LIGHTSHIP SAILORS

"Yea" but it's NOT the OLD Guard

By Marty Krzywicki

Founder LSA

Note: As a water rat who grew up working pound and fishing charter boats in southern New Jersey I knew that I would join the Coast Guard on my seventeenth birthday. It was a decision I have never regretted.

 Over the past forty-three years since my time in the Coast Guard my memories have been tainted by the feeling that the modern day Coast Guard personnel "had it made" compared to when I was in "the old Guard."

Last year for the first time I had the chance to visit and spend time with crew members of the Coast Guard Cutter Bramble in Port Huron MI during our reunion . I came away with the impression that those "kids" had the same dedication to duty that my brethren and I did in the "old Guard." Could that be possible? I remember asking the Skipper of the Bramble how it is possible to lead members of an all volunteer crew rather than a crew that was from the Draft Board era.

It has taken me almost another year to finally understand that members of the "new Guard" face the same problems of understaffing, long hours of duty, old equipment, no spare parts, and a lack of an operating budget that is sufficient to meet the demands placed on the "new Guard" creating the same problems that we had.

Oddly it took an Admiral and a new member of the Coast Guard fresh out of Boot Camp before I finally understood, and yes it was a shock, that not only did God "make a Boatswains Mate" He also made and still makes a very rare breed of the human species known as members of the United States Coast Guard. We WERE, and they ARE, SEMPER PARATUS. 

Please enjoy as I did, reading the speech delivered by retiring Admiral James M. Loy. There is hope for the old girl known as the "NEW Guard!"

 Admiral James M. Loy delivered his final State of the Coast Guard Address,
"Steering a Steady Course to New Normalcy," at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, DC, March 21, 2002. 

Introduction:
Last year, if you will recall, I began this address with a fictional
story about a young sea captain who purposed to take his ship into hazardous waters to accomplish an important mission.  I related that story tointroduce the theme of transformation-to talk about the dangers inherently involved in bringing about needed change in our service.
This year, I'd like to tell you a true story.  Some of you know this story very well.  It takes place onboard a cutter assigned to patrol the approaches to the harbor of New York and the waters of Long Island Sound.
It begins in the pre-dawn hours of an early autumn day.
The captain and his crew were on alert in the early morning of the
11th of October.  They had been on patrol for about a month, watching for any sign of a foreign enemy that had previously attacked some of the major cities of the United States, including our nation's capital.
They had received reports that the enemy might attempt to capture commercial vessels involved in coastwise trade and use them as weapons to terrorize and attack the port of New Haven, Connecticut and other cities and ships along the eastern seaboard.  Their mission was to stop any attack.
The captain was a stalwart man.  He knew the capabilities of his
ship and his crew.  His cutter carried the best weapons that his service could afford.  The austere budget did not allow for anything more modern or more powerful.  His crew was brave and well-trained, but they had yet to meet the enemy, who by all accounts was ruthless.
So they waited...and they watched.  A few hours later, the sun came up, but their vision was obscured with a heavy blanket of fog.  As the sun rose higher in the sky, the fog began to burn off.  Then, at around 0900, it lifted altogether.
Suddenly, right there in front of them was the enemy, bearing
directly down on them out of the fog...under full sail!
Now, as Paul Harvey would say, for the rest of the story!  As I
said, the date was October 11th.  The year was 1814.  And the cutter was the Eagle, of the Revenue Cutter Service.
A fierce fight began between the Eagle and the Dispatch, a British brig of superior firepower.  Captain Frederick Lee and the crew of the Eagle were outgunned by the Dispatch.  Seeing the futility of the fight, Captain Lee tried to escape into shallow water, finally beaching the Eagle near a 160-foot bluff, fifteen miles northeast of Port Jefferson, New York. He ordered his crew to strip the ship of her sails and rigging, and to haul her guns ashore and up the steep bluff.  Taking up a position at the top of the bluff, they fired down on the British ship, keeping the enemy from coming ashore or capturing the Eagle.
Throughout that day and into the next morning, the crew of the Eagle bravely defended their cutter and their coast.  When their supply of ammunition ran out, the crew began retrieving the shot that the British had fired at them.
 They loaded the shot into their own guns and returned it in a maelstrom of fire to the enemy.  The Dispatch was forced to retreat.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is the heritage of your Coast Guard.  We celebrate that heritage from the year 1790 and the birth of the Revenue Cutter Service, which was commissioned to provide maritime security to a fledgling nation by protecting its freedom and prosperity on the high seas.
Our history is replete with examples of similar events in trying times. Each time, we have risen to the challenge.  And there have been many such times.  Remembering these things reminds us who we are and why our country needs us. We wrote this little book [PUB ONE] to help us each internalize that heritage.  I encourage each of you to get a copy of PUB ONE when they become available and read it carefully.  They will be available in print very soon. You can read PUB ONE now on the web.

Sighting on the North Star:
Today we are upholding our heritage by again defending the liberties of our country.  Our nation was attacked by surprise on September 11th, just as the Eagle was attacked by surprise so many years ago.  We knew the danger was near, but we did not know when or where or how it would arrive.
The mission of maritime security is not new to us.  It is more urgent today than it was in early September, and it is no less important than it was in the early days of the New Republic.
We are now in the process of adjusting our operations to the "new normalcy" of life in America.  As we work to rebalance our missions and resources in order to serve our country, I urge you not to think of maritime security as a new task suddenly added to a growing constellation of tasks.  Rather, we must see it as our north star.
But, many in our service might ask, "How can that be?  What about Search and Rescue?"  Well, the North Star is an interesting celestial object! Even many experienced sailors are not aware that the North Star is not a star at all.  It is actually a cluster of stars.
This cluster includes a system known as a spectroscopic binary, a term used to describe two stars that revolve around a common center of gravity and are so close together that they cannot be distinguished by a common telescope. Together, the cluster of stars comprises the major navigational star of the second magnitude we call Polaris.  Only very careful spectral observations allow us to tell that there is more than one star at that point in the sky.
As it is with Polaris, so it is with maritime security and maritime safety, including SAR. Security and safety are inseparable.  They are integral.  We can't really have one without the other.  If viewed from a distance, they can be seen as one and the same thing.  They are both about preventing harm to Americans.
That's the way it has been from the earliest days of our service.   It was only 24 years after the first 10 cutters were placed into commission that the Eagle fought the Dispatch.
By that time, the missions of the Revenue Cutter Service had grown from simply enforcing the laws to aiding mariners in distress-as well as tending lighthouses and defending our nation's ports and other maritime interests. Since then, our purpose has remained constant, centered on keeping our nation both secure and safe.  Today, we are providing security
again-primarily by enforcing the laws of our nation, while keeping people safe from harm. We are called to be our nation's maritime guardians.
Steering a Steady Course:
On Monday of last week, we marked the passing of six months since that terrible day of 9/11/01 by pausing to reflect on the devastation that we suffered here in New York, in Washington, and in the countryside of Pennsylvania.
For thirty-one days, twin towers of blue light will reach into the
evening sky of New York City, illuminating the skyline as a temporary memorial to the victims who died there.

Those towers are a fitting tribute to the citizens of the world who lived, worked, and died together as they sought nothing more than to be prosperous and industrious in the greatest city on the face of the earth. They are also a fitting reminder of our hope as human beings for liberty, justice, and peace in our nation and throughout the world. But we must do more than hope!
My good friend, General Gordon Sullivan, USA (Retired) wrote a
little book called Hope Is Not a Method.  It is a great piece on leadership that says if we are to succeed in accomplishing great things, then we must do more than hope.  We must have a methodical strategy that will make it happen.  And he is right. That is what I want to talk about today.  Hope is not a method.   Strategy matters.
We must look to our charted strategy and a plan for the future that will ensure what we hope for.  That strategy must allow us to steer a steady course, accomplishing every mission that the nation has given us to do, and to prepare for whatever may come next.
The Central Questions:
I am sure there are many questions in your minds today, such as:  Are we ready for whatever comes next?  What is the State of the Coast Guard today?
Do we have a methodical plan to follow?  Does it connect to budget
realities?
My purpose this afternoon is to answer those questions.
Part of the answers are found in a carefully prepared strategic planning document, called Coast Guard 2020, which describes the operating environment we expect to face in the year 2020 and specifies the mission profile America will need us to perform.  It was published in 1998.  We have followed it ever since.
This vision document anticipated the attacks on September 11th.  Perhaps nobody could have predicted the timing or severity of that attack, but we knew it was coming, because we had taken the time to look the future square in the face.  We said so, boldly and publicly. And we were right.

Strategy matters!
Today, we operate under the constant threat of terrorism.  As a
nation that depends heavily on oceans and sea-lanes as avenues of our prosperity, we know that whatever action we take against further acts of terrorism must include protection of our ports and waterways and the ships and people that use them.
But, terrorism is only one of many modern threats that confront us. Migrant and drug smuggling compound the threat of terrorism, because they contribute to the illicit movement of people, money, and weapons across our borders.
The well-being of our nation also is threatened by the prospect of
harm to our environment and natural resources, which can be brought either by accident or design.
Three years ago, I outlined a lack of readiness in the Coast Guard.
I compared our service to a knife dulled by complacency and over-use.  We had begun to confuse willingness with readiness.
Two years ago, I focused on two specific areas of my Commandant's Direction-restoring readiness and shaping our future-a focus that remains vitally important today.  Though some of the readiness gaps that we had identified have been filled, many remain.
Last year, I emphasized the need to continue the transformation of the Coast Guard through modernization of our assets, our workforce, and our thinking to ensure our success in meeting the challenges of the future.
Then the future arrived unannounced on September 11th. The
transformation that we had begun is occurring sooner, faster, and with greater force than we might have anticipated...but our vision remains sound.

Strategy matters!

Reaching New Normalcy:
You may recall that two years ago I said restoring readiness means establishing an equilibrium at which we can sustain normal operations and perform appropriate training, maintenance, and administrative work, without imposing unreasonable workloads on our people, or sacrificing our capacity to mount surge efforts for emergency operations. That definition remains as sound as our vision.
We have not yet reached that equilibrium.  So, in reality, our knife remains somewhat dull.  We had begun in earnest to sharpen it during the last two years, and we were making real progress.
The last six months have required an operational tempo that is not very conducive to sharpening the knife.
That OPTEMPO continues today, though we have scaled back to a level that will allow some sharpening.  The supplemental appropriation from Congress provides a budget to do it.  We must continue to restore readiness at the same time we're creating this "new normalcy."
This phrase bears definition, because it's being used a lot and is often misunderstood. The "New Normalcy" is simply a phrase denoting the new higher security levels being built into American life.  For us, it is the new security profile we need to secure our ports and waterways.
We're designing it as we go.  But as a matter of strategy, FY-03 will be the first year of a three-year plan to increase the size and capability of our service to a level we believe will be sufficient for the Coast Guard to make its contribution to our heightened security profile.
We have established three Maritime Security Conditions to describe levels of alert and preparation, which will be integrated into the Alert Conditions and Force Protection Conditions recently announced by the Office of Homeland Security.
Currently, we are operating at Maritime Security Condition One, although we still lack some of the resources to sustain us at that level.  The next budget cycles will give us what we need to do the job.
Our mission profile today is different than planned for a year ago.
Then, only 14 percent of our budgeted capability was allocated to Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security.   In the days and weeks that followed the terrorist attacks, we dedicated over half of our capability to that mission.

In fiscal year 2003, those activities will be scaled to about 27 percent of our total mission profile.  We will adjust that level as circumstances dictate.
This is what we mean when we talk about "the new normalcy."  It
requires more than hope to achieve it.

Strategy matters!

Taking Stock with a Clear and Steady Eye:
I believe in looking with a clear and steady eye to take stock of real issues.
We have run our boats and airplanes hard to meet the immediate
requirements of providing heightened security.  Maintenance has suffered in the meantime.
We must attend to our shoreside infrastructure to ensure that we can support the safe, efficient, and effective operation of our boats, cutters, and aircraft.
Our people need time to train.  They need reinforcements to come
alongside to continue the good work they are doing. Relief is coming, but it will take time. The size of our workforce will grow this year and for the next three years. We have recently opened the ranks to recall retired officers and enlisted members, and to expand the lateral re-entry program. In the past six months, our rate of retention has improved.  We
project an increase in FY-02 of 6.5% for the enlisted workforce and 12% for the officer corps.  Those are good signs.  But not good enough.  We must continue to do more to keep a trained workforce.
The Reserve forces and Auxiliary have contributed enormously this
year. They, too, need better support and a stronger and more stable infrastructure. These are all very real readiness challenges.  They require very real solutions.
I believe the President and the Secretary know this well.  Here is
what President Bush said in January on a trip to Portland, Maine:
"I saw how the Coast Guard has responded after 9/11, and I know how important the Coast Guard is for the safety and security and the well-being of our American citizens."
When he announced his National Drug Control Strategy in February, he expressed: "a strong commitment by our administration to boost spending to make sure the Coast Guard is modern and capable of not only defending our borders but actively being engaged in the fight to interdict drugs that could be coming into our country overseas."
The President's proposed budget for next year begins a three-year effort to build the resource base we need to make our contribution to America's safety and security.
It supports our determination to restore our readiness.

Strategy matters!
Thanks to supplemental funding this year and with anticipation of the President's budget for next year, we have been able to restore the operating hours of our cutters and aircraft to normal.
And if the President's budget is appropriated, we will have $118 million of additional maintenance funding to replenish spare parts inventories and perform critical maintenance.
Taken together with cost savings achieved last year by divesting some of our aging assets, we will be able to correct the maintenance funding shortfalls that we have faced through so many years.
That is reason for hope.
Strategy matters!
We have undertaken a multi-year effort to improve readiness at our small boat stations.  Last year, we added 67 people for back-up safety boat crews and tower watches at our surf rescue stations.  This year, we are adding nearly 200 billets to small boat stations and command centers.  Next year, we will add another 200 billets to our SAR system-140 at our small boat stations.
We are opening a formal school to train Boatswain's Mates.  We are establishing traveling small boat training teams to ensure that our people have the necessary critical skills to carry out our dangerous search and rescue missions.
It will take time to get these people and programs in place.  In some places, it will take more time than others.  But they are on their way.
Say it with me:  Strategy matters!
The President's budget also takes significant steps to transform us into the Coast Guard of the 21st century.  It demonstrates unwavering support for our Integrated Deepwater System and the National Distress Response System
Modernization Project.
Both of these contracts will be awarded this year.  We in the Coast Guard are deeply indebted to the brilliant work of all the industry teams
competing for the ability to help us build our future.
Congress has appropriated enough money to begin these projects in earnest. We will soon see the benefits of the strategy on which we set out many years ago.
One more time:  Strategy Matters!  You're getting the idea!

Keeping our eye on the Pole Star:
Some have already started to worry that we are not as attentive to other missions as we were before September 11th.
Let me assure you, we have not forsaken any of our missions.
While it is true that we have borrowed operational energy from some mission areas, this is but a temporary and necessary adjustment to ensure that we do not forsake the security of our nation.
Let us not forget that our first order of business is to ensure that American citizens are secure from the harm that others would do.  That is and always has been Job One. Exercising the stewardship that we are known for, we will use wisely and effectively whatever resources we have to answer the call.
In late September, for example, the Coast Guard conducted search and rescue efforts after the tug Brown Water V hit the Queen Isabella Causeway Bridge on South Padre Island, Texas.  Cars and trucks fell into the water after the accident.  Three survivors were rescued.

In mid-November, Coast Guard units interdicted 350 illegal migrants in the Caribbean.  The Cutter Legare rescued 4 of them from a raging sea.  Another 132 were interdicted in late December.
The Cutters Polar Sea and Polar Star broke a channel through the ice to re-supply Mc Murdo Station in Antarctica in January.  The ice edge was thicker and broader than it has been in many years.
Our new squadron of armed helicopters, aided by effective intelligence, have helped seize another record amount of cocaine this year, despite the decrease in operating hours of our cutters.
I could go on and on! These are just a few examples of the continued success of our Coast Guard units around the country, even as we focus on meeting the challenges of homeland security.

Laying a trackline:
Those challenges are large, indeed.  Such challenges demand a new national strategy.
No other service-no other federal agency-is better positioned as an element of this strategy than the Coast Guard.
Our obligation is not only to do our part, but to lead the collective effort of all who are involved along our maritime borders, in order to make sure that the necessary heightened security paradigm meets America's needs. We have been at the very center of developing a national maritime security strategy around five key principles.
First, to build Maritime Domain Awareness, the United States must have continuous awareness of vessels, people, and cargo that operate to and from our ports and coastal waters.  This is the most important element of our strategy.  We need to complete Port Vulnerability Assessments for our 50 most critical ports.  Also, we need 300 new billets and $88 million to establish intelligence fusion centers to collect, analyze, and share information products critical to better security.
Second, to ensure the controlled movement of high interest vessels, we must identify, board, and inspect any vessel that could be used as a weapon of mass destruction. We have asked for 160 Sea Marshals for armed escort of these vessels, as well as necessary resources to increase on-the-water patrols for all 49 Captains of the Ports.
Third, to enhance presence and response capabilities, we need to
detect, intercept and interdict potential threats as far out to sea as possible.  We must effectively thwart criminal or catastrophic events well before they threaten our shores.  Therefore, we have requested 6 Maritime Safety and Security Teams, comprising nearly 500 active duty personnel, as well as 26 more Port Security Response Boats and staffing for small boat stations.
Fourth, to protect critical infrastructure and enhance force
protection, we must take measures to be consistent with the Administration's Critical Infrastructure and Protection Program.  We have requested $51 million for AT/FP, with specific enhancements to physical infrastructure, cyber-security, personal protective equipment, and firearms.
Fifth, to increase domestic and international outreach, we must
strengthen partnerships and strategic relationships at home and abroad. Maritime security is an all-hands evolution.  We can't do it alone.  We will need effective security plans for commercial vessels, offshore structures, and waterfront facilities.  We must prepare anti-terrorism contingency plans and the exercises to test them.  We must work with the International Maritime Organization to assist us in improving security by pressing our borders outward.  We are asking for 110 contingency response planners to help accomplish better outreach.

Strategy matters!

The Agents of the Strategy:
Strategy does no good, however, unless it is put into practice.  The principle agents of this strategy for maritime security will be the people of units like Activities New York.  Aggressive leadership at commands such as this is vital to a national strategy for providing security to a strong and prosperous nation.  They proved that on September 11th and every day since. Last week, together with Secretary Mineta's Chief of Staff, Mr. John Flaherty, I had the great honor of bestowing upon the members of Activities
New York a token of recognition on behalf of the Secretary of Transportation and the President.
We have several of those people with us today.  I have asked a few of them to join us as representatives of the crews who serve alongside them.
Rear Admiral Dick Bennis, who retired last Friday from his post as
Commander, Activities New York is with us today. He has had a distinguished career as a Coast Guard officer, and none of it more distinguished than the past six months directing operations in the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center.  The outpouring of affection for him as he left New York was something to behold.   And just an hour ago, Secretary Mineta honored him personally with the Transportation Department's Distinguished Service Medal.
Rear Admiral Bennis, will you please stand?  Thank you for your
splendid leadership and good luck with your new responsibilities at the Transportation Security Administration.
We also have two members of his command with us today...Lieutenant Michael Day...and Chief Boatswain's Mate Jamie Wilson...who helped coordinate waterside rescue efforts in the three days following the disaster.  They staged the safe docking and loading of more than 100 volunteer vessels that evacuated nearly 1 million civilians from Manhattan in the first eight hours.  They stayed onboard a New York pilot boat without relief for those three days, arranging logistics and maintaining communications. They are Coast Guard heroes.  Gentlemen, please stand.
We also have with us a member of the National Strike Force.  He is BM1 Thomas Telehany of the Atlantic Strike Team.
Boats, please stand.
Along with teammates from the Pacific and Gulf Strike Teams, his job was to determine if dangerous health conditions existed within structures surrounding Ground Zero on behalf of rescue workers, and to provide access by which representatives of financial firms could recover personal belongings, essential files and computer backup systems.  He and his teammates worked for two-and-a-half weeks at Ground Zero.
When I visited his shipmates working on Capitol Hill, a police officer told me that, if it weren't for the organizational and leadership of the Coast Guard Strike Team members, he and his colleagues would have been long gone! Thank you all, gentlemen. If you press them, these sailors will tell you how tired they were
from the hard work they did.  They will also tell you that they will never tire of doing that good work.
Like the crew of the Eagle before them, they have climbed to the top of the bluff, where they have chosen to stand firm in the face of fire. I could not be more proud of them, the units they represent, or the units just like theirs all around the country.
The Need for Strong Faith:
But I think we will need more than strategy and pride to sustain us through the difficult times ahead.  I think we'll need a little bit of old fashioned faith.
I'm sure many of you have heard the story about the traveling
medical supply salesman, who ran out of gas before he could reach the next town. He had to walk the few miles to the next gas station.  The only thing in his car that would hold enough gasoline was a bedpan.
He took the bedpan and walked on to the station, and returned with it filled to the brim with gas.  As he carefully emptied the gas into his tank, a passerby stopped to see if he needed help.  The passerby couldn't help noticing what the traveler was using to fill his tank.  He looked up, scratching his head, and exclaimed,
"Now, that's what I call FAITH!"
Ladies and gentlemen, the nation has been through tremendous trials during the past year-as has our service.  The challenges of a changed world will remain before us well into the future.  These challenges, as the President has repeatedly told us, remain URGENT-and must be afforded our full attention.
It is far from clear how many people will be seriously affected by the events of September 11th, or how long those effects may linger.  We have all watched many programs on TV describing people with recurring nightmares, or experiencing an inability to return to anything like a normal life.
Several months after the attacks, surveys found nearly half the residents of lower Manhattan-and as many as 1 in 4 Americans nationwide-suffer from trouble sleeping or from nervous anxiety.
Where do we turn to bind such wounds?  I offer that we should seek positive memories and a strong spiritual faith.
We're all really trying to understand good and evil at levels deeper than most of us have ever had to do before.
In response, we have come together in unity as a nation-a unity not experienced since World War II.  The strains of "God Bless America" have sounded from nearly every place of spiritual worship, nearly every official ceremony, and nearly every public gathering. Our national pride and our faith in God, in freedom, and in our fellow Americans have not been so strong in many years.
Sometimes, despite calls for urgency, I wonder if this faith is already waning.  I wonder if we will allow the desire for material things and our comfort in complacency to settle in, just as the terrorists hope we will do. I wonder if we can sustain our faith in what we know to be right.  I wonder if we can sustain our patriotic zeal to protect our interests as a nation.These things must not be left to chance.
about the hero's need for faith in accomplishing great things.  He turns to the legends of King Arthur and similar stories about adventurous knights having to pass a test of faith by walking across an invisible bridge, made of a long knife set on its edge-and this one was very sharp.
Many of you may feel like you've been there in the past year.
I have seen the Hero with 40,000 faces.  There are several hundred of those faces here in this room today.
I expect all of us together to rise to the challenge of sustaining our faith in what we know to be right...rise to the challenge of remaining keenly vigilant...rise to the challenge of upholding the State of the Coast Guard through difficult days ahead.

Conclusion:
So, what is the State of the Coast Guard today, you ask?  You've
heard from the President.  You've heard from Secretary Mineta.  You've heard from me.  Ask yourselves.
In closing, I'd like to share with you the answer to that question from one of our newest recruits. This young Seaman graduated from boot camp just after September 11th, went on to attend "A" school, and is now stationed at a support command in Alaska, waiting proudly and with great anticipation to pin on her first set of crows.  One of my staff recently asked her opinion on the state of the Coast Guard.
This is what she said:
"I love the Coast Guard.  It is my second family.  Of course, there are days when you wish liberty would come sooner.  But that's life. ...I have met so many people who have so many talents.  I am amazed by how much talent the Coast Guard has.  And the people I see with the most talent [are] the non-rates.  These are people who are extremely underestimated.  The majority of E-2s and E-3s are so full of excitement for the Guard.  We are the new generation, and I am excited to see what we have to bring to the table in the future.
"The Coast Guard in my opinion is the GREATEST service in the world. And I am proud to be a member of it.  I may not see the awesome things we do everyday, or be part of a huge rescue.  But I know I am a vital part of the crew."
Wow!  The wisdom of the young!  That's exactly how I feel!  I hope you do, too. If you want a shot of adrenaline, just head for the Coast Guard Academy or Cape May.  These young people will make your heart sing!
It is incumbent upon every one of us as leaders to encourage that
enthusiasm, and to draw from it the kind of energy and vitality that it will take to continue the transformation of the Coast Guard into the 21st century, while we meet the difficult circumstances of the day. More importantly, we must lead them to remain eternally vigilant, so that we are never again surprised by an enemy bearing down on us through the fog!
Secretary Mineta has shown that kind of vigilance and leadership.  I am continuously inspired by his energy and vitality directed towards securing our nation's prosperity through a strong, vibrant, and safe transportation system.
Mr. Secretary, please stand and let us thank you for your leadership. We, who work in this town, know he has a strong team to support him, too. John, Sean, Genie, Donna, Ken, Phyllis and other members of the Office of the Secretary...you're the best team in the Department we've ever had.  Your enthusiastic interest in and support to the missions of the Coast Guard have a measurable impact on the state of the Coast Guard each and every day.
I want to take just a moment to recognize the exemplary leadership of the officers, chiefs, and warrant officers in command of our Coast Guard field units.  You have my eternal respect for the guidance that you provide day in and day out to the people who help make us the world-class service that Secretary Mineta talks about.
Commander Lynn Henderson, the Executive Officer at MSO Chicago, was presented the Witherspoon Inspirational Leadership Award today.  And EMC Jerome Rider of CGC DECISIVE is this year's MCPO Angela M. McShan Inspirational Leadership Award winner. Would both of you please stand?
...Congratulations and thank you for your superb daily leadership.
Master Chief Patton, my hat is off to you, for your splendid
leadership during the past four years.  I am indebted to you for your wisdom, your counsel, your enthusiasm for the well-being of our people.  You have demonstrated in your professional and personal life just how important it is for the Coast Guard to remain committed to her people.  You speak often of our legacy and our traditions.  You, my dear friend...are that heritage.
Master Chief Ja Good, congratulations to you as our next Master
Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard.
Ladies and Gentlemen, you will soon have a new Commandant, too.  The Secretary has selected and the President has nominated Vice Admiral Tom Collins to be your new service chief.  He will relieve me on the 30th of May.  He is a gifted leader in whom I have the deepest confidence.  Our Coast Guard will be in good hands.
This is the fourth opportunity I've had to report to you on the state of this magnificent organization.  I'm delighted to report on this final occasion that so many things are going the way we want them to go.
PUB ONE is filled with wonderful stories and quotes from our past.  One of them, the Annual Report of the U.S. Lifesaving Service in 1885, describes our timeless devotion to duty:
"These poor plain men, dwellers upon the lonely sands of Hatteras, took their lives in their hands, and, at the most imminent risk, crossed the most tumultuous sea...and all for what?  That others might live to see home and friends."
Tuesday of this week marked the 100th year since the death of one of our greatest heroes, Joshua James.  He exemplified the description I've just read to you.  On the monument that marks his grave are etched these words from Scripture:
"Greater love hath no man than this-that he lay down his life for his friends."
Ladies and gentlemen, Coast Guard men and women do such things every day...every day.  I am humbled and truly honored to serve among you.

Semper Paratus...and God Speed!

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