JOINT BASE CHARLESTON –
This nation has been blessed with many great leaders who had to make tough decisions ... decisions that shaped our country into the greatest nation on earth.
On March 11, 1783, during the final year of the Revolutionary War, Congress was struggling to amend the Articles of Confederation enabling Congress to levy taxes, resulting in the Congress' inability to pay the nation's debt and subsequently, debts to the military. The officers and enlisted men who were risking their lives' to defend the new nation were not being compensated.
The men's discontent was further fueled by a pamphlet that was widely distributed and designed to encourage the troops to de-mobilize, de-militarize and march on Congress.
If the nation's military were to lay down their arms and abandon their posts, the nation would be defenseless.
Gen. George Washington, commander in chief of the Continental Army heard about the discontent in the ranks and issued a memorandum condemning such "disorderly proceedings." He then gathered his officers at his headquarters to address the issue.
General Washington knew the fragile state the country was in from war. If his officers and enlisted men marched on Congress, leaving the Nation defenseless, the county's ideologies of freedom of speech, the freedom to self govern, even the concepts in the Declaration of Independence could crumble and the Revolutionary War would have been fought for nothing.
When the officers were all assembled, General Washington dramatically entered the room and initially scolded them for being "subversive of all order and discipline", being especially hard on the author of the pamphlet. However, being the great leader that he was, General Washington empathized with the men and told them how he took pride in their patriotism, honor, and dignity. He acknowledged their grievances telling them he "placed a full confidence in the purity of the intentions of Congress" to pay them full for their "faithful and meritorious services".
General Washington delivered his speech so eloquently that many of his officers wept in admiration and respect for their commander in chief and swore to remain unified for their ultimate cause: independence.
When reading the history of General Washington's speech, there is a very unique juxtaposition to the current events of today. Our military is constantly being tried, tested and seemingly stretched beyond its limits. Old policies that have outlived their usefulness are phased out and new policies take their place. This is nothing new. It's called growth. As technology changes, warfare changes and so do the policies that accompany those changes.
But there is always one thing that remains a constant in the U.S. military; we carry out the orders of a civilian commander in chief and a civilian Congress.
General Washington's speech is just as relevant today as it was 229 years ago. His speech entrusted our civilian leaders to make the right decisions for the men and women risking their lives in other nations, fighting for principles on which our freedom stands.
Due to the unprecedented leadership General, and later President Washington exhibited, the military and nation we live in has held steadfast to the ideals of patriotism and hope. I encourage all of you to read his speech to officers at Newburgh, which can be found on the Public Broadcasting Service website at http://www.pbs.org/georgewashington/.