Mark Esper

I was always about public service, serving my country, the military, national security.

So to kind of get that call from the president and says, I want you to be my Secretary of Defense.

Yeah, it's one of those moments you don't forget.

The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.

You've got to work hard.

You've got to go hard because we're saving people in the long run.

We'll be far more successful in the mission and bring far more people home if we train as hard and as realistic as we possibly can, you know, in peacetime.

To me, leadership always begins with integrity.

But when you run big organizations like the Department of Defense, which is, what, 2.8 million people, so much of it then has to be conveyed in other ways.

You know, I had a number of those situations arise, but to me, and I say this to CEOs today,

Thanks, Rudy.

Great to be with you.

We'll go back a few decades.

I grew up south of Pittsburgh, a small coal mining town.

And at age 18 left and went to West Point.

And I spent four years at West Point graduating in 1986.

I commissioned as an infantry officer and then went through all the various schools and programs, parachute airborne training, ranger training, pathfinder training.

Found myself in the 101st Airborne Division as my first assignment as a platoon leader.

Worked my way through the ranks there.

I went to the 1990-1991 Gulf War and came back after eight months.