2023 USSYP Yearbook - Flipbook - Page 26
The Department of Defense
G
eneral Mark Milley welcomed the 2023
delegates to the Pentagon with these
words: “There are three things you must
develop: character, courage and competence.
These will form your moral and intellectual core
and help you face the crucibles of life.” The 20th
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s
highest-ranking military officer and principal
military advisor to the president, Secretary
of Defense and National Security Council,
defined the soul of our nation. “You can draw a
straight line from the Magna Carta through the
Enlightenment to the U.S. Constitution,” he said,
“a document that is so extraordinarily powerful
that it struck fear and shockwaves into the hearts
of kings and queens, dictators and fascists,
based on the idea of equality.” Throughout his
career, the Constitution has been his “North
Star” he said, reminding the delegates that the
military members surrounding them were willing
to die to ensure its protections. General Milley
acknowledged the constant process of forming
a more perfect union, and concluded, “All that I
ask of you is that you carry that forward and serve
your country in some fashion.” Arizona delegate
Emma Curtright reflected on General Milley’s
remarks. “He really inspired a love for my country,
for service and for my fellow man. He said, ‘We
take an oath to a document that represents an
idea that all of us will be free and equal.’ It doesn’t
matter what we look like, where we come from…
things we can’t control.” Delegate Matthew
Stevens of New York said, “General Milley’s
message of service above self and sacrifice for
others truly resonated with me.”
