My fellow Americans,
I’m joining you today from the deck of what will be our Nation’s newest aircraft carrier, the soon-to-be commissioned Gerald R. Ford,
and as you can see, I’m wearing a jacket and a hat that they just gave me.
Not really used to it, but it feels awfully good - I’m very proud of it actually.
Our carriers are the centerpiece of American military might, projecting power and our totally unparalleled strength at sea.
This beautiful new warship represents the future of naval aviation,
and she will serve as a cornerstone of our national defense for decades and decades to come.
A famous aviator once wrote that, to build a truly great ship,
we shouldn’t begin by gathering wood, cutting boards, or distributing work,
but instead by awakening within the people a “desire for the vast and endless sea.” So true.
In the same way, we must continue to renew the American spirit in order to rebuild our country, and rebuild it we will.
On Tuesday, before a Joint Session to Congress, I laid out a vision - I hope you all watched - for how to accomplish that national rebuilding.
My vision includes the elimination of the defense sequester, which has imposed steep cuts on our military.
We must give our sailors, soldiers, airmen, marines, and coastguardsmen the tools, equipment, resources and training they need to get the job done,
and get it done right - especially in these very dangerous times.
The active duty Army has been reduced by more than 85,000 men since 2009, and we have over 18,000 fewer active duty marines.
The Air Force, it’s the smallest it has been since 1947,
and their planes are, on average, nearly thirty years old, if you can believe that.
Our Navy’s fleet is the smallest it has been since World War I, and that’s a long time ago.
Frontline Navy and Marine strike fighter aircraft are more likely to be down for maintenance than to be in the sky.
We cannot afford to continue down this path.
My budget will give America’s armed forces the resources they need to achieve full and total military preparedness to meet any and all global challenges - and meet them, we will.
Investing in the military means investing in peace
because the best way to prevent war, as George Washington said, is to be prepared for it.
Most importantly, an investment in the military is an investment in the incredible men and women who serve our country in uniform.
They are the best of us.
They are the greatest force for peace and justice the world has ever known - and we will support them every single step of the way.
These are truly exciting times. Amazing opportunities are unfolding before us
to strengthen our military, to reboot our economy, and to bring back our jobs.
If we all work together, and put our country first, then anything is possible.
Let us seize this moment and make the most of this incredible opportunity for national renewal.
May God bless the men and women of our military, and may God bless the United States of America, the country we love.
我的美國同胞們,
我今天在我們國家最新的航空母艦甲板上和你們交流。這是很快就要服役的杰拉爾德·R·福特號。
正如你看到的,他們剛剛贈給我了夾克和帽子。
我還沒有真正習(xí)慣它們,但感覺好得很--我實際上非常驕傲。
我們的航空母艦是美國軍事力量的核心設(shè)施,投射力量和我們無與倫比的海上力量。
這艘嶄新的漂亮戰(zhàn)艦代表著海軍航空的未來,
在未來的幾十年里她將成為我們國防力量的奠基石。
一個著名飛行員曾寫道,打造真正偉大的艦船,
我們不應(yīng)該以收集木頭,切割木板,分配工作開始,而
是以提醒人們?nèi)?ldquo;渴望浩瀚無垠的大海”作為開始。這非常正確。
我們必須用相同的方式強調(diào)美國精神,來重建我們的國家,我們將能重建它。
在周二,在國會聯(lián)席會議之前,我訴說了愿景--我希望你們所有人都觀看--為了如何完成這樣全國性的重建。
我的愿景包括消除防御隔離,這嚴(yán)重削減了我們的軍力。
我們必須給予我們的水手,陸軍,空軍,海軍,海岸警衛(wèi)隊他們需要的工具,裝備,資源和培訓(xùn)來完成這些工作,
現(xiàn)在就完成這些工作--特別是在這些非常危險的時候。
現(xiàn)役陸軍自2009年已經(jīng)減員85,000以上,我們的現(xiàn)役海軍減少了18,000多人。
空軍人數(shù),是自1947年以來最少的。
如果你相信的話,他們的飛機壽命,平均下來,都將近30年了。
我們的海軍艦隊是自一戰(zhàn)以來規(guī)模最小的時候,這是很長時間的事了。
前線海軍和海事的攻擊戰(zhàn)斗機,更多是降下來維修而不是飛翔在天空。
繼續(xù)走這樣的路,我們負(fù)擔(dān)不起。
我的預(yù)算將給予美國的武裝力量他們需要的資源,來實現(xiàn)全部和完整的軍事準(zhǔn)備,來應(yīng)對任何和全部的全球性挑戰(zhàn)--我們將能應(yīng)對它們。
在軍事上投資,意味著在和平上投資
因為避免戰(zhàn)爭的最好方式,正如喬治·華盛頓所說的,是準(zhǔn)備好去應(yīng)對它。
最重要的,在軍事上的投資,是對身著我們國家軍裝杰出男男女女的投資。
他們是我們當(dāng)中最棒的人。
他們是世界上有史以來最著名的和平和正義最偉大的捍衛(wèi)力量--我們將在每一步上都支持他們。
這些是非常興奮的時候。驚人的機會就展現(xiàn)在我們面前
壯大我們的軍隊,重新啟動我們的經(jīng)濟,并將我們的就業(yè)崗位帶回國內(nèi)。
如果我們所有人都一起工作,把我們國家放在第一位,那么任何事情都是可能的。
讓我們抓住這樣的時刻,讓大部分這樣不尋常的機遇成就國家的復(fù)興。
愿上帝保佑我們軍隊的男男女女,愿上帝保佑美利堅合眾國,我們深愛的國家。