President Biden on Thursday thanked service members for their “strength” and “integrity” while giving his farewell address in Virginia.
“There’s never been a time in history when we’ve asked our military to do so many different things so many places, all at the same time,” the president said at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Virginia. “And I want to be clear: You have done all these missions with strength and, maybe even importantly, integrity.”
Biden’s address to troops came the morning after his farewell address to the nation in which he said it was his “great honor” to serve as the 46th president.
It also comes four days before President-elect Trump succeeds him.
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“You all represent what America is: character, honesty, integrity, commitment,” Biden told the troops. “You are simply the greatest fighting force in the history of the world.”
The president said the troops “rose to the occasion” when he asked for the war in Afghanistan to end, “evacuating Americans, allies and our Afghan partners, accomplishing the largest airlift in military history and ending a war. The same courage is defined by American service in Afghanistan for over 20 years.”
He said he believes “history will reflect that was the right thing to do, but I know, I know, it was hard after decades of losing your brothers and sisters, including [during the] withdrawal. The pain was still real. And it was for me as well. Every day I still carry, every single day.”
Biden has been criticized for his handling of the messy Afghanistan withdrawal, when 13 U.S. service members were killed.
He added that six months after American troops withdrew from Afghanistan, “when Russia began its largest war in Europe since World War II, I asked you to help defend Ukraine. You didn’t hesitate. You kept Ukraine in the fight, trained Ukrainian soldiers and pilots, troops, bolstered NATO’s eastern flank. And, above all, you showed the world America stands up for freedom, stands with our friends.”
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He also touted the Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal, which was announced Wednesday and first mentioned in his farewell address to the nation.
“The road to that deal was not easy,” he admitted, saying he “laid down the elements of that deal eight months ago.”
President-elect Trump has also taken credit for the cease-fire.
“This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday. “I am thrilled American and Israeli hostages will be returning home to be reunited with their families and loved ones.”
Biden also thanked military families who “sacrifice so much” in his speech.
“Most Americans never see the sacrifices that you make every single day,” he continued. “Don’t ever see all those holidays and birthdays with an empty seat at the dinner table because mom or dad was deployed. Never see all the moves you had to make to new states, to new schools, to new jobs.”
He added near the end of his speech, “You’re truly the finest fighting force in the history of the world,” adding that the American military has the best training, weapons, ships and planes.
“But that alone is not what makes us strong,” he said. “It’s our values. American values. Our commitment to honor, to integrity, to unity, to protecting and defending. Not a person or a party or a place, but an idea.”
Before Biden’s speech, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, thanked Biden for his service in their own remarks, which were part of the commander in chief farewell tribute to the president.
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