First lady Michelle Obama urged more than 1,000 cadets Friday night on the brink of graduating to keep in mind the families of the soldiers they will lead.
Obama addressed the white-clad cadets and their families gathered in the U.S. Military Academy's castle-like mess hall for a graduation-eve banquet. It marked her first visit to the storied academy and dovetails with her recent work on behalf of military families.
She noted that more than half of service members are married and 40 percent have two or more kids.
"You'll be helping your troops deal with the joy of a new birth and the disappointment of not being in the delivery room," she said. "You'll be helping a soldier cope with a family emergency halfway around the world."
Obama is the only first lady to address cadets at their graduation banquet -- a rare occasion for them to wear their dress whites and dine with their relatives. The mess hall was filled with thousands more family members in suits and dresses dining on filet mignon and garlic mashed potatoes.
Obama reminded cadets that they not only must support their soldiers' families, but that their families helped them to this point in their careers.
"So graduates, I want you to know that while this country is asking so much of you once you pin on those gold bars, we're not asking you to do it alone. You have your families that are with you today and every day."
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