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Skriven 2005-04-22 23:35:04 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (050422) for Fri, 2005 Apr 22
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President Nominates General Pace as Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 22, 2005

President Nominates General Pace as Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Roosevelt Room

President's Remarks
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10:12 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. As President, my most solemn duty is
protecting the American people. In meeting this responsibility, one of the
most important decisions I make is the appointment of the Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff. Today I'm pleased to announce my decision to
nominate General Peter Pace to take on this vital job.

When confirmed by the Senate, General Pete Pace will be the first Marine in
history to hold this vital position. He knows the job well. For the past
three-and-a-half years, he has served under our superb Secretary of
Defense, Don Rumsfeld. He has been the Deputy to one of the most
outstanding Chairmen our nation has ever had, General Richard Myers.

As my most senior military advisor, General Myers has helped prepare
military forces so they can meet the threats of this new century. This is a
huge task, even in peacetime. Dick Myers did it while defending America
from one of the most determined and vicious enemies we have ever faced. On
General Myers' watch, we toppled two brutal dictatorships in Afghanistan
and Iraq, and liberated more than 50 million people. By removing the
Taliban and Saddam Hussein we have made America safer and put a troubled
region on the path of freedom and peace.

I want to thank General Dick Myers for his able service over four decades,
and his tireless dedication to duty and country. And I also thank his wife,
Mary Jo. Dick Myers has had four jobs with fours stars, but the distinction
that he is proudest of is not a military one. Last year, the National
Father's Day Council named him Father of the Year.

I'm confident that the great work that General Dick Myers set in motion at
the Pentagon will continue under the leadership of General Pete Pace. The
first thing America needs to know about Pete Pace is that he is a Marine.
To the American people, "Marine" is shorthand for "can do." And I'm
counting on Pete Pace to bring the Marine spirit to these new
responsibilities.

General Pete Pace's life is the story of the American Dream. His father was
an immigrant from Italy. Pete Pace was born in Brooklyn. He grew up in New
Jersey and he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. He was a rifle platoon
leader in Vietnam; he commanded Marines in Somalia; and he went on to
command U.S. Marine forces in the Atlantic, and became the head of the U.S.
Southern Command. It tells you something about Pete Pace's devotion to his
troops that under the glass on his desk at the Pentagon, he keeps a photo
of Lance Corporal Guido Farinaro. He was the first Marine he lost in combat
in Vietnam.

I've come to rely on Pete Pace's wisdom, judgment and sense of humor. I
will continue to rely on those qualities as he serves our nation as
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We'll need his wisdom and
determination as we continue to transform our Armed Forces, so we can
defeat today's enemies, while preparing ourselves for military challenges
we will face as this new century unfolds.

General Pete Pace also understands the critical role military families play
in the success of our Armed Forces. That's because he has a great military
family, himself. I'm pleased to welcome his wife, Lynne, and daughter,
Tiffany, who have joined us today. They're proud of Pete, and they should
be.

Because he has served in the job, General Pete Pace also understands the
important role that the Vice Chairman plays. Today I am pleased to announce
that I have nominated an outstanding military officer, Admiral Ed
Giambastiani. (Laughter.) He shall be known as Admiral G. (Laughter.)
Anyway, he's going to be the Vice Chairman. (Laughter.)

For the past two-and-a-half years Admiral G -- as his friends, and now the
President calls him -- (laughter) -- has been serving our nation while
wearing two important hats. As Commander of the U.S. Joint Forces Command
in Norfolk, he has been transforming our Armed Forces so they can better
work together to defeat the threats of the 21st century. As the first
Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation, he's been leading the effort
to bring reform to NATO military so our alliance is prepared for the
threats of tomorrow.

Admiral G is joined today by his wife, Cindy; daughter, Cathie; and his
son, Pete, a Navy lieutenant, and Pete's wife Jennifer.

I appreciate the willingness of these men, and their families, to take on
these new assignments in an extraordinary moment in our nation's history.
We still face ruthless adversaries who wish to attack our country. With the
leadership of men like these, the outcome of the struggle is assured:
America will defeat freedom's enemies and ensure the security of our
country for generations to come.

It's my honor to bring to the podium General Pete Pace. (Applause.)

GENERAL PACE: Thank you. Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, Mr. Secretary,
General Myers, I thank each of you, individually and collectively, for your
trust and faith in me.

This is an incredible moment for me. It is both exhilarating and humbling.
It's exhilarating because I have the opportunity, if confirmed by the
Senate, to continue the serve this great nation. It's humbling because I
know the challenges ahead are formidable. But I have great faith in our
ability to meet those challenges -- for both personal and professional
reasons.

On the personal side is my family: my wife, Lynne, with whom I share our
34th wedding anniversary this Sunday; along with her, our two children,
Tiffany, who is with us and who, just by being anywhere near me, brings
great joy to my life; and our son, Captain Peter Pace, United States Marine
Corps Reserve, and his wife, Lindsey, who could not be here today; and my
mom, who goes to church every Sunday and lights candles and burns the
church down while she prays that I might be on the path I should be on and
be safe.

But, professionally, as the President pointed out, we have been fortunate
to have an incredible Chairman for the last three-and-a-half years, and it
has been my great honor to be his Vice Chairman. And he is still our
Chairman, and I look forward to continuing to serve him and this nation as
his Vice Chairman. But if confirmed, I am delighted that I'll have the
opportunity to work side-by-side with Admiral Ed G. (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for bailing me out. (Laughter.)

GENERAL PACE: I am trainable, Mr. President. (Laughter.)

Admiral G, and his wife, Cindy, and family are incredible Americans. He
brings great intellect and energy and focus to the job. And I look forward
to being shipmates with him as we serve this country.

But the fundamental reason why I have great faith in our ability to
overcome whatever challenges lie ahead is the fact that we have the world's
best men and women serving in our Armed Forces. Active, Guard, Reserve,
civilian -- they simply deliver every time our nation calls. And I'm proud,
and I thank you, Mr. President, for giving me this opportunity to continue
to serve them and our Commander-in-Chief, if confirmed. And I thank you all
today for being here. (Applause.)

ADMIRAL GIAMBASTIANI: Mr. President, Secretary Rumsfeld, Mr. Vice
President, General Dick Myers, and, of course, General Pace: Cindy and I
thank you for this great honor and this opportunity to continue to serve
our nation. For 35 years I've had the privilege of wearing this Navy
uniform. For me, and for my family, it has been a wonderful experience and
also a great honor.

It's a singular thrill for me to be able to work for you, sir; with
Secretary Rumsfeld, again, to continue that relationship; and also, General
Pete Pace -- obviously, pending confirmation -- so that we can work on the
challenges and the security situations that face our nation in the future.
I look forward to working and continuing to serve on behalf of those
wonderful human beings, those members of our Armed Services, those people
in uniform. They are doing truly remarkable things around the world every
single day, and they deserve nothing less than our full support.

Mr. President, there are a lot of challenges ahead. I look forward to
working with you, General Pace, Secretary Rumsfeld, and this great team in
the future to meet those challenges. Thank you, sir. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. (Applause.)

END 10:23 A.M. EDT

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