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President Biden on Thursday paid tribute to former Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter, who died Oct. 24 at the age of 68.
At a memorial service at Washington National Cathedral, Biden remembered Carter as a devoted civil servant and brilliant scientist who made the military more inclusive during his tenure.
“Ash was a force. He was a force of nature,” Biden said. “His genius was evident, his integrity unfailing, and his commitment to service to himself was literally inspiring.”
Biden recalled Carter’s long career, which combined a background in theoretical physics with leadership in nuclear and defense policy. In the 1990s, Carter worked with his mentor, former Secretary of Defense Bill Perry, to reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation following the collapse of the Soviet Union. After becoming secretary of defense himself, Carter worked to combat the rise of Islamic State extremists and “crush their hold in areas of Iraq and Syria,” Biden said.
“Ash always took on the toughest jobs, the seemingly impossible missions, because he believed he could make a difference. And he made a difference,” Biden said.
Ashton Carter, defense chief who used women in combat, dies aged 68
Carter served as Secretary of Defense from February 2015 until the departure of President Barack Obama in January 2017. During his tenure, Carter oversaw the opening of military combat roles to women and helped strengthen the Pentagon’s ties with Silicon Valley. In 2016, Carter opened up the armed forces to transgender men and women to enlist, with some exceptions. The policy was repealed by the Trump administration and then reinstated under the Biden administration last year.
“I stand here today as the supreme commander of what Ash always said is the finest military force the world has ever known,” Biden said. “A force made stronger and more inclusive through Ash’s principles and beliefs. A force of warriors who are safer because Ash is determined to protect them and give them what they need.”
Biden joked that Carter not only believed in getting things done, but in getting things done in record time, and enjoyed “breaking through bureaucratic red tape” to transform every role he held — which at times was a challenge for his staff represented. But Biden said persistence and a sense of urgency saved troops’ lives, citing Carter’s push as undersecretary for acquisitions in the 2000s to get mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles, or MRAPs, for U.S. service members in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“He’s dedicated to working at wartime speed to get our warfighters the best protection we can offer them as quickly as possible,” Biden said.
Biden added that when Carter learned that troops in the field were having vision issues in MRAPs, he visited the research and development facility to see the issue for himself and refine the vehicle’s design. As of 2012, the United States had deployed more than 24,000 MRAPs, and casualty rates among troops transported in them had fallen by as much as 75 percent compared to those of troops in Humvees, Biden said.
Biden said he keeps a large photo of MRAPs lined up side-by-side in his home office to this day with a signed note from Carter.
“It’s amazing what he’s accomplished with his background as a scientist,” Biden said. “He did it and he literally saved, I think… hundreds and hundreds, thousands of lives and limbs. He protected the future of our soldiers because they defended ours.”
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, also speaking at the memorial service, recalled Carter as “a giant in the Pentagon” who was always “a man in a hurry.”
“Ash’s scientific mindset drove him to always face the facts, especially the painful ones. As the President noted, he took on the DOD bureaucracy whenever it lagged behind,” Austin said.
Still, he said, Carter also made time to meet service members and loved teaching and mentoring.
“He loved visiting a US base far away and hearing a former student shout, ‘Hey, Professor Carter!’ And he loved walking the halls of the Pentagon and visiting our troops,” Austin said.
After leaving Washington, Carter became director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School.
Brian Murphy, Dan Lamothe, and Alex Horton contributed to this report.