 Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, accompanied by Medal of Honor recipient, Master Chief Special Warfare Operator, Britt K. Slebensky, United States Navy, retired. Let us pray. Almighty God, we come before you on this very special occasion from different backgrounds and cultures and expressions of faith toward you. But we all come as Americans and those who love her, those who have sacrificed for her, who have bled for her and who have died for her. Today, as we gather in our nation's most sacred home, we have the privilege to witness, to celebrate and to honor an extraordinary naval career and a life that has been set apart and called to service and devotion to this nation and those in it. Today, we are among the most privileged to watch as our nation's highest honor of special trust, achievement, and fidelity is both given and received from our nation's commander in chief to a leader of naval warriors who opinion was sought, who sacrifices were selfless, and whose dedication to duty is unparalleled by any standard. Today, we lift up an honor, our very own Master Chief, Britt Slebensky, as our nation's Medal of Honor is bestowed upon him. May he also take with him the absolute certainty in knowing that his day is given to this great nation, to our beloved Navy and to the warriors of Naval Special Warfare who are of value beyond measure. We as his fellow Americans, brother and sister warriors, friends and family alike collectively ask for your blessing upon our great president, this great naval warrior, these great military families and all they do have done and will continue to do from this day forward on this most solemn occasion, on this sacred ground we as his teammates say well done. And finally, whether swimming the depths, climbing the highest of mountains, we're soaring through the heavens as we walk that lonely road of faith. May you always go with us in your holy name we pray. Amen. Thank you very much, Chaplain. That's beautiful. And thank you to Deputy Secretary of Defense, Patrick Shanahan. Thank you, Patrick. Undersecretary of the Navy, Thomas Modely. Thank you. Thank you, Thomas. VA Secretary nominee, do a fantastic job for us, Robert Wilkie. And Congressman Scott Taylor and Brian Mast. All right. Thank you, fellas. Very much. Thank you. Members of the Armed Forces and Distinguished Guests, please sit down. That actually worked out very nicely. And join me in officially welcoming Master Chief Britt Slabinski to the White House. Special man, a truly brave person. Today, we pay tribute to Britt's heroic service, and we proudly present him with our nation's highest military honor. And I would go so far as to say our nation's highest honor. Joining Britt today is his son, Bryce. Bryce, thank you very much. A rising senior at a wonderful school known to the world as Ohio State. Great place. That's a great school. Along with Britt's sisters, Brenda, Antica, and Brenda's husband, Tom. Thank you very much for being here. Here as well are Britt's significant other, Christina and her two children, John and Megan, who we just met in the Oval Office. That's a special place too. Thank you all for joining us for this really special day and special ceremony. Thank you very much. Finally, we're honored to be joined by several previous congressional Medal of Honor recipients. Would you please stand? Would you please stand? Thank you very much. Very, very special people. Your names and your immortal acts of valor are forever engraved in the memory of our nation. Our nation will always be grateful to you when you know that. Today, we induct a new name into the world's most exclusive gathering of heroes, and that's exactly what it is. Britt was raised in Northampton, Massachusetts. He became an Eagle Scout by the age of 14. His father was a veteran who served as a frogman in the underwater demolitions group of the U.S. Navy. It was a tough people. While Britt was in junior high, his dad brought him to their reunion. Britt was inspired by their bond of friendship, their stories of service, and their boundless love of country. As soon as he graduated from high school in 1988, Britt enlisted in the Navy to become a seal. That means he is a physically very strong person, and that also means he is a mentally very strong person. That's tough. Throughout the grueling months of training, Britt proved himself every single step of the way. In 1990, he graduated the legendary BUDS training course, and he earned that special badge that was worn only by the bravest few, the seal trident. In 2002, Britt was called to support operation enduring freedom in Afghanistan. In the late evening hours of March 3rd that year, he led an elite team on a combat mission to establish a secure position on the peak of a 10,000-foot mountain known as Takur Garh. Britt and his teammates were preparing to exit the helicopter onto the mountain when their aircraft was struck by a machine gun and machine gun fire like they've never seen before and a rocket-propelled grenade from Al Qaeda terrorists down below. Not a good feeling as the helicopter lurched away from the assault. Petty officer first-class Neil Roberts was flung out of the aircraft. Tremendous, tremendous horrible thing to witness, and onto the side of the mountain before the helicopter crashed into the valley below. After surviving barely the violent crash, Britt and his team were retrieved by a second helicopter, also, by the way, piloted by very brave people. At this point, Britt received information suggesting their comrade Neil Roberts, the man thrown out of the helicopter was probably still alive. The team faced a choice, to wait for reinforcements and pretty much safety, or to return immediately to the enemy stronghold in the hope of saving Neil's life. They would be outmanned outgunned and fighting uphill on a steep icy mountain and every soldier knows you don't wanna fight uphill. They learned that at Gettysburg, you don't fight uphill, but they would face freezing temperatures and bitter winds at the highest altitude of battle in the history of the American military. This was the highest point where we ever fought. The odds were not good, they were not in their favor, but Britt and his team didn't even hesitate for a moment. They made their decision, for them it was an easy one. They went back to that mountain when the helicopter reached the mountain peak. They jumped out into a furious onslaught of machine gun fire, like none of them had ever seen before. Britt and his teammate, Sergeant John Chapin, charged uphill toward the enemy, where John was shot after clearing a bunker. Britt continued to engage the enemy, repeatedly exposing himself to horrendous fire. Two of his other teammates, Steven, Turbo, Tobas and Brett Morganti both suffered very, very serious leg injuries. Britt helped them to safety and called in airstrikes as continuous fire drove them ever further down the face of the mountain, got worse and worse, more and more dangerous, he kept going. In a treacherous descent, Britt and his men carried Turbo through the snow. At one point they fashioned a makeshift harness out of their gun straps to hoist Turbo down a 13-foot cliff in itself, treacherous. Because if you miss that little area, they go down the mountain, then they're stopping them. When they could go no further, Britt tended to the wounded and coordinated their escape until his team was finally evacuated from enemy territory. Seven of the brave men who fought with Britt are here with us today and maybe they'll stand up, as I call their name. Petty officer, second class, Brett Morganti. Pretty dangerous place, huh? Way to go, Brett. Chief warrant officer, Kyle Soderbergh. Thank you, Kyle. Petty officer, second class, Steven Tobas. Thanks, Steven. Chief warrant officer, Al Mack. Thank you. Sergeant Christopher Cunningham. Master Sergeant Eric Stebner. A master chief Petty officer, still on active duty is quietly not with us today. I just want to thank you all, unbelievable acts of bravery. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Incredible. Today, we also remember the brave soldiers who gave their lives on that mountain. Technical Sergeant John Chapman. Corporal Matthew Commons. Specialist Mark Anderson. Sergeant Bradley Cross. Senior Airman Jason Cunningham. Technical Sergeant Phillip Spivak. And of course, Petty officer, first class, Neil Roberts, who met a horrible death for whom these events are now known. It's called the Battle of Roberts Ridge. Incredible event. To the Gold Star family members of those heroes who are here today, please stand up. Please stand up. It's an honor to have you accept our nation's profound sorrow and a deep love and everlasting gratitude. These were incredible, incredible men. And you can be proud that they were in your family and they are looking down right now and they are very, very proud of you. Thank you very much. Thank you for being here. Thank you. To Brit and to all of the men of Roberts Ridge, you waged a fierce fight against the enemies. And these really have become the enemies of America and the enemies of all civilization. Through your actions, you demonstrated that there is no love more pure and no courage more great than the love and courage that burns in the hearts of American patriots. We are free because warriors like you are willing to give their sweat, their blood, and if they have to, their lives for our great nation. Brit, you went on to serve many more years in the U.S. Navy before finally retiring in 2014. Today, he continues his life of serving by volunteering with the Navy Seal Foundation and on behalf of Gold Star Families, special, special, incredible families. And as one of his fellow service members testifies, he is an amazing father to Bryce, who like his dad is now an Eagle Scout. Brit wants the country to know that for him, the recognition he is about to receive is an honor that falls on the whole team. He wants you folks to know that, on the whole team. When every American warrior who fought the forces of terror on that snowy Afghan ridge, each of them has entered the eternal chronicle of American valor and American bravery. Brit, we salute you. We thank you. We thank God for making you a United States Seal. We love our Navy Seals. They're very special, very incredible people. It's now my tremendous privilege to present to you the Congressional Medal of Honor. And I'd like the military aide to come forward and please read the citation. Thank you. The President of the United States in the name of the Congress takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator C, Air and Land, Brit K. Slobensky, United States Navy, for service as set forth in the following. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while assigned to a joint task force in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In the early morning of March 4, 2002, Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Slobensky led a reconnaissance team to its assigned area atop a 10,000-foot snow-covered mountain. Their insertion helicopter was suddenly riddled with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire from previously undetected enemy positions. The crippled helicopter lurched violently and ejected one teammate onto the mountain before the pilots were forced to crash land in the valley far below. Senior Chief Slobensky boldly rallied his five remaining team members and marshaled supporting assets for an assault to rescue their stranded teammate. During reinsertion, the team came under fire from three directions, and one teammate started moving uphill toward an enemy strong point. Without regard for his own safety, Senior Chief Slobensky charged directly toward enemy fire to join his teammate. Together, they fearlessly assaulted and cleared the first bunker they encountered. The enemy then unleashed a hail of machine-gun fire from a second hardened position only 20 meters away. Senior Chief Slobensky repeatedly exposed himself to deadly fire to personally engage the second enemy bunker and orient his team's fires in the furious close-quarters firefight. Proximity made air support impossible, and after several teammates became casualties, the situation became untenable. Senior Chief Slobensky maneuvered his team to a more defensible position, directed air strikes in very close proximity to his team's position, and requested reinforcement. As daylight approached, accurate enemy mortar fire forced the team further down the sheer mountainside. Senior Chief Slobensky carried a seriously wounded teammate through deep snow and led a difficult trek across precipitous terrain while calling in fire on the enemy, which was engaging the team from the surrounding ridges. Throughout the next 14 hours, Senior Chief Slobensky stabilized casualties and continued the fight against the enemy until the hill was secured and his team was extracted. By his undaunted courage, bold initiative, leadership, and devotion to duty, Senior Chief Slobensky reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. And as we close today, let us close with one final prayer. Let us pray. Almighty God, those of us who have had the privilege to witness this very special ceremony are reminded once again that we serve among the greatest of warriors, among the greatest of navies, within the greatest of nations, only because of the brave few who continue to raise their hand and the protection of this great nation and those in it from those who would wish us harm. Men such as our very own Master Chief, Britt Slobensky, who personifies that most cherished of virtues that we all strive for, which is courage. Courage for when our moment comes and we look into the abyss. And we promise ourselves and others on our honor to do our best, to do our duty, for God and for our country, and in so doing forge an unbreakable bond in the heat of battle and the furnace of affliction, which strengthens molds and galvanizes that bond only to come forth as pure gold. And in this case, gold in the form of a naval trident. And as we close this ceremony today, may Master Chief Slobensky take with him the certainty of knowing that his day spent in service to this nation and the pursuit of freedom for all were a value beyond measure, as well as those virtues and values which delivered him to this very moment. May it never be far from our thoughts the price that he and many others have paid in the pursuit of that freedom. And may that inspiration be breathed into each one of us and live on in those and the generations to follow, especially to our brother and sister warriors, teammates, friends, and family of Naval Special Warfare as we collectively as our teammate and his family, Godspeed, in your holy name we pray, amen. Ladies and gentlemen, please remain in your sheets until the president has departed the East Room.