderly, and so many more things, but only one sacred obligationâis to prepare you, when we send you into harm's way, with everything you need; to care for your families when you're gone; when you come home, care for you and your families, and the needs that may be a consequence of the war."

We owe it. We owe itâto you. We particularly owe it to their memories to affirm the very best of what America stands forâto uphold honor and democratic values that are the foundation and the strength of this Nation.

You know, I sometimes get criticized for saying what I deeply believe, having done this for the bulk of my life. We're in a battle between democracies and autocracies. The more complicated the world becomes, the more difficult it is for democracies to come together and reach consensus. I've spent more time with President Xi of China than any world leader hasâfor 24 hours of private meetings with him with just an interpreter; 17,000 miles traveling with him in China and here. He firmly believes that China, before the year '30, '35, is going to own America because autocracies can make quick decisions.

But America is unique. Of all nations in the world, we're the only nation organized based on an idea. Every other nation you can define by their ethnicity, their geography, their religion, except America. America is born out of an idea: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men"âand womenâ"are created equal . . . endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, including life, liberty," et cetera.

None of you get your rights from your Government; you get your rights merely because you're a child of God. The Government is there to protect those God-given rights. No other government has been based on that notion. No one can defeat us except us.

It's an idea that generations of patriots have fought and died for to defend it. I know that's a conviction that each and every day you all share. That's why you joined up, why you run around danger when duty calls.

It's my greatest honorâit should not surprise anybody; it should be anybody's greatest honor in all of lifeâto be able to serve as your Commander in Chief. No greater honor.

So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for spending this time with me today. And thank you for your commitment to our country, because without you, as I saidâI'll beâend where I began: You are the spine of Americaâthe spine. And I can't tell you how much it matters. I think you underestimate just the consequence of who you are and what you do.

So thank you, may God bless you, and may God protect our troops. Thanks.

NOTE: The President spoke at 2:06 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to Col. Clinton A. Ross, USAF, commander, and CMS Greg G. Peterson, USAF, command chief, 633d Air Base Wing, Joint Base LangleyâEustis; Brittney Bean, wife, who introduced the President, and Jerdan, Nathan, and Margrit Katherine, children, of Maj. Nathaniel Bean, USAF; former Delaware State Acting Attorney General Richard Gebelien; and Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, USA (Ret.), former Chief of Staff of the Army, in his former capacity as commanding general, U.S. ForcesâIraq. He also referred to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist organization.

Categories: Addresses and Remarks : Joint Base LangleyâEustis, VA, remarks to U.S. servicemembers and families.

Locations: Joint Base LangleyâEustis, VA.

Names: Bean, Brittney; Bean, Jerdan; Bean, Margrit Katherine; Bean, Nathan; Bean, Nathaniel; Biden, Jill T.; Gebelien, Richard; Luria, Elaine G.; Northam, Ralph S.; Odierno, Raymond T.; Peterson, Greg G.; Ross, Clinton A.; Scott, Robert C.; Xi Jinping.

Subjects: Afghanistan : U.S. military forces :: Deployment; Armed Forces, U.S. : Military families; Armed Forces, U.S. : Servicemembers :: Casualties; Armed Forces, U.S. : Servicemembers :: Deployment; Armed Forces, U.S. : Servicemembers :: Service and dedication; China : President; Defense, Department of : Joint Base LangleyâEustis, VA; Diseases : Coronavirus, domestic prevention efforts; Holidays and special observances : Memorial Day; Terrorism : Al Qaida terrorist organization; Terrorism : Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist organization; Terrorism : September 11, 2001, attacks; Veterans : Service and dedication; Virginia : Governor; Virginia : Joint Base LangleyâEustis; Virginia : President's visits.

DCPD Number: DCPD202100447.