- [Announcer] Please stand for the arrival
of the official party: the Honorable James Mattis,
the Secretary of Defense; Mr. Michael Rhodes,
Director of Administration, Office of the Deputy Chief
Management Officer; and Lieutenant General Stayce Harris,
Assistant Vice Chief of Staff and Director of Staff,
Headquarters, Air Force.
Please remain standing for the presentation of colors,
the singing of our national anthem, and the invocation.
(marching)
- [Officer] March, halt.
Company present arms.
♫ Oh say can you see
♫ By the dawn's early light
♫ What so proudly we hailed
♫ At the twilight's last gleaming
♫ Whose broad stripes and bright stars
♫ Through the perilous fight
♫ O'er the ramparts we watched
♫ Were so gallantly streaming
♫ And the rockets' red glare
♫ The bombs bursting in air
♫ Gave proof through the night
♫ That our flag was still there
♫ Oh say does that Star Spangled
♫ Banner yet wave
♫ O'er the land of the free
♫ And the home of the brave
Company, right shoulder, arms.
Ready, step.
- [Announcer] Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel Eddie Kinley
will now deliver the invocation.
- Let us reverently bow our heads.
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills
from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
Eternal Father, today we have come to pay honor,
to perhaps the greatest civil rights leader of all times.
A man among many who both lived and died fulfilling
the epitome of his dream.
A man who galvanized the hearts of millions,
and touched the lives of all he came in contact with.
Today we have assembled ourselves in honor of his life,
his legend and his legacy.
Let us never forget our obligation to love our neighbors
as ourselves, and as we reflect on the civil rights
of all men, let us do good, love mercy, and walk humbly
before our God, is our prayer, amen.
- [Announcer] Please be seated.
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Michael Rhodes.
- Everyone, welcome.
And thank you very much for joining us here today
for today's observance.
To all those in the auditorium, the hundreds here,
and the standing room only, thank you for being here
to represent the 26,000 or so that work at this headquarters
here at the Pentagon.
For those who are watching this live, or will be
watching it rebroadcast on defense.gov, we thank you
for joining us as well.
I appreciate all the effort that goes into making
an event like this happen.
We all know it takes a lot of work.
I certainly want to thank those in the Washington
Headquarters Services, Communications and Events Group
all the working groups and teams that have joined with them
from the various components of the department,
the protocol officers and others.
But I especially want to thank the Joint Service
Color Guard, the vocalist from Pershing's Own,
as well as Chaplain Kinley for the invocation.
They add such a reverence and such ceremony
to a special observance, it just makes such a tremendous
impact, it sets the tone exactly right
for what we're here for today.
I also want to take a moment, while everybody here
is very important and very special, I certainly want
to thank our Secretary for joining us here today.
I want to thank the Deputy Secretary, I think this is
probably your fifth or sixth of these here at the Pentagon,
sir, and I especially want to thank our speaker later,
General Harris, thank you for joining us today.
This observance is very important to the Department.
We actually had the first one of these Martin Luther King
observance in 1985.
I think that's significant because the federal holiday
didn't start until 1986.
But that's the way the Department of Defense does business.
It's important to us because, as in the words
of Chaplain Kinley, the significant and powerful life
of Dr. King and all that he influenced
and all that he changed.
His life was cut way too short, being murdered at 39.
But what a powerful impact he had in those 39 years.
Changed this nation, truly.
I've had the privilege of being part of this observance
since 2007, and it has just been impactful
every time I've joined.
It's now my pleasure to introduce our secretary.
I will share that I had the privilege of knowing him
a bit, and I will tell you my observations over
the time of the last 15 years have been that he's an
exceptional professional, he's an individual who's
genuinely interested and concerned with the welfare
of those around him and those who work for him.
And I think more importantly to me, every day he's committed
to reflecting the best of the values of this institution.
Four and a half days ago, the Vice-President swore him in
as our Secretary of Defense.
He's had a jam-packed schedule ever since, but as soon
as he found out this observance was occurring,
he cleared out the time on the schedule to be able
to provide us with some remarks, because he wanted
to join with us today.
He'll have to leave after his remarks because of his
schedule commitments, but he wanted to make sure
to be here and Mr. Secretary, I thank you very much
for doing that.
Ladies and gentlemen, the 26th Secretary of Defense,
the Honorable James Mattis.
(audience applauding)
- Thanks, ladies and gentlemen.
Thanks very much, and Mike, thank you.
It's been a pleasure serving alongside you
and watching your leadership, and the way you can
create harmony in some disharmonious places
that you've been before.
Good to see you back here at the Pentagon.
But Deputy Secretary, ladies and gentlemen
of the department, good afternoon, and it's an absolute
delight to be here back among you again.
And I would just tell you that it's appropriate
that my first chance to speak to a group in the Pentagon
is in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.
It says something, I just got lucky I realized,
with when the Vice-President swore me in,
but I would also tell you that this recognizes
someone who stood for something, and in our memories,
in our hearts, and certainly by keeping his memory
alive, he still stands for something that we're all
very proud of.
I'm equally proud of our department, partly because,
like Mike says, we are leaders when it comes to this
sort of thing, civil rights.
A year before it was a holiday, we were already
celebrating Martin Luther King Day here in the department.
I've been part of the department since I was 18 years old
in 1969, which is in the last millennium for you
young people here.
(audience laughing)
But I'm also proud of the department for things
that happened long before I ever joined it.
Last Friday night, soon after taking the oath,
I sent the message out to the department, and I wrote
that our nation needs to only look to you, the uniformed
and civilian members of our department and your families
to see the fundamental unity of our country.
And I think, ladies and gentlemen, anyone who's taken
the oath has experienced that unity.
We've experienced a coequal commitment, didn't matter
what rank you were, didn't matter if you were civilian
or military, a coequal commitment across this department
to the mission and it's a mission that calls
for all hands to strive together and to fight together
and to look out for one another.
Today we observe the legacy of a man up here on the board
behind me, a man who has called upon Americans many times
to strive together, and to fight together,
and to do their duty in the long struggle for equality
and civil rights.
In our nation's history, our military has often served
as an example to the American people of unity and strength,
of how a diverse group of people can be motivated
even under austere or grim conditions of the battlefield
to come together as equals.
As far back as November 1805, in the first decades
of our experiment in democracy on this continent,
two young army officers led a special unit,
the Corps of Discovery across the harsh landscape
of North America to the Pacific Northwest.
They arrived at the Pacific Ocean at the mouth
of the Columbia River and faced months of cold
and deprivation before the snows would melt
and they could return home to the east.
In this perilous situation, the unit was confronted
with the choice of where to build their winter camp,
and they had to look across the raging mouth
of that river spilling into the ocean, and they had
to take a decision that could cost them their lives.
Young Meriwether Lewis and William Clark put the matter
of whether to cross the perilous mouth of the Columbia
to all hands.
The unit included a slave named York, and a native American
woman named Sacagawea.
For the first time in the history of our republic,
among the members of this isolated patrol,
far from home, a black man, a native American,
white men and a woman, all voted as equals.
They voted to cross that terrible water and the expedition
survived the winter.
They returned east to report back
to their commander-in-chief, President Thomas Jefferson.
They accomplished their mission to find the best route
to the Pacific, and it was an all-hands effort.
Military service in America is a touchstone for American
patriots of all races, genders, creeds.
The men and women of the Department of Defense,
military and civilian, reflect the diverse and selfless
character of our national defense and have done so
long before our nation had reached the level it has reached
today, in terms of civil rights.
Our armed forces are stronger today
because of the perseverance of Dr. King and so many others
in this country who have fought for civil rights
and equality for all.
And we can trace our department's roots back to an Army
patrol in 1805 when we listened to our better angels
and on this day of action, we are inspired to continue
being a model for our nation.
So thank you all for being here, thank you for continuing
to defend this experiment in democracy.
It's an absolute delight to be back among you,
and I'm reminded of that especially
on Martin Luther King Day.
Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.
Mike, thank you.
(audience applauding)
- Please be seated.
Again, not surprised by his being here today,
but certainly it was a privilege to have him
join with us and share those remarks.
And now I have to tell you, when we first presented
the question to General Harris
about sharing some reflections, some observations,
some remarks with us here today,
it took about that (snapping) long for her to accept
and to say sure, when?
Just tell me when, I'll be there.
And so we're very thankful for that.
You can read her bio, but like many who've risen
to the senior ranks of our general officer corps,
she's had tremendous success in all the command and staff
positions across the Air Force, has been an excellent
officer and we're just privileged
to have her here with us today.
She's currently the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff
of the Air Force and the Director of the Air Force Staff,
ladies and gentlemen, Lieutenant General Stayce Harris.
(audience applauding)
- Thank you so much.
Of course, Secretary Maddis on his departure,
Secretary Work, thank you for hosting this event.
It's an absolute privilege to be here with you today
to honor Dr. Martin Luther King and his legacy.
Secretary Disbrow, thank you also for taking the time
to be here with us today and thank you for your leadership
of our great Air Force.
Mr. Rhodes, thank you for the kind introduction,
and more importantly, thank you for your long
and distinguished record of dedication and service
to the men and women in uniform.
Distinguished guests, general and flag officers,
our senior executive service, senior leaders across
the joint force, to our soldiers, sailors, Marines,
coasties, airmen, and civilian teammates and families,
as well as our international partners attending, welcome.
Most importantly, though, I want to thank everyone
who helped make this event a reality, and continue
to give us an opportunity each year to honor Dr. King.
We're gathering for a noble purpose.
As the legacy of Dr. King will certainly endure
without our annual gathering, but by pausing
in remembrance today, we show that we're making
this a priority, in that we're cementing his legacy
one day at a time.
I was only four years old when Dr. King gave his
I Have a Dream speech at the March on Washington in 1963.
And at the time, my family was living in Tachikawa, Japan,
as I am an Air Force brat.
And when I look at the pictures from back then,
when I was four years old, taken from birthday parties
with other children, I was already living in the world
that Dr. King mentioned where little black boys
and black girls were able to join hands
with little white boys and white girls and walk together
as sisters and brothers, because our military at the time
was integrated, and leading our nation's journey
in desegregation.
My connection to Dr. King began, though,
when I was nearly nine years old,
when he was assassinated on that fateful day
on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in 1968.
And although even then I didn't quite understand
the magnitude of the man he was, what I witnessed
from my parents, from our friends,
from the television coverage,
was the emotion of extreme sorrow and grief.
By then, were were living in Newburgh, New York
because my father was stationed at Stewart Air Force Base.
Racial tensions in Newburgh were already smoldering,
and the death of Dr. King was like adding fuel.
And the emotions of sorrow and grief turned to outrage
and anger, that turned Newburgh into a fire of civil unrest.
Out of the ashes of the fires, though,
of anger and despair that roared across our nation,
wisdom and righteousness prevailed.
As the Fair Housing Act, which was called the Civil Rights
Act of 1968, was passed shortly thereafter, it prohibited
discrimination concerning the sale, rental and financing
of housing based on race, religion, national origin, sex.
And although the bill was the subject of a contentious
debate in the Senate, it was passed quickly by the House.
The days after the assassination of Dr. King, it was
signed into law by President Johnson exactly one week
following Dr. King's death.
The Act stands as the final, great legislative achievement
of the Civil Rights era.
In life and death Dr. King was a catalyst for change.
Righteousness prevailed, and his legacy was forever woven
into the fabric of who we all are today.
So if you think of words to describe Dr. King
you may use kindness, and compassion, and equality,
and strength, and vision, and love.
In almost every context, these words symbolize
the ingredients in a recipe for unity.
While he was a man fighting for justice and equality
among all races, and all our glorious skin colors,
the traits he lived by were colorless.
His actions and deeds rose above the limitations
of sight, but settled upon the strength of his vision
for a better world.
So today I'd like to spend just a few minutes talking about
his remarkable hero's vision of service and change,
and the challenge, all of us, to embody his ideals
in our daily lives.
Every American generation faces its challenges
and ours is no different.
We are living in the midst of a significant social
and political evolution taking place across our nation
and all around the world.
Our fellow citizens are questioning the American dream
and in many cases the sense of fear and anxiety is palpable.
But what will carry us, as a nation, through these turbulent
times and make us stronger?
I would argue that the answer lies in the American ideals,
Dr. King's ideals, of service and change.
Dr. King once said, "Life's most persistent and urgent
"question is, what are you doing for others?"
You all serving our country understand the importance
of this message more than most.
It's what sets you apart and why your fellow citizens
hold you in such high regard.
In fact, many of our brothers and sisters have embodied
the truest form of selfless service and courage,
giving their lives for the security of our nation
and the values we hold so dear.
The spirit of service is hard-wired in our DNA,
men and women in uniform.
And I would argue that it's also hard-wired
in all Americans, regardless of race,
color, creed, religion.
As Americans, service is inherent in our character,
and in a great degree, defines who we are as a nation.
Dr. King believed in a nation of freedom
and justice for all, and encouraged all citizens
to live up to the purpose of potential of America.
To make this country a better place to live.
And I say there's rarely a better way that we can do this
than through daily service to others.
In our military, we have opportunities to serve
with compassion, even in the midst of war.
Through humanitarian assistance at home and abroad,
rescuing and saving lives of our own that are injured
or in peril, and building capacities of our partners
to be self-sufficient.
Our service extends to our communities, as it has
traditionally been with our Guard and Reserve and civilian
teammates, and increasingly so with our active duty
that now resides off base.
We live, work, play, vote and volunteer in the communities
where we live, whether it be our fraternities and our
sororities, and I must say hello to my sisters of
Delta Sigma Theta sorority, through schools,
or faith-based organizations, public service organizations,
and non-profit organizations, we serve.
So we can never forget that Dr. King's idea of service
is a game-changer, giving us the power to individually
and collectively transform others' lives for the better.
It's one of the few things we can employ every day
for the good of our fellow Americans.
We all have the power to change lives through service,
and there's never been a better time, or more acute need
for us to all take action and serve.
So every year we celebrate a day of service in January
to honor Dr. King's birthday.
I believe it's the perfect way to start a new year.
It's a day on, not a day off.
We should be celebrating his legacy every day, though,
serving others.
So I challenge you to continue to live a life of service
one day at a time.
Now I'll shift gears and talk for a moment or two
on Dr. King's vision for change.
His life story and application of non-violence
in the face of social injustice are tremendous
examples about how we can all be agents of change
for the better.
He shows us that the commitment and character of the few
can alter the course of history of the many.
All too often it starts with the words you can't,
which we've all heard at some time in our lives.
A remarkable attribute, though, to our men and women
in uniform is the desire to accel, to contribute,
to exist with a fiery passion.
And from my experience, one of the best ways to get
something done is to just happen to say, or to challenge
one and say, "You know what? I don't think we can do it.
"It can't be done."
Just tell them you can't.
Then sit back and watch as they prove you wrong.
And when we tell a race or gender that they can't
be someone, or they can't do something, we provoke
a powerful response that says yes we can.
We can break that barrier.
Like the Buffalo Soldiers, like the Montford Point Marines,
like my personal heroes, the WASP, and the Tuskegee Airmen.
Even in 2017, our Air Force celebrates its 70th birthday.
We pride ourselves on breaking barriers.
Barriers not only in the air and space, but culturally,
beginning with race, and gender.
Many of these barriers were broken in response to you can't.
It started because you can't is incendiary.
It's like the fuel that powers our jets, and our rockets,
and our innovative spirit.
You can't is a highly flammable substance, at odds
with the fire that lives in the belly of our military
members, and when you mix you can't with this fire,
a storm takes shape, and pressures build, and as a result,
the tension needs an outlet.
And what evolves are bold and innovative ways to make
change and solve problems.
However, we only have to look at the history
of our great Tuskegee Airmen to realize that breaking
these barriers was not always received with open arms.
In light of this, Dr. King's teachings refer us to
creative tension leading to change.
In a letter from a Birmingham jail, Dr. King spoke of
non-violent direct action creating tension
within a community, forcing it to confront the issue.
He wrote, "I must confess that I am not afraid
"of the word tension.
"I have earnestly worked and preached
"against violent tension, but there is a type
"of constructive tension that is necessary for growth."
If the tensions we faced during Dr. King's time
endures today, they do endure today, but I say this
with careful distinction, we are wise to put this tension
to good use.
So I remember in my previous job, I was a 22nd Air Force
Commander at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, and I took
command there in 2014.
And I had a number of units and one of them was
a flying training group, the 340th Flying Training Group.
And they were responsible for teaching our pilots how to fly
at undergraduate pilot training, and also for providing
military training instructors at basic.
And when I met with them shortly I got there
they were telling me of a tragic incident that had happened.
And a couple of years prior during a training flight
the aircraft suffered an accident and our pilots perished.
Two pilots.
One was on active duty at the time, and the other
was a reservist on what we call a inactive duty status.
And it's just a pay status.
Once the families had grieved and had their funerals,
it was on to the business of the compensation that they
were to receive.
So the family of the person on active duty received full
compensation for that tragic death, but that person
on a different pay status did not, and received
significantly less.
So there was a movement going on, a passion,
a creative tension that said this is not right.
When an airman serves, you all serve, and you all deserve,
especially the families, the same compensation.
So they worked it through myself at 22nd Air Force,
and then through the Air Force Reserve Command,
and then through the Air Force, and then finally
this year it's in our NDAA language.
But it takes time.
Change takes time, and it was a long, hard road.
Hard things are hard.
Change isn't easy, or comfortable, but we all
are in positions to use this creative tension
to change our organizations and our communities,
and even the world.
Dr. King said the ultimate measure of a man is not
where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience,
but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
Equally important, we are responsible for fostering
change with those who work with us.
And we owe it to each other to create, and promote
environments where diversity and inclusion aren't simply
buzzwords, they are national security imperatives
and true force multipliers.
Our nation demands, our nation demands we use
100% of the talent, innovation, and experience
to bring forth the solutions to our most complex challenges,
and each and every one of us know that we can be
that spark of change.
So let's commit to each other and let's follow
in Dr. King's footsteps and bring true change
in each other's lives.
So I'll end by reading a quick letter
that Airman Third Class Richard P. Clemence
sent to Dr. King in January, 1966.
Dr. Reverend King,
As a young white American of 19 years of age,
I would simply like to express my profound respect
and utmost appreciation for your efforts
in the cause of humanity.
Your steady guiding hand and spirit have led many
to see the light of moral right.
I respect you ever so highly and wish you the very best
in all that life here and hereafter has to offer.
So we too echo that sage wisdom of this 19-year old
airman, offering our profound respect,
and utmost appreciation for Dr. King and his vision
of service, and change for the cause of humanity.
We are a great country, and we owe it to Dr. King
and our fellow citizens to carry on the legacy
knowing that service is at many times difficult
and that the hard work of change will always be at odds
with the endless you can'ts we will face.
In closing, though, I look forward to continuing
to serve with you all, and all of us accepting
the challenge of being agents of change
for the betterment of the world.
Thank you.
(audience applauding)
- Please be seated.
I just want to take a moment to thank General Harris
for those thoughtful, timely and relevant remarks,
they way you wove all that together of Dr. King's
really timeless story and message into the Department
of Defense here today, so with that, I'd ask
if Deputy Secretary Work could just come forward
for a moment, in order to present
this memento to General Harris.
They'd like a photo with you.
(audience applauding)
- [Announcer] Ladies and gentlemen, please remain seated
for the benediction.
- Let's reverently bow our heads to be dismissed.
Our Father and our God, we thank you so much
for what our hearts have felt, what our ears have heard.
Let us always remember, God, that none of us are free
until all of us are free.
We thank you for what we heard and what we experienced
this day, and may we always treasure the words
of Dr. King and all those that have gone before him
and after him in the cause of civil rights
and civil liberties.
This I pray in your name, amen.
- [Announcer] Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Rhodes.
- So as General Harris mentioned, she was an Air Force brat.
I've been an Army brat, so I've lived my entire life
associated with the Department of Defense.
There was five months between graduating college
and joining the Army that I actually didn't have
a DOD-type of i.d. card.
But I'm exceptionally proud to have been part
of this institution.
It is not a perfect institution, but it is an institution
that always strives to improve, always strives to make
good on whatever it may have fallen short on.
It is a tremendous institution.
I recall that in Dr. King's I Have a Dream speech,
he had a little segment there, he said, "I have a dream
"that one day my four little children will live in a world
"where they are judged not by the color of their skin
"but by the content of their character."
And whether right or wrong, I have to tell you
that that makes me think of the Department of Defense.
This is an institution where they're focused
on performance, where they're focused on getting
the mission completed, they're focused on insuring
that the task is accomplished
and how well it is accomplished, not by whom
it is accomplished.
It's an institution where the men and women who wear
the uniform of this nation and risk their lives
will look to their left flank and to their right flank
and they will see a fellow comrade in arms.
And they trust, and they know that that person
will be there for them no matter what it takes,
no matter if it costs them their lives.
And it has nothing to do with their ethnicity,
has nothing to do with their religion, it has nothing
to do with their personal beliefs, it is because
they are fellow comrades in arms.
And so that's why I have such great respect
and am honored to be part of this institution.
Near the end of Dr. King's I Have a Dream speech
he recited the words to My Country 'Tis of Thee.
And as he went through that he got to the point
where it says let freedom ring,
and with powerful eloquence he took those words
let freedom ring, and really wrapped up a tremendous
oratory, one of the most tremendous in this nation.
But I would submit, you and I, we collectively,
we have the opportunity to let freedom ring
in the words that we speak.
We have the opportunity to let freedom ring
in the actions that we take.
We have the opportunity to let freedom ring
in the compassion that we show.
We have the opportunity to let freedom ring
in the honorable service that we commit ourselves to.
So let's go forth today, and in the future,
and with our lives let's let freedom ring.
Thank you very much for joining us here today.
(audience applauding)
- [Announcer] Ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing
for the departure of the official party.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us.
This concludes today's observance.
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