Photo By Tech. Sgt. Michael Holzworth | Deputy Defense Secretary, Dr. Ashton B. Carter gives a coin to U.S. Marine Corps Cpl....... read more read more
Subscribe
HONOLULU – Deputy Defense Secretary Dr. Ashton B. Carter met with service members from U.S. Pacific Command aboard the USS Missouri memorial, July 7, 2012, to thank them for their service during a critical transition of U.S. Forces throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
“World War II ended on the deck of this ship and the men and women of that time are considered the greatest generation…of their time, well from Secretary Panetta and myself you are the greatest generation of this time,” Carter said.
As the era of Iraq and Afghanistan come to an end, the President and the Secretary of Defense has directed U.S. defense forces efforts to the security opportunities and challenges within the Asia-Pacific region to ensure security and economic growth throughout the world.
“You, right here, right now in PACOM, are at the heart of the great transition that our countries defense is undergoing in these coming years,” he said.
Carter visited with PACOM to kick off a 10-day trip to the Asia-Pacific region with stops in Guam, Japan, Thailand, India and South Korea.
“The President, Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of State have all been out here and I’m out here in their wake to show that when they talked about re-balancing our security effort to the Asia-Pacific theater, that we aren’t just talking the talk, we are walking the walk,” Cater said. “I want to check on the status of our own people, want to check on the health of our alliances and relationships and make sure that we are doing all the things that we can do, all the things that we said we would do, all the things that we’re planning to do to rebalance our efforts to this region.”
Carter closed his remarks by saying that it comes down to the principles people stand for and uphold in this part of the world.
“This region of the world has enjoyed peace and prosperity for 70 years, it’s a remarkable achievement that doesn’t come automatically,” Carter said. “During this time of peace in this region Japan was able to rise, then Korea and now China is able to develop their own people and to develop economically and that is only possible in an environment of peace and security.”
| Date Taken: | 07.18.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 07.18.2012 23:18 |
| Story ID: | 91788 |
| Location: | HONOLULU, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 299 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Deputy Secretary of Defense visits with service members on USS Missouri, by TSgt Michael Holzworth, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
