Video Transcript

Well, thank you, Natalie. And thank you all for that, incredibly warm welcome. This dinner, is one of my favorite events of the year. As FBI director, and I'm confident that that is true for an awful lot of you, too. 
For one thing, it's a chance to gather in the presence of a whole host of FBI legends. Now you're all special. But I'm referring in particular to the privilege of having Judge Webster with us this evening. 
Judge, we're honored to have you with us tonight. And thank you and Linda both for being here. 
Tonight is also, a great time for us to catch up with old friends. Although I will say that my definition of old, seems to keep changing, as the years go by. And that's not just because I've started to notice that agents all look about ten years younger after they retire, and I'm trying not to take that personally now. 
But tonight serves another very important purpose, too, and that's to recognize the outstanding work of the FBI Agents Association. On behalf of your members and their families, on behalf of our former colleagues and their loved ones, and on behalf of the Bureau as a whole, what you in the Agencies Association do for your members, really, for the entire FBI family is absolutely essential. And so, before I get any further, I want to say thank you to everybody gathered here tonight to the Agents Association for leading this important work to our private sector partners, whose contributions supported and to each and every one of the agents, current and former, who make it all possible. 
Thank you. What you all do for our FBI family could not come at a more crucial time, but we all know the Bureau's work has never been easy. But when I look back over the course of my career in law enforcement, I would be hard pressed to come up with a time when so many different threats to our public safety and our national security were so elevated all at once. 
We're fighting violent crime that reached alarming levels during the pandemic and still plagues far too many communities, but we are making real progress. Last year, our Safe Streets and Violent Crime Task Forces arrested something like 50 bad guys per day, every day, all year long. 
We're also combating cyberattacks, targeting our critical infrastructure and American businesses, both big and small. In fact, when it comes to ransomware alone, we're investigating more than 100 different variants, each with scores and scores of victims. 
We're tackling the cartels pushing fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into every corner of this country, claiming countless American lives. That work includes nearly 400 investigations, and those are just the ones into cartel leadership and our seizure of enough fentanyl to kill 270 million Americans. Just in the past two years. 
We're also fighting to keep children the most vulnerable among us, safe from abuse and exploitation, arresting hundreds of predators and rescuing hundreds of kids every year. 
At the same time, we're rooting out foreign adversaries looking to steal our innovation, influence our elections, and export repression to our shores. When it comes to China, for instance, we've got something like 2000 active cases across every single one of our field offices. 
And of course, of course, we're disrupting terrorism, which remains our number one priority, a threat that was already elevated, but one that we've seen rise to a whole new level in the years since Hamas's brutal attack on Israel. In my time as director, we've successfully thwarted multiple terrorist attacks in cities and communities across this country, and each one of those could have had devastating effects. 
And we're doing this work day after day after day. And we're doing it. And we're doing it while facing challenges created by things like warrant proof encryption and violence that actually targets law enforcement at unacceptably high levels. And it's all coming at a time with the shortsighted prospect of budget cuts. The bureau is being asked to do even more. 
Now, I realize that that sounds daunting, and it is. But my confidence in the men and women of the FBI and in our ability to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution remains unwavering. And I make and I make that assessment from a vantage point that after about seven and a half years in this job, I think is pretty unique. I've rolled up my sleeves. I've looked under the hood, and I've taken a good hard look around. And what I've seen and what I continue to see is inspiring. 
Our folks put everything they've got courage, selflessness and strength into their work. They show up for each other with compassion and support when their FBI family members need them the most, even when they're off the clock. They're out there demonstrating heroic acts of bravery and sacrifice, often to help people they have never met and will never see again. 
And that brings me to what I really wanted to talk to you about. And I the thing that is most inspiring to me about the FBI, when I reflect on all that I've seen and experience over the past seven and a half years, is the heart of the FBI. 
Now, way back when I was less than two months into my tenure as Director, when, as my family constantly points out, my hair was a lot less gray. I personally prefer the term silver. I gave the commencement address to my first class of new agents at Quantico, class 17-03, last month. I spoke to the graduates of class 24-04. 
Time flies when you're having fun. 
And in that time, I have not missed a single ceremony. That means that over the course of seven plus years and 38 graduations, I've had the privilege of giving more than 5600 special agents, which is over 40% of the agents on the job today. Their badges and credentials. 
5600 handshake and 5600 graduation photos snapped 5600 families. I personally welcomed into our FBI family. 
I've also had the privilege of running back across a whole bunch of those agents again. In my visits in our offices, across the country and around the world, and from this point of view, from where I sit. I can tell you that our new agent workforce is simply extraordinary and remains unparalleled. 
We're graduating. New agents like Raquel Mobley in New Orleans’ Shreveport RA. Fresh out of the academy, she secured three life sentences for an especially heinous subject. This guy had preyed on at least eight victims, three of them children, and was found guilty of kidnaping, rape, and assault. 
But that was just the beginning for Raquel. Her first few years on board also included a guilty verdict in a civil rights case, prison sentences for a pair who had embezzled from the local police union, and the disruption of a dogfighting ring spanning four states and the rescue of more than 70 dogs. 
Oh wait, there's more. And in her spare time, Raquel also became a crisis negotiator and earned her EMT certification. 
Now it makes me wonder what the rest of us are doing with our time. But. But the point is, we've got inspiring agents like Raquel. Employees of the very highest caliber in every office across the country. 
I think about the Chicago SWAT agent who was shot badly in his dominant hand. So he retrained himself to shoot left-handed and qualified for SWAT left-handed. 
Or the Atlanta agent who unexpectedly came across a violent gang fugitive chases the bad guy into a car, got caught in the door. The subject then dragged him out onto the interstate and, in the hopes of shaking him loose, began ramming into other cars. The agent broke his arm, his legs and his pelvis, but still managed to fire his weapon, stop the subject and ensure the arrest. 
Right. All in a day's work, right? 
Now, as many of you in this room know firsthand, exceptional agents giving their all for the job are nothing new for the FBI. They're simply following in the footsteps of a long line of agents who have come before them. Like tonight's Distinguished Service Honoree, retired Special Agent Jack Garcia. 
Now, you could say Jack's career is the stuff of legend, but it's better than that because it's actually true. In his 26 years with the Bureau, Jack worked on hundreds of undercover operations, burrowing deep into the world of drug crime and drug cartels and organized crime. 
Among his many accomplishments infiltrating the Gambino crime family, which led to the arrest and convictions of dozens of mobsters, in fact. In fact, Jack was so good at fueling the mob that at one point they considered inducting him into the family. Now, that's that's commitment to the job. 
So Jack and agents like him have certainly set the bar high, but today's agents are inspiring. Just as inspiring in their dedication to our mission. And I know that I am far from the only one who thinks so. 
Back when I first got here, we were getting something like 12,000 applications a year from people who wanted to become FBI special agents. In the time since then, that pace has tripled. 
Those soaring numbers come at a time when law enforcement in general is struggling with recruiting and speak volumes about the strength of the FBI brand. What the Bureau means to people, the people we do the work with and the people we do the work for. 
It tells me that the folks out there find our workforce just as inspiring as I do. The American public sees our workforce making a difference, putting their whole heart into their work. And that's something they want to be a part of. 
But there's another aspect of heart that I see our folks display all the time, too, and that is an extraordinary capacity for kindness and compassion. We're taking care of each other. You see it in a whole bunch of ways and a whole host of places. But let me tell you about when It's been particularly striking to me. While in this role, I decided that I was going to make a point of reaching out to employees and FBI family members who were going through, especially tough times. 
Maybe they just received a really difficult diagnosis, or lost a spouse or child. The circumstances are often different, but these are folks who are without a doubt really going through it. But during these moments, a call, a visit. What I've noticed over the years is that our people tell me, pretty much without exception, how blown away they are and how touched they are by their own colleagues, by the outpouring of compassion and support they've received from the rest of the FBI family. I've made well over 100 of those calls and visits over the years, and I can tell you, I hear it every time. 
As Natalie just mentioned, America–the world really–knows the FBI for our fidelity, bravery and integrity. And they should. That's great. They should. But I wish they also knew how fiercely our folks care for each other, and how much of our heart we put into our FBI family, because the American people don't know, for instance, about the agent who learned her colleague's wife was in desperate need of a kidney. So she donated her own and saved an FBI family member's life. 
They don't know that when Hurricanes Milton and Helene hit back-to-back, our Tampa field office came together to keep each other safe. The minute the storms moved out, they mobilized to assist their colleagues helping. More than a dozen fellow employees began recovering from the catastrophic damage and losses they'd suffered. 
And they don't know that we've got countless other stories just like those. 
Now, I'm sure that hearing the FBI takes care of each other doesn't come as news to anybody here tonight, though, because the Agents Association is a perfect example of the kind of compassion and heart I'm talking about. Providing scholarships for the children and spouses of agents who passed away, lending financial assistance to members experiencing unforeseen hardship. 
The work you do on behalf of our FBI family is remarkable. Taking care of each other is at the core of who you are, who we are, and I'm eternally grateful for it. 
But I can't stop there because in my time here, it's become clear. There's one more way our people really show their heart. 
In the last seven and a half years, I've visited every single one of our field offices twice, and I'm about halfway through my third round. I've met with all of our headquarters divisions. I've been to about 30 of our legal attaché offices, from Cairo to Mexico City to Warsaw to Tokyo. I've sat down privately with frontline supervisors and informal leaders, probably thousands of them in all. 
And I've seen time and again how the FBI's men and women go above and beyond for the people in their communities, not just in the core of their work, but even when maybe even especially when they're off the clock. 
This past August, for instance, while visiting some of our offices in the Midwest, I got the chance to meet Special Agent Amy Chandler. Now, Amy works crimes against children out of the Menorah in North Dakota. Most of her work takes place on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation, and she has seen children in some of the worst situations you can imagine. In the past two years alone, she's secured three life sentences in child sexual abuse cases. 
But what Amy has done professionally pales in comparison to her contributions to the community outside of work. She knew the reservation had some of the highest rates of children in foster care in the state, and that there weren't nearly enough homes available for them, so she volunteered to foster not one, not two, but three young Native American children. 
Now, these kids had experienced some pretty terrible things before they got to Amy. These kids had experienced some pretty terrible things before they got to Amy. But now, now they're thriving. One even wants to be an FBI agent when she grows up. We're always recruiting, and that doesn't surprise me one bit. 
I also wasn't surprised to learn Amy's FBI colleagues had all rallied around the family. They drive those kids to practices, celebrate their birthdays, share holidays with them. And last month. Last month, Amy's teammates from four cities across North Dakota turned up for a party. 
You want to know what they were celebrating? Amy and those three kids had just gotten back from court and made their adoption official. 
Now, that is the kind of impact FBI employees are making throughout their communities. And what's even more inspiring is that our organization is full of men and women like Amy. Consider that every year. So we're talking ahead of time. We set aside a date for an Honorary Medals ceremony in anticipation of our employees’ heroism–recognizing heroism both on the job and off the clock. 
At this year's ceremony alone. We recognize maybe a half dozen agents who'd saved kids from drowning. All of them had done it while they were on vacation or, you know, at their local swimming pool or just going about their daily lives. They weren't working, and this wasn't part of their core duties. They just saw somebody in need and jumped in to help. 
Just like your own vice president, Jennifer Morrow, who for bravery was among those we recognized this year. Jennifer was waiting for a flight home from Denver when she saw another passenger in distress. She jumped into action, perform CPR, use a defibrillator, and help the emergency responders once they arrived. 
This guy was a perfect stranger. She saved his life. And for the record. When I asked if I could mention her this evening, she said, that “I hate this, but I guess I can’t say no.” 
That's not surprising to me, but you deserve it. Jennifer. And so do all the men and women across the bureau who are putting their hearts into helping others, like the Portland agent out for a morning run, who rescued a mentally ill woman off the train tracks in the face of an oncoming train? Or the Charlotte agent who used sheer physical force to rescue a woman from a fiery car crash, extinguish her burning clothes and render first aid. 
That kind of resilience and grit combined with compassion and selflessness. That's extraordinary. But it's something that I get to see day in and day out from the men and women of the FBI. 
Now, Jennifer's discomfort at being highlighted that I mentioned a few moments ago is also something that I encounter all the time—vintage Bureau. And that simultaneous courage and humility translates into respect and gratitude. From the folks I talk to all across the country and around the world. 
I see and hear it in my conversations with our law enforcement partners just about every week, and I've sat down with more than 3000 chiefs, sheriffs, state police, superintendents, and more from all 50 states over these years. 
I see and hear it from our National Academy students. The best of the best from law enforcement agencies here at home and abroad. And I've given diplomas to more than 5000 National Academy graduates by now. 
I see and hear it just as consistently from our foreign partners. And I've held hundreds of meetings with my counterparts over the years. We're talking well over 70 countries. What I see and what I hear wherever I am, is that the work we're doing every day, the investigations we're conducting, the partnerships we're building, the communities we're protecting. That's what makes people want to work with us and be associated with us again. Because of the heart, the FBI men and women put into everything they do. 
There's another place I see that admiration and respect and pride. Two that's among our own work force. And it shines through particularly clearly at our graduation ceremonies. 
Since I've been Director, we've had more than 400 agents receive their badges and credentials from guest presenters. Basically, immediate family members, usually their parents or spouses and themselves, current or retired employees. That's more than 400 members of our FBI family who chose to carry on their own family's legacies by devoting their lives to working with us. Now, to me, that speaks loudly, really profoundly about the strength and heart of the FBI. Just think about it. What matters most in our lives? I bet everybody in this room would say the people we love. 
So when I'm up there on stage with them and I see up close our employees encouraging their loved ones to join them here at the Bureau and then celebrate and becoming downright emotional when they do. I can tell you, it's a pretty powerful and moving testament to the way our own folks feel about their organization. 
And once folks join us, they can't get enough. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find any organization, public or private, on the planet with a retention rate as high as ours. I'm talking about something like over 99% for our special agent cadre. And I firmly believe that that's because once you've been part of this mission and you've had the opportunity to work with colleagues and teammates who throw their hearts into serving others, you just know there is nothing else quite like it anywhere in the world. 
So when I think about all those inspiring men and women who are sacrificing so much for so many, and when I think about the respect and appreciation, I consistently hear from the people we do the work with and the people we do the work for, I can't help but feel grateful for the privilege of leading this organization. 
It is a privilege that few can claim, but somebody who can, as somebody who's always enjoyed tonight's event. 
As I said at the beginning, we are very fortunate to have Judge Webster here with us evening this evening. Now, many of you, many of you have had the honor of speaking with Judge Webster over the years. And if you think back on those conversations, I bet you'll recall a phrase that he often uses when describing the character of the FBI. He says fidelity, bravery, integrity, and hard fact.  
I've heard him say it so consistently that I sometimes wonder if he's got a different copy of our seal tucked away somewhere. But I've got a feeling that he's talking about the same thing I've been talking about here tonight, because from the bird's eye view that we have, it is unmistakable that the men and women who make up our FBI are extraordinary for what they do and for who they are. 
Now, before I wrap up, I want to share with you one last story. So it's about a little girl named Olivia Hall. I had the honor of meeting Olivia a few years ago. She was nine years old at the time, and she had glioblastoma, a particularly aggressive form of brain cancer. 
But her dream when she was tiny was to work for the FBI. So a foundation like the Make-A-Wish Foundation connected her with her local field office in Cleveland, where Special Agent J.B. Breen volunteered to be this little girl's training agent, so to speak. 
Thanks to J.B. and the rest of the team in Cleveland, Olivia did it all. And I mean, she went to SWAT training. She kicked in doors, she fired simulated weapons. Then she traveled to Quantico, where she met the HRT K-9s and even got to arrest her dad. And Hogan's out. Now, we didn't make her write up a 302, but otherwise it was very real stuff. 
We even held a graduation ceremony for Olivia, and I'm talking the whole nine yards–color guard, national anthem, executives in suits, everything. 
More than a thousand people came from new agent trainees to national Academy students. It may have been the biggest ceremony we've ever had. 
Now, in between all those FBI experiences, she came to headquarters to visit me. And I will never forget that visit. As long as I live. So she walks in to my conference room on the seventh floor, and she's wearing this navy blue FBI t-shirt. You know, it's like hanging down to her knees. She walks into the conference room, and with this gigantic theatrical gesture, raising her arms way up over her head, announces, “What's up, Wray?” 
And I thought, wow, I bet no one has ever come in the director's conference room like that before. And then I saw it somewhere. Right now, Director Hoover is spinning in his grave. But we came in. We had a great chat. And we took, you know, the traditional handshake in front of the seal. And then she looked up at me, and she had this kind of mischievous glint in her eye, and she goes, hey. I said, what? She said, we take a goofy picture. And I said, well, what do you have in mind? And she said, well, we could both do what I did when I came in your conference room. And I looked over at the AD for Public Affairs, who looked panicked. 
 
And I remembered that Olivia had a very active, I mean, talking, like, really active social media presence. So I turned back to Olivia and I said, what else you got? And she thought about it for a second, and she said, well, what if we both kind of stood back-to-back, you know, crossed our arms and sort of scowled like tough guys. I said, I'm a I'm a lot more comfortable with that. 
So we did, and that same day, she gave me this gray bracelet that said Team Olivia on it. Now, I don't know if this is going to surprise any of you. I'm not really a bracelet kind of guy, but I was so taken with Olivia. Just like everybody who met her that I wore that bracelet proudly. Now, tragically, Olivia passed away not long after that. 
Everybody in our Cleveland office took it hard. Nobody. So hard as J.B. green. He and the halls had grown close. In fact, when he wasn't taking Olivia to SWAT training, he was accompanying her to doctor's appointments. And their families had formed such a bond that J.B. and his wife even named their own newborn daughter after her: Jenna Oliviah-Irene Breen. 
Now an interviewer, once asked J.B. what he considered the highlight of his FBI career. This is a guy whose work counterterrorism cases served on the SWAT team traveled the globe. 
You know what he said? He said his greatest professional achievement was what he'd been able to achieve for Olivia. It was such a gift to have gotten to meet her and to help make some of her FBI dreams come true. 
Now, I actually kept wearing that little gray bracelet for months, even after Olivia passed away. And to this day, I'm grateful to J.B. for building that relationship between her family and our FBI family.  
Agents like J.B. and like Rachel, Amy, Jennifer all day, every day. They inspire me. And you know, after about seven and a half years, you might think I have grown accustomed to it, but in fact, the opposite is true. The more I've gotten to know the FBI men and women, the longer we've all had the chance to work together, the more they inspire me. 
So to all the agents here tonight and to the entire FBI family, I want to say thank you. 
Thank you for the courage and commitment you demonstrate day in and day out, both in the course of your work and outside of it. 
Thank you for the compassion and kindness you show to each other. Thank you for going above and beyond for the communities we serve. 
Thank you for your fidelity, for your bravery, for your integrity. Most of all, thank you for your heart. Thank you.