Good morning, everyone! 

It is wonderful to be here with you in sunny Orlando for the Interservice-Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference.

Thank you, Vice Admiral Buck, my Naval Academy classmate and longtime friend, for the kind introduction, for the opportunity to discuss the challenges our Navy and Marine Corps face today, and to highlight how those from industry and academia can help support our mission and our warfighters.

I also want to thank you for your superb leadership of our beloved Naval Academy over the three years you led her.

There have only been two times—to my knowledge—in our Nation’s history that we have had a Supe and SECNAV from the same Academy class, and I am glad we were part of that incredibly small club!

You also gave me my fist victory over Army—a pattern I hope Vice Admiral Davids continues in her first Army-Navy Game as Superintendent two weeks from now. 

As your 78th Secretary of the Navy, my mission is to provide combat ready forces and capabilities to the President of the United States, Secretary of Defense, and our Combatant Commanders.

As a former career Surface Warfare Officer and a former small business owner in the defense ecosystem, I fully understand and appreciate what the people in this room bring to the high-end fight.  

Former President and Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.”

In our rapidly evolving world, I urge you to embrace this mindset of progress—we must cultivate a culture of innovation, and we must continue moving forward.

We must continue to support the small business community to grow our supply chain.

And all of you here today are an important part of that journey.

The urgent need for a strong Navy and Marine Corps to protect our Nation and its vital interests cannot be overstated.

As you have certainly heard and read in the news, our Nation faces threats around the world—from Europe to the Red Sea to the Indo-Pacific.

In Europe, Russia is quickly approaching the third year of its illegal and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. 

Ukraine is fighting not only for their own liberty and freedom—they are fighting to protect democracy in Europe and indeed around the world.

And we as a Nation must continue to stand by Ukraine in its quest to remain free of Vladimir Putin’s tyranny.

In the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, we are working alongside our NATO allies and Middle East partners to ensure the safety of innocent, civilian mariners and protect our commercial shipping against the Iranian-aligned Houthi terrorist attacks.

Following the October 7th attacks in Israel over a year ago, our Navy and Marine Corps were swiftly deployed to the region, forming an integrated force capable of responding to any threat.

Our warships have demonstrated exceptional performance under fire, successfully deterring and defeating missile and drone attacks targeting innocent maritime shipping. 

In the Indo-Pacific, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has publicly abandoned its long-term goal of reunification with the Republic of Korea and, in fact, now views them as the “main enemy.”

And the DPRK continues the creations and testing of new and dangerous military capabilities, including numerous ICBMs. 

It now aligns itself with Russia and poses an incredible threat to the Republic of Korea and Japan.

Kim Jong Un has even bestowed President Putin the concerning title of the “Korean people’s closest friend.”

And Kim’s support of Putin is evident in the deployment of DPRK troops to fight alongside Russian forces.

And while the world’s focus has shifted to other parts of the globe, the People’s Republic of China continues to enforce excessive maritime claims through their navy, coast guard, and maritime militia. 

The PRC is observing lessons from the ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Red Sea.

To effectively face these mounting challenges and threats, we must commit to a whole-of-nation effort to support our Navy and Marine Corps.

We are indeed a unified fighting force, and our network of partners and allies is a critical advantage that we have over our potential adversaries.

In order to maintain our warfighting advantage, we must continue looking forward to new innovations, adapting to the threats of today while anticipating the threats of tomorrow.

When I first came into office as Secretary of the Navy three and a half years ago, I laid out Three Enduring Priorities which serve as the basis of all we do in the Department of the Navy. They are:

• Strengthening Maritime Dominance,

• Building a Culture of Warfighting Excellence, and

• Enhancing Strategic Partnerships.

 “Enhancing Strategic Partnerships” incorporates not only naval diplomacy across our oceans and our relationships at sea, but crucially, our partnerships with those within the defense ecosystem and academia.

We are fundamentally reliant on industry and academia to maintain our warfighting edge, and industry is building and delivering mission-ready platforms and technology to our Navy and Marine Corps.

The current state of the world highlights the importance of strengthening our maritime dominance through new technologies and integrated training environments.

Those in this room today are pushing the bounds of tactics and capabilities—look no further than the Red Sea, where the technology created through your research and development have enabled our ships to defend themselves and innocent mariners from drones and missiles launched in hostility.

Our simulation tools and programs provide our warfighters realistic training without the expense and risk of open-air testing.

At Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, Expeditionary Security Groups train on the Laser Shoot Littoral Combat Simulator, a motion boat platform with 360-degree screens. 

This simulator replicates wartime scenarios and environments, enhancing Sailor readiness and enabling training and execution of pre-planned responses.

At Naval Station Norfolk, the Submarine Learning Facility allows our submarine officers and enlisted personnel the ability to train on a full-scale Virginia-class submarine simulator.

And the work of those in this room today is vital to the sustainment of programs such as Link Inject-to-Live, Live, Virtual, and Constructive, and the Next Generation Threat System.

This year, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division implemented Simulators at Sea, a revolutionary training capability which allows our aviators to conduct simulated missions while underway and deployed. 

The aviators of Carrier Air Wing NINE, embarked on USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), have been training with Simulators at Sea since they began their deployment to the Fifth Fleet in July.

And our successes in the Red Sea are a testament to the collaborative efforts of our industry partners and tactical experts.

By leveraging advanced simulation programs, we have significantly enhanced high-end training and advanced tactics, techniques, and procedures in our carrier strike groups and our forward-deployed warships. 

The Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center and the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center have spearheaded these advancements, which are currently being executed by our ships operating in the Red Sea.

The Department of the Navy remains committed to innovation—constantly developing and deploying technologies that will make our Fleet and Force even more formidable. 

Over a year ago, I announced my vision for a new Maritime Statecraft, a call for a whole-of-government effort to build comprehensive U.S. and allied maritime power, both commercial and naval, to prevail in an era of intense strategic competition.

One of our greatest asymmetric strengths lies in our network of partnerships with our Defense Industrial Base, and specifically, with the small businesses within our defense ecosystem.

In my view as Secretary of the Navy, a healthy, diverse industrial base made up of companies of all sizes—founded by American entrepreneurs from all walks of life—is critical to the success of our Navy and our Marine Corps.

Small businesses are the foundation of our Department’s ability to provide the capabilities and services we need to support our Sailors, Marines, civilians, and their families—from providing them with quality-of-life services to ensuring our deployed personnel have the capabilities they need to be successful in their assigned missions.

And small businesses today make up approximately 20% of all Department of the Navy contracts awarded.

Since I entered office in 2021, small business contracts have grown from $17 billion dollars to $21 billion dollars—a $4 billion, or 21% increase.

During Fiscal Year 2024, we invested:

• $7.9 billion on contracts with Small Disadvantaged Businesses—a 20% increase,

• $3 billion on contracts with Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses—a 18.5% increase,

• $3 billion on contracts with Women Owned Small Businesses—a 5.5% increase,

• over $2 billion on HUBZone prime contracts with small businesses—a 38.2% increase,

• And since 2021, we have added over four thousand new vendors to our supply chain!

Here in Orlando, we are working alongside companies like the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Innovative Reasoning LLC, which provides analytical, logistical, and administrative domain services to support Marine Corps Training and Education Command as well as the Range and Training Area Management Branch.

Since my first day as Secretary of the Navy, I have prioritized ensuring that our Sailors and Marines have the essential tools—ships and weapons—they need to fight and win our nation’s wars.

And by empowering a vibrant small business community, we ensure the continued strength and readiness of our service men and women, wherever they train and fight.

I am extremely proud of everything our Department has accomplished over the last three and a half years, and I am excited for our Navy-Marine Corps team as we chart a course for the future—a future that will require us to respond and adapt to whatever geopolitical challenges our Nation may face.

We are indeed a maritime nation, and it is imperative that all of us gathered today remain committed to providing for and maintaining the Navy and Marine Corps that guarantee our national and economic security.

I have and will remain dedicated to a fully integrated team comprised of our Sailors and Marines on sea, land, and air, our DoD civilians and contractors, our industry partners, and those in academia—working together to ensure mission accomplishment.

Thank you all for your commitment to the DoD, Department of the Navy, the maritime services, and indeed our Nation.

It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the nearly one million Sailors, Marines, and Department of the Navy civilians as the 78th Secretary of the Navy. 

Now that I know how warm it is here in December, you might see me next year walking the booths—without any aides or a photographer, of course!

Thank you.