11 Dec 2020
Maj Gen (Ret) Tim Green
Author’ note: As I take a break from writing to spend time with my family over the holidays, I thought you might be interested in remarks I gave to former Cadets at Texas A&M as they commissioned to Second Lieutenants in the United States Air Force and United States Space Force shortly before Christmas. The following are the remarks as I prepared them beforehand, but not necessarily as presented. The men and women who commissioned that day pledged their lives, energy and talent to support our nation. Enjoy!
Thank you for that generous introduction. Colonel LeVan, thank you for allowing me to be a part of today’s ceremony. Commissionees, family, faculty, staff and friends, welcome! It is great to be with you to share in this short and simple, but profound ceremony, as these men and women stand before us and swear to support and defend our constitution, against all enemies, foreign and domestic!
Thirty-four years ago, I sat in a similar room in Rudder Hall for my commissioning. It seems like yesterday that my fiancée, Susan, and my mother pinned on my gold bars. Knowing what I know today, I wish I could trade places with you and do it all again! What an exciting, challenging, rewarding and humbling journey lies ahead…it has been better than I ever imagined. I joined for a four year commitment, loved the purpose and people I served with, and ultimately stayed in for thirty-one years!
I want to take a moment for parents with us today. Thank you for raising such great men and women. They have lived out your values, been dedicated to learning and are willing to serve others. I know these officers will never outgrow you! My parents and my mother and father-in-law were Susan’s and my biggest cheerleaders and supporters throughout our service.
Parents, I have to tell you, your sons’ and daughter’s military service will not always be easy for you, especially when they deploy. But know our nation is sustained by them. In a democracy the military exists to protect the nation and the freedoms of its people. Its loyalty is to the larger ideals of the nation, to the rule of law, and to the principle of democracy itself.
Margaret Thatcher said, “There is little hope for democracy if the hearts of men and women in democratic societies cannot be touched by a call to something greater than themselves.” Your sons and daughters are joining the long and rich legacy of those who have answered the call, those who fought for our freedom in the Revolutionary War and in the many wars and combat actions for over two hundred and forty years since. They will earn their place in our nation’s history and leave their own legacy. You have so much to be proud of.
To spouses and future spouses…Welcome to the family!
Are you a bit nervous? It is OK, Susan was probably more nervous about being a military spouse than I was about becoming an officer. Your success only requires three things:
Be yourself, love your spouse, and love our Airmen. When you do those three things, you will naturally do all that is needed and not be overwhelmed. In the Air Force you are not alone, we consider ourselves a family. We care for one another and help one another. We learn together, cry together, laugh together, and go on great adventures together that you can’t even imagine today. And doing these things together makes the joys greater, the pride deeper, and the sense of purpose more clear.
Again, welcome to the family!
Commissionees…
There’s not enough time to share all I want, so I’ll speak to one of three hats you wear as an officer. The first, US Military Officer, the second is that of an Air Force or Space Force Officer, and the third hat is that of your specialty, such as pilot, intelligence, space operations, or civil engineer. You must dedicate a great deal of time and energy to this third hat in order to become competent and then excellent in your profession—especially in the early years of your career.
Yet it is that first hat that will always be most important in my book—officer in the United States Military. You represent our great nation in all of your actions. When you travel across the country or internationally, people see you first as a US Officer. And of course, for those who know you, you represent Texas A&M and your parents. You will always represent more than yourself.
For that first hat, be reminded of the seriousness of the oath you are about to take. Our business is to defend our nation…a heroic and noble cause. We do that in three ways. The preferred way is deterrence. we make clear that our military is trained and equipped to wage devastating combat on enemy forces. We want to clearly establish a cost so high that a potential enemy is unwilling to pay it, or even come to the starting line of war.
The second way we defend the Constitution is often given little consideration other than looking back at history. It is internal to the United States and more of an implied task than stated one. Our military provides the example of citizenship, service, sacrifice and teamwork for the nation. We model how individuals from all elements of our society, with differing political views and religious beliefs, of all races and economic backgrounds, can unite together to ensure the defense of our nation. In many cases the only shared experience of growing up in America is their choice to serve our great nation. Regardless of background, each Airmen or Space Professional volunteered and raised their right hands and swore to support and defend the Constitution. I encourage you to give this part serious thought in the days ahead.
One of Abraham Lincoln’s most famous speeches was one he made in 1858 running for US Senate in which he said “A house divided against itself, cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.” Those initial words were not original to Lincoln. They were first recorded in the Bible where Jesus said “A house divided against itself cannot stand”. They have echoed through history, Thomas Hobbes in the 1600s and Thomas Paine in his 1776 pamphlet “Common Sense”, Abraham Lincoln, and many other leaders and philosophers. Our adversaries know and believe this as well. They seek to sow and amplify discord here and are thrilled to watch our citizens pick up and wave literal and figurative flags of disunity in the United States. Our nation is facing division not seen in your lifetimes, and I’ve not seen since I was a child in the 1960s.
In times of discord, this role of creating and maintaining unity in defense of our nation becomes more challenging. Beginning last summer I heard from squadron and group commanders about their challenges and many difficult conversations as they and their Airmen and Space Professionals wrestle with the same current events you wrestle with. These leaders know that when their team, soon to be your team, goes off to war, they better be competent, unified, effective, and deadly.
And that is why you must get your arms around team building because the third way you will defend our nation is combat. It is the entire purpose of your service—the readiness of our Air and Space Forces to engage in combat. The cost of combat and war—the loss of American lives—is always greater than we want to bear. But it is a price we must pay for our freedom and our nation. You will feel this weight and responsibility even as you execute your missions. Many of you will make life and death decisions in the years ahead: Do I fire or do I hold? Do I send Sgt Anderson or Sgt Hightower on the patrol? Do I drink alcohol the night before my mission or watch? Is this target occupied with civilians? We entrust you with lives and victory.
For your military to be successful requires superb leadership and followership at every organizational level. So, before I step away, I must emphasize one element of leadership essential to the morale, drive and success of our units—integrity.
Integrity is the foundation. General Charles A. Gabriel, 11th Chief of Staff of the Air Force said “Integrity is the fundamental premise of military service in a free society. Without integrity the moral pillars of our military strength––public trust and self-respect––are lost.”
I know you’ve learned a lot about integrity here at Texas A&M, so I won’t attempt to define it for you. As important as integrity is, something to fight for and preserve, no one can take it away from you. Only you can give your integrity away. My service included hard lessons from the integrity failures of men and women who wore our nation’s uniform. When studied, those failures started small and grew bigger. I’ll give you two brief examples.
The first, a needless B-52 aircraft crash in 1994 that killed four officers. A study afterward found that contributing factors included a “culture of selective enforcement of standards.” What does that mean? It meant the rules and standards did not apply equally to everyone on the installation. The pilot believed he did not need to follow the standards, both in the air and on the ground. And some, but not all, leaders accepted this conduct up until the crash.
The second example is simple bribery to award contracts to a preferred bidder. There are too many examples of this from both military and civil servants. From seeking employment for a daughter to accepting millions in bribes. The impact is both opportunity costs when we pay too much for a contract and substandard parts or services used by our military.
In every case I have looked at, the men and women who had these failures joined for the same reason as you. To serve. What happened between commissioning and this loss of integrity? How did they, and others, go from serving our nation to serving themselves? They slowly and incrementally walked away from their principles.
I believe that at some point in your first year of service you will face your first integrity test. It will likely be small, but regardless of size, your first answer will likely lead to how you answer your second test question. And that will lead to your third answer and so on. And as you string your answers together, you will define your character. How did you answer as a cadet? Did you cheat on exams? Did you stop or hold classmates accountable for violations of rules, laws or standards? How will you answer as an officer? Eventually, someone’s life may depend on it. You need to decide your answer before your first test.
We believe in you.
Your presence here today means that the officers that taught and watched you believe in you. They trust that you will answer your questions with integrity. You will provide the leadership our Air Force and Airmen need! We think you have the character to fight through adversity, to bounce back from mistakes, and to understand that the enemy is also talented, cunning and brave. We believe you will inspire confidence when there is chaos around you, that you will care for our Airmen. The Air Force had a choice when you applied to join the service, and the Air Force and Space Force teams, including your cadre, held you up, looked you over, and said yes, we think you have what it takes.
What you do with this opportunity is up to you. I believe you will become some of the best leaders among your Air Force peers, and that you will lead us into the future with purpose and passion.
This is your chance to live out the authentic meanings of freedom and service, and to build upon the accomplishments of America’s storied past. This is your turn to write history. We are blessed to be Americans and to commission you as officers in the world’s greatest Air Force.
Congratulations on all you have accomplished to date, and all you will accomplish in the years ahead. May God bless you and may God bless the United States of America.
2 thoughts on “Texas A&M University US Air Force and Space Force ROTC Commissioning Speech”
Thanks for sharing these insights with us as well.
Solid coverage of what is ahead for all involved.
Good to hear that you would do it all again.
Stay safe.
Thanks Randy. I wish everyone could get to know the many outstanding Americans that served alongside me and taught me so much over the years…and still do!