Delivering the commencement address to the graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Vice President Joe Biden said the presence of women and openly gay soldiers in the ranks strengthens the United States military.
“Having men and women together in the battlefield is an incredible asset, particularly when they’re asked to lead teams in parts of the world with fundamentally different expectations and norms,” Biden told the cadets at West Point.
The vice president also praised class president Eugene “E.J.” Coleman for coming out as gay, and thanked him for his “courage.”
Biden previously delivered the commencement address to the cadets in 2012, when he touted the Obama administration’s intervention in Libya and talked about the need to “rebalance” American foreign policy.
