Opening Remarks
“Thank you, Joe. Thank you, everybody, ladies and gentlemen. I apologize for not being there, but it was fortuitous. God’s way stepped in front, Last night, the weather didn’t allow us to come, but it was fortuitous. There was a pretty big momentum shift in the White House on Golden Dome. So that was worth a little bit being able to interact with that yesterday evening to understand it and to support it. It’s always great, Joe, for you to be leading this with us for so many years on it.
The culture of Alabama is world-level championship. It always has been, and especially in this field, going back to 1950 with Von Braun. I’m going to put these out there because I get to. Bear Bryant and Alabama Football. We’ll give a little love to Tuberville for his Auburn teams that he had, too. There are some great things that have happened here in Alabama.
After my 1985 Super Bowl season, I didn’t think I was going to play long because I had surgeries. I went and interviewed for a job with Julian Davidson in Huntsville, Alabama in 1985. He hired me to go work for Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale at the ERIS program. My history with Huntsville starts a long time ago. I’ve been in Huntsville every year from then to where we’re at today. I am connected. I know the strengths, the heart, the bubbas, the whole movement for 40 years of relationships that you can imagine that have gone through the ups and downs of missile defense.
Missile defense has gone through some major shifts. We won’t go into 1974. We’ll start in 1978 and go into the Ronald Reagan movement for a strategic defense initiative. As you know, it wasn’t policy. It was a research project. Then we tried to go in space again in 9-11. We did everything we could, but we couldn’t move the ball. Now here’s our third iteration where the President of the United States has put forward an executive order that enables policy to do this. This is the moment that many of us in my generation have been waiting for.”
Mr. Riki Ellison
Closing Remarks
“We’re on the verge that this country’s never, ever been on. We’re on the verge. We’re not on the verge, It’s gonna happen. But we are shifting deterrent, shifting warfare to dominance by the United States of America. You’re part of that. You’re part of building a defense against, what our public has seen, killing people all over the world.
You’re part of that. You’re a team player. So this is not, all you have to be the same. I’m not about that, we’re not about that. The more diverse you are, the more value you bring to the team. But you have to trust and you have to be able to play with each other. That’s the key thing. And it’s going to take time, but this is one of the most exciting projects in mankind, right now. And you’re in it.
You’re the heart of it. So I’m excited for you. I think you’re going to be the answer, but you’re going to have to win. You’re going to have to get out of your old ways, you’re going to have to change culture at MDA, change culture, and how we’ve done. This is big time game. You need to be big.
You need to grow up and get out of the 70s, 80s, 90s, and play and contribute. The country has to have you. We can’t do it without. So thank you for the time to speak with you. I’m glad I got a chance to talk to you. It would have been more fun in person, but I think we covered a lot of ground that nobody’s, I’ve never done this to anybody, we haven’t opened this up publicly, like I did today. And this is this is me, not Mike. So I don’t represent Mike, I don’t represent MDA, I don’t represent the president. You’re just hearing from me. Nobody else. That’s what I… make sure you just quote me nobody else.”
Mr. Riki Ellison
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