[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 20 (Monday, May 21, 2007)]
[Pages 647-648]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Joint Reserve Officer Training Corps Commissioning Ceremony

May 17, 2007

    Thank you. Good afternoon. Welcome. Here we are in the East Room, a 
room that has had a long history. When President John Adams moved in, 
his wife, Abigail, used it to dry the family's laundry. [Laughter] 
Abraham Lincoln's children once raced their goats in this room during a 
reception. [Laughter]
    Over the years, this room has been used for dances, concerts, 
weddings, funerals, award presentations, press conferences, and bill 
signings. Today we add another event to the storied legacy of the East 
Room, the first joint ROTC commissioning ceremony. And we're glad you're 
here.

    The young men and women we honor today represent the great diversity 
of the American people. You come from different backgrounds. You 
represent all 50 States and the District of Columbia as well as Guam, 
Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. And when you 
leave here today, you will wear on your shoulders the same powerful 
symbol of achievement: the gold bars of an officer of the United States 
Armed Forces.

    Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us--proud to be here with 
Secretary Bob Gates and Becky. I thank Pete Geren, Acting Secretary of 
the Army. I appreciate so very much General Pete Pace, Chairman of the 
Joint Chiefs; General George Casey, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. You 
all have brought out some of the brass. [Laughter]

    I appreciate Senator Ben Nelson, United States Senator, for taking 
his time out to be here today. Senator, it means a lot that you're here. 
I thank the ROTC members being commissioned here today. I welcome your 
friends, and most importantly, I welcome your families. I appreciate all 
the others in our military here too. Thanks for coming.

    We gather at a solemn moment for this country. Many of you were 
still in high school when terrorists brought death and destruction to 
our streets on September the 11th, 2001. You were high school students. 
And yet, some of you understood that the cause of freedom would soon 
depend on your generation's willingness to step forward to defend it. 
And when it came time to be counted, each of you volunteered, knowing 
full well the risks involved during a time of war. As your Commander in 
Chief, I salute your decision to serve, and I congratulate you on a fine 
achievement.

    The idea of providing college students an opportunity to train for a 
military commission has its roots in the old land-grant universities of 
the 19th century, which included a program of military science. The 
modern program dates to 1916, when the Government established the 
Reserve Officers Training

[[Page 648]]

Corps to improve and standardize the training of junior officers. ROTC 
starts by identifying men and women of leadership and ability. It then 
prepares them morally, mentally, and physically for their 
responsibilities as officers in the finest Armed Forces in the world.
    As part of this preparation, you have been taught a way of life that 
elevates service above self. You have learned that honor is not just a 
word; it is a sacred inheritance to be preserved and handed down. You 
have learned that courage is not the absence of fear; it is the ability 
to do the right thing in spite of your fears. And you have learned that 
much is expected of our military officers.
    For most of you, a ROTC scholarship helped pay for your college 
education. The American people provide these funds willingly. And in 
return they ask one thing: When their sons and daughters are put in 
harm's way, they will be led by officers of character and integrity.
    The path you have taken to this day is not an easy one. When your 
roommates slept in--[laughter]--you got up at dawn for a 3-mile run. 
While others spread out on the grass on a sunny day, you marched in 
formation. And when your friends called it a night and headed out to the 
town, you stayed back to shine your shoes and iron your uniform in 
preparation for the next day's inspection.
    All of you have made many sacrifices to receive your commission. Yet 
some of you have had to endure even greater hardships because your 
universities do not allow ROTC on campus. For those of you in this 
position, this can require long commutes several times a week to another 
campus that does offer ROTC, so you can attend a military class, 
participate in a drill. Most of all, it means living a split existence, 
where your life as a cadet or midshipmen is invisible to most of your 
fellow students.
    Every American citizen is entitled to his or her opinion about our 
military, but surely the concept of diversity is large enough to embrace 
one of the most diverse institutions in American life. It should not be 
hard for our great schools of learning to find room to honor the service 
of men and women who are standing up to defend the freedoms that make 
the work of our universities possible. To the cadets and midshipmen who 
are graduating from a college or university that believes ROTC is not 
worthy of a place on campus, here is my message: Your university may not 
honor your military service, but the United States of America does. And 
in this, the people's house, we will always make a place for those who 
wear the uniform of our country.
    In a few minutes, you will raise your right hands and swear an oath 
to defend our Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic, 
knowing that these enemies are real. You will receive your commissions 
as officers, knowing that you will soon have the lives of other men and 
women in your own hands. You will leave this room with heads held high, 
knowing that you take your place in one of the greatest forces of 
freedom in the history of mankind.
    So I ask you today: Bring honor to the uniform; set high standards 
for yourself; do not ask of those under your command anything that you 
would not ask of yourselves. If you do all these things, your career 
will take care of itself, your service will be a source of pride, and 
you will help build a safer and more hopeful world for our fellow 
citizens.
    So congratulations to our new lieutenants and ensigns. And may 
Almighty God keep you close as you keep the American people safe.
    And now I ask the Secretary of Defense to administer the oath.

Note: The President spoke at 2:12 p.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Secretary of Defense Robert M. 
Gates.