he is currently assigned to the united states military academy as a history instructor. his military awards and decorations include the bronze star with oak leaf cluster, the meritorious service medal, and the meritorious unit commendation. he is currently abd from the university of texas at austin and working on a dissertation that examines the role of tom clancy novels in the national security policy of ronald reagan. his research interests include, grand strategy, american foreign relations, and the cold war. ben holds a bachelor of science in united states history from the united states military academy, a master of arts in international security from the university of arizona, a master of history from the university of texas. in addition, he is a national security fellow at the clements center for national security. he resides in west point, new york, with his wife beth and their two children. welcome, ben griffin. >> thank you very much for the kind introduction and the opportunity to speak here. i'm very thrilled to have this chance to be with you all tonight. than

various commence opposition to read while in the army, tom taught european history at the united states military academy at west point. he taught military history of the u.s. army command and staff college at fort leavenworth kansas. he also taught military

various commence opposition to read while in the army, tom taught european history at the united states military academy at west point. he taught military history of the u.s. army command and staff college at fort leavenworth kansas. he also taught military science and history of the university of wisconsin in madison. tom and his wife darlene who is your also conduct military history tours and freedom mind towards to europe for more than 10 years before tom joined the department of defense of a service. tom has served as the historian for the 63rd regional support command in moffett field california and the military police historian -- he became the senior historian to the secretary of defense in 2012 where he currently serves. tom and his wife darlene continue to conduct several military history through to mind towards annually and europe and as all the members of the committee, they reside in alexandria. this is tom's third annual lecture on aspects of d-day. tonight he will speak on one of aspects of a day that new much heroism. that is the united states rangers at the pointe du hoc. please welcome

ben holds a bachelor of science from the united states military academy. a master of art from the university of arizona. a master of history from the university of texas. in addition, he's a national security fellow from the security. he resigns in new york with his wife and their two children. welcome ben griffin. [ applause ] >> thank you very much for the kind introduction and the opportunity to speak here. i am thrilled to be here. thank you all for coming and i know it is friday in new york city and there is plenty of things to do. especially you come here and listen to me, it means a lot to me. everything i am saying is my own opinion and it is not reflective, not necessarily reflective of the government or the academy. i mention the military, that's a lot of what tom blanchey does. we'll get into that as well. >> so the speech, the good guys, the transformation of national security. and so as air force 1 was traveling east, october of '86. ronald reagan decided to take a break and moving back to talk with and socialize with his staffs. rather than f

coming up next is kristen kavanagh who graduated from the united states naval academy and served in iraq. former marine and co-founder of the military attack everything would fall silent and then i would hear the sounds of the artillery battery returning fire and the quick reaction force helicopters taking off in the enemy's direction. as a young marine corps lieutenant in a non-combat position, these units along with special operations teams and marine infantry battalions stationed with us were our first line of defense. i trusted them with my life. i trusted that my commanders had the right strategy. i trusted that we were abiding by the rules of engagement even when our enemy chose not to. that trust starts at the top of the chain of command. and i trust hillary clinton to be commander in chief. >> she understands the importance of a strong military and diplomacy. she knows we're stronger when we work with our allies to keep us safe. she has the experience, temperament and steady hand to lead. i do not trust donald trump. the military is defined by discipline, leadership, integrity. those are the qualities that drew me to serve,

military and returned to those themes from his campaign. in his second term in may of 1985, he gives a commencement address at the united states naval academy. i'm loath to acknowledge but forced to by the subject of my dissertation. the president noted that this new spirit had he previously described was still animating the land and that we had gotten to where there was a new appreciation for our men and women in military service. in contrast the immediate post vietnam era, the americans had faith in the military to face decisions in a difficult environment. because not only was the military meeting recruiting goals, but bringing higher quality recruits into service. reagan believed the men entering the military embody the nation's values and the character was superior. the navy now possessed the most hi-tech weaponry needed in the modern fleet. new and powerful weapons required technical skill to use and an stronger moral compass to employ given the destructive potential. linking the quality of personnel with the idea of equipment on the cutting edge of technology reflected the core how the reagan administration sought to revitalize u.s.