UPDATED: March 31, 2015 at 8:27 p.m.

During his visit to the Syracuse University campus, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter made it clear why the Department of Defense is partnering with the school’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families.

“The brutal answer is the competence of this place… you are way out in front in the post-World War II years,” he said Tuesday morning. “There’s a level of commitment and sophistication of the thinking here that we really need.”

Carter spoke Tuesday morning in front of a full Melanie Gray Ceremonial Courtroom in Dineen Hall, touching on broader issues the Defense Department is facing and the Department of Defense’s relationship with SU.

Carter, who assumed office on Feb. 17 after his predecessor, Chuck Hagel, resigned on Nov. 24, 2014. His remarks, which lasted about 13 minutes, followed a closed-door round table discussion with officials from the IVMF, as well as Chancellor Kent Syverud and Vice Chancellor for Veteran and Military Affairs Mike Haynie.

SU is creating “tremendous opportunities” for veterans, Carter said.

“I’m really grateful for everything that you think and everything that you do here,”

Carter said of SU. “I’m so grateful to be on your team.”

The IVMF and the Department of Defense recently announced the creation of the “Onward to Opportunity” program to help transition service members to civilian life. Carter discussed the partnership, and talked about what SU does better compared to other institutions.

Following World War II, SU Chancellor William Pearson Tolley enacted a uniform admissions program, which ensured all military personnel admission to SU upon their return from war. By the end of 1947, SU ranked first in New York state and 17th in the U.S. in veteran enrollment.

Carter also discussed how SU can be a part of improvement moving forward.

“I think we can improve our game further, and the way we’ll know how to improve our game is to build our programs on the back of careful research of the kind that this institution — and this institution almost alone in our country — is actually doing,” he said.

Following his remarks, Carter answered questions from the audience and from question-and-answer moderator Lorraine Branham, dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Carter discussed the use of technology in the Defense Department, as well as sequestration, or spending cuts.

“I appreciate the support we get, but when it comes to things like getting rid of sequester, it’s not just our department which is adversely affected by sequester, it’s all these other ones, as well,” Carter said. “And you can’t be successful in today’s world if you’re only playing with one tool in the toolkit. And we can’t afford to take ourselves apart in the way that, you know, sequester is suggesting.”

Haynie, the vice chancellor for veteran and military affairs, called Carter’s visit a “historic event” and said it’s the first time in SU history a sitting secretary of defense has visited the campus.

“I think (the visit) is very significant. It certainly says a lot about what we’ve been able to do collectively, not just the IVMF but the institution, and have been able to enact over the course of the past 10 years,” Haynie said in an interview following the event.

Among those in attendance was New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who received a tour of the IVMF following an individual meeting with Carter and Rep. John Katko (R-Syracuse). Both politicians sat next to Syverud.

“We have a long and proud history serving this community and if we don’t live up to that legacy in the context of the work that we do today, shame on us,” Haynie said in the interview. “And I think what the secretary’s visit highlights is that we have nothing to be ashamed of. We really have done a lot to position Syracuse University and the (IVMF) as the national hub of thought leadership around these issues.”

Published on March 31, 2015 at 12:22 pm

Contact Justin: jmatting@syr.edu | @jmattingly306