Remarks at the Farewell
Ceremony for Secretary of Defense Caspar W.
Weinberger
The President. Admiral Crowe, thank
you. This is a bittersweet moment for me and, I think, for all of us who have
known and worked closely with Cap Weinberger. It's so fitting to see this fine
military tribute to the one American who has probably done as much as any other
in history to restore the morale and readiness of our nation's military. In the
Rose Garden recently, I called you
There
are many qualities that made Cap's service at the Pentagon and in my Cabinet so
invaluable, and I'll speak to some of those in a moment. But at the heart of
the matter, well, it was really a matter of heart. Cap Weinberger started his
service to this country more than 40 years ago as a buck private, and he never
forgot his origins. He never forgot the men and women of
Yes,
Cap has been the point man in the effort to rebuild our nation's defenses, and
he has assembled an unparalleled record of achievement. But I bet if you were
to ask him what his proudest achievement was he would say restoring morale in
our Armed Forces and bringing back pride in our country's uniform. And Cap can
take a lot of the credit for the fact that, as one base commander said to me,
the young men and women coming into our military are some of the smartest,
best-educated, most highly motivated he had ever seen.
But
Cap's tenacity comes from another source as well: a
recognition of the tragic reality of a world divided, a world torn
between those who believe in freedom and cherish the value and dignity of each
individual human soul and forces implacably hostile to those ideals. If one
faces that reality foursquare, without illusions, it produces a certain, well,
clarity of vision. And in 1980, to someone entrusted with the great
responsibility of Secretary of Defense, it could only produce a profound sense
of urgency.
When
Cap came to this job more than 6 years ago, the Navy had been permitted to dwindle
from more than 1,000 ships to less than 500. There were planes that couldn't
fly for lack of spare parts. And our men and women in uniform were seeing their
pay in real terms shrink, while pay in the private sector rose. With Caspar Weinberger at the helm, we turned that around, and today we have a military that is once again
ready, able, and willing -- a modern defense worthy of the leader of the free
world. Yes, Cap, we have come a long distance from 1980. But let me also
promise you this: No one here is going to be resting on their laurels after you
leave. Frank [Carlucci] and I know the job is not yet complete. And to anyone
who calls for even the slightest slacking off in commitment to a strong and
ready national defense, I'll only have to say two words: Remember Cap.
We
will remember, and we will heed the example of Cap Weinberger, just as he
learned from and heeded the example of another great champion of peace through
strength. I'm thinking of one particular example: One lone Member of Parliament
in the 1930's who saw the promise of new, as yet unproven, technology. He was a
Member of Parliament; his name was Winston Churchill, and the technology was
radar. It was unworkable, unnecessary, and too expensive, said its opponents.
But with a tenacity that even Cap would envy, Churchill fought the long, hard
political battle. And in a way, winning that battle was the true turning point
of the Battle of Britain. In the end, Churchill's vision and foresight won the
day for radar and helped save the day for
As
Secretary of Defense, Cap has been one of the most eloquent and forceful
proponents of our Strategic Defense Initiative. In the 1970's we watched as
SDI
holds out hope of a world free from the fear of ballistic missiles. It is, as
Cap likes to say, an innocent technology that threatens no one. Indeed, it's
hard to see how making people's lives safer will make the world more dangerous.
After so many years, it will take time for some to adjust to a world based on
defenses rather than offenses. But it's my sincere belief that SDI will not
only make us safer, it will in the end relieve tensions between our country and
the
Cap,
today we say farewell. For more than two decades I have known you as a
colleague, ally, and trusted adviser, but most of all, as a friend. How many
times in the Oval Office or in Cabinet meetings have I waited to hear that
patient voice, those clear, complex, and perfectly fashioned sentences building
resolutely to a conclusion, always, it seemed, as an incontestable one? How many
times, my friend, have I looked to you to find the safe harbor of principle in
the stormy events of world affairs? And how many times have I found in you the
stalwart commitment to freedom, that fierceness of belief in this land of ours
that is the mark of a true man of peace?
In
another farewell address many years ago, another great patriot, Douglas MacArthur, quoted an old
Cap
often has the last word, and today will be no exception. So, now I'm going to
hand the microphone over to you, but first, Cap, there's something special here
for you. I'm happy to announce that today I'm awarding you the Presidential
Medal of Freedom with Distinction. The citation reads:
Military
officer, State legislator, State Cabinet member, Federal regulatory agency
chairman, and three-time Federal Cabinet member, Caspar
(Cap) W. Weinberger has, in the tradition of our Founding Fathers, dedicated
his life to the service of his country. His proudest public accomplishment is
the rebuilding of our country's national defenses so that the freedom we so
cherish might endure. His legacy is a strong and free
Secretary
Weinberger. Mr. President, I'm really quite overwhelmed. I really like that
part about strategic defense much better. But this is an enormous honor and one
that can come to very few people, and as I say, I am entirely overwhelmed by
it. But, Mr. President and your excellencies and very
distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, thank you all very much for coming.
I've
always thought that service to a noble cause was actually the definition of
happiness. And those of us who had the honor to serve you, Mr. President, and
to serve our very great nation have reason to feel not only privileged but
blessed. We have all been engaged in the task you set before us in January of
1981, which was to restore pride in the Republic, to return government to the
people, and defend liberty not with words alone but with a robust military
strength and with great courage.
That
seems a little more than common sense, actually, but when we came to this
building nearly 7 years ago, we learned that common sense had actually not been
ruled. Amidst a very feverish buildup of Soviet military power, which aimed
clearly at producing an arsenal of undisputed superiority, the
That
decade of neglect was fed, really, by a rather insidious idea that somehow
American power was immoral. We began by doubting the war in
The
goal seemed to be that we should forget our
Naturally,
I leave with profound regret this very great post that you entrusted to me just
about 7 years ago. But so much has been accomplished to restore our military
strength and preparedness, that I also leave with a
very real sense of accomplishment, with deep gratitude to you and to all with
whom I've been deeply privileged to serve here.
And
I would like to mention particularly Will Taft, whose dedicated and enormously
valuable efforts have benefited us all; our Service Secretaries, whom we've
seen this morning; Jack Marsh, who has served in his post as Secretary of the
Army longer than, I think, any other Secretary; and Secretary Aldridge of the
Air Force, who has brought enormous skills to a number of projects, classified
and otherwise, that are vital for us all; and Secretary Webb, who is away today
-- ably represented by Secretary Garrett, who has presided at the great naval
expansion; and their predecessor. These are all great people. And I also leave
very firm and very content in the knowledge that with Frank Carlucci, who
served here at the very beginning of your term, in this great building; and
Colin Powell, at the White House, that we have a team that will mean that, as
it should, there will not even be a ripple when the change of command passes.
Well,
our recovery that we had to do, our recovery from neglect -- our recovery,
really, from indifference -- had to attack many problems at once. But one
problem stood out as the most acute. One problem above all demanded instant
redress, and that was the condition of our soldiers and sailors and airmen and
marines. We had to demonstrate that our own commitment to security was equal to
that of the troops. We had to give them the tools they urgently needed to do
their ever more difficult task. We had to show the troops that we cared, and we
had to care. And we had to do that by making dramatic improvements in their pay
and their housing -- their living conditions. We had to restore their faith in
the support of the Nation. We had to secure for them the admiration of the
Nation, which so rightly belongs to our troops.
Well,
sir, we accomplished a great deal. But the really important thing is how little
our men and women ask. As you and I know, Mr. President, every time we've had a
chance to visit our troops -- and you've discussed it with me and I've
mentioned to you -- we have been struck by how much they really want to do that
job and how proud they are of what they're doing. They are a very special breed
of young people, and they're led by an exceptional cadre of officers and
noncommissioned officers, and we are fortunate beyond all expression to have
them.
Of
course, they rightly deserve the tools that are required to defend freedom and
keep the peace for us. We've given them those tools. They are using them with
extraordinary skill. And to have those tools available, we had to invigorate
research and development efforts. We had to begin plans for new ships and
aircraft and ground forces. Frequently, I was asked: When will you be done?
When will the job be over? And I guess the job will be over perhaps two ways:
one, if we don't care about freedom anymore, and the other, if the world
changes in a way that none of us can foresee.
We
had to see to it, of course, that many of the systems that were on the drawing
board were deployed. And we had to shore up the nuclear deterrent with long overdue
improvements, because that was the only defense we had. We had to have new
bombers and ICBM's and submarines, and some of these had been sacrificed
before. From strategic and conventional systems to mobilization, to reforms of
our acquisition system, we had to regenerate
And
you, Mr. President, set us on a course that will ultimately strengthen
deterrence even more. Because you asked us, as you so frequently did in
I
am, of course, thankful that we have been as successful as we have, because
that success can be seen in a renewed respect for the
I
am thankful, of course, as always, to have served under a man of your unique
vision, unmovable moral courage, and a penetrating understanding of the
principles and goals of our nation. And of course, it's impossible to express
my thanks to those of you in the Department of Defense -- those of you who
served and worked with me and with Jane every day, those of you who are here in
Washington, those of you on the ships at sea and in the air, and at every one
of our military installations throughout the world. To all of you, I owe a
measure of gratitude that can never properly be paid and that I can never
express fully.
Mr.
President, some here were worried about the weather today. It's one of the
things I never worried about, because I don't believe I've ever been at a
public function with you that the rain didn't hold off and, possibly, even the sun come out. And I think it's just one of the things that
goes with being Governor of California and that you've continued that as our
President. And so, that is a great blessing among others that you have brought
to us today.
Most
of all, I would like to say that I am thankful to have had the good fortune to
have grown up in the freest, most prosperous, and yes,
the most just society that the world has ever known. Mr. President, I am very
proud to have joined with you in the service to our nation and to have
participated in that noblest cause for which so many of our
countrymen have given the last full measure of their devotion. So, now,
I'd like to say thank you, goodbye, and God bless and keep all of you.
[Applause]
Note: The President
spoke at