 Ladies and gentlemen, the leadership detail for the class of 2027. Midshipman candidates, rise. Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the arrival of the official party. Please remain standing for the national anthem. Ladies and gentlemen, Lieutenant Lee Chaplincourt, United States Navy. Family and friends of class of 2027, I invite you to join with me in your faith as I lead us in prayer and bless our plebs. Let us pray. Gracious and salve in the Lord, you who are eternal and who is strong to safe. We thank you for gathering us here today on a momentous occasion to witness our beloved sons and daughters fulfilling a goal as they begin their journey to be edified and forged to be leaders to serve and protect our nation and its people. Lord, this journey began many years ago with support and inspiration from various members of their family and communities. Lord, you have instilled within the passion to succeed and the grit to persevere through many challenges. Lord, we are mindful and thankful for the support received from moms and dads, brothers and sisters, grandparents and many family members and friends who influenced and provided them the anchor for their lives. Lord, as they embark on this journey, may they be assured of who they are and who they will become. May they see and achieve their full potential that you have made them. May they always remember the dedication and sacrifice made to achieve their dreams and goals. Grant them to be bold and courageous in the challenging moments, knowing that it will strengthen who they are and the character at which they will build. Lord, may they always guard their heart and mind. May they not be distracted in their journey so that in 47 months they will achieve their goal to be leaders, to lead our sailors and Marines and be a person of high moral and character. Lord bless our staff and mischief and leadership who will lead and guide them. Lord, provide them wisdom and discernment as they lead. And bless our family and friends who stand here witnessing the good that which they have achieved. Lord, always go before us and lead us the way. I pray in the name of the one who is always faithful. Amen. Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. The shipment candidates seats. Ladies and gentlemen, the officer in charge of the fourth class regiment, Captain Luis Gonzalez. Detailers, raise your right hand. Having been selected a member of the PLEAP Summit Detail, do you swear that you will train the candidates who stand before you to the best of your ability, that you will develop them into basically trained matrimony who are smartly disciplined, morally sound, mentally and physically fit, and thoroughly indoctrinated in love of country and a sense of honor, that you will demand of them and demonstrate by your own example the highest standards of personal conduct, honor, morality, and professional skill, that you will teach and exemplify the machibune ethos and that you ensure that they are well prepared to take their place as members of the brigade at the conclusion of their training. It is my distinct honor to introduce the 63rd Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy, Vice Admiral Sean Buck, United States Navy. Class of 27, family, friends, and Apolytans, welcome. Welcome back. I know some of you all have been on the yard for a couple of days, but it's my pleasure to welcome you to the Naval Academy and to our Naval Academy family officially this evening. 27, this oath ceremony marks the start of your incredible journey here in Annapolis, and although this might be the official start of your Naval Academy voyage, your journey to this point has demonstrated the qualities and character traits necessary for success here. Perseverance, drive, and commitment. One important passage from Reef Points, your detailers will soon have you learn, speaks to the determination that's required to succeed here at our Naval Academy, the kind of perseverance that's required of Navy and Marine Corps officers. This passage, Theodore Roosevelt's oft quoted man in the arena perfectly describes this perseverance. In his speech, President Roosevelt states, the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who airs, who comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming. 27, each of you standing here today could have attended any number of our nation's other top institutions, but you chose to come here to Annapolis for a variety of reasons. You made the choice to take the harder path, to challenge yourself and to commit yourself to your shipmates. The mission of the United States Naval Academy and to a cause much greater than yourself. During plebe summer and during your four years here at the Naval Academy, you will face countless challenges. Oftentimes you'll meet these challenges with success, but undoubtedly at other times you will air, you will stumble, you'll fall short. But with your grit and through your perseverance, you will continue to strive, you will grow and develop, and you'll be better for it. And in four short years you will be leaders of character in the world's greatest Navy and Marine Corps. Soon, each of you will raise your right hand and take the midshipment oath of office. And although for many of you this will be your first oath, it's not going to be your last. You will reaffirm this commitment at your commissioning in the spring of 2027 and throughout your naval career. I believe it's important to understand the rich tradition that's embedded in this oath of office and to internalize the meaning behind your commitment. In the early days of our nation, our founding fathers knew that in order for our young democracy to succeed, those that serve her would need to swear their allegiance, not to a king or a general, but to an idea. The idea foundational to our constitution, a notion of liberty and democracy so strong that it's greater than any one man or one woman. Each of you comes to the Naval Academy with your own unique life story, culture, and belief system. You represent all 50 states and all of our territories. The oath that you'll take today transcends all these differences. In a few short minutes, when you raise your right hand, you and your classmates, along with all those who have taken the oath before you, will be bound together by our collective allegiance to the Constitution. As the commandant recites the oath, please appreciate the significance of each and every word. And when you find yourself struggling throughout the summer and trust me, you're supposed to struggle, I want you to look to your left, I want you to look to your right and know that you are surrounded by brothers and sisters who have sworn to watch your back through thick and thin by raising their right hand along with you. Class of 2027, you're entering an institution and a profession with a history and legacy unlike any other. And when you doubt yourself this summer, remember that you've pledged yourself to defending an idea bigger than any one man or woman. And use that knowledge to pick yourself up and get back in the fight. If not for yourself, for the men and women standing next to you, and for the oath that you all have taken together. It's now my pleasure to introduce your 89th commandant of midshipmen, Colonel JP McDonough, who will administer your oath of office. International candidates from the class of 2027 rise. Raise your right hand. Having been admitted as a midshipman in the United States Naval Academy, do you swear or affirm to comply with all the regulations of the academy and do you take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose for evasion so help you God? Acknowledge the oath by responding I do. International candidates be seated. Class of 2027 rise. Raise your right hand and acknowledge the oath by responding I do. Having been appointed a midshipman in the United States Navy, do you solemnly asswear or affirm that you will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic? You will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. You take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion and you will well and faithfully discharge the use of the office of which you are about to enter so help you God. Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the playing of blue and gold. Ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing for the departure of the official party. Midshipman, your next formation is at 1915 at the designated formation areas. Midshipman desiring to meet with guests may do so along stribbling walk immediately to the rear. Signs that correspond to the first letter of your last name can be met by. Unaccompanied midshipmen may meet with Naval Academy supporters in the center of stribbling walk. Any midshipman and their family desiring a personal swearing-in ceremony may do so at this time. Please report to the Rotunda and Bancroft Hall if you desire to conduct your personal swearing-in ceremony in smoke hall. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the ceremony.