Making History: VP Kamala Harris Is First Woman To Give Naval Academy Commencement Address

 

good morning

good morning

Acting secretary Thomas Harker general David Berger admiral mike gilday looking out at these midshipmen i know we are all filled with pride vice admiral sean buck captain t.r Buchanan faculty and staff thank you for educating such a fine crew alumni thank you for the support you have shown over these years to this great institution and to my military aide lieutenant colonel frank macniak who graduated in 2004 i am very proud to have you with me here today family and friends of these graduates thank you for the sacrifices you have already made and will make and i also want to acknowledge Kim and john Johnsonyour son was taken far too soon and i promise you that he will not be forgotten and finally to the class of 2021 congratulations and look how far you've come so you endured zero 530 pt. and promo exams excelled on athletic fields and in academic exercises you enjoyed the fair at dillo's i know karaoke at harvest you guys rolled up your sleeves and you got vaccinated and you made it to this day you made it to this day And this day this day that is not only a commencement this day that is a commissioning and, in a few minutes, you will take an oath and it's actually the same oath i took as vice president an oath to support our constitution and defend it against all enemies an oath that has its roots in the founding of our nation and no matter what changes in our world the charge in this oath is constant remember that as you walk out into the world because the world you all are walking into is rapidly changing in fact we are at a significant turning point just look at the last several months and you know what I’m talking about and look at several moments in our nation's history for perspective think about it there was the world before the stock market crashed in 1929

and the world after the world before the attack on pearl harbor in 1941

and the world after the world before the civil rights act in 1964

and the world after the world before the berlin wall fell

in 1989 and the world after at some of these critical moments

our nation was compelled to take a hard look at both

our priorities and our preparedness and another turning

point was September 11th 20 years ago this year when airplanes

hit the twin towers and our pentagon when flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania that day shaped your entire life and it shaped our entire nation it tested our systems our structures are very standing in the world

well midshipmen we are now entering the next era a new age

a new epoch with its own tests with its own challenges

and with its own opportunities the global pandemic you see of course has accelerated what was happening before and it has accelerated our world into a new era it has forever impacted our world it has

forever influenced our perspective and if we weren't clear before

we know now our world is interconnected our world is inter-dependent

and our world is fragile just think a deadly pandemic can spread throughout the globe in just a matter of months a gang of hackers can disrupt the fuel supply of a whole seaboard one country's carbon emissions can threaten the sustainability of the whole earth this midshipmen is the era we are in and it is unlike

any era that came before so the challenge now the challenge

before us now is how to mount a modern defense to these modern threats so let me share with you for example a personal experience

a few years ago, when i was in the united states senate

i visited the USS Scranton it was outside of san Diego California

and at the time I was also a member of the senate intelligence committee so when I was aboard the vessel I asked the officers i said they tell me what does it take to protect such a valuable asset against

cyber-attacks and they told me you know its pretty simple equipment

and experts well the way I see it midshipmen you

you are those experts on the issue of cyber security foreign advice adversaries have their sights set on our military technology our

intellectual property our elections are critical infrastructure the ransomware attack by criminal hackers earlier this month well that was a warning shot in fact there have been many warning shots

so, we must defend our nation against these threats and at the same time

we must make advances in things that you've been learning things like

quantum computing and artificial intelligence and robotics and

things that will put our nation at a strategic advantage and you will be the ones to do it you will be the ones to do it because

the united states military is the best the bravest

and the most brilliant and just think from walkie-talkies to the internet to satellite navigation the united states military has been on

the forefront of research development and technological advancement

that is a point of American pride and as i look out at all of you

i know you will build on that leadership and then of course there is

climate change which is a very real threat to our national security and i look at you and i know you are among the experts who will

navigate and mitigate this threat you are ocean engineers who will help navigate ships through thinning ice you are mechanical engineers who will help reinforce sinking bases you are electrical engineers who will

soon help convert solar and wind energy into power convert

solar and wind energy into combat power and just ask any marine today

would she rather carry 20 pounds of batteries or a rolled up?

solar panel and i am positive she will tell you a solar panel

and so, would he the American people are depending on you

the best the bravest the most brilliant we saw this during covet 19 when Americans watched how members of our military helped vaccinate

our nation because you know biological threats like pandemics

and infectious diseases are yet another threat in this era and you are confronting this threat our military helped develop the

technology that made the vaccine possible naval researchers also figured out how to use 3d knitting machines to make

masks naval labs monitored the spread of the disease and

the marine corps and the navy are leading on making

the connection between the pandemic and medical

readiness of our fighting forces for the future class of 2021 you are prepared for all of this you are prepared for any threat

and you are prepared for this new era and it is not only

because of the knowledge and the skills, you gained here

or those you will continue to learn but it's because of something more it's

because of who each of you is it is because of who

collectively you are so as i conclude today that's what i

want to talk about.

I want to talk about you as vice president I’ve come to know the

united states navy quite well every day in fact I’m surrounded by

sailors and marines and your tradition in your history and i

mean that literally so i often travel on marine too in fact that's how i arrived today my residence is on the grounds of the

united states naval observatory my west wing office features a desk

built by Seabees from timbers of the USS constitution

my ceremony office my ceremonial office was once occupied by the secretary of the navy and displayed there I have placed

the shoulder boards of your brigade commander midshipman Sydney Barbour and so here's what i know midshipman you are tireless you

are ambitious you are a fierce fighting force you are

idealists in the truest sense you are the embodiment of American aspiration so hold on to that because in your career

you may witness some of the worst of humanity but promise

that you will never forget the best of who we are that you will never forget the ideals you stand for duty honor loyalty fight for those ideals and fight for our democracy and remember our constitution is not only something to defend it is a guide it is a guide for your service

it begins with three simple words

we the people not i we our nation was designed to be a team

sport and we are in this together so you know finally i'll just share with

you on my way to the stadium this morning i stopped by the cemetery to pay my respects to my dear former colleague a great and

courageous American senator john McCain and yes so, most people don't know he wanted to be buried next to his best friend who he met on

the yard admiral chuck Larson that is the ultimate example

of what i mean in it together so midshipmen throughout our history

officers in the united states navy officers in the united states marine

have risked everything to defend our freedoms today you will swear to do the same you are the next links in the chain and so

midshipman when you stand to take the oath, I want you to know

that as we embark on this new era president joe Biden and I

our entire nation has great faith in you and we are proud of you so very proud congratulations again may god bless you and may god bless the united states of America

thank you