The following is the text of Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work May 14, 2014 message to the Department of Defense workforce.
To All Department of Defense Personnel:
On May 5, I took the oath of office to become the deputy secretary of defense. I am humbled by the confidence President Obama and Secretary Hagel have placed in me and pledge to do everything possible to maintain America’s military edge.
The work of a long line of my predecessors, most recently Ash Carter and Christine Fox, helped the department be better prepared to meet the nation’s security needs during these challenging times. I look forward to building upon their legacy.
The greatest honor of my life is I am able to serve my country alongside you. I promise to work every day to support service members and civilians so they can excel in the performance of missions that this great nation calls on them to accomplish every day.
Together, we will keep military equipped, trained, and ready to defend our country and our interests. We are and will remain a global power whose position in the world is underpinned by our ability to project global influence in concert with other elements of national power and our allies and partners overseas.
We must prioritize and make wise budget decisions to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to us by the Congress and ultimately the taxpayers. Together, we will improve the requirements and acquisition process to better manage the cost-effectiveness and ultimately maintain the dominance of our weapon systems.
We must also balance the need to maintain the day-to-day readiness of our forces in order to project military power whenever and wherever needed with our ability to prevail against future threats and challenges.
As Americans, it is our cultural heritage to meet and exceed even the greatest of expectations — together. I challenge you to be great. I know that your accomplishments will continue to be nothing less than spectacular and I’m proud to be on your team.
Robert O. Work
Deputy Secretary of Defense