Remarks by Secretary Carter and President Ghani to Servicemembers and Veterans in the Pentagon Courtyard

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ASHTON CARTER: Good Morning. President Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah, Secretary Kerry, members of our armed forces...and all members of the DoD family.

 

In 1999, after almost a decade in uniform, Lieutenant Lonn Larson retired as a Navy flight officer, and launched a successful, private-sector career.

 

But he felt like his service to his country wasn't complete.

 

So more than a decade after leaving active duty, he decided to return to the Navy as a reservist. Last May, he was called up for duty, and as we gather today in the Pentagon Courtyard, Lieutenant Commander Larson is serving in eastern Afghanistan, where he deployed nine months ago.

 

While Lieutenant Commander Larson is away, his wife of almost 20 years, Mary Ann, has left her job to spend more time with her 9-year-old daughter Reese. Mary Ann and Reese have sent a care package to dad every single week, and they can't wait for him to come home in about a month.

 

But for all the hardship of having her husband away, Mary Ann says that Lieutenant Commander Larson's deployment has become an opportunity to teach Reese how blessed and lucky we are as Americans; to explain what would happen if no one answered the call to service; and to talk about the kind of future we want all Afghans to have especially young girls Reese's age.

 

And we're honored to have Mary Ann and Reese here today.

 

A month after Lieutenant Commander Larson deployed to Afghanistan, a promising young soldier, Captain Jeremy Haynes, was in his fourth month as aide-de-camp to Major General Harold Greene, the commanding general of U.S. Combined Security Transition Command.

 

As many of you know, General Greene was tragically killed on August 5, 2014 in Afghanistan.

 

Captain Haynes was with General Greene the day they came under fire and suffered multiple, life-threatening wounds that left him unconscious and paralyzed below the waist. His prognosis was so dire that his wife, Chelsea, was told to be ready to fly to Germany as he underwent multiple operations.

 

But through grace and grit, Captain Haynes regained consciousness after he arrived at Walter Reed about a week later. And despite the odds, a day before New Year's Eve, his family celebrated...because five months after he was wounded, Captain Haynes took his first steps again. And just one month later, he and Chelsea celebrated the birth of their third child, Jordon Harold Haynes, named after General Greene.

 

Captain Haynes is now resolved to pass the Army's physical fitness test not just for himself but also as he says, to "be a rock...a motivation...and a torch" for all soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that he's met and no doubt inspired up at Walter Reed, where I first met him.

 

We're honored this morning to have Captain Haynes, his wife Chelsea, and his son Jordon here. And we're also honored to have Jordon's godmother, the widow of General Greene, retired Army Colonel Susan Myers.

 

As we tell the stories of the Larson, Haynes, and Greene families, we recognize that there are millions of stories like theirs...stories of duty, honor, sacrifice and sometimes of grief and tragedy because over 850,000 American troops and civilians and thousands more contractors, have served and sacrificed in Afghanistan since 2001. And so have their families alongside them.

 

Today we also recognize the sacrifices of Afghan security forces.

 

And we remember the 2,215 Americans who paid the ultimate price during the course of the conflict in Afghanistan and their spouses, parents, sons and daughters. We remember that they gave their lives defending our nation's security. And in this courtyard, we're also reminded why they went to Afghanistan in the first place. Because just beyond these walls, stands a memorial honoring all those who perished when the Pentagon was attacked on that bright, fateful day in 2001.

 

Our guest this morning, President Ghani, knows this history well. And on behalf of all Afghans, he is here today to thank you and to thank all the Americans whose service has not only kept the United States secure, but also given hope and opportunity to his countrymen as well.

 

But before I turn it over to President Ghani, let me say a few words about him.

 

President Ghani has led an extraordinary life, and he has deep ties to the United States. As a young man, he won a fellowship to study at the American University [of] Beirut where he met his wife, Rula. He pursued his doctorate and has taught at some of America's finest universities.

 

Through some of Afghanistan's darkest days when the Soviet Union invaded and occupied his country... when many of his family members were persecuted and jailed...President Ghani always guarded his faith in a brighter future for his country.

 

As a scholar, he studied state-building and how to break the cycle of conflict. And as a practitioner at the World Bank of the United Nations, he applied those lessons managing large-scale economic development projects in countries like India and China, and helping ease the transition in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban.

 

When the opportunity came to write a new chapter in Afghanistan's history, President Ghani without hesitation left his comfortable life as a scholar and policymaker and returned to his home. First, to lead Kabul University, then to serve as finance minister, creating one of the most comprehensive economic development programs ever proposed. Along the way, always focused on the future, he co-authored one of the most comprehensive studies of peace agreements around the world.

 

His initiatives as president now of his country, are well-known. But there also the smaller, telling details: He's known for meetings that culminate in decisions, and not just discussion. He orders snap inspections. He personally holds government officials to their word and to account.

 

In short, he demonstrates that public service is a public trust.

 

And along with Dr. Abdullah, President Ghani has made clear to the Afghan people that for all the assistance that the United States, our military, and the international community can and will furnish, Afghanistan's future is ultimately for the Afghans to grab hold of...and for Afghans to decide.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, it's my privilege to introduce the president of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani.
(Applause.)

 

AFGHAN PRESIDENT ASHRAF GHANI: In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful, (inaudible), Secretary Kerry, Secretary Carter, generals, the Pentagon community, Reese, it's a rare pleasure to be with you today. First of all, to say thank you on behalf of a grateful nation to people in this building and the larger U.S. community who have sacrificed continuously since September 11th to bring us freedom and hope.

 

Reese, I have greetings to you from three million young Afghan girls who are attending school today. Fourteen years ago, there were exactly none. So each one of them wants to entertain the hopes that you do. And your dad is making this possible. So do thank your dad. And remember, he is there to make a difference.

 

To General Greene's family, on the 18th I presided over the graduation ceremony of the military academy that he so valiantly and so compassionately dealt with. And what was really special was that the woman officers who swore to uphold the constitution of Afghanistan, there were young men from across the country in whose eyes I saw determination. I saw hope, and I saw honor for the legacy of the general who had helped so selflessly create the conditions under which they would thrive.

 

We hold his memory dear, and when I go back, I will name a section of that military academy in his honor.

 

(Applause.)

 

Captain Haynes, first of all, congratulations on your recovery. That determination, that grit, that desire to move on, no matter what -- what the odds are, is what characterizes your profession.

 

You've taken your duty, your oath, seriously, and now, I congratulate you with your wife on your third child. I'm sure that you will be a four star general. With a father like you and a mother than can uphold, and particularly a godmother, we can understand what this child will bring to the world in the way of hope and understanding.

 

I want to first pay tribute to more than 2,000, the exact number is 2,215, I believe, 2,215 Americans who paid the ultimate sacrifice. To more than 20,000 American soldiers who have been wounded in action, but also to more than hundreds of thousand with double duties, close to a million American service men and women have gotten to know my country.

 

You have been in the most remotest valleys, and the highest peaks, and the parched deserts, and beautiful valleys, but also in most demanding situations. Each one of you has left a legacy, but I also understand that Afghanistan has marked you.

 

When you wake up at night, sometimes you're not sure whether you're back there or here, but what gratifies me as the president of Afghanistan is what I've had the honor to hear repeatedly from American veterans, I have left a piece of my heart in Afghanistan.

 

Thank you.

 

(Applause.)

 

What I want to state on behalf of the Afghan people is that each one of you also has left a memory in the heart of every Afghan that you've touched and encountered. You were not there just to fight. I come back to the fighting. You built schools, you built dams, you build roads, and while the physical infrastructure is great and it's changed lives, it is the attitude that you brought with it. An attitude of caring, and attitude of discipline and sacrifice, and the Afghan people, but particularly the Afghan security forces honor that attitude.

 

The combat role of the United States I'm pleased to state ended on December 31, 2014. So what's the legacy? The legacy is now a proud Afghan security forces that has dealt with the best of you and emulates the best of your example.

 

Our special forces that worked -- that have worked shoulder to shoulder with you are carrying the mission. Our army corps have changed fundamentally as a result of attracting with you, our special police forces and our secret service. All remember you fondly and are carrying on.

 

The military academy, Mrs. Greene, again, is going to train generations of Afghans who are going to be committed to the values that General Greene so valiantly and so honestly portrayed and espoused.

 

All these are legacies of our partnership. And I want to thank you. I have also had the rare privilege because I left the security transition prior to becoming president, to get to know some of the finest generals in American military command -- General McNeill, General Eikenberry, General Dunford, General Petraeus, General Allen. And now I've had the honor to deal with General Campbell.

 

Let me say these generals hardly get more than six hours of sleep. And thanks to Pentagon, most of the time, because of video conferences, they don't even get that.

 

(Laughter.)

 

So at times, I need to be quite careful with my time of meetings with General Campbell because I don't know how many video conferences he's held through the night.

 

(Laughter.)

 

But what I see in these generals is a single (inaudible) sense of purpose, a sense of purpose to make a difference, a sense of purpose to fulfill not just their patriotic duties to the United States into the world, but to Afghans. It has been a pleasure and I continue to look forward to working with you.

 

I also want to take advantage of the presence of Secretary Kerry, to thank the finest diplomat in the United States on behalf of, particularly Dr. Abdullah, and myself. Secretary Kerry has invested himself very heavily in Afghanistan and ours, which could have been difficult, could have been impossible, stood, helped, and had the immense patience in the strategic focus to bring unity, where there could have division.

 

Again, Mr. Secretary, thank you for your friendship, thank you for your commitment and understanding. Secretary Carter was -- Secretary Kerry both brings heart and the touch of the politician. I'm delighted that Secretary Carter, in addition to those qualities, brings the qualities of the physicist to his understanding with us.

 

I like tough partners. And here I want to pay tribute to the commander-in-chief of the United States, President Obama. A sense of clarity, the conditions that he puts, it helped us greatly. When he ordered the surge in 2009, he put time boundaries, time limits to that. (Inaudible) -- the U.S. Army put one of the miracles of logistics, both to deploy over 100,000 troops to Afghanistan and also to withdraw them in (inaudible).

 

Everyone who has been engaged in those logistics operation, I want to say a large thank you. A legacy of what you did to bring those supplies is now called the Northern Route. The route through Europe to Georgia, Azerbaijan, to Afghanistan and on to Afghanistan. The route that you first opened in order to get supplies is now becoming our largest transit route to Europe. We hope that within five days, we'll be able to connect our goods to and from Europe.

 

This, again, is an enduring legacy. What was then at the time of war is now becoming what they're calling the -- (inaudible), the road for peace, the road for interactions and connections.

 

The second -- so, my first message, again to repeat, is a thank you to every one of you in the Pentagon community, and the U.S. defense community, and in the diplomatic community. But mostly, to the American tax payer. The men and women, you, all of you, will make your hard-earned dollars available for Afghanistan. And because of that, the government of national unity, the -- (inaudible) -- is committed to account for every single one of those dollars and pennies.

 

This phase of our partnership with the defense community is about building systems, procedures, processes, so that the right leadership, the dedicated staff can make use of those resources for the best purpose.

 

Here, again, the deployment of Reese's father and other officials is in a different kind of integral, to leave behind systems and procedures that Afghans will be able to run, and run for decades, and hopefully centuries, on a sustainable basis.

 

My third message to you is that we are not going to be a burden. We do not now ask what the United States can do for us, if I can play on President Kennedy. We want to say what Afghanistan will do for itself, and for the world. And that means we are going to put our house in order. We're a front line state. We die on a daily basis. I've held more children in my arms who have been wounded, or killed in -- while playing volleyball, while watching a play in a school, while just simply walking to work.

 

A 20-year-old woman who went to work, and when I spoke to her father, the father said the night before the girl had said, father, you can now hope to retire, because in six months, I will be able to pay for the expenses of the house. Unfortunately, now that father needs to continue to work.

 

We die, but we will never be defeated.

 

Terrorism is a threat, it's evil, but we, the people of Afghanistan, are willing to speak truth to terror by saying, no, you will never overwhelm us, you will never subdue us, we are going to overcome.

 

(Applause.)

 

And in this endeavor, our partnership with the United States is foundational because we will be the first line of defense for freedom globally and for creating the conditions where enough young girls -- Reese's millions of sisters can entertain the smile that she does and bring light to the day.

 

My fondest hope, and to the veterans, is that we hope to welcome you in Afghanistan as tourists, as civilians re-visiting with your loved ones the peaks, the deserts, the valleys, the homes of people that your loved ones touched so dearly.

 

Come back to us in some years and in that moment, our friends, millions of us will be able to say thank you to each one of you personally, shake your hands, and invite you to our homes.

 

Thank you. God bless the friendship between the United States and Afghanistan.

 

(Applause.)