Current:Home > FinanceBiden’s message to West Point graduates: You’re being asked to tackle threats ‘like none before’-LoTradeCoin
Biden’s message to West Point graduates: You’re being asked to tackle threats ‘like none before’
View Date:2025-01-11 07:37:36
WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Saturday told graduates of the U.S. Military Academy that their class is being called upon to tackle threats across the globe and preserve the country’s ideals at home “like none before.”
Biden said the phrase, the class motto, was apt for the sorts of challenges they will take as newly minted Army second lieutenants, from supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion to facilitating humanitarian assistance into Gaza and defending Israel from attacks by Iran.
“There’s never been a time in history when we’ve asked our military to do so many different things in some many different places around the world, all at the same time,” Biden said.
Speaking at sun-swept West Point, Biden reaffirmed that he will not allow American service members on the battlefield in Ukraine, but said their work to equip and train Ukrainian forces has “stepped up and stopped” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “brazen vision” for Europe. Biden praised U.S. forces for helping Israel repel a massive drone and ballistic missile attack last month from Iran and working to deescalate the conflict.
Speaking before the graduating cadets took the their commissioning oaths, Biden reminded them that they were swearing fidelity not to a person or political party, but to the Constitution. As other speakers alluded to partisan rancor and political division across the nation, Biden said, “Hold fast to your values that you learned here at West Point.”
“Ideas need defenders to make them real,” Biden said. “That’s what you are all about. You must keep us free at this time like none before.”
Biden highlighted that rates of sexual assault and harassment in the military declined for the first time last year in a decade, calling it “long past time,” but said even more work was necessary.
The president stood for more than an hour returning a salute from and shaking the hands of each graduate. Biden, as is customary, also absolved cadets of minor offenses committed during their time at the academy, adding with a laugh, “the superintendent can clarify what minor means.”
veryGood! (7)
Related
- Taylor Swift Politely Corrects Security’s Etiquette at Travis Kelce’s Chiefs Game
- Keep Up With Kylie Jenner and Jordyn Woods' Friendship: From Tristan Thompson Scandal to Surprise Reunion
- The EPA’s New ‘Technical Assistance Centers’ Are a Big Deal for Environmental Justice. Here’s Why
- New Research Shows Global Climate Benefits Of Protecting Nature, but It’s Not a Silver Bullet
- Bowl projections: SEC teams joins College Football Playoff field
- On the Eve of Plastics Treaty Talks, a Youth Advocate From Ghana Speaks Out: ‘We Need Urgent Action’
- Roundup Weedkiller Manufacturers to Pay $6.9 Million in False Advertising Settlement
- Developer Confirms Funding For Massive Rio Grande Gas Terminal
- Queen Bey and Yale: The Ivy League university is set to offer a course on Beyoncé and her legacy
- Nina Dobrev Jokes Her New Bangs Were a Mistake While Showing Off Her Bedhead
Ranking
- San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had mild stroke this month, team says
- Cleveland’s Tree Canopy Is in Trouble
- YouTuber Annabelle Ham Dead at 22
- Fossil Fuel Companies Should Pay Trillions in ‘Climate Reparations,’ New Study Argues
- The 10 Best Cashmere Sweaters and Tops That Feel Luxuriously Soft and Are *Most Importantly* Affordable
- Why Julie Bowen Is Praising Single Modern Family Co-Star Sofia Vergara After Joe Manganiello Split
- Red States Stand to Benefit From a ‘Layer Cake’ of Tax Breaks From Inflation Reduction Act
- Biden’s Top Climate Adviser Signals Support for Permitting Deal with Fossil Fuel Advocates
Recommendation
-
'Serial swatter': 18-year-old pleads guilty to making nearly 400 bomb threats, mass shooting calls
-
Operator Error Caused 400,000-Gallon Crude Oil Spill Outside Midland, Texas
-
In the Crossroads State of Illinois, Nearly 2 Million People Live Near Warehouses Shrouded by Truck Pollution
-
The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2023 is Open to All: Shop the Best Deals on Beauty, Fashion, Home & More
-
Today Reveals Hoda Kotb's Replacement
-
Pennsylvania Expects $400 Million in Infrastructure Funds to Begin Plugging Thousands of Abandoned Oil Wells
-
Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Emit Carcinogens and Other Harmful Pollutants, Groundbreaking Study Shows
-
Wildfire Haze Adds To New York’s Climate Change Planning Needs