General Mark Milley '80 talks service at Alumni day

Service is not about the self, despite the personal sacrifices needed to maintain our rights as free citizens, said General Mark Milley ’80, the 39thChief of Staff of the U.S. Army and recipient of the 2016 Woodrow Wilson Award at the Alumni Day lecture on Saturday.

The Woodrow Wilson Award is the University’s highest honor, bestowed upon an undergraduate alumnus or alumna whose career embodies the call to duty in Wilson's famous speech, ‘Princeton in the Nation's Service.’

While at Princeton, Milley studied politics, played ice hockey and was an active member of the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps on campus.

During his talk, Milley explained why he chose to serve in the military after Princeton and the importance of service.

In 1976, when Milley entered Princeton as a freshman, it had been a year since the Fall of Saigon. It was the tail end of the industrial age, society was barely entering the information and digital age and commercial Internet was just being developed, he said.

“There was a rapid and exciting amount of societal and cultural and technological change that was abounding around us at that time, but there was also a series of very significant and dramatic international and political events,” Milley said.

Notably, the Cold War at that time was in full force and instabilities in Asia and the Middle East pervaded, he added.

“It seemed to be that the world was in chaos, and, in many ways, those events shape our world today,” he noted.

Milley said he still finds himself in that turbulent world of 1980 today, given the challenges and tensions that have surfaced globally.

“I had no idea then that I would spend my life dealing with the consequences of the international events that were surrounding me at our graduation,” he said.

Milley said that his parents instilled in him adesire to serve at a very early age —he found an example of service in both of his parents, who were World War II veterans.

“I wanted to help others in whatever I decided to do, and to be part of something greater than myself—to give meaning to Princeton in the nation’s service,” Milley added.

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He said that he ultimately found his calling in the U.S. Army.

“Service is never about self. It extends to others—to those we are helping, to those we are protecting, to those we are defending,” Milley said.

This bond created through service extends to the brothers and sisters who are wearing the uniform, he said.

“It’s a special bond, which we develop, which is a bond like no other...it’s a bond that’s been carrying on for over 240 years...it’s a bond that is codified in blood,” he said.

He took a moment to remember the 242 soldiers killed under his personal command and acknowledged the 2.6 million Americans who have served in combat in the last 15 years, 200 of whom had graduated from Princeton.

These individuals have paid an incredible price, of personal sacrifice, shattered bodies and, in some cases, given their lives, Milley said.

“The cost of maintaining our rights as free citizens is not paid in dollars; that cost is paid in lives,” he said.

Princeton is also the only Ivy League school that has a continuous unbroken record in having an army ROTC on its campus, according to Milley. This year marks the 100thanniversary of ROTC in America, and next year will be the 100thanniversary of Princeton’s ROTC program.

Milley said that all members willingly go to the army, giving up their rights to protect others, knowing that they can die protecting this idea of service and suffer grievous wounds so that others can remain free.

Milley spent most of his career in infantry and Special Forces, and was deployed across the nation and abroad to Egypt, Panama, Haiti, Iraq and Afghanistan.As the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Milley said that heleads over 1 million soldiers in active duty, the National Guard, and the Reserve.

“We are willing to give our lives for that idea, so honor us,” he said.

But honor does not necessarily mean ribbons and handshakes at the airport, he said. According to Milley, honoring the army can be as simple as listening to a radio station, scrolling through online news, tuning in on TV or reading a newspaper.

Milley asked the audience to remember those are serving and who have served to help the people achieve the freedoms they currently possess as citizens. The Nassau Hall Memorial Atrium shows the names of former Princeton students who have died in wars, Milley noted.

“We are America’s army,” Milley said.

They are not given the option to choose where, who or when they will fight, but they do choose why they want to fight, Milley said.

“I'll always be a proud Princetonian in the nation's service for a cause much greater than myself," he said.

Milley said that serving for the nation is vital because of the freedoms it protects.

“We are the most powerful army on earth, because we are protecting the most powerful idea that has ever existed in world history,” he added.

After his talk, Milley answered questions about increasing the number of women in combat and maintaining a stronger army presence in the media.

“It’s really important that America’s people stay connected to America’s army in order to maintain a healthy democracy...we owe you to be seen and to be transparent,”he said.

More than 187,000 soldiers currently are deployed in 140 nations around the world, protecting the nation and its people, according to Milley.

“What we do is fight. And we fight for you,” he said.

A four-star general, Milley has held multiple command and staff positions with the U.S. military, serving as a military assistant to the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon. He also received many awards including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Army Distinguished Service Medal, Defence Superior Service Medal and Legion of Merit.

The lecture, titled “Strength Through Service,” took place in Richardson Auditorium at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday.