[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 20 (Monday, May 19, 2003)]
[Pages 612-613]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Presenting the Commander in Chief's Trophy to the United 
States Air Force Academy Falcons

May 16, 2003

    The President. Coach, how are you?
    Coach DeBerry. Sir.
    The President. Sit down, please.
    Coach DeBerry. Thank you, sir. Honored to be here.
    The President. Thanks. Getting to be a habit. [Laughter]
    It's my honor to welcome back to the White House the Air Force 
Academy Falcons, who have now won the Commander in Chief's Trophy for 
their 6th consecutive year and 16th time overall. The football rivalry 
amongst our academies is--our military academies is one of the great 
traditions in our Nation, and I want to congratulate the Air Force 
Fighting Falcons for supremacy on the football field.
    I particularly want to say something about Fisher DeBerry. He's 
obviously a unique guy who has got the unbelievable ability to motivate 
people in a good way. So Coach, I congratulate you. We're proud of you, 
and the school and the men you coach are better off for your presence.
    I want to thank the Members of the Congress who are here. For some 
reason it seems like the Colorado Congressmen have taken an interest for 
being here. [Laughter] Senator Allard, thanks for coming, and 
Congressman Hefley, as well as Congressman Dicks

[[Page 613]]

from the State of Washington, and Congressman Sam Johnson from the State 
of Texas. Thank you all for coming. I appreciate you guys being here.
    Now, Sam is an old fighter pilot--well, not an old fighter pilot--
[laughter]--was a great fighter pilot--[laughter]--who one time dead-
sticked a Cessna onto the Dallas--the Dallas Tollway at night. 
[Laughter] That's how he got to be elected to the Congress. [Laughter]
    Jim Roche is with us, the Secretary of the Air Force. Thank you for 
coming, Mr. Secretary. The Acting Superintendent of the Air Force, 
General Weida, is with us as well. I'm glad you're here. I want to thank 
you all for coming as well, the folks that--not only the players but the 
folks that make sure the players get the helmet and the water and the 
tape on their ankles and the people who support Air Force football.
    The academies are really important for a lot of reasons. Obviously, 
what you learn on the football field is even more important since we're 
still at war. And it's the qualities of--that you learn on the football 
field that will serve our Nation in good stead after you graduate. Some 
of your fellow football players saw war in Iraq. And as a result of 
their bravery and their skill, the country is now more secure; the 
United States people are more secure; the world is going to be more 
peaceful; and the Iraqi people are now free from the clutches of an 
incredibly brutal dictatorship. What you--the character you displayed in 
your drive to be the best will serve our Nation well, because we're 
still at war. We learned that lesson in Saudi Arabia the other day. An 
Al Qaida--a group we think is Al Qaida killed innocent life just for the 
sake of killing them.
    And we'll do everything we can to protect our homeland. We'll do the 
best we can with the Transportation Security Agency. We'll do a better 
job on the borders. But the surest way to protect our homeland is to 
find these killers and bring them to justice, which is what the United 
States of America is going to do. The skills you have learned on the 
football field and at the Air Force Academy are going to be necessary 
skills to protect the American people from the true threats of the 21st 
century.
    So I'm proud to welcome you all here as football stars and 
champions, but I'm more proud to be able to reassure our fellow 
Americans that people of high caliber and high quality and high skill 
will serve in our Nation's defense during a dangerous time, which will 
allow me to boldly predict the United States of America will win the war 
on terror.
    And so it was an honor to bring a--you call it a six-pack when you 
win 6 years in a row? [Laughter] Six-peat. A great coach and a great 
American. Welcome.

Note: The President spoke at 2:35 p.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Fisher DeBerry, head football 
coach, and Brig. Gen. Johnny A. Weida, USAF, commandant of cadets and 
commander, 34th Training Wing, U.S. Air Force Academy.