Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for the introduction, Austin. And, thank you to you, Kate Moon, and the Re-Industrialize Staff for putting on this event. It’s good to be in Detroit for the first time as the 79th Secretary of the Navy to take part in a discussion that’s critical to the future of American security and prosperity: the re-industrialization of the United States. Over eighty years ago, Detroit showed the world what American industry—and American workers—can do when their Nation needed them most. It showed the world the power of public-private partnerships in mobilizing government resources and private industry capabilities to achieve large-scale national goals. And, while the motor city is known for building the trucks, engines, aircraft, and machinery that propelled the free world to victory in World War II, I am here today to ask for your help in an effort equally as noble—one inextricably linked to the re-industrialization of the United States—restoring American shipbuilding and the broader maritime industrial base. 

I don’t need to tell the people in this room that we’re facing a world that is more hostile and unpredictable—perhaps more so than at any point in my lifetime. That uncertainty is being driven, in part, by a new era of warfare defined by drones, artificial intelligence, autonomy, and the rapid pace of technological change—one where warfighters, computer programmers, and manufacturers are modifying and adapting capabilities to alter the tactics and the calculus of battlefield decisions in real time. The ability to adapt and iterate on the battlefield is no longer just an advantage—it is a key determinant of success. According to Secretary of Defense Hegseth’s 2025 Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance, our Nation is in the midst of one of the most dangerous strategic environments in our history. It’s one characterized by: China’s unprecedented military buildup and the direct threat that it poses to America’s security as well as that of our Allies. A vulnerable homeland arising from years of unsecured borders and increasingly capable air and missile threats; And, a range of other threats, including Russia, Iran, North Korea, and globally sponsored terrorist organizations; This is a world that demands a combat credible naval force that is ready to fight and win—anytime, anywhere, and against any adversary.

Ladies and gentlemen, for 250 years, America’s Navy-Marine Corps team has promoted and protected America’s interests worldwide. In times of war, our naval forces have delivered sea control, power projection, and sealift to ensure success. We have patrolled infinite miles of ocean and kept open the sea lines of communication that enable our prosperity. In every century and in every conflict, the ability to control the seas has guaranteed victory. And, that victory has been made possible by a modern, resilient, adaptable, and flexible industrial base—one capable of building ships at speed and at scale, repairing and refitting forward-deployed assets, and converting commercial production lines to surge goods, materiel, and warfighting capabilities in wartime. Arthur Herman, who you just heard from, describes this in great detail in his book Freedom’s Forge. I strongly recommend reading his book.  Bottom Line: for one to be a superpower, one must be a seapower—a term that encompasses not only our ships and submarines, but also the industrial base, technological innovation, supply chains, and skilled workforce that make them possible. To quote Alfred Thayer Mahan, “whoever rules the waves, rules the world.” And, just last month we reminded the world what American seapower can do: when a Navy Ohio-Class guided missile submarine struck an Iranian nuclear facility in Isfahan from more than 400 miles away with deadly and precise accuracy. I want to give a shout out and Bravo Zulu to that crew. 

But make no mistake: our status as the world’s dominant seapower is increasingly contested and—by no means— guaranteed. Although our Sailors and Marines are performing admirably and keeping our country safe from global threats, complacency at home has crept in. We believed that our dominance could not be challenged. And, that our competitive edge was permanent. Do you think this belief rings true today? Let’s look at the facts: Our manufacturing base is one-third the size it was three decades ago. We face workforce-constrained build schedules. And, our shipbuilding industry has eroded, hollowing out the very capacity we need to maintain credible naval deterrence. I’d like to anchor on the state of our industrial workforce and shipbuilding enterprise for a few moments. Because our Nation has glorified higher education as the singular route to success and devalued the trades, 12% of Americans are employed in the manufacturing sector today—down from the 35% in the cold war. 70% of our current industrial workforce—the pipefitters, welders, shipfitters, and structural fabricators—is set to retire in the next decade. To remedy this, we estimate that we’ll need to hire 250,000 new skilled workers alone to meet the demand in new construction and repair across our public shipyards over the next decade. I believe we’ve spent the last ten years teaching people how to code. We need to spend the next ten years teaching people how to use their hands. This will be the critical skill our Nation needs moving forward. Without skilled laborers, we won’t meet the demands of tomorrow’s Navy or keep pace in the race for industrial and technological dominance. To those young people out there considering a trade job, there’s no better way to serve your country than working in the maritime industrial base and building American ships. This is a national call to service. When it comes to commercial shipbuilding, we produce less than one percent of ships globally, while China’s dual-use shipyards—shipyards that build both military and commercial ships—have greater than 50% of the world’s market share. Economists estimate that China has spent over $90 billion dollars in entry subsidies to jumpstart and sustain their own shipbuilding industry. This heavily subsidized market share by the Chinese government is unacceptable. With over 44.6 percent of US international goods trade valued at $2.3 trillion and 78.6 percent of US international goods trade by weight—and given China’s 20% commercial market share and 95% market share of containers, you can do the math: unfortunately, we are financing China’s shipbuilding industry. And, when it comes to Naval shipbuilding, our programs are performing at unacceptable levels with infrastructure either in decay or insufficient to meet capacity and demand needs. Nearly every ship class is behind in construction—58 of the 59 ships under construction are significantly behind schedule—many more than two years—with large cost overruns. We have significant surface and submarine maintenance delays. We have too many single-source and sole-source vendors. And because of shipbuilding industry consolidation, our public shipyards have reduced from 8 to 4 and our private surface shipyards have reduced from 14 to 7. This is a readiness problem. And, it is one that urgently needs to be addressed. I believe commercial and naval shipbuilding must converge—together, they can co-build, co-produce, and share tools, talent, and timelines to provide redundancy and resiliency to an already fragile shipbuilding base. And, I believe President Trump’s tariffs will help us in that effort—fortifying and expanding our domestic shipbuilding industry. Restoring our commercial shipbuilding sector will help restore our defense industrial base. Doing so will uplift our Navy. Doing so will create jobs in the maritime space. I believe when it comes to shipbuilding, it’s time to behave more like we are on a wartime footing because this is a threat to our national security and our way of life.

But, there are a few bright spots. You can sleep well at night knowing that the United States Navy-Marine Corps team is the preeminent maritime force in the world. In addition, thanks to the strong leadership and vision of President Trump, our Nation is waking up to the reality that a strong maritime industrial base is a matter of national importance—that it will take a national effort and commitment to rebuild our capacity and expertise. President Trump’s Executive Order on Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance sent an unmistakable message revitalizing and rebuilding our maritime industry and workforce is critical to our security and our prosperity. Under his direction, we’ve seen: The creation of the White House Shipbuilding Office; the SHIPS for America Act introduced in Congress; Bipartisan support in Congress for re-investing in our manufacturing sector and reforming our acquisition processes. And, as Ambassador Jameson Greer mentioned earlier, the Trump Administration has taken 3-0-1 actions against China, targeting their Maritime, Logistical, and Shipbuilding Sectors to address unfair and predatory market practices. In this administration, shipbuilding is the #1 priority for the Department of the Navy.

As Secretary of the Navy, I am committed to this. I have stated many times that readiness is my north star and that shipbuilding and the ability to build and repair ships on-time and at the contracted price are readiness issues. I am focused on addressing these challenges to ensure the Navy can build and sustain the Fleet required by our Nation. In order to execute President Trump’s mandate of peace through strength, we must rebuild, reform, and refocus on what matters—readiness, accountability, and results. Under my leadership, the Department of Navy will be moving to a philosophy of more shared risk with industry. My goal is to make it easier to do business with the Department of the Navy: We are setting realistic, achievable schedules and we are committing to them. We are eliminating the waste and inefficiencies that drain resources without delivering results. We are demanding results—because every dollar and every decision matters when it comes to our national security. We are establishing firm baselines, demanding design maturity before construction, and fostering integration between Navy program offices and private industry. We are implementing smarter contract structures—ones that reward performance, support long-term planning, and allow for meaningful accountability and results-based outcomes. We are investing in our workforce, modernizing shipyards, and utilizing advanced manufacturing and other technologies to improve throughput. We are replacing a risk-averse culture—one riddled with gold-plated requirements and endless paperwork—with one that values experimentation, takes calculated risk, learns from failure, and iterates faster than any competitor. And, we are matching capabilities to threats, scaling pilot programs that work, and better connecting operational commanders to the innovators solving their problems. As I mentioned before—as evidenced in recent conflicts, adapting, iterating, and integrating new technological platforms in real-time is a key advantage. As far as new technological platforms are concerned, stay tuned—there will be a few announcements in this area soon. Why are we making all these changes? Because we are committed to common sense leadership And, because the strength of our maritime industrial base and our innovation economy are deterrents in and of themselves. Moreover, our Navy doesn’t get a second chance to be ready.

To all those here: the Department of the Navy cannot solve these problems alone. If we want to remain the world’s dominant seapower, we need to grow the fleet in size and capability. Our shipbuilding plans must be bold and executable. To do this: we need all of you, we need public-private partnerships, and we need a whole-of-government approach to embark on the greatest re-industrialization campaign the world has seen. We need modern day industrialists like those in this room—people like Henry Kaiser and Bill Knudsen. I am committed to working shoulder-to-shoulder with Congress, the industrial base, labor, academia, and local and state leaders to rebuild our workforce and maintain the operational superiority of our fleet. I’m committed to listening, learning, and enacting change. I’m committed to leading. And I’m committed to finding solutions that elevate our workforce and strengthen the industrial base they represent. During the peak of our World War II buildup, Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, “a strong Navy is our first line of defense. It is not a luxury. It is a necessity.” It’s time we start acting like it’s a necessity. Because this isn’t just about preparing for tomorrow’s fight. It’s about building the navy of the future and defining the next era of American seapower. It’s about preserving our national security and defending our way of life. And this is about ensuring that when the world looks to the sea, it sees an American flag. May God bless the United States Navy-Marine Corps team, may God bless everyone here with us today, and may God continue to bless the United States of America. Thank you. I look forward to your questions.