On Wednesday, President Barack Obama addressed the U.S. military for the final time as Commander-in-Chief, but his farewell speech didn’t exactly go off without a hitch. In fact, what happened was a fitting end to eight long and exhausting years for our troops under Barack Obama’s leadership.
According to IJR, the president inspected the troops during an Armed Forces Full Honor Farewell Review at Joint Base Myer-Henderson in Arlington, Virginia. He looked the sailors and soldiers up and down as they stood at attention in full military dress. He even stood for the National Anthem and reverently placed his right hand over his heart this time.
But then, during Obama’s somber speech to the men and women who have put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms, all while he has fought to take them away, a member of the U.S. Army Honor Guard fainted. It was unclear what happened to cause his collapse. Perhaps he just couldn’t stand to hear Obama drone on and on after already putting up with him for the better part of a decade.
The Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service to the U.S. was awarded to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. “Secretary Carter, I could not be more grateful for your gracious words, but more importantly, for your outstanding leadership, across, as you noted, more than three decades and nearly all of my presidency,” said Obama, as reported by Daily Caller. “You have always given me, Ash, your best strategic counsel. You’ve made sure that we were investing in innovation for the long term and a strong Force of the Future.”
Members of the U.S. military seem decidedly more enthusiastic about the incoming Trump administration, and understandably so. The president-elect has been a major supporter of the military since long before he launched his campaign for the presidency. It’s safe to say that Donald Trump will place the lives and well-being of our nation’s heroes at the top of his list of priorities, something they could not count on Obama to do.
