Carolina QuotesWhile I'm grateful to God for many things in my life, none compares with the love and pride that I feel with Carolyn by my side.
Hugh Shelton
Carolinian
Source
Farewell remarks as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Armed Forces Full Honor Tribute, Summerall Field, Fort Myer, Virginia, 1 October 2001; printed in the Congressional Record
- form
- speech
- work
- Farewell remarks, Armed Forces Full Honor Tribute
- year
- 2001
Cite this record
“While I'm grateful to God for many things in my life, none c…” Hugh Shelton. Carolina Quotes, record CQ-6A8B945E15. https://carolinaquotes.com/quote/6a8b945e15
More from Hugh Shelton
When President Bush came in, there as an immediate difference in style. President Bush would show up to meetings early. It was obvious that he liked the meetings to be well organized, crisp, and then get out of there. It was very organized, with little time for chitchat. Unlike President Clinton, President Bush attended almost all the NSC meetings, chairing them from the head of the table. Condoleezza Rice, his National Security Adviser, was very quiet in those meetings- seldom speaking at all, let alone chairing them. It wasn't for any lack of intellect, because she was extremely smart- and personable, too. I didn't think she really stepped into her own and flourished until she became Secretary of State; before that, she really took a backseat. Early on you saw in President Bush a man who was going to be very loyal to those who worked for him- perhaps even too loyal at times. If you were on his team he would battle to the death for you. While this seems like a commendable attribute, when you're in a position of leadership, I don't believe one should allow loyalty to trump the necessity of satisfactory job performance. I'm not sure ex-President Bush would agree with that.
Just a few years ago, America was engaged in a war for survival, much like our current war to prevail against terrorism. The war I'm referring to is the Cold War, a war that America was engaged in for more than forty years- a war we finally won in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall. This victory was followed by an immediate demand to reduce our armed forces as America had done after every major conflict in our history- WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam. And so we set out on the same course- reducing the Army from 785,000 to today's 480,000, the Air Force from thirty-six to twenty tactical fighter wings, and the Navy from six hundred ships to approximately three hundred. Desert Storm caused a pause in downsizing, but as soon as it was over we continued at an even faster pace. All in all, we took more troops out than the entire armed forces of the UK, Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands combined.
Already packed away is a lifetime of memories. I'll remember: Thousands of faces, both in peace and war, comrades who fell beside me giving the ultimate sacrifice and their families whose lives were changed forever, the welcome tug of nylon straps as a parachute snaps open, the pride of grasping a guidon or unit colors on a parade ground and the thrill of seeing our red, white, and blue flag unfurl in the morning breeze, the familiar feel of a uniform carefully laid out each night for 38 years, the call to vigilance as the last haunting note of taps rings out in the night or is played in tribute to a fallen comrade, the extraordinary privilege of leading troops, and finally, my days spent with all of you during these past four years.