Remarks by President Trump in Thanksgiving Teleconference with Members of the Military | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Sir, what we do for the country of Afghanistan, we're the senior logistics headquarters in theater. And it is an away game - and I will tell you, in order to fight and win the nation's wars, it's because of sustainment and logistics. And you've got highly motivated, true professionals in this room and outside this room that are truly making it happen.

    We support - if it's in the hands of the warfighter, it comes through us, to them. So we support everything from coalition to joint forces, from border to border here in the country, sir.

    THE PRESIDENT: Good and how are you finding things in Afghanistan right now?

    COLONEL BARTON: Sir, it's good. We're truly making the mission happen when it comes to sustainment. We're response for all the strategic, operational, and tactical logistics.

    Like I said, if it comes in the theater, we get it in the warfighters' hand. But we have a phenomenal team and I can't speak enough about that. Because a lot of the times, it's the sustainment (inaudible) we're behind the scenes, which is fine. But it's a good team effort and it takes the support by all to make it happen.

    THE PRESIDENT: So, Colonel, how many people are you commanding right now, would you say?

    COLONEL BARTON: Sir, 10,000.

    THE PRESIDENT: Wow. That's a lot of people. That's fantastic, Stephanie. That's beautiful. That's beautiful. And not only is it important what you're doing, but you're enjoying what you're doing. Is that right?


    COLONEL BARTON: Sir, absolutely. We truly love it. And I will tell you, our formation is a great mix, sir. We have all the Army COMPOs from the active duty, National Guard, Reserve. We have Army DOD civilians and civilian contractors that - really, we all come together and make this mission happen.

    So, we do hate that we're not with our family and friends today, but I'll tell you, we are a close family here and I'm truly happy to be a part of it. It takes the whole community, from (inaudible) theaters to civilians, to make it happen. And, sir, you would be very proud, because we truly are.

    THE PRESIDENT: That's fantastic. We're proud of you. And I'll tell you what, we're proud of your people. And please say hello to everybody. Have an incredible Thanksgiving and know we're taking good care of you. You know, the budget is now at $716 billion, Stephanie. Right? So, we're getting rid of some of that old equipment that you - you see what's going in. The best in the world, right?

    So, you see a big difference. It's an awfully big difference from what we had before. And it's only getting better. We'll be stronger than ever before. And with people like you, we feel very confident.

    So, Stephanie, thank you very much. Happy Thanksgiving to all. And I will see you when you're back.

    COLONEL BARTON: Sir, sounds great. We have one last message if that's okay?

    THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Yes.

    COLONEL BARTON: One, two, three -

    PARTICIPANTS: Go Army!

    THE PRESIDENT: That's great. I really appreciate that. I really do. I appreciate it. And take care of yourself. We'll see you all soon. Thank you.

    From the U.S. Marine Corps, we have Colonel George Schreffler. And, George, are you on?

    LIEUTENANT COLONEL HOWIE: Sir, this is Lieutenant Colonel Sam Howie. Colonel Schreffler is doing a battlefield circulation right now.


    THE PRESIDENT: Oh.

    LIEUTENANT COLONEL HOWIE: I'm the executive officer, and I'm here with several Marines who would like to wish you and our fellow Americans a Happy Thanksgiving. (Inaudible.)

    THE PRESIDENT: That's great. That's great, Sam. Good. How's it going over there?

    LIEUTENANT COLONEL HOWIE: It's going great, sir. Right now, with the Special Purpose MAGTF. We're based in Kuwait. But we have Marines from Jordan all the way up to Afghanistan, and up into Iraq and Syria.

    And, every day, those Marines are ensuring that those who do us harm, pays for it. It's pretty amazing watching you - what you've done with men and women tells the Marines and what they do - puts a smile on their face every day.

    THE PRESIDENT: And how is the progress coming, would you say?

    LIEUTENANT COLONEL HOWIE: I would say the progress is excellent, sir. We've moved throughout those areas and cleared the vast majority of those enemy forces who face us. And right now, I think we're in a good position to continue to (inaudible) the rest of the year or foreseeable future.

    THE PRESIDENT: That's great. That's great. I'm hearing very good things. And they treat you good over there I imagine? Right? Do they treat you good?

    LIEUTENANT COLONEL HOWIE: Sir, outstanding. Our partners throughout, including here at al-Jaber Air Base. For the Air Force, they treat us like gold. We want for nothing and today we had a - I think everyone can agree, a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner here aboard the base.

    THE PRESIDENT: That's great. That's great. Well, they should. We're good friends and they've been a good ally. We treat them well and they treat us well. And a lot of good things are happening over there. People are surprised to see how fast things are turning around. But you have one of the great bases. You have something that's incredible and special. And we'll get to see you very soon.

    And I will say - and say hello to everybody else - but I will say, I want you to have a great Thanksgiving. You are - what's the time difference? What - what is your time lag over there? How many hours between, let's say, East Coast?

    LIEUTENANT COLONEL HOWIE: Right now, sir, it's 18:00 in the evening. So it's about an eight-hour difference between us.

    THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. That's a pretty big time difference, right? That's a pretty big time difference. So you've celebrated.

    Well, listen, you just take care of yourself and say hello to the Colonel and everybody. And you're special people - very, very special people - and we're very proud of you. And give my regards to Kuwait and everybody.

    But a lot of progress being made. Your country is really doing well. It's really doing well, like it hasn't done before. So that's good. It's always good to be fighting for something that is working. And unlike a lot of countries, this one works well and it's working better than ever.

    So, we'll see you when you're back or maybe we'll see you some other place. Okay?

    LIEUTENANT COLONEL HOWIE: (Inaudible.) Semper Fidelis.

    THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. Thank you. Take care of yourself.

    From the U.S. Navy, we have the Commanding Officer, Captain Pat Hannifin. And, Pat, are you on the phone?

    CAPTAIN HANNIFIN: Yes, sir. I'm with you. And from the over 4,800 sailors and airmen aboard USS Ronald Reagan, the nation's only permanently forward-deployed aircraft carrier.

    We are currently in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong, about 13 hours ahead of you. It's still Thanksgiving here. And from all the sailors aboard Reagan, serving peace through strength for America in the Indo-Pacific, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.

    THE PRESIDENT: Well, that's great, Pat. I appreciate it very much. And say hello to everybody, and Happy Thanksgiving to you.

    So, the condition of the ship is A1?

    CAPTAIN HANNIFIN: Alpha-1, sir. Absolutely.

    THE PRESIDENT: Okay, good. Very important. So, you know, we have another big one. The Gerald Ford is going to be joining you pretty soon. How does this compare in size and scope with the Gerald Ford? You know all about that. That's the new one, right?

    CAPTAIN HANNIFIN: Yes, sir. Size and scope. A good friend of mine just left command to that. But size and scope about the same. Certainly some improvements there to the plants and few of the - and the radars and even the catapults and gear are slightly different as well.

    THE PRESIDENT: So tell - hey, Pat -

    CAPTAIN HANNIFIN: But we'll push (inaudible) daily.

    THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. Pat, tell me about the catapult system. So on the Gerald Ford they don't use steam, which is the first one that I've ever heard of that doesn't use steam. And I know they have some difficulties, which I'm not happy about. And they spent a lot of money. And I was just curious.

    The steam system is tried and true for many, many years, as long as we've had aircraft carriers. How do you find steam versus what they're doing on the Gerald Ford, which is electronic and digital, if you can believe it?


    CAPTAIN HANNIFIN: Yes, sir. All of our Nimitz supercarriers have been using steam for decades, and we find it pretty reliable. However, the electromagnetic catapults they're running there offer some great benefits to - obviously, like any new piece, you got to work through the bugs. But they offer some benefits not only to stress and strain on the aircraft; to extend service life and other pieces. I have no doubt we'll work through that just as we work through all of our other advancements and continue to bring it to the enemy when called to do so.

    THE PRESIDENT: So, when you do the new carriers, as we do and as we're thinking about doing, would you go with steam or would you go with electromagnetic? Because steam is very reliable, and the electromagnetic - I mean, unfortunately you have to be Albert Einstein to really work it properly. What would you do?

    CAPTAIN HANNIFIN: Yes, sir. You sort of have to be Albert Einstein to run the nuclear power plants that we have here as well, but we're doing that very well. I would go, sir - Mr. President, I would go electromagnetic cast. I think that's the way to go. We do pay a heavy cost for transiting the steam around the ship.

    THE PRESIDENT: Good. Okay. I like to hear that. I'm actually happy about that answer, because at least, you know, they're doing what they're doing. But that's actually a very good answer.

    So, Pat, how are you seeing things over there? What's going on?

    CAPTAIN HANNIFIN: Yes, sir. We have been flying, sailing, and operating everywhere international law allows, just as we have for decades out here in full support of our free and open Indo-Pacific push in company with our Japanese and other allies. We've worked with the Japanese here in Keen Sword, the Australians, Canadians. So a lot of allies out here. And we are certainly their best friend and our ally. And our adversaries, their worst fear. And that's exactly what we want to do is bring peace through strength to this region.

    THE PRESIDENT: Right. And you have a six-month deployment, approximately?

    CAPTAIN HANNIFIN: Sir, we're a little shorter than that. But Reagan, as your only permanently forward-deployed carrier, spends about half of the time each year out, and about a half back in getting maintenance worked on it. Each of the sailors and airmen aboard spend three to five years out here with us at a time before going back to a stateside assignment. But we're all honored to be serving the nation out here.