“Good evening, parents, family, friends and most importantly, the Class of 2029. Lieutenant General Gilland, my dear friend, sorry, Betsy couldn't be here with us this evening. It would have been great to sit between you two and make Betsy mad. General Garcia, he of the rotor blade on this crest here behind me. General Reeves, thank you all for not only your invitation. And to you, Sergeant Major, who are here as well. Please forgive me as a son of a Sergeant Major. I'm sorry to have skipped you, most of all. I am absolutely honored to be here tonight, largely because I never thought I would be here again. Over the course of my 36 years, I've been here many, many times, whether it was sponsoring a football game in the 7th ID which we lost horribly to San Jose State. I thought that would be the end of it. Then I was called back for 500th night to speak to a class a few years ago, and every time they just keep pulling me back in, but I'm more than happy to come because of the energy that comes from young men and young women who have made a decision to do things that others won't and can't do for themselves. So, to you, Class of 2029 as I open my remarks tonight, I would like for those not in your class to give you a round of applause for what you mean to our nation.

Now as Supe said, I did not go to the academy, I was at the prep school, so I don't know all these rules, but Supe, before I go any further, I've been told as your guest tonight, I'm entitled to at least one request. So, in honor of the hard work and the undeniable grit of the class of 2029, I would like to officially request Supe that you grant Amnesty for all minor conduct offenses and one additional weekend pass for the entire Class of 2029.

The crazy thing is I don’t even know if that’s going to work, guys. I’d probably be better off just saying, hey, as a four-star, I’m telling you, Supe they need a pass. Thanks, Supe.

It's a true honor to stand before you and celebrate a significant milestone in the lives of these future leaders. I want to begin with the families. Parents, I know these past months have not been easy. You wonder what your kids are doing, where they're going and if they're okay. You’ve supported, encouraged, and loved your plebes. You’ve helped them through the most difficult transition one could ever imagine going through, and tonight you get to see the results. Look at your sons and daughters. They're standing with purpose sharpened right here on the plane. Thank you for entrusting them to the finest leadership institution this world has ever known.

But to the class of 2029, you're the ones who did the work. West Point isn’t just a school for you; it's a foundry for leadership that's going to carry you the rest of your lives.

Reflecting on your time here so far, you’ve faced trials that tested your mettle. You've endured physical exhaustion and those quiet moments of doubt in the barracks, but you manage to persevere. That tenacity hasn’t just made you better cadets; it’s forged the character that's going to carry you through both good times and bad.

I want to share with you all an image. And what I wrote down here is that it’s profound, but it's not profound at all. You can laugh at that. And that image is a picture. I would ask each of you to picture a bucket and think about your experience thus far. When you arrived here on R-day, that bucket was empty. Each experience since, each challenge overcome, each lesson learned, and yes, each setback has added a smooth stone to that bucket. Year after year, that bucket will grow heavier. But Class of 2029 understand this: the weight is not a burden. It's the weight of responsibility which you’ve willingly taken on.

As you go through life, you’ll continue to add stones to that bucket. What you do with those stones, though, it really, really matters. So, remember that success not shared, that's true failure. And failure shared — if it helps someone not fall in the same hole you just crawled out of — that’s success. No one behind you in the Long Gray Line should have to fall into the hole, the same hole that you just crawled out of.

Your buckets will not all look the same. But when you share from your buckets to others, it will enable you to carry that load. And you carry you with grace and humility and the strength of the person standing to your left and to your right. That's the same kind of thing that I got in 2016, when a young one star and myself are both in Iraq trying to put down ISIS in combat in Iraq and Syria. It's the same thing that that same person helped me as a young lieutenant to get to formation on time. It's the same thing that’s helped me through some pretty difficult time is not the least of which is talking to you all tonight that I got from your Supe, Steve Gilland, who is indeed a true friend. And I don’t know where Cadet Cal Suniyoshi is. Cal, stand up. Carrying buckets, we can talk about your dad and how he carried buckets with me and for me for over two years. So, Annabelle and Ted, thank you for your career and life of service and what you mean to the Brunsons.

They say that the Long Gray Line is an unbreakable bond and tonight we see why. Parents, they're still your kids, perhaps a bit more tired and constantly worried about their uniforms and their brass, but to each other, they’ve become everything. They're no longer just classmates. They are friends who become family. They're the ones who will be there for weddings and births and the toughest moments of service.

Cadets, this has been your glue year, the moment you stopped being individuals, and became part of something greater. You've proven your resilience. You're learning to carry the weight of responsibility, and because of that, you're ready for the road ahead. 1,155 days until graduation, I went to public school in North Carolina, but that number is right. 165 weeks of leadership, six in a butt semester, all with one mission, graduation. Parents, thank you for your unwavering support. Class of 2029, thank you for stepping up to serve. As I stand here today with more days of uniform behind me than ahead of me, I encourage you to celebrate how far you’ve come and remember that this is just the beginning of what stands to be the most extraordinary of all journeys you can embark upon. Congratulations, hold the line: Class of 2029, may God bless our Corps of Cadets, our Army and our United States and as always, Go Army, (Beat Navy!) Thank you.”