good morn __PUNCT__ and thank you for the honor of be here with you for thi __NUM__ gener confer __PUNCT__
i am proud to address such a distinguish group of patriot __PUNCT__
i am here __PUNCT__ in part __PUNCT__ to sai thank you for your servic and your sacrific on behalf of our belov countri __PUNCT__
everi american who understand the true valu of freedom __PUNCT__ and the price that must be paid to preserv it __PUNCT__ ow an etern debt of gratitud to each you and to all of the brave and honor __PUNCT__ citizen __PUNCT__ soldier __PUNCT__ you ar privileg to lead __PUNCT__
the men and women of the nation guard ar a nation treasur __PUNCT__
i wa bless to have been born into a famili who made their live at sea in defens of our secur and ideal __PUNCT__
my grandfath wa a naval aviat __PUNCT__ my father a submarin __PUNCT__
their respect for me wa on of the great ambit of my life __PUNCT__
and so it wa nearli pre __PUNCT__ ordain that i would find a place in my famili profess __PUNCT__ and that occup would on dai take me to war __PUNCT__
such wa not the case for mani of you __PUNCT__
your ambit might not have led you to war __PUNCT__ the honor you sought were not kept hidden on battlefield __PUNCT__
mani of you were citizen __PUNCT__ soldier __PUNCT__
you answer the call when it came __PUNCT__ took up arm and serv for your countri sake __PUNCT__ and fought becaus you believ america secur wa as much your respons as it wa the profession soldier __PUNCT__
and when you came home __PUNCT__ you built a better a countri than the on you inherit __PUNCT__
i do not mean to dismiss the virtu of the profession soldier __PUNCT__
i consid my inclus in their rank to be on of the great honor of my life __PUNCT__
the navi wa and still remain the world i know best and love most __PUNCT__
the world ha chang dramat sinc __DATE__ __PUNCT__
todai __PUNCT__ the nation guard role resembl __PUNCT__ in mani respect __PUNCT__ the role it perform in world war ii __PUNCT__ when guard unit fought in everi theater and everi major campaign __PUNCT__
unit such as compani a of the __NUM__ infantri regiment __PUNCT__ the fame __PUNCT__ bedford boi __PUNCT__ of the virginia nation guard __PUNCT__ that spearhead the alli assault on omaha beach __PUNCT__ __DATE__ __PUNCT__
prior to 9/11 __PUNCT__ a lot of us didn't alwai fulli appreci the power and potenti of the guard __PUNCT__ and what it might on dai be call upon to do __PUNCT__
but my friend __PUNCT__ we understand it now __PUNCT__
time have chang __PUNCT__ we all understand that now __PUNCT__
todai __PUNCT__ thousand of nation guard soldier and airmen onc again fight alongsid their activ compon comrad on everi battlefield in the war against milit islam __PUNCT__
from the mountain of afghanistan to the back allei of iraq __PUNCT__ guard and reserv personnel ar engag in everi aspect of thi conflict __PUNCT__
todai nation guard soldier and airmen __PUNCT__ togeth with the reserv forc __PUNCT__ ar the citizen __PUNCT__ soldier of the next great gener __PUNCT__
you ar the role model of freedom __PUNCT__ who brave set asid self __PUNCT__ interest __PUNCT__ and forgo the comfort of home __PUNCT__ the econom secur of your job and enterpris __PUNCT__ and the compani of your famili to undertak the hard work of freedom __PUNCT__ to do your part in preserv our preciou gift of liberti __PUNCT__ protect our cherish valu __PUNCT__ and secur the life and properti of fellow human be __PUNCT__ often by risk your own __PUNCT__
the men and women of the nation guard repres the veri best of what it mean to be an american and what our countri is truli all about __PUNCT__ free peopl of everi race __PUNCT__ creed __PUNCT__ color __PUNCT__ and ethnic background __PUNCT__ who regard it as their sacr duti not simpli to indulg in the right and privileg of citizenship __PUNCT__ but to answer it oblig __PUNCT__
no matter the danger to our secur or safeti __PUNCT__ at home or abroad __PUNCT__ whether from the violent foe of freedom or the turbul forc of natur __PUNCT__ wherev and whenev america ha call __PUNCT__ the nation guard ha answer __PUNCT__
you have alwai been readi __PUNCT__
you have alwai been there __PUNCT__
for everyon in the militari todai __PUNCT__ whether you ar guard __PUNCT__ activ __PUNCT__ or reserv __PUNCT__ these ar difficult time __PUNCT__
we ar a nation at war __PUNCT__ and we have ask of our men and women of the arm forc an almost unpreced level of commit and sacrific __PUNCT__
extend deploy and back __PUNCT__ to __PUNCT__ back combat tour have becom the standard rather than the except __PUNCT__
in the face of these demand __PUNCT__ the distinct between the guard and activ forc __PUNCT__ a distinct that onc wa so clear __PUNCT__ is now virtual undetect __PUNCT__
in __NUM__ armi nation guard brigad made up more than __NUM__ __PUNCT__ of the combat unit in iraq __PUNCT__
not sinc wwii have we ask so much of the guard __PUNCT__ not onli oversea but at home where the guard must continu to fulfil it critic duti secur the homeland from attack __PUNCT__ and respond to emerg that threaten live and properti almost everi dai __PUNCT__
fortun for america __PUNCT__ todai the men and women of the nation guard __PUNCT__ ar cut from the same patriot cloth as their predecessor who answer the call at concord and bunker hill __PUNCT__ gettysburg and cold harbor __PUNCT__ the argonn forrest __PUNCT__ and the beach of normandi __PUNCT__
thei ar men like master sergeant keari miller of the __NUM__ special tactic squadron of the kentucki air guard __PUNCT__ who __PUNCT__ in __DATE__ board a ch __PUNCT__ __NUM__ in an attempt to rescu two strand american servicemen from a mountain area of afghanistan swarm with al qeada and taliban forc __PUNCT__
the helicopt took heavi fire and crash __PUNCT__ injur sever on board __PUNCT__
ultim __PUNCT__ seven american live were lost __PUNCT__ but mani more were save __PUNCT__ thank to the courag of master sergeant keari miller __PUNCT__
with total disregard for hi own safeti __PUNCT__ master sergeant miller help establish a defens perimet __PUNCT__ then tend the wound __PUNCT__ protect them from enemi fire __PUNCT__ and establish medevac collect point __PUNCT__
but that wa not enough for thi __PUNCT__ fight kentuckian __PUNCT__
thi wa a gunfight for surviv __PUNCT__ and master sergeant miller ensur the success of hi team by gather up ammunit and distribut it among those still abl to fight __PUNCT__ make sure everyon weapon wa replenish and no on wa left defenseless __PUNCT__
master sergeant miller wa credit with save the live of ten grave wound american __PUNCT__
these were the action of an american patriot __PUNCT__ a citizen __PUNCT__ soldier and true hero who epitom the creed of the air forc para __PUNCT__ rescueman __PUNCT__ that other mai live __PUNCT__ and on who follow the motto of all bluegrass state warrior __PUNCT__ to __PUNCT__ fight like kentuckian __PUNCT__ the world in which mani of us serv in the past wa a danger on __PUNCT__ but more stabl than the world todai __PUNCT__
it wa a world where we confront a massiv __PUNCT__ organ threat to our secur __PUNCT__
our enemi wa evil __PUNCT__ but not irrat __PUNCT__
and for all the suffer endur by captiv nation __PUNCT__ for all the fear of global nuclear war __PUNCT__ it wa a world made fairli predict by a stabl balanc of power until our steadfast and patienc yield an histor victori for our secur and ideal __PUNCT__
that world is gone __PUNCT__ and pleas don't mistak my reminisc as an indic that i miss it __PUNCT__
if i nostalg for it at all __PUNCT__ it is onli an old man nostalgia for the time where he misspent hi youth __PUNCT__
that world __PUNCT__ after all __PUNCT__ had much cruelti and terror __PUNCT__ some of which it wa our fate to wit person __PUNCT__
todai __PUNCT__ we glimps the prospect of anoth __PUNCT__ better world __PUNCT__ in which all peopl might somedai share in the bless and respons of freedom __PUNCT__
but we also face a threat and a long war to defeat it that is as difficult and in mani respect more destabil than ani challeng we have ever face __PUNCT__
we confront an enemi that so despis us and modern itself that thei would us ani mean __PUNCT__ unleash ani terror __PUNCT__ caus the most unimagin suffer to harm us __PUNCT__ and to destroi the world we have tri throughout our histori to build __PUNCT__
as we meet __PUNCT__ in iraq and afghanistan __PUNCT__ american soldier __PUNCT__ marin __PUNCT__ sailor and airmen ar fight brave and tenaci in battl that ar as danger __PUNCT__ difficult and consequenti as the great battl of our arm forc __PUNCT__ stori past __PUNCT__
as we all know __PUNCT__ the war in iraq ha not gone well __PUNCT__ and the american peopl have grown sick and tire of it __PUNCT__
i understand that __PUNCT__ of cours __PUNCT__
i __PUNCT__ too __PUNCT__ have been made sick at heart by the mani mistak made by civilian and militari command and the terribl price we have paid for them __PUNCT__
but we cannot react to these mistak by embrac a cours of action that will be an even greater mistak __PUNCT__ a mistak of coloss histor proport __PUNCT__ which will __PUNCT__ and i am as sure of thi as i am of anyth __PUNCT__ serious endang the countri i have serv all my adult life __PUNCT__
in the come month we will face a fork in the road __PUNCT__
we can pursu our opportun for victori in iraq __PUNCT__ strengthen our hand in the larger war against islam extremist __PUNCT__ and make our nation more secur __PUNCT__
or we can fold our tent __PUNCT__ embolden our enemi __PUNCT__ throw a region into instabl __PUNCT__ and increas the risk face on our home soil __PUNCT__
which wai requir greater leadership __PUNCT__ i plan to lead the fight in __DATE__ on the floor of the unit state senat to support our troop and in support of victori and against a plan for defeat __PUNCT__
we have new command in iraq __PUNCT__ and thei ar follow a counterinsurg strategi that i have advoc from the begin of thi war __PUNCT__ which make the most effect us of our strength and doesn't strengthen the tactic of our enemi __PUNCT__
thi new battl plan is succeed where our previou tactic fail __PUNCT__
although the outcom remain uncertain __PUNCT__ we must give gener petraeu and the american he ha the honor to command adequ time to salvag from the wreckag of our past mistak a measur of stabil for iraq and the middl east __PUNCT__ and a more secur futur for the american peopl __PUNCT__
to conced defeat now would strengthen al qaeda __PUNCT__ empow iran and other hostil power in the middl east __PUNCT__ unleash a full scale civil war in iraq that could quit possibl provok genocid there __PUNCT__ and destabil the entir region as neighbor power come to the aid of their favor faction __PUNCT__
the consequ would threaten us for year __PUNCT__ and i am certain would eventu draw us into a wider and more difficult war that would impos even greater sacrific on us __PUNCT__
our defeat in iraq would be catastroph __PUNCT__ not just for iraq __PUNCT__ but for us __PUNCT__ and i cannot be complicit in it __PUNCT__
i will do whatev i can __PUNCT__ whether i am effect or not __PUNCT__ to help avert it __PUNCT__
that is all i can offer my countri __PUNCT__
it is not much compar to the sacrific made by american who have volunt to shoulder a rifl and fight thi war for us __PUNCT__
i know that and am humbl by it __PUNCT__
but though my duti is neither danger nor oner __PUNCT__ it compel me nonetheless to sai to my fellow american __PUNCT__ as long as we have a chanc to succe we must try to succe __PUNCT__
i have mani respons to the american peopl __PUNCT__ and i try to take them all serious __PUNCT__
but i have on respons that outweigh all the other __PUNCT__ and that is to us whatev meager talent i possess __PUNCT__ and everi resourc god ha grant me to protect the secur of thi great and good nation from all enemi foreign and domest __PUNCT__
and that i intend to do __PUNCT__ even if i must stand athwart popular opinion __PUNCT__
i will attempt to convinc as mani of my countrymen as i can that we must show even greater patienc __PUNCT__ though our patienc is nearli exhaust so we can defeat our enemi __PUNCT__
that is how i constru my respons to my countri __PUNCT__
that is how i constru it yesterdai __PUNCT__
it is how i constru it todai __PUNCT__
it is how i will constru it tomorrow __PUNCT__
i do not know how i could choos ani other cours __PUNCT__
the new secur environ in which we live will continu to pose great challeng __PUNCT__ and requir that we us all element of nation power to defeat radic __PUNCT__
the nation guard will plai a vital role in thi multi __PUNCT__ dimension effort __PUNCT__ precis becaus it citizen __PUNCT__ soldier and airmen bring such a wide rang of skill and capac to the forc __PUNCT__
as we go forward __PUNCT__ america must make a new and last commit to our nation guard __PUNCT__ a commit that will ensur the forc is properli man __PUNCT__ train __PUNCT__ led __PUNCT__ and equip to undertak the grow scope of mission we ask of you both at home and abroad __PUNCT__
such commit must begin with our polit leadership recogn the sheer magnitud of what we ask guard unit to accomplish with a forc compris primarili of part __PUNCT__ time soldier and airmen __PUNCT__
such commit mean provid suffici end __PUNCT__ strength in the activ __PUNCT__ guard and reserv compon consist with the workload impos on our militari __PUNCT__
we must do a better job of follow the guidelin regard the frequenc and durat of deploy __PUNCT__
failur to do so abus the trust of those who serv __PUNCT__ and is a nation disgrac __PUNCT__
it mean ensur that the guard ha the proper equip with which to train and deploi __PUNCT__
we must never __PUNCT__ never __PUNCT__ ask our young men and women to go into harm wai without the equip and train thei need to do their job effect and safe __PUNCT__ whether the enemi thei face is a militari forc __PUNCT__ terrorist cell __PUNCT__ pandem diseas __PUNCT__ earthquak __PUNCT__ fire __PUNCT__ or flood __PUNCT__
it mean that our nation leader must set wiser prioriti in the alloc of nation resourc __PUNCT__
the congress must stop fund __PUNCT__ bridg to nowher __PUNCT__ and thousand of other pork barrel project while we shortchang our servic member and fail to provid what thei need to defend our nation __PUNCT__
it mean get rid of defens depart polici __PUNCT__ practic __PUNCT__ and custom that fail to promot a seamless total forc base on cooper __PUNCT__ joint __PUNCT__ and the mutual respect that all compon have earn with their blood and braveri __PUNCT__
it mean establish a new compact with our guard and reserv compon personnel to ensur thei have the pai thei deserv __PUNCT__ the career opportun thei merit __PUNCT__ and the level of servic that befit their time __PUNCT__ capabl __PUNCT__ and need __PUNCT__
it mean make certain that our guard and reserv member __PUNCT__ and their famili __PUNCT__ receiv the proper health care thei deserv and have been promis __PUNCT__
it mean guarante that all injur servic member ar treat with equal care and digniti __PUNCT__
and __PUNCT__ my friend __PUNCT__ it mean a nation leadership that respect and treat our governor and adjut gener as partner in nation and homeland secur policymak __PUNCT__ rather than as impedi and intrud __PUNCT__
as far as i concern part of that essenti effort must be grant the chief of the nation guard bureau the fourth star that the posit merit __PUNCT__ and updat the charter of the bureau to align it with the scope and import of it mission todai __PUNCT__
achiev these imper will requir break old paradigm __PUNCT__ shed outdat think __PUNCT__ and understand the new capabl that ar so vital in the modern secur environ __PUNCT__
it will requir less partisanship and greater polit will __PUNCT__
abov all __PUNCT__ it demand strong leadership at all level of govern and the militari __PUNCT__
from great challeng __PUNCT__ emerg great opportun __PUNCT__
our is a time of unpreced challeng __PUNCT__
with it come the opportun to make our countri safer __PUNCT__ the world better __PUNCT__ and the futur brighter __PUNCT__
we can do thi __PUNCT__
we can seiz thi opportun for our good and the good of our children __PUNCT__ but onli if we exercis the resolv that america ha alwai demonstr in moment time when our secur and the prospect of the world futur hung in the balanc __PUNCT__
i would like to close as i began __PUNCT__ by sai thank you __PUNCT__
to the nation guardsmen who todai will walk combat patrol in iraq and afghanistan __PUNCT__ to those who will fly mission in support of our deploi forc __PUNCT__ to those engag back home in humanitarian effort to reliev suffer __PUNCT__ and to all of you who know what it mean to stand the long night watch __PUNCT__ thank you __PUNCT__
you understand both the valu __PUNCT__ and the price __PUNCT__ of freedom __PUNCT__
you ar the best among us __PUNCT__
in whatev capac provid grant that i serv my countri i pledg to you my undi fidel to the caus to which you devot your live __PUNCT__ the safeti and secur of america __PUNCT__ and a nation guard that will alwai be readi __PUNCT__ and alwai be there __PUNCT__
thank you __PUNCT__
