 Hi everyone, it's Secretary of Defense Ash Carter here in Kabul headquarters in Afghanistan to thank our troops for their service this holiday season. 2016 was another busy year for the department, from the fight to deliver ISIL a lasting defeat to our ongoing mission to build a brighter future here in Afghanistan, to standing strong in the Asia Pacific and in Europe, to our rescue efforts during Hurricane Matthew, the men and women of the US military and our civilian workforce stepped up around the world as you always do. We've been busy on the home front as well. We unveiled new initiatives to benefit our military families and improve our recruitment efforts to continue building the force of the future. We launched new programs to strengthen our digital defenses and keep us on the cutting edge of military technology. We welcomed new service chiefs and combatant commanders and we celebrated our military's finest athletes as they ran, swam and jumped to victory in the 2016 Rio Olympics. So it's been an incredible year and I want to thank all of you and your families for your service. You're doing one of the noblest things a person can do to defend our country and make a better world for our children. So I want to wish you and your families a blessed holiday season and a happy new year. See you in 2017.