Good afternoon, everyone.

Distinguished naval leaders, flag and general officers, senior enlisted leaders, civic leaders, Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and honored guests, welcome aboard USS Arlington.

It’s a privilege to welcome you as we open the International Naval Review and begin celebrating the 250th anniversary of American independence. Few moments better capture our shared maritime heritage than gathering the world's navies in one of the world's great harbors.

Admiral Thomas, thank you for your leadership and for bringing us together for this reception.

Captain Libasci, to you and the crew of the Arlington, thank you for hosting us today and for representing the very best of the United States Navy.

And to our international partners and friends: thank you for coming to the great city of New York. Thank you for sailing here, flying here, standing here, and marking this historic occasion with us.

For more than three centuries, New York Harbor has been a gateway between America and the world. It has welcomed generations of immigrants, fueled global commerce, and served as a launching point for ships carrying American enterprise and ideals across the oceans.

For centuries, this harbor has connected America to the world. Today, it connects the world's navies in a shared commitment to peace, partnership, and the freedom of the seas.

From the earliest days of our republic, the sea carried our commerce, protected our shores, connected us to allies, and opened our nation to the wider world.

The sea has always been a part of America’s story, but today reminds us that the sea is never one nation’s story alone.

The sea connects all of us. It has always connected civilizations through commerce, ideas, opportunity, and security. That is why maritime cooperation has never been optional – it has always been essential.

It connects our people, our economies, our industries, and our security. It carries the commerce that fuels prosperity, the energy that powers our economies, and the relationships that strengthen free nations.

Every navy represented here understands a simple truth: freedom of the seas is preserved through vigilance, professionalism, and trusted partnerships.

The sea is safeguarded by the professionalism of Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and maritime professionals who stand the watch every day, and it endures because free nations choose to stand together.

The International Naval Review is not only about the ships in the harbor.

It’s about the people who sail them.

It’s about the people aboard those ships – the Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and service members who crossed oceans to represent their nations with professionalism, pride, and purpose.

It’s about the young men and women standing the watch today – in every ocean and every time zone – who quietly preserve the security that allows our nations to prosper.

So, throughout this week, I encourage all of you to get out and experience the full spirit of INR 250.

Walk the piers. Visit the ships. Meet the crews. Share a meal. Ask questions. Listen to one another's stories. Those conversations are every bit as important as the ceremonies themselves.

And just as importantly, I hope our American guests take the opportunity to meet the international service members who have joined us from around the world.

Ask them about their ships. Ask them about their service. Ask them about their families, their traditions, and what inspired them to wear the uniform of their nation.

Because that is what makes a gathering like this so powerful. Ships may bring us together, but it’s the friendships we build aboard them that endure long after the ships return home.

That is the enduring value of an International Naval Review. It reminds us that the strongest maritime partnerships are ultimately built one Sailor, one conversation, and one shared experience at a time.

It’s a chance for people to come together – across flags, across uniforms, across languages, and across oceans – in friendship and mutual respect.

That is the spirit of this week. It’s the spirit of this harbor, the spirit of maritime service, and the spirit that has connected free nations across the seas for generations.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to New York City. Welcome aboard USS Arlington. And welcome to a week that I hope strengthens friendships, deepens partnerships, and reminds us all that the sea is strongest when it connects us rather than divides us.

Welcome to the International Naval Review 250.