Mike Randall, Times Herald-Record
Sat, May 21, 2022, 9:42 PM·3 min read
In this article:
WEST POINT - General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told West Point's graduating class on Saturday that wars they fight might bear little resemblance to today's because of technological advances.
But Milley told the 1,014 cadets who were about to become second lieutenants in the Army that their mission remains the same: defending the U.S. Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.
This is what you are committing to today," Milley said. "You never turn your back on the Constitution...And you are going to lead our nation's most precious resource, the other young men and women who are serving."
Milley is the nation's highest-ranking military officer and the principal military advisor to President Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin - who was last year's West Point commencement speaker - and the National Security Council.
Before Milley began the serious part of his address, he asked the cadets before him to stand and face their parents, siblings and other family members in the stands at Michie Stadium.
Give a big round of applause to your families, because they are the reason you are here right now," Milley said.
Milley painted a bleak picture of the world in which the new second lieutenants will begin their military careers, one where there is "potential for great conflicts."
"You are entering a difficult world," Milley said.
Russian aggression in Europe, the economic and military rise of China and others all pose challenges to the United States, which once was a largely unchallenged superpower, Milley said.
And technology is changing that landscape in many ways, he noted.
"No matter where you are in the world, you can be observed by some device," Milley said. "And if you can be seen, you can be hit."
Milley said future wars could involve more urban fighting, like what has been taking place in Ukraine since Russia invaded, and less rural combat.