Defense Secretary Ash Carter yesterday thanked U.S. troops stationed at Grafenwoehr, Germany, and told them their presence is important to the way of life that people in America and in Europe enjoy.

“You are deterring aggression. You‘re preparing to respond to crises. You‘re preparing to deal with terrorism,” the secretary said. “And this is necessary in order for civilized society to exist. And we do it with our colleagues here in Europe, because by and large, they see things the way we do. They share a lot of the same values that we have.”