another thank you goes to the guest of honor, general joe hadl -- general joe who i the pleasure of introducing today. he is very much in the presence, taking on some of the biggest challenges is one of them -- active. from iraq to afghanistan, isis, hezbollah, he has certainly had a lot on his plate. there are no shortage of threats across the region. this brings us to the security partnership. that is deeply rooted in common interest and shared priority. it is formed by political leaders, the owner of this relationship and its militaries that carry the relationship for you looking, training, fighting, by -- side-by-side and divided. over the past 25 years the uae has submitted military coalitions alongside u.s.. the uae. the u.s. against the television and afghanistan. we were there on day one in the skies against isis area that isis. we are yemen fighting together. as far back as the late 80's and early 90's, forged a close working relationship with the general. more than a working relationship. they developed a friendship. rehab -- i have the purpose -- the partnership has made the uae. it