I would like to spend my next two years showing how the aim of

The words of Major Owens, “I would like to spend my next two years showing how the aim of making technology available to every young person can be built into the effort to make our nation more secure. That is my latest concern and what I will be pushing over the next two years,” resound with both urgency and vision. Here, the elder statesman ties two pillars together: the education of the young and the security of the nation. He reminds us that a country’s strength does not rest solely in its armies, walls, or weapons, but in the minds and skills of its children. If the rising generation is deprived of technology, then the nation itself is weakened, vulnerable to both decline and defeat.

Owens, long a champion of education and social equity, spoke these words in a time when computers, networks, and digital knowledge were swiftly transforming the global landscape. He saw clearly that the battlefield of the future would not be fought only with swords or guns, but with codes, data, and innovation. To prepare the young with these tools was not merely a matter of opportunity—it was a matter of national security. In this sense, his concern was both noble and pragmatic: the survival of a people requires not only defending borders, but cultivating wisdom and technological power within.

History offers a clear echo of his teaching in the story of World War II’s codebreakers. At Bletchley Park in Britain, young mathematicians and linguists were trained in the new and mysterious art of cryptography. Their mastery of technology and mathematics allowed them to break the German Enigma code, turning the tide of war. Victory was not won by weapons alone, but by the foresight to train the young in knowledge, making them guardians of their nation’s future. This same lesson is found in Owens’ words: train the young well, and the nation is secure; neglect them, and the nation stands in peril.

But Owens’ vision went beyond war. He saw that making technology available to every young person also built internal stability. When children are left behind, denied the tools of progress, resentment, poverty, and inequality take root, creating weakness within the nation itself. Yet when technology is spread widely, when every child—rich or poor, urban or rural—can access the instruments of modern learning, then the nation grows not only more prosperous, but more unified and resilient. Thus, to train the young is to weave security into the very fabric of society.

The wisdom here is profound: true security begins in the classroom, not the battlefield. It is born from opportunity, from knowledge, from the cultivation of skills that prepare a people for both the challenges and the possibilities of tomorrow. If leaders seek to defend their nations, they must not forget the humble yet mighty work of education. For every child who learns to code, to build, to innovate, is a soldier in the defense of the future—though their weapons are not of steel, but of mind and spirit.

For us who hear these words, the lesson is both personal and communal. Each of us must ask: how are we helping the young to gain access to technology and learning? Do we offer them guidance, mentorship, or opportunity? Do we demand from our leaders not only defense budgets, but investment in schools, libraries, and digital training? Owens reminds us that the call to protect the nation is not answered by generals alone, but by teachers, parents, and communities who refuse to let the next generation fall behind.

Practical action must follow. Encourage young people to explore the tools of their age. Support programs that bring technology into underserved communities. Share knowledge freely, remembering that every spark you pass on may one day become a flame that protects the whole. In this way, we become guardians not only of our own families, but of the nation itself.

So let us remember and carry forward this wisdom: the path to national security lies not only in weapons of war, but in the education of the young. To arm them with technology is to defend the nation. To neglect them is to invite weakness. Thus spoke Major Owens, and thus must we act, so that the generations to come may inherit not only a nation preserved, but a nation strengthened, wise, and enduring.