    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [May 5, 1999]
    [Pages 691-692]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Dinner With the Troops at Ramstein Air Base
    May 5, 1999

        The President. Thank you very much. General Jumper, General Wooley, ladies and
    gentlemen, let me first of all say that I know I speak for all the
    people in our group--the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State,
    General Shelton, and others--in saying that
    we are delighted to be here and very proud of you.
        I have been to Ramstein at least three times since I've been
    President. I was trying to think; it may be four. But I feel a special
    affinity for this base. I flew from here into Bosnia in 1995, when the
    people who were stationed here then did so much to restore freedom and
    peace to the people there.
        There are a lot of things I'd like to say, as briefly as I can.
    First of all, I'd like to tell you I had a real good time tonight taking
    all the pictures and--[laughter]--I like having the opportunity to look
    our men and women in uniform in the eye and see where you're from and
    hear a little about your views. I thank especially the people who had
    dinner with me at the table over there tonight. I got questions about
    the Middle East peace process and the situation in Iraq and the long-
    term prospects in Kosovo and----
        Audience member. Pay raises.
        The President. ----and pay raises, that's right. [Laughter] And they
    did a very good job. I want you to know, the guys at the table, they did
    a good job, because we talked a lot about how the Air Force and the Navy
    and this year probably the Army will be down on their recruitment goals
    and the reenlistment problems and how we face the converging pressures
    of

    [[Page 692]]

    a very, very strong economy in the private sector--the strongest it has
    been maybe ever, certainly in a generation--and a very much increased
    operations tempo for people in the military, taking people away from
    their families more frequently and often for extended periods of time.
    And if that results in--those two things result in our not meeting our
    enlistment or reenlistment quotas, obviously, that only aggravates the
    up-tempo problem further.
        I think there is strong, overwhelming bipartisan support in the
    Congress this year to make some changes in pay, in retirement, in
    enlistment and reenlistment bonuses. And those three things, plus some
    other things we're going to do, I hope will help to keep more of you in
    the service, and I hope will help to get more young people coming in.
        The job market is very, very strong out there, as all of you know.
    And particularly after you've been in the service for a while and you've
    gotten the invaluable training that you get, I understand the
    temptations and the lures of taking those offers which wouldn't require
    you to be away from home so much and so far.
        But I can tell you this: The United States military, because of
    people like you, can do things for a troubled world that no one else can
    do. And I am profoundly grateful. You're taking those supplies into the
    refugees in Macedonia and Albania--you must have talked to some of them.
    You must know what they have been through. And if you were involved in
    the operation in Bosnia or you talked to anybody else who was, you must
    know what they were put through and what it is that NATO is trying to
    stop in the heart of Europe.
        At the end of the cold war, the question was, do we need a NATO? And
    the 19 Allies decided that, yes, we did; that if we wanted Europe to be
    free and united and at peace, we needed NATO, and that would be our
    mission. And I wish there had been nothing for us to do--nothing for you
    to do. I wish none of you reservists or guards people had to be called
    up or had to volunteer. But it happened. And it is truly ironic that
    after all the wars in the 20th century, that here in Europe we would
    still be fighting over religious and ethnic bigotry, being used to
    dehumanize people to the point of justifying killing them, burning them,
    looting their homes, running them out, burning their villages,
    eradicating every last vestige of historical, cultural records, burning
    their houses of worship. And that's not the world I want your children
    to live in.
        And if your children are wearing the uniform of our Armed Services,
    I don't want them to have to fight a war because we didn't nip in the
    bud a cancer that can never sweep across Europe again.
        So this is profoundly important. And the humanitarian aid you're
    taking to those desperate people is profoundly important. They are good
    people. They have their dignity. You are enabling them to keep what they
    can when most of them are running out of their country with nothing but
    the clothes on their back.
        I just want you to know that back home people do know what you're
    going through; they do know what a sacrifice it is. We will do
    everything we can to make it better. In the Congress this year, I do
    believe there was overwhelming bipartisan support to respond to the
    problems you face and the challenges you face and the private market you
    face.
        But nothing can ever compensate or take the place of the profound
    sense of satisfaction you must get when you go to bed at night knowing
    that you did something that was good and decent, not because your
    country wanted to dominate another people or control land but because we
    want our children and their children to live in a decent world.
        Thank you, and God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 8:10 p.m. in Hangar 3. In his remarks, he
    referred to Gen. John P. Jumper, USAF, Commander, U.S. Air Forces in
    Europe and Allied Air Forces Central Europe; and Brig. Gen. Michael W.
    Wooley, USAF, Commander, 86th Airlift Wing and Kaiserslautern Military
    Community.