--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only reason I send a single young man…" description: "\"The only reason I send a single young man or woman in uniform anywhere in the world is because I think it's necessary to keep us safe.\" — Barack Obama" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/barack-obama-17_men_the-only-reason-i-send-a-single-young-ma_2876596.jpg" --- # The only reason I send a single young man or woman in… ![“The only reason I send a single young man or woman in uniform anywhere in the world is because I think it's necessary to keep us safe.” quote by Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/barack-obama-17_men_the-only-reason-i-send-a-single-young-ma_2876596.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/barack-obama-17_men_the-only-reason-i-send-a-single-young-ma_2876596.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/barack-obama-17_men_the-only-reason-i-send-a-single-young-ma_2876596.jpg) > “The only reason I send a single young man or woman in uniform anywhere in the world is because I think it's necessary to keep us safe.” [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Deploying military personnel worldwide is justified as a necessary measure for national and global safety. **In simple terms:** Military deployment is seen as essential for safety. Key Takeaway Consider the costs of security actions. Themes defense security global policy Mood thoughtful serious Type political ethical When to use this quote - military missions - international alliances - policy debates Key Concepts strategic necessity ethical implications Questions to Reflect On - Is military presence always the best security solution? - What alternatives exist to protect safety? A Different Perspective Deployments can cause civilian harm and long-term instability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Necessary Safe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-safe-3963346/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Reason Send](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-send-3963348/) [Safe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safe/) [Send Single](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/send-single-3963347/) [Single Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-young-1939557/) [Think Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-necessary-374565/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Uniforms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uniforms/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Young man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-man/) ## Related quotes > [The important thing is that government gives the security services the tools that are necessary to keep us safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-rudd/the-important-thing-is-that-government-gives-the-security-services/) [Amber Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-rudd/) > [Every single young person is reachable. Ask them what dating is like in their country. Ask them if they have a girlfriend. Ask them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-cohen/every-single-young-person-is-reachable-ask-them-what-dating-is-like/) [Jared Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-cohen/) > [Standup really is a young man's game, a single young man's game. Even when I was younger, when I wasn't single, it was hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-nealon/standup-really-is-a-young-man-s-game-a-single-young-man-s-game-even/) [Kevin Nealon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-nealon/) > [Sometimes I think I'm better off being single. We are young as hell, so we have plenty of time to settle down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-think-i-m-better-off-being-single-we-are-young-as-hell-so/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Two single, young souls can fall in love. What's the big deal? Rather, it's a good thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soni-razdan/two-single-young-souls-can-fall-in-love-what-s-the-big-deal-rather-it/) [Soni Razdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soni-razdan/) > [My single young friends, we counsel you to channel your associations with the opposite sex into dating patterns that have the potential to mature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/my-single-young-friends-we-counsel-you-to-channel-your-associations/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) > [I won't go looking for love, love will find me. As for now, I'm gonna enjoy being single, young, and free...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-won-t-go-looking-for-love-love-will-find-me-as-for-now-i-m-gonna/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We think that's necessary just as a foundation for economic growth. It's not the jobs in and of themselves, which you do make by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ryan/we-think-that-s-necessary-just-as-a-foundation-for-economic-growth-it/) [Paul Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ryan/) > [I don't mind auditioning. Sometimes, I think it's necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-pare/i-don-t-mind-auditioning-sometimes-i-think-it-s-necessary/) [Jessica Pare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-pare/) > [I think that the most necessary quality for any person to have is imagination. It makes people able to put themselves in other people's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/i-think-that-the-most-necessary-quality-for-any-person-to-have-is/) [Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/) > [I don't think it's necessary to do stand-up to be a presenter, but I like it, because it keeps me sharp, especially when something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-mcguinness/i-don-t-think-it-s-necessary-to-do-stand-up-to-be-a-presenter-but-i/) [Paddy McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-mcguinness/) > [But I do think its necessary to have debates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-ferraro/but-i-do-think-its-necessary-to-have-debates/) [Geraldine Ferraro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-ferraro/) > [If you think it is necessary to judge me by my past don't be suprised if I put you there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamika-leeigh/if-you-think-it-is-necessary-to-judge-me-by-my-past-don-t-be-suprised/) [Tamika-leeigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamika-leeigh/) > [I'm happy to have my own opinion and air it when I think it's necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-macneil/i-m-happy-to-have-my-own-opinion-and-air-it-when-i-think-it-s/) [Robert MacNeil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-macneil/) > [If you think it's necessary to judge me by my past, don't get mad when I put you there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/if-you-think-it-s-necessary-to-judge-me-by-my-past-don-t-get-mad-when/) [Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/) ## More by Barack Obama > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-peaceful-transition-of-power-is-one-of-the-hallmarks-of-our/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [As opposed to getting into arguments about, well, these folks have been treated fairly so now we're going to be doing things that, very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/as-opposed-to-getting-into-arguments-about-well-these-folks-have-been/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/donald-trump-is-temperamentally-unfit/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [What we've said to the girls is: 'If you guys ever decide that you're going to get a tattoo, then mommy and me will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/what-we-ve-said-to-the-girls-is-if-you-guys-ever-decide-that-you-re/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Nobody is listening to your telephone calls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/nobody-is-listening-to-your-telephone-calls/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [All of us take offense to anyone who reaps the rewards of living in America without taking on the responsibilities of living in America.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/all-of-us-take-offense-to-anyone-who-reaps-the-rewards-of-living-in/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The world is complicated and full of grays, but there's still truth there to be found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-world-is-complicated-and-full-of-grays-but-there-s-still-truth/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ That is another theme in the book \[Dreams from My Father\]. How do we exercise more empathy in our public discourse? How do we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/that-is-another-theme-in-the-book-dreams-from-my-father-how-do-we/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I can say across Europe that many principles that have been taken for granted here around free speech, and around civil liberties and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-can-say-across-europe-that-many-principles-that-have-been-taken-for/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-americans-understand-the-costs-of-war-yet-as-a-country-we-will/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I want to thank the Greek people publicly for their humanitarian response to the crisis of so many migrants and refugees seeking safety in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-want-to-thank-the-greek-people-publicly-for-their-humanitarian/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We had a farewell dinner for some of my senior staff, and generally everybody likes to talk about how cool I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-had-a-farewell-dinner-for-some-of-my-senior-staff-and-generally/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ It's good to get fresh legs in \[the White house\]. I think that it refreshes our democracy. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/it-s-good-to-get-fresh-legs-in-the-white-house-i-think-that-it/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Believe it or not, entertainment is part of our American diplomacy, it is part of what makes us exceptional, part of what makes us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/believe-it-or-not-entertainment-is-part-of-our-american-diplomacy-it/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) [Explore all 3,624 Barack Obama quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More Men quotes > [When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/when-i-passed-the-chancellor-he-arose-waved-his-hand-at-me-and-i/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Most celebrated men live in a condition of prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/most-celebrated-men-live-in-a-condition-of-prostitution/) [Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/) > [I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. MARTIN LUTHER, letter to Chancellor Gregory Brück, January 13,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/i-cannot-forbid-a-person-to-marry-several-wives-for-it-does-not/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Hats off to starting a franchise younger than we all did in 'Twilight' and keeping your cool. The 'Harry Potter' men and women had,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellan-lutz/hats-off-to-starting-a-franchise-younger-than-we-all-did-in-twilight/) [Kellan Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellan-lutz/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [ That country \[Carthage\] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinking-into-the-state-of-barbarism/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Browse all 84,229 Men quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only reason I send a single young man or woman in uniform anywhere in the world is because I think it's necessary to keep us safe.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barack Obama" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-only-reason-i-send-a-single-young-man-or-woman-in-uniform/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Men" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-only-reason-i-send-a-single-young-man-or-woman-in-uniform/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/barack-obama-17_men_the-only-reason-i-send-a-single-young-ma_2876596.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/barack-obama-17_men_the-only-reason-i-send-a-single-young-ma_2876596.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/barack-obama-17_men_the-only-reason-i-send-a-single-young-ma_2876596.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only reason I send a single young man or woman in uniform anywhere in the world is because I think it's…” — Barack Obama", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barack Obama", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The only reason I send a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-only-reason-i-send-a-single-young-man-or-woman-in-uniform/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-only-reason-i-send-a-single-young-man-or-woman-in-uniform/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```