Have general john allen, United States marine corps retired, fourstar general, former commander of Nato InternationalSecurity Assistance force in afghanistan. It is my great pleasure to introduce you general john allen, United States marine corps. [applause] got an ambush and already this morning. [laughter] cadet kim was going to introduce me. I think we have got all the introduction we need outoftheway. It is an honor to be with you and incredibly humbling to come in behind a couple tuskegee airmen. Be a bad asked. I am not sure how you do better than that. Badass. I am not sure how you can do better than that. I would like to do some q a. We will talk about major points. One. Your oath of office. This is a moment where our constitution is constantly in peoples minds. It is an issue being debated, what the intent of the framers was. There is no doubt about where it fits in the context of the oath of office of those of you who will lead our troops in combat. Speaking about the oath of office, how does that effect and how should it be interpreted with respect to the meaning of your commission . We will talk about that. Background on my family, since we have been talking history. My family has origins in the army, navy, marine corps. My grandfather, army combat engineer, badly gassed in world war i. My father enlisted in the navy, on a destroyer, it was torpedoed by a german uboat before world war ii started in 1941. He would fight throughout the entire war, across the north atlantic, mediterranean, pacific. Would end up at the end of the war anchored just away from the uss missouri and would be a witness to the surrender of the japanese. The marine corps side of my family, world war i, the battles of guam, iwo jima and okinawa. I came into the service when i was 17, into the naval academy, brand x for those of you from west point, graduated as an infantry man, spent 38 years as an infantry officer, would serve in bosnia, afghanistan and in iraq and later at the request of president obama, helped to organize and lead the Global Coalition against the Islamic State. It is an opportunity, during q a, i would be happy to answer your questions. Frame them about service in the military, combat, what our higher moral obligations are regardless of the uniform you wear, regardless of the formation you lead, it is extraordinarily important to have this conversation. 24 years ago, almost to the day, three levels up in this building , i was going through the Public Gallery with my family. I have been in command of a Marine Battalion landing team for some time, we had been working up through a special operations program. We were about to deploy to the mediterranean, almost certainly going to end up in bosnia and my business in particular beyond commanding 1200 marines of the Battalion Landing Team was to be the rescue force commander. The organization i was leading, going to go into the adriatic to rescue downed pilots flying over bosnia, was to alternate with the seal teams coming out of italy, and we were aboard the uss wasp. I brought my family up the last several days before deployment from this area originally. Three levels up, i went through the Public Gallery. If you have not been through it, you have to go through. On display was an original copy of the constitution. To that point, over 20 years of my life, from the moment my father swore me in to 1971, he had been an officer in the navy, from that moment until the time i put my eyeballs on the original copy of the constitution, i had never seen it. For years, i have sworn a sacred oath to support and defend the constitution. For years, i and my marines, and i would eventually come and join forces, i and all the services, who would arrive in combat in several different theaters, we had sworn an oath to support and defend the constitution. The u. S. Is not a place, although we can find ourselves on the map. It is not about a piece of fabric, although we do salute a flag. It is not about a person, although we acknowledge leaders, key leaders in our history and in presentday. The u. S. Is about a set of ideas, principles. Principles as enshrined in the constitution and the framers intended the sacred dimension of the constitution define us as a people and as a nation. For that reason, from almost the earliest moments of the republic, our military, unique in the world, and i have commanded a 50 Nation Coalition in afghanistan and a 65 Nation Coalition against isis i know what im talking about we are unique in the world and that we owe our ultimate loyalty, those of you in uniform, and i spent some time in the garb, our loyalty is to the principles of the constitution. Our humanity, commitment to human rights, freedom of speech, the bill of rights enshrined human rights your program, you swore an oath. When you graduate and receive your commission, you will swear an oath. As you are promoted each time, you will swear that oath over and over and over again and you will administer that oath over and over and over again. I want to take a minute and talk about it this morning. Right now, the constitution is being tested, pulled, twisted in a bunch of ways. In the public domain. The reality is, of course, it is what the when you swear that oath, you right and will be asked to raise your right hand, and you will you probably be asked, are you prepared to swear this before god . That is your choice. That is one of the great things about america. You can swear before god or affirm it based on your own personal predilections. It goes Something Like this. I do solemnly swear, solemnly swear, that i will support and defend the constitution of the United States of america, against all enemies, all enemies, foreign and domestic and that i will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that i take this obligation freely, an obligation no one is making you do this i take this obligation freely, without mental reservation or purpose of evasion, that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which you are about to enter, so help you god. Now. They are not kidding when they ask you to swear this oath. I see some commissioned officers who have been spending some time vote in uniform. Those of you who served in combat, those of you who have seen the ramp ceremonies, whether in iraq or afghanistan, by you know the awful reality of what we do, unique in the World Society of the United States, as officers of our military services, the awful reality of what we do in the world, as the leading proponent of democracy and the community of nations, is that the outcome of our duties may be the of sacrifice of our lives and the sacrifice of those we lead. I as you think about this, i will really beg you to think about your oath of office. Take a moment and study the words. Take a moment and think about the origins. Why did the framers, why in their brilliance, did they place the United States militarys loyalty in the end to our constitution . It was to preserve the rights of what white our citizens. Importantly, that military is born civilian controlled. Whole civilian controlled. So that there will never be a coup in this country the way there is an almost every other country at some point in its history. We will always be loyal to the principles of the republic. You have sworn an oath to this constitution. Lets talk about the meaning of your commission. There was a book which i would there recommend, if you do not have it, you ought to get it. I know i know it was rewritten one recently, updated. The armed forces officer. It was written in 1950. Over get online and, in the you original version of it, and you can still get it online if you search, get an original you version. Write 1950. Well just a few years after they world war ii, the greatest mind conflagration the planet has ever seen, well more than 50 million dead. The North Koreans invade south korea. It appears both stalin and the chinese have lined up behind the north korean invasion. The concern of course was at the end of world war ii when we saw the iron curtain to send on europe descend on europe and we saw Mainland China go down in the Republican Forces free of flee across the shanghai straight, it really looked as though this was the ultimate standoff between the elements of freedom and the elements of communism. We were not sure how this would end up. In 1950, the North Koreans invaded, we did not do well. If you read the history, know about Task Force Smith and other organizations, it was not clear we would be able to keep the korean invaders from completely running our forces off the south korean peninsula. Desperate moment. U. S. Army and marines are fighting in desperate conditions to try to hold on. All meanwhile, around the world where we were faced off against communist or soviet forces, we thought this might be the opening shot of the big, final conflagration. All sides now were armed with thermonuclear weapons. This was a pretty bad moment. We were now a joint force. We were now goingwe were now a joint force. In 1947, we had become a joint force in many respects, even though we were still fighting as services. We needed to talk to the armed forces officer about why that individual should be leading our troops in combat, because if this goes south on us, every dimension of our military will be committed into this war. We were not doing well, frankly. It was not certain how this would unfold. So the army commissioned one of its greatest historians to put together a book called the armed forces officer. That historians name does not appear in the original book. I cannot find it in there. You know if you study why there was a manual, if you will, a pamphlet as the army called it on the officer, army pam 6001, you find out that a fellow by the name of sla marshall wrote the book. Also for historians, he is known as slam. What slam attempted to do is to put into context, our service. If you are an officer of the armed forces, you have sworn that oath. You are prepared to go forth and do battle on behalf of the u. S. To protect the constitution and pay the ultimate price in doing it. Slam, and i will read you some excerpts, because i think it is important, just remember when it was written, 1950. Slam says other than the officer corps, there is no group within our society which the obligation of the nation is more fully expressed. Even so, other americans regard this fact with pride rather than envy. They accept the principles that some unusual advantage should attend exceptional and unremitting response ability. They accept the principle that some unusual advantage should attend exceptional and unremitting responsibility. Whatever path an american officer may walk, that officer enjoys prestige. The little is known that individuals intrinsic merit, receiving the respective fellow citizens, unless that individual proves to be utterly undeserving. Americ there is a phrase in this that i think is important. This is why you have to read this book, from my perspective. Americans accept the principle that some unusual advantage should accrue to individuals who demonstrate exceptional and im unremitting responsibility. This is what sets you apart. You uniquely in american society, will lead men and women, characteristic of your service, you will lead them in combat. You may have to make decisions, again, for those of you who have served in combat, you will know how awful and difficult those decisions are. To give the orders, which may send one of your troops to her or his death that is exceptional. Exceptional, and the entire spectrum of our society. No one else has that responsibility. It is also unremitting. There is no let up. Youre not just on duty for eight hours per day doing exceptional things and then your offduty. You bear the burden because you have chosen to serve, because you swore an oath, because you have accepted a commission, you have chosen to bear the burden of that exceptional responsibility 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I will tell you it is hard for you now in school, in combat it is a burden you will never fully understand until you have had to bear it. Why is this important to understand . As a republic committed to principles, a set of principles that defines our humanity as a people and as a great nation, what is important to understand is that if we are going to fight, if we are going to lead our troops in combat, you officers, we officers have to lead them from the front in all things. How we organize our lives, how we live, how we conduct our leadership. Lead from the front in all things because you, heres the point, you must possess the moral authority to send your troops forward in combat either to take life or potentially to sacrifice their own. That is exceptional responsibility and it is never off your shoulders. When your hand comes down out of the air and you have said so help me god, having sworn to give everything about you to the defense of our constitution and through that defense, our people, this is an awesome responsibility you are about to shoulder. For those of you who are commissioned, those of you who have served in combat, you know what i am talking about. This is the meaning of your commission. This is why it is essential you understand the very dna of what we do as a military in this great nation, how we serve and are responsibility and service. I will add one other thing from the book. I recommend you get it. This is what is so interesting i think. Slam would go on the trust imposed in the highest military commander in the land is not more than that in charge to the newest ensign or Second Lieutenant, nor is it less. It is the fact of the commission which gives special distinction to that man or woman and in turn requires the measure of devotion to the service of the country be distinctive, as compared with the charge laid upon an average citizen. A little bit hard to work your way through but in essence, sla marshalls point is, it doesnt make any difference how senior you become the fact that our nation has bestowed upon you the humbling responsibility of leading our troops in combat and defending our constitution, it is no different a responsibility except in scope and magnitude for a Second Lieutenant than it is for a general. To prove the point, i have my Second Lieutenant commission at home, but one i was commissioned on june, 1976 and on the wall at my home i have my fourstar general commission. While one was printed off a printer, i think my First Sergeant misspelled my name when he wrote it in the other looked like a work of art. Here is the difference. Heres the point. There is no difference in the words. Special trust and confidence in the fidelity and integrity of the recipient. It is the same expectation of a Second Lieutenant in this case, ensigns and lieutenants elsewhere, the same expectation by the nation of the young officer as it is for the fourstar general commanding a theater of war. This is why we are so unique as a people. This is why our country has been so unique in the entire history of humankind. Rather than swear an oath to a king or to a symbol or to a flag or to some piece of terrain, we, you, have sworn an oath to a set of principles enshrined in the constitution of the United States and you need to understand that. Again, three levels up, i am standing there reading the constitution. I can hardly stand it. In all the time i have led marines around the world, i am about to go out again and would in fact be on the ground leading the first marines to go into sarajevo at the end of the bosnian war, i had never laid eyes on that document. So i strongly recommend you take some time and think about your oath of office. It is not just a ceremony. It is the commitment of your very life in the end, to what we are all about. When you put the remains of your troops onto those aircraft to send them home, i hope to god you have lived up to the manner to have given the orders that resulted in that moment. I have 561 troops killed under my command in afghanistan. Which, was letters to all the families and children. 5400 wounded. Many of them amputees. Then the unseen wounds of those who would go home and never be the same. I dont pass a day without thinking about some of those troops, whether in iraq or afghanistan and i hope you will not pass a day now without thinking about that responsibility as you face it for the future. This is my final point, which makes us unique as a people in the world. There are lots of folks who join the military because they have a desire to kill or they have business interests, and i am not talking about the United States, im talking about elsewhere. You will serve alongside them. You will probably fight them. What makes us unique isnt that we have joined to kill, because we have joined and are prepared to die for something bigger than ourselves. For something that is unseen. A set of principles. Enshrined in our constitution. I am glad to be with you this morning. And i am, i am humbled still that having had the opportunity to serve in our joint forces in the marine corps and i hope as you prepare yourself in the final days of your commissioning programs, you will give very serious thought about what it is that is that exceptional and unremitting responsibility. Let me stop there. We have 15 minutes for questions and we will go from there. Yes, sir. [indiscernible] what program are you in . Ok. [indiscernible] i am wondering, in your experience you rely on to help you . Sure, sure. Everyone here the question . Several things. I had officer mentors and an listed mentors. First, my father was one of the greatest officers i ever knew. He truly lived by example for me every day. Having served in combat across all of world war ii in the navy, some of the hardest fighting, in korea as well, he truly understood what it was like to lead from the front. He was that example for me. There were marine officers as well. I will make a couple points. There were noncommissioned officers, incredible examples for me. I never miss the opportunity to talk about the First Sergeant of the organiz