I felt that I had, again, great freedom to do what I wanted to do. I felt that I was trusted to train my soldiers, and I was accountable for it.
— Mark Esper
When I went to West Point, I was there with cadets from 50 other states and territories. Cadets from other countries, and you learn all of these things about our country, about our culture, our heritage, our ethnicity. At the end of the day, you come back, we all wear green, and we all consider ourselves an Army.
President Trump has called on other nations to do more, and they have responded. By the end of 2020, our NATO allies will spend an additional $100 billion on defense, an unprecedented increase that will make the alliance stronger.
A collective security relies on everybody doing their fair share.
We do not want war with Iran.
In the Army, I grew up with this view that you're asked to do anything that is illegal or immoral or unethical, then that would be the point at which you have to consider resignation, and you'd be willing to do that.
The surest way to deter adversary aggression is to fully prepare for war.
The bottom line is this: in an era of mounting fiscal challenges and competing demands, we must actively seek ways to free up time, money, and manpower to invest back into our top priorities.
If confirmed, my overall guiding objective for our relationship with India would be to solidify an enduring strategic partnership underpinned by strong defence cooperation with an Indian military able to collaborate effectively with the United States to address shared interests.
I've got a lot of military kids who are not in on-base child care, and they should be. So it's things like that I'm going to change, either from a funding perspective or a policy perspective.
Seventeen consecutive years of irregular war, extended years of budget uncertainty, and an increasing complex security environment have eroded our competitive edge.
If you talk to any senior Army leaders, you'll find one, if not all, their children are in the Army.
The National Defense Strategy remains our guiding document, and everything we do should support its stated objectives.
We may be a little bit late - we are late - coming to the recognition that we are in a strategic competition with China.
At the age of 18, I went to West Point, and I swore an oath to defend this Constitution, and I embraced a motto called duty and honor and country. And I've lived my life in accordance with those values ever since then.
AI will allow the soldier to act and think much more quickly. Whoever gets to AI first, I believe, will have dominance for many years afterward.
Clearly, we need a strong economy to build a strong military.
I think, generally, the NCOs and officers in a platoon or company want to take care of their soldiers, and they understand it doesn't run from nine to five, like in the civilian world.
We are extending basic training. It'll be the longest and toughest in the world.
We are at war, if you will, in the cyber domain now, constantly battling countries, such as Russia or China, who are trying to do everything from steal our technology to influence our elections to put out disinformation about the United States.
Good alliances are made of strong, capable partners.
It's my commitment to the nation's security, it's my commitment to the men and women in uniform that drives me. Not anything else.
The international rules-based order in the wake of World War II is the order that has ensured prosperity and security now for 75 years. I'm fully committed to that.
Having previously served in the regular Army, National Guard, and Reserve, I understand well the sacrifices our service members, civilians, and their families make to protect this great country.
Our adversaries must see diplomacy as their best option because war with the United States will force them to bear enormous costs.
If Turkey procures the S-400, it will mean they will not receive the F-35. It's that simple.
Child care is very important, so I want to put dollars there, and I want to make sure we get the policies right.
At the end of the day, the Army is a standards-based organization.
Stay focused on your mission, remain steadfast in your pursuit of excellence, and always do the right thing.
I raised the standards on recruiting.
I've stepped down from jobs that paid me well more than what I was working anywhere else. And each time, it was to serve the public good and to serve the young men and women of our armed services.
Our warfighting doctrine is that we don't want to be in a fair fight, and we want the fight to always be tilted in our favor.
The biggest challenge is clearly China, in the years 2035 and beyond. I mean, the size of the country, its economy, and everything - they're - it is a big strategic competitor for the entire Department of Defense and country.
We certainly have the best special operations forces in the world and know how to do counterterrorism extremely well.
The Army is a big mixing bowl, and we know that we wear one uniform. We identify with one set of Army values. We serve one Constitution, and we see ourselves as one team.
You have to give the soldiers, the Army, a clear vision.
I think the presumption is, for some reason, anybody who comes from the business or the corporate world is corrupt.
I think artificial intelligence will likely change the character of warfare, and I believe whoever masters it first will dominate on the battlefield for many, many, many years.
I can't tell you what the Army end strength will be. I know it has to be above 500,000. I know it has to be above 500,000 in the regular Army - and I've always said associated growth in the Guard and Reserve.
I've been studying China for quite some time now, and I'm big on China as well. And I think we need to be very concerned about Chinese technology getting into our systems or the systems of our allies.
It is an honor of a lifetime to be appointed secretary of defense and to lead the greatest military in history.
The goal is to deter war, and this can only be done with a strong, modern, and ready military that has overmatch in all domains.
In many cases, the reason why our child development centers are not at full capacity is that we have an insufficient number of providers.
Our legacy platforms have served us well for decades, but we're running out of upgrades that will keep us ahead. Technology is changing too fast, and our enemies are too adaptable.
The Brits are escorting their ships, and we will escort our ships, and I assume other countries will escort their ships.
Together, we will remain the most ready and capable military force in the world, which is what our nation expects and deserves.
If you see something that doesn't make sense, ask. Change it. Think about dollars, think about your soldiers' time, think about efficiency.
I went to war for this country. I served overseas for this country.
One of the key challenges the military has faced - and the Army, in particular - is defining our requirements and keeping them stable.
We closely track the systems Boeing builds for us, and they're some very capable systems. So that's been my focus. It is something that I look at every month. I look at the metrics for all major combat systems and our platforms, which Boeing builds many, and they're successful platforms.
