Current:Home > InvestBiden’s message to West Point graduates: You’re being asked to tackle threats ‘like none before’-InfoLens
Biden’s message to West Point graduates: You’re being asked to tackle threats ‘like none before’
View Date:2025-01-12 22:04:22
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! (86)
Related
- J.Crew Outlet Quietly Drops Their Black Friday Deals - Save Up to 70% off Everything, Styles Start at $12
- Man accused of abducting, murdering beloved teacher who went missing on walk
- Newly married Ronald Acuña Jr. makes history with unprecedented home run, stolen base feat
- UN chief is globetrotting to four major meetings before the gathering of world leaders in September
- Biden funded new factories and infrastructure projects, but Trump might get to cut the ribbons
- More than 85,000 highchairs are under recall after two dozen reports of falls
- A glacier baby is born: Mating glaciers to replace water lost to climate change
- Former prosecutor who resigned from Russia probe investigation tapped for state Supreme Court post
- Louisiana House greenlights Gov. Jeff Landry’s tax cuts
- Sister Wives Previews Heated Argument That Led to Janelle and Kody Brown's Breakup
Ranking
- Messi breaks silence on Inter Miami's playoff exit. What's next for his time in the US?
- Kevin Costner Says He’s in “Horrible Place” Amid Divorce Hearing With Wife Christine
- Body found in trash ID'd as missing 2-year-old, father to be charged with murder
- 840,000 Afghans who’ve applied for key US resettlement program still in Afghanistan, report says
- Todd Golden to continue as Florida basketball coach despite sexual harassment probe
- Convicted murderer who escaped from prison spotted on surveillance camera: DA
- Frigidaire gas stoves recalled because cooktop knobs may cause risk of gas leak, fires
- Noah Eagle eager to follow successful broadcasting path laid by father, Ian
Recommendation
-
Stocks soared on news of Trump's election. Bonds sank. Here's why.
-
Lawmaker who owns casino resigns from gambling study commission amid criminal investigation
-
Miranda Kerr is pregnant! Model shares excitement over being a mom to 4 boys
-
12-year-old shot near high school football game in Baltimore
-
A wayward sea turtle wound up in the Netherlands. A rescue brought it thousands of miles back home
-
Suspect arrested after break-in at home of UFC president Dana White
-
Stormy conditions leave thousands stranded at Burning Man Festival
-
College tuition insurance: What it is and how to get it