The North Carolina All Academy Ball had cadets from Air Force, West Point, Annapolis, and Coast Guard Academy, plus one graduate of the Merchant Marine Academy, and many dates and family members. A fun group of about 200 people.

Cadets, Midshipmen--Parents and others who love and support them--it’s an honor to join you this evening.

Tonight, I’ll try to respect the wisdom of a little boy’s brief report for school: “Julius Caesar was a general. He gave long speeches. They killed him.”

Or, to put it in words that hard-working cadets and midshipmen understand better than anyone: Your job is to go to sleep. My job is to keep you awake. And hopefully we’ll both finish about the same time.

You cadets and midshipmen are entering a world of change--and I know of no better places to prepare for it than your academies.

Of course, you probably figured this out on your first day of inprocessing--when the upperclassmen informed you recent high school hot dogs that you were suddenly the lowest form of life on the planet!

The Armed Forces of the United States have changed the course of world history, over and over.

Our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, Coast Guardsmen, Merchant Mariners--and now Space Guardians--have teamed to liberate people around the world from fascists, dictators, tyrants, and fanatics.

We’ve rightly celebrated the successes of the nations they’ve liberated--and helped those people form modern representative governments of their own choosing.

We honor our Veterans’ families, such as the people in this room--because families make great sacrifices, too.

Now hey, I understand that academy basic training can be harder emotionally on mothers than it is on cadets and midshipmen.

You plebes and doolies: nowadays, have you discovered that Mom’s home cooking looks pretty good?

You upperclassmen, as you get nearer to graduation--and to living out there on your own--do Mom and Dad seem to get smarter and smarter?

I admire you. You’ve volunteered to step to the front in defending some 340 million Americans--including my family. Thank you!

The path you’ve chosen doesn’t just aim you toward a job…or even just a profession...or just a career. It is a calling.

In 1964, when I arrived to be a basic cadet, I naively assumed that the Air Force Academy would have a school solution for everything--ready to teach me. My job was to pay attention, memorize, and repeat the right answers. Yes, Sir. No, Sir. No excuse, Sir.

What soon surprised me was that the Academy itself was changing around us. I had to learn to deal with those changes.

I invite you to look at changes happening in your academy--be ready to adapt to them--and try to help make your academy better.

The same will be true after graduation. We live in a changing world. As a future leader, you’re going to be leading change--hopefully doing your part to make your service--and your country --better.

Here’s one key to success. It’s hard to predict the future. In fact, there’s little more embarrassing than making a prediction and then it doesn’t happen.

Or, as J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon says, “Risk management is not the same as guessing the future.” (2 Oct 2023)

But you can anticipate the possibilities--and prepare for them. That’s what military planning does.

For example, the day that Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, Army General Norman Schwarzkopf was exercising U.S. Central Command’s plan to defend Saudi Arabia from attack by Iraq. He knew what to do.

Some 10 years earlier, the JCS directive to have such a plan to defend Saudi Arabia had been written by a young Joint Staff Lt Col named Bill Eckert. Anticipate. Prepare.

When Sue and I lived for 19 years in Colorado--near the Air Force Academy--I came across helpful and fun cowboy wisdom.

Cowboys have a lot to teach about anticipating and preparing. For example:

- Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction….

- Always drink upstream from the herd….

- Good judgment comes from experience. A lot of that comes from bad judgment….

- Never slap a man who’s chewin’ tobacco….

- And then:

o There’s four ways that a cowboy can learn:

o Some learn by lookin’

o Smarter ones learn by listenin’

o Some smart cowboys can learn by readin’

o And then there was that know-it-all college-boy summer help who just had to satisfy his curiosity by putting his tongue on the electric fence….

Let’s look at change over a couple generations.

For example, the Wright Brothers’ famous first flight tottered along for 120 feet. Today, the Air Force’s C-17 jet has a wingspan 50 feet longer than Orville Wright flew.

The U.S. Army bought its first airplane, a Wright Flyer, in 1909.

My father was born that same year, 1909.

In the West Point Class of 1930, Dad was trained in cavalry skills--on horses in the Thayer Riding Hall--starting bareback and including sabers.

Being a farm boy from Indiana, Dad ended up on West Point’s equestrian jumping team --which West Point still has today!

One day Dad told me, “Billy, A man should know how to handle a horse.” Adapting to change, he later flew jets.

The year I graduated from the Air Force Academy, 1968, we gaped wide-eyed at an exciting new movie that gave us a glimpse of the distant future: 2001, A Space Odyssey.

To us cadets, a computer was a room full of machines that used reels of tape for memory…required a 2-inch stack of punched cards…just for us to ask it what is 3x3…and if you made a single typo in that stack of cards, after an hour the attendant handed you an inch-thick printout saying, “Error. I can’t help you.”

I had no use for “the computer.” In astronautics class we calculated the thrust required to put a given payload into orbit…using a slide rule.

Nine years after we graduated, Mr. Ken Olson, President of Digital Equipment Corporation, offered the insight that, “There is no need for any individual to have a computer in their home.”

In 1965, we Zoomies were put onto a train to travel to Chicago’s Soldier Field for what became our first-ever football win against West Point. This was a big day for us.

And I learned the hard way--that morning--that being on a moving train is not the best time to be trying to teach yourself to use a straight razor….

When we graduated, the monthly base pay of a 2nd Lieutenant was $399.30. Today, that base pay is $3,637.

Speaking of change, I think the best thing that ever happened to mature our academies was the arrival of women.

For example, I graduated in the top 10% of my class. Thought I’d done pretty well. Then our daughter Katie came along in the Class of 2003 and did better than I did academically, athletically, and militarily.

Your world is changing even faster. When you look at the cell phone in your hand, you’re looking at far more computer power than existed in the Mercury Capsule that I once sat in at the McDonnell factory--before NASA launched it into space.

Now, some folks are worried that the Chinese might put a person on the Moon. Well, I wish them luck, but in 1969--54 years ago--I went outside to stare at the Moon, where a former Navy combat pilot--Astronaut Neil Armstrong--was out walking around. Go Navy!

But some things don’t change much. Because of hazing abuse at my academy--the year before we arrived--upperclassmen weren’t allowed to give us pushups. We were told, “The officers have restricted our ability to train you--so you’ll all be wimps.”

I felt bad about this, and wrote home that my timing in coming to the Air Force Academy was unfortunate.

A letter came back from Dad. “Don’t worry, son. When I arrived at West Point in 1926, one of the first things I heard from upperclassmen was that the officers had restricted their ability to train us, and we’d all be wimps.”

In the Air Staff back in 1991, one of my division’s responsibilities was policy and planning for bringing a new thing called the Global Positioning System into the Air Force--GPS. One day, a 2-star general fighter pilot stopped me in the Pentagon hallway. “Eckert, our fighter jocks are already overtasked in the cockpit. They don’t have time for your GPS science project!” “Umm. Thank you, Sir.” I gave that advice the attention it deserved….

Other things have not changed: You live under an Honor Code. You’re taking a heavier academic load than the vast majority of your high school friends. You’re playing more sports than most of your high school friends. You are living a life of integrity, teamwork, discipline, excellence. You’re held responsible for yourself and for others.

At many colleges, students are still trying to figure out responsibility for themselves.

During your summers, you’ll be soaring, parachuting, sailing, traveling the world, being leaders and training others--pulling them up.
And after your academies’ military instructors teach for 4 years, they go back out to defending America.

You don’t get that at Harvard.

And at Yale, you never get to learn that ants taste like lemon drops…and that flamed grasshoppers taste like grilled lobster.

The closest that Stanford students get to jets like Top Gun is in a movie theater. Many of you get to take the stick.

One other thing they don’t get. Once a month, in your mailbox, there’s a pay statement.

By the way, I still have my acceptance letter from Yale. I chose the Air Force Academy.

Now, let’s talk about the Oath you’ve taken--and will take again--to support and defend our Constitution.

That Constitution is not some out-of-date old historic document. It’s a living document--that has been amended 27 times and probably will be amended again.

Your Oath is not to history. Your Oath is to tomorrow.

General George Marshall, who was later Secretary of State, observed that, “If man does find the solution for world peace, it will be the most revolutionary reversal of his record we have ever known.”

As the great orator Daniel Webster said, "God grants liberty only to those who love it…and are always ready to guard and defend it."

Indeed, the concept of representative national government is new in the last few hundred years--compared to the grinding existence of most of mankind over the last ten thousand years under chieftains, feudal lords and dictators.

Let’s think a bit about the people who gave us an independent nation, to make life better here. Not just the Founding Fathers, but also the Soldiers, Sailors and Marines who bled for it. How about citizen-Soldier John Stark who--from Bunker Hill--to the invasion of Canada--to crossing the Delaware with General Washington--was a kind of Captain Marvel of his day.

General Stark--hero of the Battle of Bennington--inspired his New England militiamen by exclaiming, “Yonder are the Hessians. They were bought for seven pounds and tenpence a man. Are you worth more? Prove it. Tonight, the American flag floats from yonder hill or Molly Stark sleeps a widow!”

The New Hampshire state motto “Live Free or Die” was written by John Stark.

And recall what Lafayette said after the victory at Yorktown: “Finally, Liberty has a country.”

Now, was the founding of this nation some kind of immaculate conception? Of course not. We had soldiers without shoes, a Congress with no money to pay them, and future Americans fighting each other--especially the Tories against the Patriots here in the Carolinas.

Interestingly, among some 400,000 loyalists during our Revolution, King George’s Royal Governor of New Jersey was one of the most effective at forming Tory military units to fight the Patriots. His name was William Franklin, and he was the son of my favorite Patriot, Ben Franklin.

In a world of kings and dictators, the idea of trying to build a national democratic republic “for and by the people” was revolutionary. And that example has been followed around the world by many countries, in their own ways.

Our budding United States of America still had a long way to go, having compromised itself on the worldwide evil of slavery to hold together the idea of having an independent country at all.

After another 90 years (1775-1865), in a great Civil War, our ancestors ended up killing some 600,000 of each other to finally determine that we would have a United States without the horror of slavery.

And--ladies--it would be another 55 years (1865-1920) after that before American women would vote in national elections--reflecting the rest of the world in those days and much of the world today.

These actions of law--by the people--amended our Constitution.

Now, you and I are not our ancestors, who were people of their day.

Today, we are a far better country--because they made it better.

And we still have much to do. To make it better ourselves. That means you and me.

At the age of 77, I’ve lived through 1/3 of the entire history of the United States since our Constitution was adopted in 1788. (2023-1788=235. 77/235=.33)

In 1981, when assigned as Military Assistant to Vice President Bush--just a few months after President Reagan was shot--I started carrying the Presidential Oath in my wallet.

Why? Because when they wrote that Oath requirement into the Constitution, our Founding Fathers weren’t thinking about Vice Presidents making long trips in airplanes.

It hit me that I’d never actually read the Constitution. So I read it. Took only 30 minutes. My high schools had never required reading it. My academy had never required reading it.

In fact, I’m going to invite you cadets and midshipmen to do a little homework. If you haven’t already, please read the Constitution to which you’ve taken an Oath. All of it. Tomorrow. Just Google it.

Then--for the rest of your life--you’ll know that you’ve read it. Because you came here tonight. And then you’ll be prepared to talk about it--always. That’s 30 minutes.

In Gallup’s annual poll of Confidence in Institutions, the United States military has rated #1 or #2 almost every year since this poll began in 1975.

That respect has been well-earned.

At your academies, you’re being educated on values and concepts that will serve you well for life, whatever career field you choose.
For example, the word “classmate” means a lot more to you than it ever has.

For most of you, the training you’re receiving is only generally--if at all--what you’ll need to earn your pay in your assigned career field after graduation.

So when you do graduate, please keep your humility. As an ensign or 2nd Lt, you certainly won’t “know it all.” And Be Real: don’t feel like you might trip and “break your image.” [Thanks to classmate Carl Janssen for this and other thoughts—and a lifetime of friendship]

You will make mistakes. But if you’re trying to do the right thing, the right way, for the right reason--admit that you’re learning--you’ll be respected--and you’ll recover just fine.

Just as you’re seeing in your academy experience, as an officer you’ll face more challenges than you can imagine now--and you’ll find more opportunities to do good things with creative original thinking.

And not just trying to earn your way to become a flag officer…like every classmate--who stayed in the Army--of Cadet Omar Bradley’s 1914 West Point baseball team.

Do you know how many U.S. Presidents were previously Army or militia general officers? My first guess was 5. The answer is 12. Go Army!

Originality? Creativity in the military? I offer you what General Douglas MacArthur had to say: “The most indispensable attribute of the great captain is imagination.”

And that Honor Code you live under today. It’s not just an academy thing. Those values will be more important when you wear an officer’s uniform.

Life doesn’t get any easier--but you’re being prepared to handle it better.

Please never let perfection become the enemy of excellence. And never let constant change or imperfection up your chain of command divert you from seeking excellence in yourself.

No matter what your class at the academy--and after graduation no matter what your rank--whenever you see something wrong, try to fix it now.

And if you don’t have the rank to get it fixed now, make yourself a promise that, “When I’m more senior, I’m going to make that right.”

Your day will come. In my long career, those were the best days.

In basic terms:

In your classrooms, you’re learning knowledge.

Knowledge is accurate reflection of facts, past and present.

But wisdom is using knowledge to improve the future.

And integrity is acting to apply wisdom--even when it hurts.

As military officers, you will need all three of these.

More broadly, to become a good leader, you will require both competence and character.

Finally, standing here among you, I’m reminded that I also wore the Air Force uniform for reasons beyond my oath to support and defend the Constitution.

Like cartoonist Bill Mauldin’s Willie and Joe--committed to protecting the men in the foxholes to their left and right--I stayed in that uniform for 30 years because of the wonderful men and women on our Joint Armed Services Team...because of good people like you.

It’s an honor to be with you here on this special evening--showing our cadets and midshipmen that we respect and love them.

God bless you all. Thank you.