Good evening, everyone! It is wonderful to be here with you, celebrating our Navy and strengthening our Department’s bonds with New York City, my hometown.

I would like to thank the Intrepid Museum Board of Trustees for preserving our Naval heritage by maintaining USS Intrepid as a living memorial to the 50,000 Sailors and Marines who served our Nation onboard this ship.

I would also like to thank the staff of the USS Intrepid Museum.  Every year, hundreds of thousands of visitors come to USS Intrepid here in New York City to hear you bring our Navy’s story to life.

I cannot thank you enough for dedicating your time to this museum.  As a maritime Nation, we rely on a strong Navy and Marine Corps team to help preserve our way of life.  In turn, we rely on you to champion our cause by educating your visitors on the importance of our Nation’s naval services.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I truly am honored and humbled to accept the Intrepid Freedom Award.  It seems like just yesterday I was leaving our home in Astoria Queens to begin Plebe Summer at the Naval Academy, beginning what has turned into a 40-plus-year career supporting our Navy and Marine Corps team.

This award means a great deal to me.  It re-affirms my drive and commitment to living a life of service supporting our Sailors, Marines, and their families.

If you’ll permit me, I would like to spend a few minutes talking about those Sailors and Marines, and the role they play today in guaranteeing our economic and national security.

And there could not be a better occasion to do so than tonight, in this venue, in this city.

As you all know, New York City has been a Navy town since the early beginnings of our Nation.

From the USS Monitor during the Civil War to battleships such as USS Iowa and USS Missouri during World War II, the warships built in New York City will forever be known as integral parts of our Nation’s history.

In fact, my first ship, the USS Koelsch, a frigate, conducted an overhaul at Brooklyn Shipyard.

And the USS Intrepid underwent a modernization period at Brooklyn Shipyard back in 1965—a shipyard which at its height employed over 70,000 people.

Even after the closure of the shipyard, our city maintained its close ties to the Navy.

Shortly after September 11^th, I was here to commission America’s then-newest destroyer, USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) not far from here, at Pier 88.

In fact, only two weeks ago I was again at Pier 88 to commission USS Cooperstown (LCS 23), honoring the veterans who put their baseball careers on pause to defend our Nation. 

New York City is indeed a Navy town, but also much more, both as the global financial capital of the world and the heart of our Nation’s economy. 

It is a beacon of prosperity, as well as an example of America’s resiliency and unbreakable spirit.

And yet, everything New York City represents, everything that brings this great city to life, cannot happen without commerce flowing across the oceans … without the uninterrupted communications passing through the undersea cables that connect billions of people all over the globe.

In support of our Nation’s ability to trade goods and services with other countries, our Sailors and Marines have served as the guarantors of America’s free use of the maritime commons for almost 250 years. Time and time again, our Navy and Marine Corps team has defended American and allied interests around the world—at, above, and below the oceans’ surface.

Today, our Nation today once again finds itself at an inflection point in history.  After enjoying almost 80 years of superiority in the maritime domain, we are facing challenges in every geographic region we operate in, from the South China Sea to the Horn of Africa… from the Arctic to the Arabian Gulf.

Not a day goes by where there is not a story in the news about piracy, the seizure of commercial ships in international waters by rogue nations, maritime smuggling of guns, narcotics, and humans, or the devastation of illegal, unregulated, or unreported fishing on the environment.

 All of these issues—from China’s naval buildup to illicit maritime activities—have the potential to negatively affect our Nation’s economic prosperity, undermining our national security.To address these challenges, our Navy and Marine Corps team relies not just on the acquisition and operation of combat-capable systems and platforms, but on our Department’s ability to recruit and retain Sailors and Marines who are dedicated to the mission.

Today, recruitment and retention are more important to our Fleet and our Force than ever before. And it is no secret we are facing headwinds in doing so given the strong civilian labor market we compete against for a limited workforce.  

We also have a set of codified requirements that applicants must meet in order to qualify for military service.

And while this does not deter our recruiters, it takes all of us to encourage the next generation of Sailors and Marines to pursue a career in naval service. 

Your stories about your experiences in service to our Nation are the most powerful recruiting tool we have.

And so I am asking you this evening, not as the Secretary of the Navy or a retired Navy veteran, but as father and grandfather who wants nothing more than to preserve our way of life for future generations of Americans, to help us inspire others to follow in our footsteps.

This city, our country, and everything they represent, are worth fighting for.

Thank you all for your time this evening.  May God bless our Sailors, Marines, civilians, and their families.