00:00At this time, we wish to celebrate our very own Best of the Best, and highlight key victories and achievements by our very own paratroopers.
00:09Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you the 82nd Airborne Division, NCO of the Year.
00:18Staff Sergeant Christopher Snowberger.
00:21He is followed by the 82nd Airborne Division, Soldier of the Year, Sergeant Tyler Geronda.
00:26The Division Jump Master of the Year, Staff Sergeant Ryan Clark.
00:31Our Division Best Squad was selected as the Best 5 Trooper Team in the Division, and consists of Staff Sergeant Kevin Saga,
00:39Sergeant Carlos Sampson, Specialist Wyatt McGraw, Specialist Liam Peacock, and Specialist Dylan Landon.
00:47Finally, we wish to highlight our four finalists that have completed the grueling U.S. Army Best Ranger competition against 52 other teams across the Army.
00:56Team 23 in 9th place, 1st Lieutenant, Zachary Simon, and Sergeant First Class, Christopher Nagel.
01:03And Team 22 in 15th place, Sergeant Zachary Irvine, and Sergeant Keegan Ford, who is unable to attend today.
01:11Please join me for a round of applause in recognizing these exceptional paratroopers.
01:15This week, paratroopers competed in numerous events.
01:45as individuals or teams.
01:47The dust has now settled, and a clear winner has emerged.
01:51Ladies and gentlemen, after a grueling week filled with tremendous shows of strength, speed, mental toughness, and resilience,
01:58this year, the overall Best Battalion of All-American Week 2025 is...
03:36These free men and women on the field before us, these paratroopers, are a national treasure
03:42unmatched by anything on the planet.
03:44They are the nation's birds of prey in the maroon berets.
03:49They strike from the skies.
03:51They're ready to go anywhere in the world in 18 hours, defeat any enemy, complete any mission
03:57and dominate any drop zone.
04:00And I respect you for it.
04:03For Command Sergeant Major De La Pena and I, it's an extraordinary privilege to stand in
04:08the Airborne Phalanx with you.
04:10And it's also a tremendous privilege for us to welcome our distinguished guest and the
04:16reviewing official today, our 29th Secretary of Defense.
04:20Secretary Hegg says, sir, welcome to the 82nd, welcome to All-American Week, and welcome
04:26to Fort Bragg, what many of us refer to as the center of the universe.
04:29We look forward to your remarks.
04:32They're born, sir.
04:36What an amazing day.
04:45What an incredible opportunity.
04:48I thought I had the best job in the country.
04:52I don't think I do.
04:53I don't think I do.
04:55Major General Warwick, thank you.
04:57Congratulations.
04:58Appreciate your actions, your words, and your leadership along with Command Sergeant Major
05:07Del Pena, through the best jobs in the country, best jobs in the world.
05:14It is an absolute honor to be here, not just amongst the current, but amongst the past.
05:26Amongst those who stand the line and those who stood the line, those who fight and those who support them, this here I know is a community.
05:42It means the world for me and my staff to be here.
05:44There is nowhere I would rather be.
05:46We've had this day circled on our calendar in the Pentagon for quite some time.
05:54It is great to be here at Fort Bragg.
05:59It is Fort Bragg again.
06:08You know, there's nothing wrong with liberty.
06:11Give me liberty or give me death.
06:12I love it.
06:15But give me Fort Bragg every day of the week.
06:18And to this formation out here, this beautiful formation, as I look, a message from our Commander-in-Chief, from your Commander-in-Chief, from President Donald J. Trump.
06:35We know that all of you, America's 9-1-1, that you have our back.
06:40The message for the Commander-in-Chief, straight from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, is he has your back.
06:53I get a chance to watch it every day.
06:57In the Oval Office, on foreign trips, wherever he is, he is laser-focused on putting America and Americans first and ensuring peace through strength.
07:07So, as you train, as you prepare, as you are the tip of the spear, know that you are serving under a Commander-in-Chief who has your interests in mind with every decision that he makes.
07:20Now, one of those decisions he made was choosing a Secretary of Defense.
07:25And, you know, some folks out there, some of them, we've got our friends in the fake news media here, some of them said, critics might say, you can't choose an Army major to be the Secretary of Defense.
07:44It has to be, well, one of our many distinguished generals, or congressmen, or business leaders, or corporate leaders, wonderful, there's many incredible Americans.
07:55One of the critiques was, we need somebody that can think strategically, big picture.
08:03We can't have a guy who thinks like the troops.
08:08To which I say, hell yeah, we can have a guy that thinks like the troops.
08:13You see, my job is to think strategically, operationally, but also understand the tactical.
08:23I have stood, not that long ago, in a formation like this one.
08:30And if you didn't hear it, please rest.
08:33Double rest.
08:34If that's a command from the Secretary of Defense.
08:37I've been in that formation, loosening my knees, taking a deep breath, gazing over the horizon, sweating and wondering what time it is, but I can't move my arm.
08:48I've been in your boots, not yours.
08:53The 101st is not the 82nd.
08:56I get it.
08:57I'll admit that on a day like today.
08:59Not quite in your boots or your beret, but clothes.
09:05And so as I thought about this speech, I have an amazing staff.
09:10A wonderful staff who, and a great speech writing team.
09:15And they put together a binder of 27 pages.
09:24I mean, it's like the Gettysburg Address meets the State of the Union.
09:29Churchill meets Reagan.
09:32But then I thought, wait.
09:34The last thing I want, if I'm standing in formation, is a 27-page speech.
09:41So I will spare you that today.
09:45The old-timers appreciate that one, because they can sound that off.
09:51I recognize, in many ways, many of the aspirations, thoughts, anxieties, fears, dreams that you have standing in formation, you and your family.
10:05My job is to stay focused on you and our warfighters every single day.
10:11So my message today is simple, and on behalf of the President, we're going to bring it back to the basics.
10:18The basics, sir, that you talk so much about, that the 82nd Airborne is focused on.
10:24We're going to restore the warrior ethos.
10:26And we are, across our formations, a standard that's set here every single day.
10:31We will focus on readiness, on training, on warfighting, on accountability, on standards.
10:39Black, white, male, female, doesn't matter.
10:41We're going to be colorblind and merit-based warfighters, just like you are here in the 82nd Airborne.
10:46We're also taking care of our people.
10:54It's not just training.
10:55It's not just beans and bullets.
10:56It's families.
10:58It's historic investment in barracks, in housing, in health care, and, yes, in pay.
11:05There's a big increase coming for E1 to E4.
11:07Also, I've got a bit of an announcement today that might be of interest to this community.
11:13For the first time in 25 years, here at the Secretary of Defense, through the Secretary of the Army,
11:21we are increasing junk pay.
11:23Not only are we increasing junk pay, but for the first time,
11:38junk masters, who have never been compensated additionally for that additional duty,
11:46are going to receive an additional $150 a month in incentive pay.
11:53So here's to our jump, our paratroopers, our jump masters,
12:04who do the difficult things in difficult places that most Americans can never imagine.
12:11But I want you to know, inside the corridors of the Pentagon, you are on our mind.
12:15With the decisions that we make in budgets, in planning, in deployments, in orders, in reorganizations,
12:24we have you and your families in mind.
12:26We're also going to rebuild our military.
12:31President Trump is committed to historic investments inside our formations.
12:35Our promise to you is that when the 82nd Airborne is deployed,
12:38if we have to call 9-1-1 for America's response force,
12:42you will be equipped better than any other fighting force in the world.
12:47You should never enter, and will never enter, under President Trump's watch, a fair fight.
12:54That's my promise to you.
12:56We will rebuild this military.
12:57And we're going to reestablish deterrence.
13:05Unfortunately, for a number of years,
13:07the world watched and wondered where American leadership and American strength was.
13:13They watched the war that was unleashed in Ukraine,
13:16or the attacks that happened on October 7th,
13:19just that same mentality reverberating just last night, sadly, in Washington, D.C.
13:25We saw the debacle of what happened in Afghanistan.
13:32President Trump has said, by putting America first,
13:35we will reestablish peace through strength,
13:37and we will reestablish deterrence.
13:41And when I look out at this formation,
13:44the eyes of the men and women and these flags,
13:47I see the eyes of deterrence.
13:50I see the eyes of American strength.
13:53I see the eyes that will deter the wars that we don't want to fight,
13:59because we know we have a president committed,
14:02a commander-in-chief committed to peace,
14:04peace through strength.
14:07And my first platoon motto we ever had,
14:10which is one that you all know well,
14:12it's those who long for peace must prepare for war.
14:17You live that motto every single day on behalf of our nation,
14:22and I cannot thank you enough,
14:24express our gratitude enough for what you do.
14:29So, in conclusion,
14:31I'm going to turn to page 27,
14:34and end with some well-written words
14:39that deserve of a fantastic formation like this one.
14:43I'm grateful to be assembled here
14:45amongst America's Guard of Honor,
14:48the warriors of the 82nd Airborne Division,
14:53your families,
14:55and so many stout-hearted veterans.
14:57Like those who came before you,
15:01you keep showing the world the stuff you're made of,
15:04because we know you are ready
15:07for the important work that lies ahead.
15:11On behalf of the President of the United States,
15:16on behalf of the Office of the Secretary of Defense,
15:19on behalf of a grateful nation,
15:22Godspeed to all of you,
15:25God bless the United States of America,
15:29and airborne all the way.
15:41Sound, attention!
15:56Detachment, hose!
16:06Porch!
16:11For the President of the United States of America,
