The dude had throngs of our nation's finest swarming him just to get a chance to meet him and shake his hand at the end of the speech. There is no other way to describe the scene. The CIC has the respect of the servicemen and women at Ft. Bliss.
No solider was forced to attened today, there are 30,000+ soliders at fort bliss, it is an honor to be selected to attend the speech, as many wanted to go, but couldnt.
Riiighhht! Here's how this works, sweetcheeks: Farious units are tasked with providing X number of bodies for an event. This is done on a rotating basis according to a scheduled roster. Sometimes, they are not even told what event. They assemble as directed and are transported to the event. While I am sure some were voluntarily in attendance, I would be next month's retirement check that the greatest majority were not. When under orders, you do what you are told to do. Render proper respect, OK. All the rest of the window dressing? Maybe not so much.
PS, a lot of "volunteers" would do almost anything to get an early start on the long holiday weekend, btw.