Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saw for himself a future glimpse of the American military when he recently addressed more than 150 high school seniors set to join the service.
The June 4 ceremony, which took place in Washington D.C. at the Capitol’s Chamber of Commerce building, was hosted by Our Community Salutes (OCS), a nonprofit organization founded in 2009 to recognize seniors who plan to enlist in the military following graduation. Hegseth praised current U.S. military retention and enlistment numbers as part of the ‘Hiring Our Heroes’ event.
“Over the past 18 years, we have honored over 260,000 young Americans across the country,” Dr. Kenneth Hartman, an Army veteran who founded OCS, told Military.com
Last week’s event was the last of many OCS ceremonies this year honoring enlisted seniors. Hartman said the event also celebrated the United States’ 250th anniversary with a nod to the past, present and future of the nation’s military.
“If it wasn’t for their counterparts in 1776, we would not be celebrating our nation’s 250th birthday in July,” Hartman said.
Along with Hegseth, the event featured special guest Salvatore Giunta, a former U.S. Army staff sergeant and Medal of Honor recipient.
‘Best Decision You’ve Made’
Hegseth said he’s a firm believer in honoring military service and wishes there were more ceremonies to thank young people willing to raise their hand and take the oath to serve.
“Not enough of our institutions take a moment to do what’s being done right here at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at the Capitol,” Hegseth said Thursday. “Not enough of our high schools take the time to, at their graduation ceremonies or at a separate ceremony or at some place, hold on a pedestal those graduates—those young Americans who’ve made the biggest decisions and the best decisions, which is to put on the uniform, the cloth of our country and serve our nation.”
He talked about having important mentors that can change the trajectory of a young person’s life and sometimes inspire them to serve.
“Serving your country, it’s the best decision you’ve ever made and you’re entering a brotherhood of men and women who are the real 1% of our country,” Hegseth said. “Sure, most people go to college and that’s fine for some people—or they get a job and that’s fine for some people.
“But a select few, a special few, make that decision to go out of high school and serve their country.”
Despite many recent changes at the Pentagon, including renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War without congressional authorization or dramatically updating a list of recognized faiths held by enlisted members, Hegseth told the crowd of enlistees that it’s really about getting back to the basics of “standards, discipline, readiness, accountability, lethality, training [and] hard basic training.”
‘Always Better Together’
Salvatore Giunta, the first living soldier to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War, was energized when seeing the crowd of high school seniors ready to serve.
“We are all products of our environment,” Giunta said. “How great is our environment when we choose to service, to do something great for the person to the left and the person to the right—not because it’s good for us, but because it’s good for all of us. That’s what we’re stepping into.”
Giunta was given the nation’s highest honor for his actions on Oct. 25, 2007, in Afghanistan during Operation Rock Avalanche at Firebase Vegas. Facing a heavy ambush from Taliban insurgents, the wounded staff sergeant put his life on the line to rescue others and keep fighting off enemy forces.
He discussed meeting his best friend in the military on the first day of basic training and how good teammates matter, especially in tense combat situations.
“The building of a team is so important. You don’t even know the team you’re going to yet, and I promise it’s going to be one of the best teams you’ve ever been on,” Giunta said. “I can honestly say I’ve never tried harder in my entire life than to be mediocre in the team that I served with.
“There is nothing in the military that we do alone. Not go to the restroom, not shave, not go look over what’s on the other side of that hill. We do it together, and we do it together because we’re always better together.”
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