Remarks by Secretary Carter at a Troop Event at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, October 6, 2015

 

            SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ASH CARTER:  Don't clap for me.  I'm basically here to thank you, not the other way around. 

 

            You look magnificent, and the first thing I want to say to you is how incredibly proud I am of you, and every American is of you.  We don't take it for granted, what you do out here.  They, and obviously, I -- (inaudible) -- when I was reflecting, kind of, how I think people are thinking. 

 

            They understand the importance of what you do here.  They understand the centrality of this part of the world, and they are grateful every day for what you do. 

 

            That's kind of what I see and I hear.  Let me tell you what I think myself, which is that times about ten.  In other words, I am -- you are what I -- and by the way, my better half is there, Stephanie, here, who is as big a booster of yours as I am, but we're all in for you guys. 

 

            You are what we wake up to every morning.  You're what we think about all day, and we are so incredibly proud of you and what you do -- not only for our country, which is, of course, the main point, but for the rest of the world, and for great partners and allies like the Italians here.  I'll come back to that in a minute. 

 

            So the first thing I want to say is thanks, and what that means is thanks to you right here, but pass that on to your families and everything just so they know that you were thanked for what you're doing out here. 

 

            Its importance.  This, the -- you know, the hub of the Med, and so forth, is the -- is the motto, but it's more than a slogan.  That is the case.  This is a -- assignment that has always been important, but whose importance has grown over the last few years, steadily. 

 

            That's not necessarily good news in the sense that you are needed more and more, but it is a reflection of the importance of what you're doing.  You are at the hub -- not only of the Mediterranean, but you're at the hub of the change in mission sets -- the strategic transition that we are undergoing as a military and as a country as a consequence of the winding-down of 14 years -- important and successful years, in terms of the performance of U.S. military -- in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

 

            That was, for all of us -- and I was a part of that as well, for about half that time -- (inaudible) -- you know, it had to be, because we were -- we were all in, we had troops there every day.  And so, naturally, it took up a lot of our time and attention, and a lot of you. 

 

            We're now making a transition to a more complex mission set, which you are representative of.  So you go everywhere from NEOs and C.T. and humanitarian right up through full spectrum.  We need you to do that. 

 

            And so you might -- you know, when I go and visit our folks around the world, everybody always says, and one of you may say -- say the same thing, ask me, "okay, what do you think I'm going to do next?"  And usually that's a -- a short answer.  We know why they're there and what their mission is, why, when they were deployed there in the first place, what their training and equipment is, and what the -- their -- their mission is. 

 

            For you guys, I can't give you a short answer for that.  It would be a long answer, because you are doing a lot, and that is reflective of the role our country plays in the world, which still depends so much on American for so much, and very importantly, for -- and for -- centrally, for (inaudible) security.  Protecting our people.  Giving our people a better future. 

 

            So there couldn't be, I don't think, anywhere, in all of Europe, a more multi-purpose, more important place.  So I just wanted you to know, it's not just a slogan.  It's not just a thing on the map that you're the "hub of the Mediterranean."  You're the hub of all of our activity out here. 

 

            We count on you.  We count on your skill and professionalism, and we know we can. 

 

            I -- I mentioned our Italian hosts, and I was meeting with the Italian defense minister, and (inaudible) it's an Italian base, and for decades and decades and decades, we have worked with the Italians. 

 

            So there's a -- there's another lesson there for all of us, which is, the Italians and NATO, where I'll be (inaudible) the next couple of days, is -- is a group of countries that not only shares the America view of the -- of security and the threats that we need to counter, but also -- and this is important -- shares a lot of our values. 

 

            And you don't find that everywhere around the world.  They stand for many of the same things that we Americans stand for.  That's important.  So it's important that they be good hosts, it's important that they be good at what they do in the alliance. 

 

            But one of the things that makes us the favored partner everywhere around the world -- this isn't just in Europe.  It's in Asia and Pacific as well.  Nobody wants to -- Russia?  Very few friends and allies.  China?  Very few friends and allies.  The United States?  Many, many, many friends and allies. 

 

            Now, sometimes that seems burdensome to you because you're flying all over Europe, you're flying all over Africa, you're flying all over the Middle East.  But it's a compliment.  It's a compliment to you and to the power of America, but it's also a reflection of what we stand for. 

 

            (Inaudible) like to work for -- with us because they like what we stand for and they like how we behave and how we conduct ourselves, and that's something  you should be proud of as well. 

 

            So we depend on you, we count on you to continue doing what you're doing.  Never take it for granted.  Really commend the skill and the variety of the activities in which you are involved, and -- so, from me to you, applause right back, and thanks. 

 

            And now I've got some time, and so what I'd like to give you the opportunity to do is come, ask me anything you want, or tell me anything you think I ought to know.  So it can be a question or it can be an observation of some kind. 

 

            We can do that for a little while, and then I want to get a chance to look each one of you in the eye personally, shake your hand, thank you individually, and get a picture with you. 

 

            Okay?  So, who's first?  It can be a question or a comment.  Yes, okay.  Actually, (inaudible) mic, too. 

 

            Q:  Mr. Secretary, sir, (inaudible) with (inaudible) here. 

 

            My question is in regards to (inaudible).  We have a lot of programs that are very extensive and time-consuming that seem to be going over the budget a lot and over time a lot.  It seems to be kind of a trend. 

 

            And we're just curious, what's being done to prevent that and combat that, sir? 

 

            SEC. CARTER:  Well, real -- real quick, good question, and I think that there still are too many programs that run over -- you mentioned both cost and schedule.  This is kind of a managerial issue rather than a strategic issue, but it's a very important one. 

 

            Why -- and those two things are, first of all, related.  The longer something takes, almost invariably, it costs more, because you're setting people working on it year in, year -- year after year. 

 

            The actual trends are -- happy to report, for the major programs -- improving.  I'm not the under secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics anymore, but the -- the -- if you -- if you look at the actual data, we are -- there are fewer cost overruns, fewer Nunn-McCurdy breaches -- if you're familiar with what they are.

 

            Better -- the negotiated contract costs relative to budgeted costs -- and these are various -- y'all may not know, these -- these are kind of parameters, (inaudible) -- management -- are improving, but are still not where I'm comfortable and happy with them. 

 

            So we need to do more, and -- you know, that's important not just so we don't waste money, which is obviously critical, but the -- the -- the more we do that, the more money we have to do the right thing, and -- and this is important -- you know, we ask the country to fund us, and -- and I'm -- I won't conceal from you the fact that I can always -- I always want more. 

 

            But it's much easier for me to make that case that you need to fund national defense if I can at the same time say, "hey, look, every dollar you give us, we're spending in the best possible way."  So it undercuts us that we have bad performance.  Any kind of waste. 

 

            So for both those reasons -- both that waste is bad in its own right, and because it takes away our reputation or spending the taxpayers' money well -- for both those reasons, we've got to get after -- (inaudible) -- waste. 

 

            So great -- great question.  I'm highly aware of it. 

 

            Q:  Thank you, Mr. Secretary. 

 

            SEC. CARTER:  Sorry. 

 

            Q:  Good afternoon, Mr. Secretary, sir. 

 

            I (inaudible) from (inaudible), and my question for you is how are we going to expect the military presence to adapt to the increasing Russian presence in the eastern Mediterranean and Levant region? 

 

            SEC. CARTER:  Well, the -- the -- first of all, we're going to keep on doing what we're doing, unchanged.  Now, the Russians are blundering into a situation -- and I've made this point repeatedly -- that is going to backlash on them.  And it -- I can't explain that, because it's illogical -- maybe psychological. 

 

            But the -- the reason it doesn't make any sense is that they are -- they say they're coming in to fight extremism, but then their approach is to support Assad, and all these people are fighting -- (inaudible) created by the civil war against Assad. 

 

            So what needs to happen is the -- a transition, where Assad sort of is removed from the scene, and you try to keep the country of Syria together as an integral place, so it doesn't become a complete mess. 

 

            That's what the Russians should be (inaudible).  And -- you know, they kind of say, well, they're trying to help out.  But what they're doing isn't only wrong.  It's backwards.  So -- the phrase I've used is, "you guys are pouring gasoline on the civil war." 

 

            So it's not going to have the effect that you -- meanwhile, in our counter-ISIL campaign, we're just going to keep on keeping on.  We're hitting them from the air.  We're -- (inaudible) -- in Syria and Iraq, and we're working with and trying to identify capable, motivated ground forces that we can support to defeat ISIL. 

 

            Because, remember, we can defeat ISIL.  It's keeping them defeated that's the trick.  Right?  And to do that, somebody has to come in after the defeat, and govern the place.  We've discovered that, right?  We now know that, from the 14 years of experience that I was describing earlier. 

 

            So that's the -- that's our strategy.  And it takes some time, because it's not something we can do ourselves.  If it only depended upon us, it would be a different kettle of fish. 

 

            But if you want to have a -- a lasting victory against ISIL, you need to have local forces that are capable and motivated, and those are hard to come by in both Iraq and Syria -- for somewhat different reasons, but in Syria, it's because of the civil war, which the Russians are fueling. 

 

            So we're going to ignore it and -- and keep on doing what we're -- what we're doing.  I don't know how long it will take before they come to realize their mistake. 

 

            I mean, for one thing, they've painted a bullseye on themselves for everybody of all types who are opposed to Assad -- both those who could be part of the political future and, of course, those like ISIL, who can't be part of any future and just have to be wiped out. 

 

            Q:  Thank you, Mr. Secretary. 

 

            SEC. CARTER:  Okay.  Please be patient.  And this guy over here can't seem to get his -- (inaudible) -- sorry, no, we can do a few more.  I'll try to get to you next. 

 

            Q:  Good afternoon, Mr. Secretary. 

 

            My question is in regards to women in combat roles.  Not just in the military, but the Marine Corps specifically.  What kind of decision-making is going to go into a decision being made, after the tests we did with the integrated battalion and the results we got from that, and -- along with the commandant's recommendation? 

 

            SEC. CARTER:  Good -- good -- good question, and -- and we haven't made any decisions yet, but the basis of them is going to be exactly the data that you described.  We're going to make a data-based decision in all the services. 

 

            Speaking of the Marine Corps, obviously Joe Dunford, who was commandant of the Marine Corps -- now he's chairman, and he is now receiving the recommendations from Bob Neller and all of his -- all of the other service chiefs. 

 

            He'll consider them, and then he brings them to me in a few months' time, and I will consider them.  But I'm going to do it on the basis of data, because this is serious business, and you've got to do it on the basis of serious information. 

 

            And you might say, "why are you even thinking about this in the first place?"  And -- and of course the -- one of the answers that (inaudible) -- (inaudible).  

 

            But for me it's more than that.  It's a little bit different.  It -- it -- you are all volunteers, right?  And you are the best.  I have to make sure that my successor and my successor's successor, and my successor's successor's successor have the best, too.  Right? 

 

            And they're going to have to recruit from the American population.  Half the American population is female.  So I'd be crazy not to be -- so to speak -- fishing in that pond for qualified service members.  Otherwise, it's like having a population that's half the size. 

 

            So that's the reason, from a point of view of mission success.  To have -- be able to bring women -- recruit women into as many specialties as possible, and what Secretary Panetta said a few years ago, and I completely agree, is, "by January 1st of next year, all will be open to women unless a good reason can be found not to." 

 

            So that's kind of the question, and that the -- what the data's being collected on.  And I'm going to make a -- you know, I'm going to go -- (inaudible) -- on the data and the information that I get from services through -- through the chairman, and that will be in a few months' time. 

 

            But that's kind of the logic of why we're thinking about it in the first place, and how we approach making those decisions. 

 

            One more.  Okay.  This -- wait -- no, no.  Okay.  Well, so what have we got?  Sorry.  She's been asking for quite some time. 

 

            Q:  Good afternoon, Mr. Secretary, sir.  (Inaudible) from the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station here. 

 

            And my question to you, sir, it is how does -- (inaudible) -- tie into strengthening the DOD cyber defense strategies, and will that contribute to the development of the combat (inaudible) initiative? 

 

            SEC. CARTER:  Well, it certainly will, and it's critical, and as far as cyber -- cyber mission is concerned, of which you're a part, you're going to have a bright future, and here's why. 

 

            The -- the -- how do I say this?  None of our stuff works without the network, right?  You can have all the planes, ships and tanks you want, but as you all know, it is -- if you're going to make them effective, you need to connect them.  That's just the world in which we live.  That's the technology that we use. 

 

            And our technology is the second most important thing in making us the finest fighting force the world has ever known, you being the first.  It’s people, and then technology. 

 

            We don't have that technological advantage if we don't -- if our networks are not capable, which you help them to be, and also secure.  So, for me, and I -- this -- tell this to our CYBERCOM commander all the time, cyber defense is job one. 

 

            It has to be, because there are lots of folks out there -- not folks, they're -- they range from governments down to hacktivists -- who -- who would -- are -- and you certainly well know this -- are trying to penetrate, manipulate, crash, otherwise do damage to our network. 

 

            So it's part of warfare in the future, and if you have it, it's a huge advantage, and if you lose it, it's a huge disadvantage.  We can't afford to be in the second category. 

 

            Q:  Thank you, Mr. Secretary, sir. 

 

            SEC. CARTER:  Keep up the good work, by the way.  It's important stuff. 

 

            Yes, you're the last one. 

 

            Q:  Mr. Secretary, thank you very much for being here.  My name is (inaudible), corpsman here with a (inaudible). 

 

            I'd like to start with a comment, and then I have a question to follow on. 

 

            I noticed there is not a Navy flag behind you, sir.

 

            SEC. CARTER:  Well, that's inexcusable. (Laughter.)  I want to be very clear about that, because people will be held accountable, shocking, can't have it.

 

            Q:  Sir, my question relates from Afghanistan and the (inaudible).  On October 7, 2012, one of the (inaudible) had -- he had become one of very good friends.  Was killed in (inaudible).  Was in Afghanistan as well.  And it took me to a very dark place.  I found very little meaning and understanding for why we were in Afghanistan, especially seeing how things ending up turning out in Iraq. 

 

            Now (inaudible) have a training mission going on and being a part of some of the training that's going on with the Georgians, (inaudible) and patrol, things of that nature. 

 

            How do you see going forward, (inaudible) training mission (inaudible) for the (inaudible) to ensure that what we're seeing right now in Iraq and Syria with the rise of ISIS?  How do you see that going to ensure that doesn't happen in Afghanistan, sir?

 

 

            SEC. CARTER:  I'm sorry about that dark spot.  I've been there myself, and many in this room have -- way too many of us, have been in that dark spot. 

 

            With respect to Afghanistan, the -- my observation, and I've been looking at that for a long time is that we were, and are, spectacularly compared -- successful compared to where I thought we'd be two, three, four years ago in terms of getting the Afghan security forces to the point where they can sustain themselves and stop Afghanistan from becoming again -- (inaudible) back to why we got there in the first place -- a source of (inaudible) on the United States.

 

             Now that doesn't mean the job is done.  It doesn't mean that it's for sure, and if you follow the events up until the last couple of weeks, you know that there are ups and downs in different regions of Afghanistan. 

 

            Still, in all, I -- our performance, both militarily, and then in training and advising the Afghans is -- let me start there, has been spectacular.

 

            Now spectacular American performance doesn't necessarily lead to spectacular performance by others, as you all well know.  Why do I think we have a good chance in Afghanistan if we stick with it.  We're going to do less, but if we stick with it we can (inaudible).

 

            The reason for that -- and this is where it's a little different -- it's significantly different from your Iraq, is principally we're relevant by the Afghan government, by President Ghani.  I mean, he wants us to be there.  He goes out and tells his troops he wants us to be there.  He goes out and tells his people he wants us to be there.  When we do something he doesn't act like we're foreign invaders. 

 

            And just to remind you, his predecessor, President Karzai, used to -- what's a nice way to say this -- Peter's going to kill me here -- but yes, it was infuriating and I think insulting to the memory of some (inaudible) sacrificed in his country.  Ghani's not that way, and of course Maliki in Iraq didn't make -- didn't -- there was -- he was not inviting us back.  (Inaudible) that's a whole another story about Maliki.

 

            So you have on the one hand our performance, (inaudible), and you have the circumstances in Afghanistan, mainly a political leadership that seems to want -- seems to -- I'm sure he wants take his country in the right direction.  And with that combination, but only that combination, I think we stand a good chance of getting there.  We do need to stick with them though, and sticking with it doesn't mean doing mean doing the things that we've done, you know, in past years -- large American presence, combat operations and so forth. 

 

            It needs principally  -- and I say this because some people don't focus on this; they focus on boots on the ground, but the thing that matters most is that we continue to fund the Afghan Security forces. 

 

            It's not just us by the way; it's us and NATO allies.  We're the ones who (inaudible), of course, and we'll do that for some time until the country gets back on its feet economically.  That's the critical ingredient.  And we've pledged to do that, and I'm about to go a NATO ministerial in a couple of days, and NATO pledged to do that.  But that is critical.

 

            And you know, I'm under orders to put in my 2017 budget that money for the Afghan Security Forces, and I'll do so, and I'll do so willingly because that's what allows us to capitalize on -- and get the result that we gave so much blood and treasure for.  And it began back on September 11, 2001, with Osama bin Laden operating out of Afghanistan.

 

            Okay.  Well, once again, let me get a chance to shake each of your hands and give you a coin (inaudible).  It's an Ash Carter coin, which are still relatively rare and new (Laughter).  And so, you know, I always say you know, I don't want to see it on eBay, but I (inaudible).

 

            Come on up, and let me look each of you in the eye and thank you.

 

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