The U.S. must build a stronger military capable of countering Russia and China, the nation’s second-highest ranking military officer told graduates of the National Defense University in Washington Thursday.
“Russia and China are two very compelling strategic challenges,” said Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in his remarks to the university’s class of 2018.
“If we build a force that is capable of countering Russia and China, then we will have a force that is capable of countering opaque regimes, like Iran and North Korea,” he said.
At a time when the United States is at odds with many of its oldest allies over issues such as trade, climate change and the Iran nuclear agreement, Selva told the 665 graduates, which included more than 100 students from other countries, that the lesson of World War II and the successful D-Day invasion is that no nation can go it alone.
“Our allies and partners multiply our capabilities. We are much greater than the sum of our parts,” he said.
But Selva said today’s threats are more complex and more volatile than those of the 1940s, and that just having a bigger military is not enough.
“That same force may not be suitably provisioned to counter violent extremism, which continually morphs and will be with us for a very, very long time,” he said. “That’s the environment that we are in today.”
Students at NDU are primarily U.S. military officers and civilian Defense Department workers who are generally mid-point in their careers, and have been selected to take a year off to get an advanced degree and fresh insight into national security policy.
“You may not believe it right now, but most of you are closer to the beginning of your careers than you might imagine,” Selva told the graduates.
“Seventeen years ago this spring, I was seated at my desk as a wing commander, a colonel in the United States Air Force, pondering what I might do in retirement. Here I stand 17 years later, pondering what I might do in retirement.”
