‘He’s an Innovator’: Obama Announces Ashton Carter as Nominee for Defense Secretary
"Today I’m pleased to announce my nominee to be our next secretary of defense Mr. Ash Carter. With a record of service that has spanned more than 30 years, as a public servant, as an adviser, as a scholar, Ash is rightly regarded as one of our nation’s foremost national security leaders. As a top member of our Pentagon team, for the first five years of my presidency, including his two years as deputy secretary, he was at the table in the situation room, he was by my side navigating complex security challenges that we were confronting. I relied on his expertise and I relied on his judgment. I think it’s fair to say that, Ash, in your one-year attempt at retirement from public service, you failed miserably. (Laughter) But I am deeply grateful that you’re willing to go back at it.
Ash, as some of you know, brings a unique blend of strategic perspective and technical know-how. As a student of history, he understand the United States --and I’m quoting him now -- 'is the single most provider security of in the world.' He played a key role in advising our defense strategy to advance that security. He’s also a physicist, which means he’s one of the few people who understand how many of our defense systems work. And that has also allowed him to serve with extraordinary breadth and also depth in a whole range of work that we've had to do.
In one way or another, Ash has served under 11 secretaries of defense. He’s an innovator who helped create the program that has dismantled weapons of mass destruction around the world and reduced the threat of nuclear terrorism. He’s reformer who has never been afraid to cancel old or inefficient weapons programs. He knows the Department of Defense inside and out, all of which means that on day one he’s going hit the ground running. Ash is also known by our allies and our friends around the world. Having served both Republican and Democratic secretaries, he’s respected and trusted on both sides of the aisle. He’s been a close partner with our military leaders, and he’s admired by civilian leaders across the department because he’s a mentor to so many of them …
We face no shortage of challenges to our national security. Our combat mission in Afghanistan ends this month and we have to transition to a new mission of advising and assisting Afghan forces and going after remnants of al Qaeda’s core. We have to keep degrading and ultimately destroying ISIL in Iraq and Syria. We have to build a counter terrorism partnerships and new platforms. We have to continue the fight against Ebola in West Africa. We have to continue to strengthen our alliances including NATO and continue rebalancing our defense posture in the Asia-Pacific. Going forward, our armed forces aren’t necessarily going to be leaner but as commander in chief, I’m going to make sure we have a military that is second to none, that continues to be the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. That means we have to bolster some new capabilities, our cyber defenses, how we deal with our satellites and how we’re adapting our military and investing in new capabilities to meet long-term threats.
We’re going have to work with Congress on a more responsible approach to defense spending, including the reforms we need to make the department more efficient. That’s how we’re going preserve readiness, that’s how we’re going to keep faith with our forces and families, that’s how we’re going deliver world-class care to our wounded warriors. And Ash is going to be critical to all of these efforts."
