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[The speaker may individualize this speech by noting the particular group or
area, or calling attention to honored guests, dignitaries, etc. Otherwise, the
text may be presented as is.] Independence Day -- Freedom's Journey Into the
21st Century British historian Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay once said,
"There is only one cure for the evils which newly acquired freedom
produces, and that cure is freedom." Freedom is fragile. Americans have 220
years of nurturing it, allowing it to grow and flourish. Today, we can look to
the former Soviet Bloc countries and wonder ... will they take the time to allow
freedom to flourish? Since our transition to democracy was anything but
peaceful, we will continue to cast a watchful and hopeful eye in their
direction. To have democracy, to declare your independence takes a risk,
especially if the state has taken care of you from cradle to grave. The foibles
of freedom bring individualism versus the state, capitalism versus collectivism
and fierce independence versus the comforting crowd. Our American founders knew
all too well, calling themselves free and independent states and actually being
free and independent were two separate things. Until they changed the
relationship with Great Britain, their aspirations for independence would remain
only an unrealized dream written on parchment. At the time, success was no sure
thing. How could a rag-tag group of "patriots" representing 13
bickering colonies break away from the strongest country on earth? Remember in
1776, the sun never set on the British Empire. Yet they were well aware of the
thin line between success and failure, as Benjamin Franklin reminded his
colleagues, they all had to hang together, or they would surely hang separately.
In tribute to our founders' success we gather again, year after year, to
celebrate the signing of our national birthright, the Declaration of
Independence. Those 56 courageous men of vision changed not only the course of
the fledgling country's destiny, but of the world's destiny as well. If the
patriots of the Continental Congress had failed in their endeavor, would liberty
burn as brightly? Would men and women in our country, and in others, risk
everything to be free? The decision to fight for liberty does not come without a
price. We paid the price with combat in both World Wars, the Korean conflict,
Vietnam and Desert Storm. And we coped with the demands of the Cold War and with
each defense of freedom, with each call to arms, the men and women who fought to
preserve our liberty then and now adapted and adjusted to counter the demands of
a powerful enemy. We don't face the same enemy we did 220 years ago or even five
years ago. The world is a powder keg of rising turmoil, quarrelsome ethnic
groups and Third World demagogues. Now the Air Force must reshape to meet
ever-changing demands of the new world and the new strategic threat. To do this,
we must keep our people trained and ready. Our equipment modern and in prime
condition. Readiness is not an option, it is an absolute. It must be a team
effort. A team with the Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. A team composed of
active-duty forces, our Reserve and Guard components and our civilian members.
Today's military forces are more mobile, more lethal and more omnipresent than
ever before. For example, without readiness, the story of Saddam Hussein's
second attempt at aggression in the fall of 1994 could have had a different
ending. However, within 10 days of Hussein's provocation, 122 combat aircraft
augmented aircraft already deployed. U.S. Army ground forces arrived, and the U.
S. Navy moved its forces from the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean into the
Persian Gulf. The Air Force then launched more than 1,000 missions in support of
exercise Vigilant Warrior. Space forces and other information-based capabilities
enabled air, ground and naval operations. To further demonstrate our resolve,
four U.S.-based bombers flew a non-stop power projection demonstration to
deliver 55,000 pounds of bombs. On target. On time, within audible range of
Hussein's forces. Once again it was the complementary attributes of air, space,
sea and ground forces that achieved the U. S. objective. The Air Force is a team
within the armed forces team, yet Secretary of Defense William J. Perry credited
the Air Force for deterring a war when he said: "When we deployed F-15s,
F-16s and A-10s in large numbers, I think they got the message very
quickly." The Air Force can get anywhere very quickly, takeoff anywhere,
attack anywhere and return without landing en route. That's our mission -- to
defend the United States through the control and exploitation of air and space.
We have mobility combined with aerial refueling. That translates to: "No
spot on the globe is more than 20 hours flying time from aircraft stationed in
the United States." Looking towards the 21st Century, Air Force recognizes
a new battle space, the virtual battle space of information dominance. It's the
ability to create, access and manipulate information for one's own end while
controlling information available to adversaries. Such dominance produces a
decisive advantage. As the introduction of the airplane moved us into the three-
dimensional battlefield, information technologies lead us to operations in a
four-dimensional, virtual battlespace. This battlespace is not defined in terms
of traditional, geopolitical boundaries, but in terms of a decentralized, global
web of networks. That rag-tag group of patriots in the first Continental Army
defending their right to liberty were armed with the weapons of that time.
Today, the U.S. Air Force defends our air and space with cutting-edge technology
and weaponry of our time. A span of 220 years, but the same burning desire for
freedom and independence. Today, as we look back to the signing of the
Declaration of Independence, the birth certificate, if you will, of American
democracy. We can participate in truly American inventions for the 4th of July:
we can march in a parade, sit on the grass and listen to a fine orchestra and
watch the fireworks. And, we can hoist the "stars and stripes" over
the Capitol building, the White House, or [name of the nearest Air Force base]
-- flying our flag over the symbols of the land of free, home of the brave, and
the world's best air force. ]]>
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