WEBVTT 00:05.119 --> 00:07.397 Ladies and gentlemen , make no mistake . 00:07.397 --> 00:09.452 We all need to recognize we are in a 00:09.452 --> 00:11.675 different world . We are in great power 00:11.675 --> 00:13.897 competition . The changing character of 00:13.897 --> 00:15.952 war is also seeing speed and scale , 00:15.952 --> 00:18.119 much like we saw in the Iranian attack 00:18.119 --> 00:20.341 on Israel . That salvo of missiles in a 00:20.341 --> 00:22.563 mass we perhaps hadn't seen before is a 00:22.563 --> 00:25.579 harbinger of things to come . In this 00:25.579 --> 00:28.950 time of consequence , We have to have 00:28.950 --> 00:32.110 the courage to make hard decisions . 00:33.220 --> 00:36.490 The conviction To follow through with 00:36.490 --> 00:40.490 those decisions . That's an obligation 00:40.490 --> 00:42.680 to our airmen , and it's an obligation 00:42.680 --> 00:46.000 to our nation . The stakes are high . 00:47.220 --> 00:48.220 The time is now . 00:52.349 --> 00:54.669 You never know when or where the 48th 00:54.669 --> 00:56.891 fighter wing is going to have to deploy 00:56.891 --> 00:58.725 to either deter aggression or to 00:58.725 --> 01:00.947 respond to aggression , but the world's 01:00.947 --> 01:03.058 a dangerous place and the threats are 01:03.058 --> 01:05.113 only increasing their capabilities . 01:05.113 --> 01:07.002 The recent Russian incursion into 01:07.002 --> 01:07.000 Ukraine reminded us why it's so 01:07.000 --> 01:09.167 important to have a strong partnership 01:09.167 --> 01:11.167 here in NATO . Gives us a chance to 01:11.167 --> 01:13.940 build relationships to demonstrate the 01:13.940 --> 01:16.051 ability of our forces to interoperate 01:16.051 --> 01:18.162 with our NATO allies and partners and 01:18.162 --> 01:20.273 then just to to share across cultures 01:20.273 --> 01:22.440 and build relationships for both , you 01:22.440 --> 01:24.551 know , American citizens but also our 01:24.551 --> 01:28.220 European allies and partners . I've 01:28.220 --> 01:31.809 been blown away by the the support and 01:31.809 --> 01:34.059 the uh the partnership that we get from 01:34.059 --> 01:37.260 the local community . We're on RAF Lake 01:37.260 --> 01:39.038 and Heath and I think that name 01:39.038 --> 01:41.038 identifies the close partnership we 01:41.038 --> 01:43.316 have . We're here as an invited guests . 01:43.316 --> 01:45.371 We're here because the UK government 01:45.371 --> 01:47.482 has asked us to come and partner with 01:47.482 --> 01:50.620 them . The historic events , the , the 01:50.620 --> 01:52.980 remembrances , the memorials are 01:52.980 --> 01:55.202 another way that demonstrate that close 01:55.202 --> 01:58.449 partnership and that friendship . The 01:58.449 --> 02:00.970 48th fighter wing has more than half of 02:00.970 --> 02:03.250 UAE's fighter squadrons . You know , in 02:03.250 --> 02:05.529 many ways we provide the cornerstone of 02:05.529 --> 02:07.760 Uafe's ability to partner and defend 02:07.760 --> 02:10.038 our allies and partners here in Europe . 02:10.038 --> 02:12.038 And then combine that with the fact 02:12.038 --> 02:13.927 that we are the only US Air Force 02:13.927 --> 02:16.169 fighter wing with the dual capable 02:16.169 --> 02:19.009 aircraft role or the nuclear mission . 02:19.580 --> 02:21.747 Meaning we're the only fighter wing in 02:21.747 --> 02:23.802 the United States Air Force that can 02:23.802 --> 02:26.009 take an F-15E strike Eagle or an F-35 02:26.220 --> 02:28.699 and pair it with a B61 and deliver safe , 02:28.899 --> 02:31.100 secure , and effective nuclear 02:31.100 --> 02:34.720 deterrent operations . So our airmen 02:34.720 --> 02:36.720 are gonna have to be really good at 02:36.720 --> 02:38.776 what we do , and we're gonna have to 02:38.776 --> 02:40.720 build strong partnerships with our 02:40.720 --> 02:42.664 allies , uh , so that we can fight 02:42.664 --> 02:44.998 shoulder to shoulder again if necessary . 02:45.479 --> 02:47.701 Our adversaries are building out a host 02:47.701 --> 02:49.923 of capabilities from cruise missiles to 02:49.923 --> 02:51.889 one-way attack drones to ballistic 02:51.889 --> 02:53.833 missiles that can all threaten our 02:53.833 --> 02:56.029 airfields . And so to mitigate that 02:56.029 --> 02:57.918 threat we have to be able to both 02:57.918 --> 02:59.696 disperse on our own airfield to 02:59.696 --> 03:01.862 complicate their targeting so that our 03:01.862 --> 03:03.640 aircraft and our airmen and our 03:03.640 --> 03:05.418 equipment and our munitions are 03:05.418 --> 03:07.418 survivable , but also to be able to 03:07.418 --> 03:09.473 what we would call reactively ace to 03:09.473 --> 03:11.196 disperse our aircraft to other 03:11.196 --> 03:13.196 airfields so that we can complicate 03:13.196 --> 03:15.140 their targeting . This is where we 03:15.140 --> 03:17.307 really rely on mission ready airmen to 03:17.307 --> 03:19.251 find smart ways to innovate and to 03:19.251 --> 03:21.473 solve problems at their level that help 03:21.473 --> 03:23.473 us to keep generating the fight and 03:23.473 --> 03:25.418 generating aircraft and generating 03:25.418 --> 03:27.473 sorties so I , I think that you know 03:27.473 --> 03:29.473 our performance speaks for itself . 03:29.473 --> 03:31.640 reassure our allies and partners , the 03:31.640 --> 03:34.830 fact that we can continue to send 12 03:34.830 --> 03:38.070 ships of F-15s or 03:38.070 --> 03:40.419 F-35s anywhere in the world 03:40.630 --> 03:42.852 demonstrates the high radius level that 03:42.852 --> 03:43.789 we have here in the 48 .