(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden on Saturday told graduates of the U.S. Military Academy that their class is being called upon to tackle threats across the globe and preserve the country’s ideals at home “like none before.”
“He’s trying to encourage these new lieutenants that they are part of the best and brightest, and I believe they are. They’re extraordinary young men and women at all of our service academies, but it’s a very difficult time,” retired Lt. Gen. Richard Newton told NewsNation.
Newton joined “NewsNation Live” to discuss Biden’s address as the military faces significant recruitment shortages, saying a lack of “influencers” in young people’s lives is a big part of the problem.
“It could be a mom and a dad or grandparent, it could be a coach and so forth. They look at some of the challenges that we’ve gone through the last several years, coming out of constant conflict, either in Iraq or Afghanistan, or, as we mentioned earlier in our discussion, that debacle of withdrawal in Afghanistan compels influencers, perhaps not to be so positive about mentoring and recommending military service to these young men and women. But this is a national security challenge we have here,” Newton said.
“Really reaching into the youth and particularly in social media is becoming more and more important, and very difficult,” Newton added.
Biden said the phrase, the class motto, was apt for the sorts of challenges they will take as newly minted Army second lieutenants, from supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion to facilitating humanitarian assistance into Gaza and defending Israel from attacks by Iran.
“Ideas need defenders to make them real,” Biden said. “That’s what you are all about. You must keep us free at this time like none before.”
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Author: Urja Sinha
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