Washington, D.C. – Earlier this week, in advance of Thanksgiving, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called troops around the world to give them a warm holiday greeting from the Pentagon.
Sailors aboard the USS Shoup, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, were among the first to hear from the secretary, though the video option wasn’t working. The secretary compensated for that failure.
“I can hear you loud and clear. In my mind’s eye, captain, you are a staggeringly handsome individual, as are all two dozen of the incredible sailors behind you,” Hegseth joked with the ship’s captain. “You are on a in and around Japan, on behalf of the American people, on Thanksgiving, away from your families, doing the duty of the nation … and the point of these calls is just to … share … how grateful we are for what you do.”
The secretary also wished a happy Thanksgiving to troops with the 612th Air Operations Center at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, which provides command and control of air and space power in U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility.
“Thank you all very much … happy Thanksgiving,” he said, before asking for a mission brief on what the unit does, and to also hear from some of the airmen there to learn how each contributes to the mission.
The Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 is currently deployed to Djibouti. Besides holiday greetings, the secretary apologized that the call might have kept the Marines up late, as they are a full eight time zones away.
“This is a morale call, but it’s like midnight in Djibouti, so morale is probably low while you’re on this call with me in the middle of the night,” he said. “But we appreciate you all very much.”
The Marines in the tiltrotor squadron provide assault support of combat troops supplies and equipment using the MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft.
Guardians assigned to U.S. Space Forces Central Combat Detachment 3-1 are located at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.
“Thanks for leading the charge out there … all you guardians … Al Udeid is a pretty busy place now and not that long ago,” Hegseth said, offering both holiday greetings to those guardians and acknowledgment of the attack on Al Udeid this summer following the success of Operation Midnight Hammer, which resulted in the destruction of Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Following the destruction of the uranium enrichment site, Iranians attacked American forces at Al Udeid, but the joint force there successfully defended their installation, as they were trained to do.
Down at the southern border in Texas, the Arkansas National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 114th Aviation Regiment, is conducting the border mission.
“Happy Thanksgiving to you and all your troops there,” Hegseth told them. “It’s great to see you all and it’s an honor having a chance to talk to you … thanks for everything you’re doing, and it means a lot. It’s cool to see the faces of the folks locking down that border for us and defending the American people.”
And finally, the secretary greeted soldiers with the Army’s 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, who are on deployment to South Korea.
“Happy Thanksgiving. It’s awesome to see all of you,” he said. “It means a lot that you are where you are.”
The secretary asked for an update on the brigade’s mission, and also to hear a bit from some of the 20 soldiers who participated in the call. The brigade, normally based at Fort Carson, Colorado, deployed to South Korea in June as part of regular nine-month rotations there to support the 2nd Infantry Division.
