Defense secretary gives live talk at Fort Meade

Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Tuesday gave a televised, worldwide troop talk from a defense media activity studio at Fort Meade, Maryland.

Carter highlighted that people, with technology, are critical to the United States' keeping its advantage as the Defense Department looks to frontiers including hypersonics, biotechnology and cyberspace as part of the “Force of the Future” landscape.

“Our planes, ships and tanks, in order to function effectively, require networking,” Carter said. “The biotech revolution is going to be even more consequential than the information revolution. We want to make sure it’s used for good, and we want to make sure that we’re the best at combating any use of it for ill.”

In his talk, Carter emphasized taking the importance of troop readiness, employment and training, importance of building bridges between industry and those who serve in the military and the challenges in the Asia-Pacific region.

Carter also responded to a question about the significance of two women graduating from Army Ranger School last week.

“That’s a big deal for anybody -- male or female -- to get through Ranger school,” Carter said. “What matters most is who is qualified and who can meet the rigorous standards of service. I want to have the widest possible pool of people into which we can draw the force of the future.”