Text of Admiral Michael Mullen's Commencement Address at USMMA
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- The text of the keynote speech delivered by Admiral Michael G. Mullen, USN, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academys 74th Commencement on June 21, 2010 appears below:
GOOD MORNING! THANK YOU, SECRETARY LAHOOD, FOR YOUR WARM INTRODUCTION.
DAYS LIKE THIS CERTAINLY SHOWCASE HOW KINGS POINT IS ONE OF OUR NATIONS FINEST TREASURES AND THE EDUCATIONAL CROWN JEWEL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
THIS INSTITUTION AND YOUR DEPARTMENT ARE LUCKY TO HAVE YOU AT THE CONN, SIR!
GOVERNOR GIBBONS, CONGRESSMAN TAYLOR, DR. KUMAR, KINGS POINT ADMINISTRATORS, FACULTY, FRIENDS, ALUMNI, FAMILIES AND GRADUATES, SHIPMATES AND ALL WHO LOVE AND MAKE THEIR LIVING ON THE SEA:
I AM TRULY HONORED TO BE HERE WITH YOU. ILL ALSO EXTEND A SPECIAL WELCOME TO OUR STUDENTS FROM THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA AND OUR GRADUATES FROM THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA.
YOU REPRESENT TWO NATIONS, TWO GREAT FRIENDS, WITH SUPERB SEAFARING TRADITIONS AND YOU REMIND US ALL THAT WE LIVE IN A CONNECTED, INTERDEPENDENT WORLD. THANK YOU FOR MAKING THE KINGS POINT EXPERIENCE RICHER FOR EVERYONE.
I SEE A LOT OF SMILES OUT THERE AMONG THESE GRADUATES, BUT I KNOW DEEP DOWN INSIDE YOU MAY ALREADY MISS THIS PLACE. MAYBE YOURE EVEN GETTING A LITTLE MISTY ABOUT LEAVING.
NO MORE MARCHING ON THE GRINDER. NO MORE BEEF PATTIES AT DELANO. NO MORE SPRINTS TO CATCH THE 4:05 A.M. TRAIN FROM MANHATTAN ON THE WEEKEND. AND PERHAPS MOST OF ALL, NO MORE SPECIAL EVENTS AT THE PARK.
PARENTS OUT THERE MAY WONDER WHAT ANY OF THIS HAS TO DO WITH THE HARD WORK AND DISCIPLINE YOUR MIDSHIPMAN BRAGGED ABOUT FOR FOUR YEARS.
'WHY, NONE OF THOSE THINGS WERE MENTIONED IN THE PLEBE CANDIDATES GUIDEBOOK' --FROM A KINGS POINT MOM -- I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT A LOT OF THOSE HARD THINGS HAPPENED HERE TOO!
SO LET ME TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO THANK THOSE MOMS AND DADS, BROTHERS, SISTERS AND GRANDPARENTS WHO I KNOW HAVE BEEN SO SUPPORTIVE OVER THESE CHALLENGING FOUR YEARS, AND INDEED, FOR YOUR ENTIRE LIVES.
WILL THE FAMILY MEMBERS OF THE CLASS OF 2010 PLEASE STAND UP AND BE RECOGNIZED? THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND SACRIFICES.
SO, MOMS AND DADS, NOW YOU CAN GO HOME AND TURN THEIR BEDROOMS INTO OFFICES, SELL THEIR CHILDHOOD BELONGINGS ON E-BAY, AND FINALLY GO ON VACATION ALONE. LET ME TELL YOU --ITS A GREAT FEELING.
THANK YOU AS WELL TO THE ENTIRE FACULTY AND STAFF OF THE MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY FOR TEACHING THE MIDSHIPMEN HOW TO ACHIEVE AND HOW TO LEARN AND ADAPT.
WE ALL LEARN AND ADAPT AT DIFFERENT PACES AND THE ROAD TO SUCCESS CAN BE A LITTLE BUMPY.
HAVING HIT A BUMP OR TWO IN MY YOUNGER DAYS, ITS MY PRIVILEGE AS YOUR GUEST SPEAKER TO GRANT AMNESTY FOR ANY AND ALL DEMERITS ACCRUED FROM MINOR OFFENSES DURING YOUR TIME HERE. I AM CERTAIN THIS APPLIES TO JUST A FEW OF YOU.
I CERTAINLY WONT JUDGE, BECAUSE 'THIS' MIDSHIPMAN ONCE ACCUMULATED 115 DEMERITS IN A SINGLE DAY, AND I COULD HAVE USED SOME AMNESTY MYSELF. SO I WILL LEAVE IT TO COMMANDANT FELL TO DETERMINE WHAT IS DEFINED AS MINOR. HOPEFULLY THIS PROVIDES SOME PIECE OF MIND FOR A FEW OF YOU.
DESPITE THE OBSTACLES EACH OF YOU FACED -- FROM COAST GUARD LICENSING EXAMS, TO DORMITORY RENOVATIONS, AND ALMOST FOUR HUNDRED DAYS AT SEA --YOU HAVE CLEARLY PASSED THE TEST!
ALTHOUGH MY LIFE AT SEA BEGAN AT ONE OF THE OTHER SERVICE ACADEMIES, ONE THING I CAN PROMISE -- AND I ALMOST HATE TO BREAK IT TO YOU ON A DAY LIKE THIS -- IS THERE ARE MANY MORE TESTS TO COME.
AND NEXT TIME, IT WONT BE IN A CLASSROOM -- FITTING FOR A SCHOOL WHOSE MOTTO IS ACTA NON VERBA - DEEDS, NOT WORDS.
FIVE DECADES IN UNIFORM HAVE TAUGHT ME THE REAL TEST OF CHARACTER IS NOT WHAT PEOPLE SAY, BUT WHAT THEY DO.
AND BY CHOOSING TO SERVE AS YOU HAVE, YOU HAVE ALREADY BEGUN A LIFE OF PURPOSE AND CONSEQUENCE -- NOT JUST AT KINGS POINT, BUT AROUND THE WORLD.
SOME OF YOU ARE ALREADY MAKING AN IMPACT. LAST WEEK, NINE OF YOUR CLASSMATES RECEIVED THE MERCHANT MARINE EXPEDITIONARY MEDAL FOR SUPPORTING COALITION EFFORTS DURING THEIR YEAR AT SEA.
ACCORDING TO ONE SENIORS DAD, AT 20, HE GOT HIMSELF HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD TO MEET A SHIP IN THE PHILIPPINES. AT 21, HE CONNED A SHIP THROUGH THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ. ALL THIS FROM A KID WHO PROBABLY STILL CANT PARALLEL PARK THE FAMILY CAR!
I AM SURE THAT THIS DAD SPEAKS FOR MANY AMAZED PARENTS WHO HAVE SEEN THESE 198 YOUNG PEOPLE TRANSFORMED, HERE AND ABROAD, NOW READY TO LEAD, READY TO BE TESTED AGAIN.
SOON, MOST OF YOU WILL BE COMMISSIONED AS ENSIGNS IN THE NAVAL RESERVE, MANY SERVING IN THE MERCHANT MARINE, A VITAL RESOURCE UPON WHICH OUR NATION HAS LONG DEPENDED IN PEACETIME AND IN WAR.
TODAY THEY SUPPORT MILITARY OPERATIONS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN AND HELP CONDUCT HUMANITARIAN MISSIONS SUCH AS THOSE IN HAITI THIS WINTER.
OUR MILITARY, OUR NATION, AND YES, EVEN THE WORLD, OWE THE UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE A DEBT OF DEEP GRATITUDE.
COULD I HAVE ALL THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED IN THE MERCHANT MARINE PLEASE STAND SO WE CAN PROPERLY THANK ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR FAITHFUL SERVICE?
NEAR TO MY HEART, WE ALSO HAVE SIXTY-FIVE GRADUATES SET TO LEAD OUR ACTIVE DUTY ARMED FORCES. I CONGRATULATE THE COAST GUARD FOR EDGING OUT ALL OTHER SERVICES IN TERMS OF TOTAL GRADUATES COMMISSIONED THIS YEAR. I MAY HAVE TO TALK THE NEW COMMANDANT ABOUT THAT ONE.
BUT ACTUALLY I HAVE LONG BELIEVED THAT OTHER SERVICES AND FEDERAL AGENCIES CAN LEARN MUCH FROM THE COAST GUARD, WITH RESPECT TO BEING MORE FLEXIBLE, MORE ENGAGED, MORE COOPERATIVE, AND, FRANKLY, MORE RELEVANT TO THE FASTER, FLATTER DEMANDS OF THE SECURITY ENVIRONMENT WE LIVE IN.
THE COAST GUARDS RESPONSE FROM DAY ONE IN THE HAITI RELIEF EFFORTS WAS MAGNIFICENT, AND THEY HAVE BEEN ENGAGED IN AN UNPRECEDENTED EFFORT IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION.
AND ADMIRAL THAD ALLEN, WHO PERFORMED SO SUPERBLY IN THE AFTERMATH OF KATRINA, IS AGAIN GIVING HIS ALL TO THIS TERRIBLE CHALLENGE NOW FACING THE GULF REGION.
SO I AM GRATEFUL FOR EACH AND EVERY SERVICE, EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND TO SERVE AND TO LEAD THE MORE THAN TWO MILLION MEN AND WOMEN OF YOUR MILITARY.
THEY AND THEIR FAMILIES ARE THE BEST I HAVE EVER SEEN. NOT A DAY GOES BY WHEN I AM NOT PROUD OF THEM FOR THE SACRIFICES THEY CONTINUE TO MAKE. AND WE ARE ENTRUSTING THEIR SAFETY, THEIR WELFARE, AND QUITE LITERALLY, THEIR LIVES TO YOUR LEADERSHIP.
WE ALSO REMEMBER THAT MANY MORE OF YOU WILL SERVE IN OTHER WAYS, LIKE DARIN RUPINSKI, CLASS OF 2009, WHOSE RESCUE EFFORTS ON DEEPWATER HORIZON WERE DESCRIBED BY SECRETARY LAHOOD EARLIER.
TESTED WITHOUT WARNING, DARIN RESPONDED AS KINGS POINT CONDITIONED HIM TO DO. WHEN ASKED HOW HE WOULD THANK CAPTAIN TIM TISCH AND HIS OTHER SAFETY INSTRUCTORS HERE, DARIN REPLIED, I'D SHAKE THEIR HANDS AND KISS THEIR FEET.
NOW THAT MIGHT NOT BE THE WAY ALL OF YOU PLAN TO THANK YOUR INSTRUCTORS AFTER TODAYS CEREMONY, BUT WHAT A TRIBUTE TO THE SKILLS, THE LESSONS, THE VALUES TAUGHT HERE.
A BIG PART OF THOSE VALUES -- THE HERITAGE OF THIS INSTITUTION -- IS REMEMBERING THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN TESTED MOST, WHEN IT MATTERED MOST FOR OUR NATION.
WE REMEMBER THE ONE FORTY-TWO, EMBLAZONED ON THIS ACADEMYS BATTLE STANDARD, WHO PAID THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE FOR AMERICA IN WORLD WAR II.
WE REMEMBER THE NAMES IN THE ROLL OF HONOR REPRESENTING THE THOUSANDS OF MARINERS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN BOTH WORLD WARS. WE ALSO REMEMBER A NEW GENERATION OF KINGS POINTERS WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR LAST FULL MEASURE IN THE WARS WE FIGHT TODAY -- LEADERS WHO REFLECT THE MARINERS CHAPELS SOLEMN REQUEST TO TELL AMERICA THAT WE DIED FOR HER AND THAT WE REST CONTENT.
LEADERS LIKE AARON SEESAN, CLASS OF 03, AN ARMY COMBAT ENGINEER WHO VOLUNTEERED FOR DUTY IN MOSUL, IRAQ TO REPLACE A WOUNDED PLATOON LEADER. HIS DYING ORDERS TO HIS SERGEANT WERE TO TAKE CARE OF HIS MEN.
ANOTHER KINGS POINT HERO WAS FRANKIE TONER, CLASS OF 06, A NAVY LIEUTENANT WHO SERVED IN NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN. WHEN A TERRORIST DRESSED AS AN AFGHAN SOLDIER INFILTRATED HIS CAMP LAST MARCH, FRANKIE PUSHED OTHERS OUT OF THE WAY, THINKING OF THEIR SAFETY BEFORE HIS OWN.
JIM BENKERT, HIS HIGH SCHOOL COACH, REMEMBERED FRANKIE AS ONE OF THE BEST OUR SOCIETY HAS TO OFFER -- ONE OF THOSE SPECIAL KIDS WHO COME AROUND ONCE IN A LIFETIME.
FRANKIE AND AARON, AND ALL THOSE ON THE ROLL OF HONOR, DIED FOR US AND I PRAY THEY REST CONTENT.
THESE YOUNG AMERICANS GAVE US A TREMENDOUS GIFT, A LEGACY OF COURAGE AND SACRIFICE, A LEGACY THAT I KNOW YOU WILL BOTH CHERISH AND SAFEGUARD.
SO, CLASS OF 2010, MY QUESTION TO YOU IS -- ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEXT TEST? READY TO BE TESTED IN WAYS YOU CANT IMAGINE OR ANTICIPATE BY BOTH THE SIMPLE AND THE COMPLEX CHALLENGES OF TODAYS CHANGING WORLD? AND PERHAPS FOR JUST A VERY FEW, READY TO BE TESTED LIKE DARIN AND AARON AND FRANKIE?
SO AS YOU PASS THROUGH VICKERY GATE TO NEW ADVENTURES, NEW CHALLENGES, NEW TESTS, I HAVE SOME ADVICE FOR YOU.
NOW DONT LOOK SO DISAPPOINTED IN THE FRONT ROW THIS IS A GRADUATION SPEECH. YOU CANT GET OUT OF HERE WITHOUT A LITTLE ADVICE. IT WONT TAKE LONG. ITS JUST MULLENS THIRTY-SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF GOOD LEADERSHIP AND SMART SEAMANSHIP. THATS A JOKE, BY THE WAY.
RATHER THAN EXPOUND UPON DOZENS OF PRINCIPLES, LET ME SAVE YOU A LITTLE TIME AND BOIL THEM DOWN TO JUST ONE -- STAY ENGAGED.
ENGAGED WITH THE PEOPLE YOU SERVE, YOUR FAMILY, YOUR COUNTRY, YOUR SENIORS AND YOUR SUBORDINATES. STAY ENGAGED WITH THE WORLD AROUND YOU.
AS MARINERS, YOU KNOW THAT THE SEA CONNECTS US ALL. OVER A CENTURY AGO, AMERICAS DEEDS ON THE SEA, THE VOYAGE OF THE GREAT WHITE FLEET, TOLD THE WORLD THAT THE UNITED STATES WAS NO LONGER AN INSULAR NATION. SINCE THEN, AMERICAN MARITIME PRESENCE HAS BEEN TESTED AND BECOME TRUSTED.
BUT TIMES HAVE CHANGED AND THE NATURE OF GLOBAL ENGAGEMENTS THAT MAY SEEM LIKE SECOND NATURE TO OUR SEA SERVICES MUST KEEP PACE AND LEAD THAT CHANGE. FOR WE NO LONGER LIVE IN A POLARIZED WORLD DRIVEN BY HEGEMONIC SUPER-POWERS, EASILY IDENTIFIABLE BAD GUYS, AND PRESENCE FOR PRESENCE SAKE.
WHO WOULD HAVE PREDICTED THAT OUR MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM OF CHOICE WOULD COME NOT FROM LAND-BASED SITES, BUT FROM DESTROYERS AND SUBMARINES DEPLOYABLE AT THE READY?
AND WHO WOULD HAVE PREDICTED THAT SOME OF OUR COUNTER-PIRACY SOLUTIONS WOULD COME NOT FROM THE SEA, BUT FROM AID WORKERS AND COUNTER-INSURGENCY EXPERTS IN VILLAGES, HELPING LOCALS TO MEET BASIC NEEDS, FINDING MEANINGFUL, NON-VIOLENT EMPLOYMENT FOR YOUNG MEN?
BUT ROUTINE DEPLOYMENTS, EXERCISES WITH PARTNER NAVIES, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE THAT THE SEA SERVICES AND MERCHANT MARINE DELIVER, STILL SEND A CLEAR MESSAGE: WERE HERE TO HELP.
THE GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS WE KEEP, THOSE WE WORK SO HARD TO FOSTER THROUGH OUR DEEDS, DRIVE OUR NATIONS SECURITY STRATEGY, AND THEY PROVIDE THE KIND OF PRESENCE AND SUPPORT ESSENTIAL TO CONFRONTING CHALLENGES BEFORE THEY LEAD TO CONFLICT.
THEY BUILD TRUST -- TRUST GAINED BY LISTENING TO LOCALS, LEARNING ABOUT THEIR CULTURES, SEEING CHALLENGES THROUGH THEIR EYES.
I AM SURE YOUR SEA-YEAR EXPERIENCES MADE YOU MISS THE COMFORTS OF HOME. BUT I OFFER TO YOU THAT WE GAIN MORE, BECOME COLLECTIVELY STRONGER, CULTURALLY RICHER, AND ARE MADE INFINITELY WISER BY WHAT WE LEARN FROM OTHERS.
WHEN I PUT ON MY FIRST STAR, I RECEIVED A CONGRATULATIONS LETTER TELLING ME THAT I WOULD NOW ALWAYS EAT WELL AND NEVER HEAR THE TRUTH AGAIN.
SO I TRAVEL A LOT -- NOT JUST BECAUSE I MISS GETTING UNDERWAY, BUT BECAUSE ITS REALLY THE ONLY WAY I KNOW TO GET TO THE TRUTH: BY TALKING TO THE FOLKS BELOW DECKS AND DOWNRANGE.
MY PERSPECTIVE AND THE VIEWS I HOLD EVEN TODAY WERE LARGELY SHAPED BY THE PLACES I SAW, THE PEOPLE I INTERACTED WITH, SERVING ON MY VERY FIRST SHIP, PATROLLING THE GULF OF TONKIN AND VISITING COUNTRIES IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC.
AND I STILL FEEL THOSE LESSONS VERY DEEPLY WITH EACH VISIT I MAKE AND WITH EACH VISIT A FOREIGN CHIEF OF DEFENSE MAKES TO ME.
SO WHETHER WE ARE TALKING ABOUT AFGHANISTAN, AFRICA, OR ANYWHERE AT SEA, THERE IS NO WAY ANY SERVICE, ANY COUNTRY, CAN DO IT ALONE.
AND TRUST IS THE COIN OF THE REALM. AS YOU HEAD OUT INTO THE WORLD, TO SAIL, FLY, FIGHT, AND BUILD PARTNERSHIPS ON THE LEADING EDGE OF CHANGE, I KNOW YOU WILL REMEMBER THAT DEEDS, NOT WORDS MATTER MOST.
BUT BE MINDFUL OF WHAT THOSE ACTIONS SAY. AND LISTEN. LEARN BY LISTENING SO THAT YOUR DEEDS MAY DELIVER YOUR WORDS.
KINGS POINT CLASS OF TWO THOUSAND AND TEN: HOLD FAST TO YOUR PARENTS VALUES AND MARINERS TRADITIONS, EMBRACE YOUR LIFES NEXT TEST, AND REMEMBER THAT WE CANNOT CONTROL OR CAPTURE HEARTS AND MINDS.
WE MUST ENGAGE THEM. WE MUST LISTEN TO THEM, ONE HEART AND ONE MIND AT A TIME, OVER TIME.
THANK YOU, KINGS POINT. SAIL SAFE AND TRUE. CONGRATULATIONS AND GOD BLESS.
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