Meanwhile, students, alumni, and friends who are members of the Coast Guard, please accept my apologies.  Please also accept my sincere thanks for the many efforts that you engage in daily to keep our nation’s ports and waterways safe for all.

The debate over establishing the United States Navy was long and arduous.  Many felt that the endeavor was a fruitless waste of funds; they believed that the British Navy was far too superior for the United States to even compete.  Others, including John Adams of Massachusetts, were fervent supporters of the development of an American naval force.  It was not until the Congress received intelligence that two British ships were on their way from England to Quebec, unarmed and without a protection convoy that the pro-naval advocates began to gain support.  The vulnerability of the two British ships seemed too good an opportunity to allow pass.  Within only a few days of receiving the information, the Congress authorized the outfitting of the two American vessels.

The new navy had surprising success during the course of the American War of Independence, taking “nearly two hundred British ships…, contributing to the demoralization of the enemy and forcing the British to divert warships to protect convoys and trade routes.”  With the British defeated and American independence secured, however, the new nation turned its attention toward securing its western borders and the attention given to the navy diminished to the point that for nearly a decade, it was nonexistent.  In its absence, the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, the forerunner of the modern U.S. Coast Guard (see my recent article on the Coast Guard), policed the American seas.  The outbreak of civil war again proved the importance of a naval fighting force; the fact that the Union had one that vastly overpowered that of the Confederacy was vital to the eventual Union victory.  The United States Navy has been in operation without interruption since its re-establishment just prior to the Civil War.

As American policy and security interests have evolved, so too have the activities of the Navy.  United States naval participation in World War I was precipitated by German submarine attacks on civilian shipping interests.  The Navy was instrumental in the defeat of the Axis powers in World War II, a contribution they were all too happy to make after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.  The United States Navy was instrumental to the war efforts during the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam.  During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Navy’s blockade of the island was fundamental to American negotiations with the Cubans and Soviets.  The Navy has participated in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and the ongoing War on Terrorism.  Dedicated in all ways to protecting American interests and promoting a positive American image around the world, the Navy embarked on a unique public-private partnership after the devastating 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean.  Partnering with a coalition of non-profits, led by Project HOPE, an international non-profit dedicated to providing medical attention to those most in need around the world, the Navy manned its two hospital ships, the USNS Comfort and the USNS Mercy, with volunteer doctors, nurses and other medical staff members, civilian and military, to provide much needed medical attention to the hundreds of thousands affected by the disaster.  The partnership has continued with missions to other areas of the world in which medical attention is scarce, including coastal areas in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia.  In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Navy deployed the USS Bataan to assist with disaster relief efforts.

From its fledgling beginnings, the United States Navy has become the world’s largest and strongest, with a tonnage greater than that of the next seventeen closest of the world’s navies combined.  There are more than 332,000 active Navy personnel and nearly 124,000 ready reserves.  Sailors, many of whom are our students, today we salute you on your 233rd birthday!

The Coast Guard’s effort was extraordinary after Hurricane Katrina.  After that storm, the Coast Guard evacuated or rescued over 33,000 people, almost six times as many as in all of 2004.   According to the Coast Guard, on an average day it “saves 14 lives, assists 98 people in distress, conducts 74 search and rescue cases, interdicts 17 illegal migrants at sea, and seizes or removes over 1,000 pounds of illegal drugs.”  As a boater and someone who has sailed from Annapolis, Maryland to Bermuda, knowing that the Coast Guard is available and capable should a disaster occur is comforting.

The Coast Guard is the only branch of the Armed Services that resides outside of the Pentagon although it reports to the U.S. Navy in times of war or at the direction of the President.  There are approximately 40,000 men and women who serve on active duty with the Coast Guard.  Coasties, some of whom are our students, today we salute you and congratulate you on your 218th birthday!