Title: Remarks by President Barack Obama at the Commander in Chief's Inaugural Ball
Date: 01/20/2009
Location: Washington, DC
Speech
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AT THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF'S INAUGURAL BALL
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PRESIDENT OBAMA: (Sustained cheers, applause.) Thank you. Thank you all for coming! Thank you. Thank you so much. Thanks to all of you. (Applause.)
Tonight -- tonight I have the very special honor of being known as the guy who accompanied Michelle Obama to the ball. (Cheers, applause.)
I want to start by thanking tonight's co-hosts, the senior enlisted advisers for the five branches of the United States armed forces. (Cheers, applause.)
And I want to acknowledge the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who are here with us, as well. Thank you, gentlemen. (Applause.)
I also want to recognize some very special guests: 300 wounded warriors joining us from Walter Reed. (Cheers.) I want to thank all of you for your service, and I wish you quick and healthy recoveries. (Applause.) I know that you are more than ready to get home to your families, and I know that they are more than ready to have you back.
I also want to take a moment to honor the families of the fallen who are here with us tonight. (Applause.) You have given so much to this country. I know that your loved one's sacrifice has been your sacrifice, as well. And please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers -- today, every day, forever. (Sustained applause.)
And, finally, I want to thank all of the enlisted men and women and junior officers here tonight! (Cheers, applause.)
It is wonderful to be surrounded by some of the very best and bravest Americans. Your courage, your grace and your patriotism inspire us all. To you, and to all of those watching from around the world, know that as president I will have no greater honor or responsibility than serving as your commander in chief. (Cheers, applause.)
Right now, as we gather here in Washington, we're sobered by the knowledge that we have troops serving in all corners of the world, many of them in harm's way. We are fighting in two wars. We face dangerous threats to our security. We depend on the men and women of our armed services to keep us safe.
We also know that service and sacrifice aren't limited to those who wear the uniform, because every time a service member deploys, there's an empty seat at the table back home and a family that has to bear an extra burden. That's why Michelle has spent so much time these last few months working with our military families. (Cheers, applause.)
And that's why tonight we don't just salute our troops; we salute the military families who have earned the respect of a grateful nation. (Cheers, applause.)
Understand, tonight isn't simply about the inauguration of an American president. It's a celebration of our military and our military families. So going forward, you will have our support and our respect. You will have a great secretary of Defense in Bob Gates. (Cheers.) You will have a great secretary of Veterans Affairs in General Eric Shinseki. (Cheers.)
And every single day that I am in the White House, I will try to serve you as well as you are serving the United States of America. (Cheers, applause.)
As I said earlier today, while the tests we face are new, and the ways in which we meet them may be new, the values on which our success depends are old.
Those values like hard work and honesty, courage and tolerance, loyalty and patriotism, those are values that are embodied in our Armed Forces.
What's required is for all of us to return to those values. What's required is all of us to embrace a new era of responsibility where we expect and demand not only more of our leaders, but more of ourselves.
So tonight we celebrate, but tomorrow the work begins. (Cheers.) And I look forward to joining you in that effort. Together, I am confident that we will write the next great chapter in America's story. (Cheers.)
Now, I've got a little surprise for some of you. As I said before, we have folks who are working right now in Iraq and Afghanistan. And it appears, if our technology works the way it's supposed to, that we should have members of the Illinois Army National Guard 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Unit, based in Urbana, Illinois. (Cheers.)
Hey, guys.
MR. : Hello, sir. Mr. President --
PRESIDENT OBAMA: This must be --
MR. : -- (cross talk) -- Command Sergeant Major Mark Bowman (ph).
PRESIDENT OBAMA: This must be --
MR. : I'm the command sergeant major of not only the 33rd brigade combat team -- (laughter) -- but -- go ahead. (Laughter.) But Task Force Phoenix here in Kabul. Good morning, sir.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I was told there was going to be a delay. This is Sergeant Major Mark Bowman (ph). Before you say anything else, can you please introduce the rest of your crew there?
MR. : Yes, sir. It's all about them, the people I work for. I'm from Chicago. Most people here are from the Chicago area, sir. (Cheers.)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: There you go.
MR. : And we're just so honored that you'd take time in this busy day to talk to us. And before I pass the mic on, I wanted to invite you back to Afghanistan and sit down with some of the great Afghans we work with. And as we develop their security forces, come on back when you get a chance, sir.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I will be back.
MR. : And let me pass this off.
MR. : How are you doing, Mr. President? Specialist Howard (ph). Chicago, Illinois. (Cheers.)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: West side? South side? (Laughter.)
MR. : West side, sir.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: West side. (Laughter.)
Go ahead, sir.
MR. : Hi, Mr. President. Staff Sergeant Obero Eric (ph). I'm from by Midway Airport in Garfield Ridge, Chicago, Illinois. (Cheers.)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Can I ask a question before you pass on the mike? We've got three Chicago guys. This is an important test. White Sox or Cubs? (Cheers.)
M. : (Off mike.)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Cardinals?!
MR. : Cubs fan, Mr. President.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I'm sorry. (Cheers.)
I'm sorry. I couldn't hear you there. (Laughter.)
MR. : Cubs fan.
MR. : Cubs!
MR. : Cubs fan, Mr. President.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Go to the next guy. Let's see if we can find a White Sox fan.
MR. : Hi, Mr. President. Sergeant Bernardo Guille (ph) from Northlake, Illinois. Cubs fan. (Laughter.)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: (Laughs.) This is terrible.
MS. : Hi, Mr. President. Specialist Melissa Krieger from Naperville. Cubs fan. (Cheers.) Cubs! Go Cubs. (Laughter.)
MS. : Good morning, sir. Specialist Giovanna Guera (ph) from Chicago, Illinois, Hyde Park to be exact, and I am a Sox fan. (Cheers.)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Hey! Finally. It's about time. All right. (Laughter.)
MR. : (Laughs.) Let her talk.
MS. : Good morning, Mr. President.
Specialist Hernandez (ph), from Aurora, Illinois. I want to say hi to my family at home. And I'm a Cubs Fan. (Cheers.) Congratulations, sir.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: All right. Well, Sergeant Major, we may be outnumbered, us White Sox fans, but whether you are White Sox, Cubs or Cardinals -- (cheers) -- we got some folks probably from Scott Air Force Base or something down in Metro-East. No matter where you are from, we are all grateful to you for your outstanding service. You make us proud.
MR. : Yes, sir. Thank you.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: And we are going to do everything we can to make your work go smoother. And you need to know that every single American, regardless of party, regardless of, you know, what their politics are, support you and will always support you. Thank you so much. (Cheers, applause.)
MR. : Welcome, sir. Right here. (Cheers.)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you, everybody. And I will see you either back home or out where you guys are. Thank you, and we salute you.
MR. : Okay, sir. We'll be here.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you very much.
MS. : We love you, Mr. President!
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Now --
MR. : Thank you, sir. Golden Cross.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Give them a big round of applause, please. (Cheers, applause.)
With that, we have one more person that I need to introduce: That would be the first lady of the United States of America, Michelle Obama. (Cheers, applause.)
(Pause.)
I may have been stood up. (Laughter.) (Cheers, applause.)
(Interlude of music and dancing.)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Michelle and I thank you for your service. We are grateful to you. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. (Cheers, applause.)
END.
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