the united states is going to maintain our military superiority with armed forces that are agile, flexible, and ready for the full range of contingencies from threats. we're also going to keep faith with those who serve by making sure our troops have the equipment and capabilities they need to succeed and by prioritizing efforts that focus on wounded warrers, mental health, and well-being of our military families. as our newest veterans rejoin civilian life, we'll keep working to give our veterans the care, the benefit, the benefits and job opportunities that they deserve and that they have earned. finally, although today is about our defense strategy, i want to close with a word about the defense budget that will flow from this strategy. the details will be announced in the coming weeks. some will no doubt say that the spending reductions are too big.