Published May 16, 2004

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I'm sure that you recognize and will agree with me that to receive an honorary degree is by any measure an extraordinarily high honor. But I tell you, to receive one from your alma mater is surely doubly so, because they not only know your shortcomings, they in fact have documented them.

When, many years ago, this great University awarded me a master's of arts degree in international affairs, little did I suspect how that would shape my military career and indeed my life. And how I would draw on what I had learned from this great faculty, throughout my subsequent years wearing our nation's uniform, but particularly in my later years -- as deputy commander of our Army in Europe at the time when the Wall was coming down; later still as the commander of NATO forces in Europe, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, when the Balkan wars were raging; and then finally, as President Trachtenberg mentioned, when I came here to Washington as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

I cannot think, I cannot think of any more rigorous and more appropriate preparation for those demanding and always very sensitive political-military challenges that were to come.

For you graduates here, where better to have studied than here at The George Washington University, here in Washington, I believe the capital of the world, where nearly all important issues across all disciplines are debated, and where faculty and students have a front-row seat and often come face to face with those experts and those high officials at the center of those debates. I submit to you it's somewhat like having studied in Rome at the height of the Roman Empire.

So I congratulate you all, graduates, for your wise choice in coming here and for your hard work that has brought you to this extraordinarily important day in your lives. And I thank this University for the honor that has been bestowed upon me here today, just as I thank the University for preparing me so very, very well for the challenges that faced me so many years ago.

Thank you.

More About John M. Shalikashvili
Retired Gen. John M. Shalikashvili served as the 13th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1993 to September 1997. In this capacity he was the senior officer in the U.S. military, serving as the principal military adviser to the president, the U.S. Secretary of Defense and the National Security Council, and chairing the senior military body tasked with providing strategic direction to the U.S. military. Prior to his appointment as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Shalikashvili served as the commander of all U.S. forces in Europe and as NATO's 10th supreme allied commander for Europe. Among Shalikashvili's numerous decorations are the Presidential Medal of Freedom and honors from 18 foreign nations. He earned an M.S. degree in international affairs from GW in 1970.

©2004 The George Washington University Office of University Relations, Washington, D.C.
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