Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States. Ladies and gentlemen, remain standing for the singing of the national anthem. Present. March anthem]l order march. Defense secretary esper in the United States of america. Thank you for your presence with us today. Thank you for your presence with our forces and their families, wherever they are. Let them know that we are praying for them and lift them up give them encouragement and bring them home safely. Peace, we come to this place today where we need to pray when times require peacekeepers and peacemakers. Trumpore, grand president and Vice President prince and grand secretary esper and the joint chiefs of staff your divine wisdom, your divine strength, and your divine knowledge that leads to increased power and brings increased peace. As these leaders Work Together bless theiries, efforts to support National Interests and the good of mankind. As esper officially enters this new role, made a servant on your. As you continue to bless the United States of america and the department of defense, we continue to trust in you. In your power, for your glory. Now and forever, amen. Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. [ceremonial use music]nial [ceremonial music] attention. Order right shoulder. [ceremonial music] [standing drills] ladies and gentlemen, the 27th secretary of defense, dr. Mark esper. [applause] good morning, everyone. And to the troops on the field, you look fantastic. [applause] President Trump, Vice President ants come up of congress and distinguished guests, thank you for joining us today. Welcome to the pentagon. This Historic Building is not only the headquarters of our armed forces, it is a prominent symbol of americas military and our willingness to defend our people and interests around the world. ,o generations of americans this place, this building embodies our National Security. However, a building is nothing without the people within it and the spirit and dedication they bring to it. As such, i want to thank the great patriots, military and civilian alike have come. To work to focus on one thing. Supporting the. Thing,on focus on one supporting the 2 million who sacrifice absurd defense of our great nation. They represent americas best and i am proud to support with them and alongside. Alongside them. Mr. President , thank you for your confidence. Honor of a lifetime to the point of the secretary of defense and leave the greatest military in history. Im especially humbled would be here today to celebrate this occasion. I also thank you for your unwavering commitment to the armed forces and a Strong National defense. Military has made tremendous gains thanks to your leadership and today we are ready to face any challenge. Finally, i would like to thank the Armed Services committee for swift action on my nomination and the strong bipartisan support i received from the entire state senate. The free and open order that has preserved peace and prosperity for decades is under duress. Great competition has emerged. They seek to shift the balance of power in their favor. Iran continues to ship so show discord. As the department of defense takes on these challenges, we will continue to strengthen our military and preserve conflict in advance americas interest. Increasing modernizing for the future. Thanks for the leadership and the support of congress, these budgets have allowed us to make significant investments towards. Hese ends in addition, the department is on the verge of a significant change in how we organize, train, and equip our space i know this is an important priority for you and we are engaged with service committees and congressional leadership to create, for the first time in 70 years for a new branch of the armed forces. The United States space force. [applause] second, we will strengthen our alliances and attract new partners for him to Strong Network of likeminded nations. Are willing is an advantage that our adversaries did not possess but this means that allies and survivors must contribute or equitably. President trump has called on other nations to do more and they have responded. Our alliesof 2020, will spend an additional 100 billion on defense, an unprecedented increase that will make the lines. The alliance stronger. Third, we will reform the department to make the best use of every Dollar Congress gives us. We had many competing demands and it is incumbent upon us to look for ways to free up time, money, and manpower to invest we musto top ironies keep faith with the American People and be good stewards of their hardearned tax dollars. And will place a particular focus on the wellbeing of our families. Our military spouses and civilians make tremendous sacrifices for this country, and in return, i am committed to ensuring they are properly cared for. I want to thank mrs. Trump and missed pence for the personal devotion they have shown for our military families and their efforts to improve the quality of life throughout the armed forces. Thank you. Closing, i want to thank all americans who make up the greatest fighting force known to man. All across the worlds brave ricans are standing by is standing by to preserve peace. Service members from across the army solemnly carry out their duties. Our military knows we will never send them into a fight without the leadership and equipment they needed to prevail. They know that this administration has their back when they are deployed far away from home, their families will be taken care of thank you mr. President for your support to our military and for allowing me the privilege of serving our great country once again. On this responsibility to carry out my the same responsibility to do that i have for nearly four decades since my days at west point. Doing so, i ensure you that this department will not let this nation down. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great privilege to now welcome Vice President of the united. Tates mike pence members of the cabinet, members of congress, the joint chiefs of staff, and most especially, its all of those who wear the uniform of the United States and their families and the civilians who support you. Is a special honor to be here for all of you. Join all of you for the full honors ceremony of the 27th for secretary mark esper. As the men and women in the server at the pentagon know well, since they one of this administration, President Trump has taken Decisive Action to make the Strongest Military in the history of the world. Cuts,years of budget President Trump fought for and secured the largest increase in our National Defense and more , includingration the. Largest military pay raise in pay raise in over 10 years. We have pursued the modernization of our Nuclear Allies arerd our committing more to our common defense than ever before. And with the strong support of leaders in congress, we are well on our way to establishing the six the branch of armed forces, the United States space force. Today, congress will vote on a budget deal thanks to the president s leadership that preserves the historic investments we make in our National Defense. It provides for our veterans and and the defense sequestered once and for all. , because of this president s efforts, you will inherit a military better equipped and better trained than a military in the world. You will lead the department of defense with the same dedication that marked your 21 year military career. Mr. Secretary, your reputation for leadership and your patriotism no doubt accounted for the 90 votes that you received in the United States senate. It confirms the confidence that the president is placing within you today. Mr. Secretary, thank you for answering the call to serve the. Ountry once again President Donald Trump has no higher priority than the safety. Nd security of American People today, providing renewed leadership to department of defense, our commanderinchief is taking one more step to provide for the common defense of the American People and our way of life. It is my high honor and distinct introduce President Donald Trump. [applause] thank you to a great Vice President and thank you to all. F the extraordinary patriots at the department the Worlds Largest building. Defense, department of the Worlds Largest building. You keep america safe, strong, and free. It is because of you that the military is the most powerful fighting force on the face of the earth. I want to express gratitude to the old guard and to all of the Service Members in todays review for their extraordinary commitment to excellence and the unwavering loyalty to our nation. It is the greatest honor of my life to serve as your commander in chief. But we also recognize the incredible u. S. Navy, see chanters, and the band for that beautiful rendition of our national anthem, it was really beautiful, thank you very much. We are gathered here today to celebrate the swearing in of americas new secretary of defense, mark t esper. , your lifetime of Noble Service has prepared you for this immense and that is what it is. On behalf of our entire country, thank you and congratulations. Congratulations. Have no doubt, i know you well , that you will thrive in the performance of your duties and make all americans and everybody in this great country very very proud. They are very proud but they will be even more so when time goes by. People love our country more than ever and our country is respected again, remember that. That many members wanted to be here for the special occasion. Your mother and her children, thank you very much. Greattulations to a family thank you very much also secretary, our acting of our acting administrator, director dan coats, representative issa kay granger john bryson honor and many members of the diplomatic. With us as well are many ,istinguished military leaders vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff general also the general paul. The army,retary of Ryan Mccarthy stand up, ryan. You are doing a great job. You are filling a big shoes. Acting secretary of dhs, thank you very much. Navy, secretary of the thank you, thomas. Army chief of staff general mark millie. Thank you. Congratulations to mark. Coast guard commandant admiral carl schultz, thank you admiral. Marine corps commandant general david berger. Thank you very much. Air force chief of staff general david, thank you very much. Operations,naval admiral john richardson. In times of war and peace, mark as there has answered the call of duty and has never failed. He has from uniontown pennsylvania, the hometown of his personal hero. The legendary former secretary of defense and a great one, george marshall. Mark attended the United States military academy at west point. Graduated in 1986, receiving a commission in the infantry. Cap, he earned his ranger and fought with the famed 101st Airborne Division in the gulf war. He was awarded the bronze star and the combat infantry badge or his service. Upgrade guide, they all told me he was a brave guy. I knew that anyway. Guy, they all told me he was a brave guy. I knew that anyway. Andompleted his Service Returned years later as the Deputy Assistant secretary of defense for negotiations policy. , mark hasareer advanced our National Security in a variety of other government and private sector roles. He has worked in both houses of congress, advising. I can see they have some talent whats . Won 98, what . 90, can you believe it . 908. Can you believe that . I have not heard that in a long time, now i am worried. Wow. He served as Vice President of raytheon. Along the way, he earned a masters degree at harvard, jfk, and a phd at george washington. In 2017, mark was sworn in as secretary of the uniteds army, a position at which they earned universal admiration. Remendous respect thate absolute confidence mark will ensure our incredible military is fully prepared to. Eter conflict enemy can match the often awesome light of the american army, navy, air force, coast guard, and the United States marines. We had a budget of fruit when i first came in. 700 billion and then i went to 716 billion. And i wont even tell you what this one is, i can only tell you it is even more. We have rebuilt things that nobody ever thought was possible to rebuild. We have upgraded our nuclear, very, very powerfully. We never want to have to use it. Thewe have the best in world on every aspect of they bring solace into the hearts of our friends and it strikes fear into the hearts of our enemies. Our military today is more powerful, by far, then ever before. Than ever before. We could not have said that three years ago. We are giving our fighters the tools they need to fight and win with overwhelming force. After years and years of budget cuts and all of the things they have been doing to set us back with our military, we have more than made up for all of it. We have new tanks and submarines and planes and Missile Systems operating. Any battlefield will be a battlefield on which we win. We have given our Service Members the largest pay raise in nearly a decade. We have faced the challenge of with clear eyes and fresh thinking and bold determination. Our First Priority is always the safety and sovereignty of our nation and our citizens. Home, we have the floyd military forces to confront the grave National Security crisis. All of the great military leaders for the help you have given us on our southern border. As you know that mexico has now deployed 21,000 troops, something they have never done before. I want to thank the country in mexico and the president. No nation can be safe or secure that fails to control its borders. In syria and iraq, thanks to the warriorsbravery of our , the isil caliphate has been 100 absolutely destroyed. And in a very quick moment of time, as soon as i said i want , ito it and do it fast kicked in a very quickly. Claiming 184nd precious lives. We will never forget the immortal sacrifice of those american patriots. We vowed to do whatever it will take to protect our homeland and safeguard our people from the threat of radical islamic terrorism. , america facesd new threats and strategic rivals. We met this competition with unmatched confidence purpose and resolve. We talked to all of them and they talked to us with great, great respect. They respect our country, so much more than they have. Right now, they respect us right now more than they have in many, many years. And it is only going to get more. We are ensuring american dominance against every dont domain. That is why undersecretary , as mark hasrship already said, but is so exciting to say, whenever i make a speech people start going wild. They stand up and they clap and i cant sit them down and they have to wait because i say launching the United States space force, they go absolutely wild. They understand that is where it is going to be at and we will be there and be there in every way that you can. Higher, i know the men and women in this department will never let up and never rest easy. Together, we will fulfill the Sacred Mission to protect the greatest nation in the history of the world. With unyielding strength, we will defend our country and our people. Well probably defend our Great American filed flag. Secretary esper, congratulations to you and your family. This is an incredible day in the life and fabled history of the United States. Secretary of defense did you ever see that . We will do a great job, no doubt. No doubt. We cannot wait to see all that you will achieve tonight. I want to thank everybody for being here. God bless you, god bless our military, and god bless america. Thank you very much. [standing drills] we would like to recognize those who joined us here today by performing the arm that song for the Armed Services. When you can by performing the song of the Armed Services. When you recognize your song, please stand and be recognized. [United States army song] him him and states navy song] [applause] [standing drills] drills]g [bombastic patriotic music] music]tic patriotic this concludes todays ceremony. Way towardske your the departure of your official party. Thankies and gentlemen, you again for joining us at the pentagon. Have a wonderful day. Cspans washington journal live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. Coming up friday morning, we will discuss the increased federal spending and the limit. E in the borrowing first, we speak with brendan boyle. Then, Pennsylvania Republican congressman dan meuser. He sure to watch cspans washington journal live at 7 00 eastern. Join the discussion. Approved acommittee subpoena for personal emails used by white