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Immediate Release

Secretary Carter Travels to California, Texas and Florida

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter will travel to California, Texas and Florida Nov. 14-17 for a trip focused on ensuring the readiness of our force and the effectiveness of the training and equipment provided to the warfighter. He will meet new recruits, combat veterans, technical experts, experienced aviators, special operators and wounded warriors as they each prepare to confront the challenges ahead. He will also observe advanced training operations with immediate relevance to current overseas operations.

 

On Nov. 15, Secretary Carter will visit the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, California to meet with Marines engaged in final combat training exercises. Similar to his visits to the Marine training facility at Quantico, Virginia earlier this year and the Army training facility at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri earlier this month, the secretary will observe and discuss training operations designed to match real operational conditions. Secretary Carter will then deliver remarks to Marines thanking them for their service and updating them on the challenges facing the U.S. military, including the campaign to deliver ISIL a lasting defeat and the budget situation. The secretary will also engage in a press availability with local and traveling press.

 

On Nov. 16, Secretary Carter will travel to Texas to visit Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, where he will speak with recruits navigating the challenges of basic training. As he did with Navy recruits at Naval Station Great Lakes in July, Secretary Carter will thank the Air Force recruits for joining the force of the future, and will observe the training they are receiving which will form the bedrock of their military career. The secretary will then visit Brooke Army Medical Center, the Army’s largest and busiest medical center. He will visit with and personally thank wounded and ill warriors, their families and BAMC staff for their service and sacrifice, and emphasize DoD’s commitment to ensuring they receive the finest care and support possible. Secretary Carter will tour labs and simulation centers pioneering new advances in diagnostic imaging and new medical training aids. The secretary will wrap up his visit to San Antonio at JBSA-Randolph, where he will hold a press availability with local and traveling press, and take part in a training mission in a T-1 aircraft, a jet trainer used for training advanced phase student pilots selected to fly airlift or tanker aircraft.

 

On Nov. 17, Secretary Carter will conclude his trip with a visit to Hurlburt Field and Eglin Air Force Base near Fort Walton Beach, Fla. to meet with troops, participate in an aerial assault demonstration and receive a briefing on the advanced weaponry and aircraft at the base. The secretary will embed with a special tactics ground force as Air Force special operators demonstrate their unique ISR, mobility and strike capabilities to conduct a simulated personnel recovery and strike mission featuring an AC-130U Gunship and CV-22 Osprey. Later, Secretary Carter will receive a briefing on advanced armaments and platforms including the AC-130J and F-35 as well as other aircraft and munitions. Secretary Carter will also hold a press availability with local and traveling press at Eglin AFB.

 

Press interested in covering any of these events locally can request contact information from OSD Press Operations at 703-697-5131 or osd.pa.dutyofficer@mail.mil.