Character and the Special Forces soldier.

On a recent Friday I had the opportunity to address some of the finest Soldiers in the United States Army. These young men were graduating from the Special Forces Qualification Course--not an easy feat. Having spent 27 years in the special-operations arena, I understood their excitement and how proud they felt during the ceremony; I had sat in a similar chair myself. However, it was important to me that their families understand exactly what their loved ones signed on for. And, in further thinking, it's also important to me that the citizens of this country know the dedication and professionalism that is embodied in the men of Special Forces. It is to that end that I share my graduation remarks with you.

Intuitively, I think we all know how hard our graduates work for the privilege of wearing a Green Beret. But did you know that some of these young men have been in training for more than two, maybe three years? This doesn't count the months they spent just physically preparing themselves before the course began, or the countless hours spent with a rucksack on their back in total solitude, usually very early in the morning or very late at night, but almost always on their own time, because they had other obligations that filled their day.

Appreciate the fact that 75 percent of the Soldiers who began the course, mostly airborne Soldiers, and many with combat experience, are no longer here today. This is the Army's most physically demanding course. Scholastically, each Soldier must master more than 1,000 critical tasks specific to his assigned specialty and hundreds of advanced war-fighting tasks, plus demonstrate a proficiency in a foreign language before he graduates. There is simply not a more demanding school in the entire U.S. Army.

There are also several more intangible qualities that the Special Warfare Center and School is tasked to evaluate before we can allow a Soldier to wear a Green Beret: qualities such as maturity, commitment, judgment, courage, initiative, decisiveness, empathy, self-confidence and adaptability. These qualities can be summarized in one word: character. There are men who master their occupational skills, hone their tactical skills, become proficient in a foreign language and become the most prolific warrior since Rambo, but without character, they will not be a member of this regiment. Character is what defines Special Forces.

Character is a fundamental demand that our operational environment places upon our force. The men who don the Green Beret will be sent to the ends of the earth, and in most cases, they alone will represent and make decisions on behalf of the United States of America. Our Special Forces Soldiers routinely work in small, isolated detachments, alone and far removed from the support and protection or daily guidance of the U.S. government. They will have only each other to depend upon, so we must ensure that every single one of them has the character and integrity to function, maneuver and operate in these very complex environments. When our young men are thousands of miles away from their leadership, can we depend upon each of them to do what is right? Can their fellow teammates count on them, without regard to the dangers involved? Of course they can, and I am very, very confident that our graduates will always achieve their assigned mission. This is the expectation that our country, and all those who have gone before them, place upon our regiment.

What makes this all so important is the critical role that Special Forces Soldiers play in the implementation of U.S. foreign policy. Think about the beauty of a force specifically designed to deploy and resolve conflicts before they require a huge military intervention, a force that clearly excels in training, leading and motivating an indigenous population of a troubled foreign country, a force designed to prevent the next insurgency or failed state. I'm proud to say that we have such a force, and they are called Green Berets!

I believe that the operational detachment that each of our graduates today will soon be a member of represents the only force in the world with the innovative ability to seamlessly integrate the various facets of host-country domestic and foreign needs with diplomacy and combat power into one perfectly designed element, the operational detachment-alpha. This is why character is so vital for our men. I'm obviously biased, but I believe we may be the only force in the world that intuitively understands the balance between diplomacy ...