President Biden on Thursday thanked U.S. service members for their commitment to the country, delivering his final farewell speech at a formal military ceremony to close out his presidency.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin hosted Mr. Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff at Joint Base Myer Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia.
During the ceremony, the Bidens were presented with the Army’s Distinguished Public Service Medal, which is bestowed upon individuals deemed to have made a substantial contribution to the Army’s missions.
“There has never been a time in our history where we’ve asked our military to do so many different things; so many places all at the same time,” Mr. Biden said. “I want to be clear: You have done all these missions with strength and maybe even more importantly integrity.”
Mr. Biden ticked off a list of military deployments under his administration, from evacuating Americans and its Afghanistan allies during the U.S. withdrawal from the country to training Ukrainian soldiers to fight against Russia and traveling the Middle East to protect U.S. ships from terrorism.
“So for the last time as commander-in-chief, I want to say, ‘Thank you,’” Mr. Biden said. “Thank you to all the families. We owe you.”
The close of an administration at a military ceremony with speeches, bands and exercises to honor the outgoing president is an ongoing tradition. However, the Pentagon did not host an Armed Forces tribute to President Trump in 2021 after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Instead, Vice President Mike Pence delivered remarks to sailors at a Naval Air Station in New York.
Mr. Biden’s speech Thursday was his fourth farewell address to close out his one-term presidency. Earlier this week, he delivered remarks from the State Department touting his foreign policy agenda, followed by a White House speech on Tuesday to highlight his efforts to fight climate change. On Wednesday, Mr. Biden delivered a prime-time speech from the Oval Office in which he decried America’s wealthy becoming oligarchs who threaten democracy and called upon citizens to safeguard it.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.