Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer met with leadership, visited ships, and spoke to service members on board Naval Support Activity Bahrain, Dec. 19.

Spencer began his visit by meeting with Vice Adm. James Malloy, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, before visiting ships on NSA Bahrain’s waterfront and holding an all-hands call in the base gym.

“People back at home are appreciative for what you do,” said Spencer. “They understand that they are able to live their lives because of what you are doing here.”

During the all-hands call, Spencer spoke about Navy retention, his main priorities, and encouraged Sailors and Marines to take ownership of their respective branches of service to make improvements.

 “Push to get things done,” said Spencer. “Bring things to my desk. I hope your chains of command work that way. We are not going to get better, we are not going to improve things, until we change the way we do things.”

Before concluding the all-hands call, Sailors and Marines were given the opportunity to ask questions about topics including Reserve components, Navy assets and technology, retention initiatives and the Navy’s future missions.

Spencer was sworn in as the 76th secretary of the Navy, Aug. 3, 2017. In 1976, he joined the United States Marine Corps and served as an H-46 pilot until 1981 before departing active duty to enter the private finance sector.

U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The expanse is comprised of 20 countries and includes three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab al Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen.

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For more news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/5th Fleet, visit www.cusnc.navy.mil/.

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