This will be the fourth - and final -time that I address the cadets of the US Military Academy as Secretary of Defense. I did want to take this last opportunity to share some thoughts with you, and through you to the Army as a whole, about the institution you will someday lead - the United States Army - and how it can better prepare itself, and in particular its leaders, for a complex and uncertain future. No doubt the Army's challenges are daunting and diverse - supporting families, caring for wounded warriors, dealing with post-traumatic stress, doing right by soldiers, strengthening the NCO corps, training and equipping for the future, and finding a way to pay for it all. Today, I'd like to focus on three interrelated issues: 1. The future of conflict, and the implications for the Army; 2. How best to institutionalise the diverse capabilities that will be required; and 3. The kinds of officers the Army will need for the 21st Century, and how the service must change to retain and empower those I-eaders.
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