 Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Welcome to today's ceremony for the transfer of authority over the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility from Joint Task Force Red Hill to the Navy Closure Task Force Red Hill. Today Joint Task Force Red Hill officially completes its mission to safely remove 104.7 million gallons of fuel from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. JTF Red Hill will transfer authority to Navy Closure Task Force Red Hill. In so doing, Navy Closure Task Force assumes responsibility for safety and security of the facility and lead efforts for the Department of Defense to execute the permanent closure and long-term remediation of the site. To distinguish the importance of this ceremony, we are honored to have Admiral John Aquilino, Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, and Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of the United States Pacific Fleet as our presiding officers. We are joined by a number of civilian and military distinguished guests to include Governor and Mrs. Green, Senator Hirono and Mr. Oshima, the Honorable Del Toro, and so many others. A warm welcome to you all. Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the entrance of the official party and remain standing for the posting of the colors, singing of the National Anthem and Hawaii Ponoi, and the invocation. Parade the colors. Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming Like its red glum's bursting that our flare Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave Retire the colors. Kumohina will now give a traditional invocation to our ancestors. O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave kia analunui akea mo ananui akea wa ike aho ike ananui oka iini kanuue kuliama oei oo ho haliakunai lewi kamakaninui kamakaniki kamakani hea hea au makua naki a iokopome kiao noo kana au aou kana au ha ha ha kana au pono kana au mae mae kana au aloha ke aloho naku puna noo lunapau mai Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. Welcome Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Aquilino. Okay, this is a great day. I want to thank the Governor for coming. I want to thank the Governor for all of his support as we work through this incredibly challenging event. Senator Hirono, you are always a tremendous advocate to both of you for your mentorship and guidance. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Is the speaker here? Mr. Speaker, did you make it? Okay, I want to especially call out the speaker because as we took this mission on, I spent a lot of time with him as it applied to getting his guidance on how to take this incredibly difficult mission on and do it in a way that would be recognized from the United States military through the lens of respect for this amazing state, respect for the land, respect for the water, respect for the people, and from our perspective, for those of us in uniform who live here to make sure that all understood that we too are a part of this community and its respect for all of our members in the Department of Defense as well. Those were foundational efforts and guidance that we started with. To both the Kyos, thanks for being with us, both of you, for this entire journey. We thank you for the blessings, and we thank you for being a part of this incredible ceremony. Okay, a couple of key thanks. First, to the Joint Task Force and to the Joint Force. When the Secretary assigned this mission, we took it incredibly seriously, but we pulled in everyone. So for the component commanders, thank you for the immediate donation of forces and for the incredible professionalism that all have taken on. Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and the Navy as a big part of the Joint Task Force. This has been a team effort from minute one, which is why this transition is so important because it is nothing more than a continuity and a continuation of the same difficult mission that will be designed and executed flawlessly. So, first, Amal Wade. As my single-handed pick to take this on, there were none better, and you talk about an incredibly well-planned event executed flawlessly. Okay, to my brother, Amal Paparo, who picked it up all along the way, provided the forces and directed the continued flawless execution. To Amal Barnett, who has taken it on and been side-by-side with Amal Wade for the entire way. That team linkage and that teamwork is what gives me the confidence as we transition now to Task Force, Navy, we all know what Wright looks like. We're all prepared to execute, again, continued flawless execution is what we have to do here. So, Mr. Secretary, I know Amal Paparo and I have spoken to you about this. We've both briefed the Secretary of Defense and recommended transition. All conditions have been met. Everyone knows what Wright looks like, and I have complete confidence the Navy Task Force will pick up and finish the rest of the job through the lens of deconstruction, closure, and remediation. To Ms. Ho, did she make it? Ms. Kathy, thank you for the partnership with the State of Hawaii. To our EPA teammates, thank you for the partnership through the federal government. But again, I think what we've built here is a model of how to do this right in Hawaii. And ultimately, we hope that the community has increased trust in the Department of Defense. And that's what it's about, okay? This is about teamwork, to do the right things, and to do the right things right. So, thank you very much for all your hard work. To the Joint Force, you continue to impress me. And again, I am in awe of what you do each and every day for our nation, for the State of Hawaii, and for our service members. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Joint Task Force Red Hill Commander Vice Admiral John Wade. Governor Green, Senator Hirono, Mr. Oshima, Secretary Del Toro, Admiral Mrs. Aquilino, Secretary Berger, Admiral Paparo, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon, and aloha. Following the unfortunate events of 2021, the Secretary of Defense and Admiral Aquilino established Joint Task Force Red Hill, and they directed me to lead an effort to safely and expeditiously defuel the Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility and to also rebuild trust with the people of Hawaii and our military families. To prepare for this critical and no-fail mission, I immediately met with several impacted military families, community members, and elected officials to better understand their concerns. And simultaneously, I conducted self-study. I read books, visited museums, talked story with many wonderful people to absorb as much as I could about the culture, the history, the tradition of this great place and its people. And over the last 18 months, I've continued to learn more and I'd like to briefly share with you two items, their significance and how they tie in to the defueling mission. The first is Kapokaki. It's the traditional name for the ridge over my right-hand shoulder where the Red Hill facility lies across the harbor. For over 1,000 years, Native Hawaiians have come to this area to get their water, their food, to worship, to bury their dead. And in the Native Hawaiian culture, there is a spiritual connection between all things, people, land, water, vegetation, and wildlife, along with a sacred responsibility to be good stewards of the environment. The other is Aloha Spirit. It's actually codified in law in the state of Hawaii, which is the coordination of heart and mind. It's the obligation to serve others for the greater good, to respect and emote good feelings to all, everybody, and then to work hard to fulfill your duties and your responsibilities. So my headquarters is right over there on Fort Island and at the start of every morning for the last 18 months, I've looked at Kapokaki. I've reflected about all those who have been impacted from the 21 mishaps. The central relationship and the connections between all, the importance to serve others with Aloha and the commitment to work tirelessly. Kapokaki and Aloha Spirit, their meaning, their symbolism, are what drove me and my team each and every day. The removal of the majority of fuel from above the aquifer, over 104 million gallons on an accelerated timeline, took a whole of government and a team of teams approach. I am grateful to so many. First, to all those that provided the resources and support necessary to execute the mission. Congress, specifically the Hawaii delegation, Senators Hirono, Shots, Representatives Case and Takuta, along with my bosses, the Secretary of Defense, and Amalakalino, plus all the service components and their staffs. And then next, my team joined Task Force Redhill, those who planned, trained for, and then executed the mission, composed of incredible and dedicated men and women from all services, active duty, reserve, guard, and government civilians, plus hundreds of multiple industry sector personnel, both consultants and hired contractors from the fuel, environment, safety, and repair sectors. They were numerous other Department of Defense organizations and agencies, but especially multiple Navy commands, too many to name them all, who directly supported us, along with U.S. Transportation Command, U.S. Cyber Command, Defense Logistics Agency, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Governor Green, Mayor Blanchiardi and their staffs, they provided exceptional support, not only to me, but also to my team and opened doors and avenues with cities, state, county officials, and organizations that were necessary for our safe execution. Federal and state oversight bodies, most notably Congress, the Governor's Water Committee, and the Hawaii House Special Committee on Redhill, asked challenging questions and provided exceptional feedback. I'm also grateful to the volunteers of numerous information sharing groups who were incredibly helpful, most notably the DeFueling Information Sharing Forum, a combination of elected officials, functional, technical, and cultural experts who provided invaluable advice and feedback. I also want to acknowledge the media. They asked tough but fair questions, but importantly, they also served as an information conduit that helped us explain what we were doing and why for greater transparency. And then finally, to our military families, civic groups, and the general public, the questions and feedback we received provided us an understanding of their concerns. It gave us purpose and meaning for all that we had to do. I'm telling you from the bottom of my heart, it drove us to work harder, and honestly, it made us safer. To all of you, thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Although we have safely removed over 104 million gallons from above the aquifer, there is still so much more to do with respect to the Red Hill problem set. There will be new challenges. There will be new risks. But I've known Abel Barnett for years. I know him both personally and I know him professionally. He and his closure task force understand the enormity and the importance of their mission to safely and expeditiously close and permanently decommission the facility to ensure clean water and to conduct the necessary long-term environmental remediation. And likewise, the Defense Health Agency understands their obligation to continue to address health issues of those impacted. Ladies and gentlemen, while I sincerely wish the circumstances were different, I want you to know that it has been a privilege to serve the people of Hawaii and our military families and to do something important for the environment. My sincere hope is that what we were able to do and while we're still not finished that allows all of us, us collectively, everybody here to move forward and to continue the important healing process. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you, mahalo, and God bless. Thank you very much. Please rise for the Joint Task Force Red Hill Relinquishment of Authority. Attention orders. Joint Task Force Red Hill at Fort Island, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii is relinquishing authority for the Red Hill Joint Operating Area effective 28 March 2024. Authority, Department of Defense letter dated 27 March 2024. Navy Closure Task Force Red Hill will now assume authority. Execute order issued 8 January 2024 directed commander United States Pacific Fleet to establish Navy Closure Task Force Red Hill. Upon completion of defueling by Joint Task Force Red Hill, Navy Closure Task Force will assume command and control of all Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility related operations to execute the permanent closure of the facility in long-term environmental remediation. Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated and welcome the Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Carlos Del Toro. Good afternoon, everyone. Aloha. Before I begin my formal comments, I'd like to ask that you just indulge me for one moment and bow your heads in silence for all the brave men who fought on this courageous ship, the mighty Mo, throughout the war. And I also ask you at the same time to keep in your hearts and prayers the many men and women who today serve in the United States Navy and Marine Corps around the globe. 30,000 Marines deployed all over the world, third of our fleet deployed, and many of them serving in the Red Sea where for the past four months they have courageously battled daily attacks on the part of the Houthis. Please bow your heads for just one moment. Thank you. So, let me begin with a warm welcome and aloha to our Governor Josh Green. We are honored to have you here, Governor, and I'm appreciative of you taking the time to join us at the delicious Duke Bistro for dinner last night as well, too. We had wonderful conversation about the many challenges that lie ahead. We are grateful for the support that you have given us in the past and confident of the support that we will together journey together on this path moving forward in the future. Also, aloha and welcome to our dear Senator Maisie Hirono, who works tirelessly, both here and back in Washington, D.C., to advance the priorities of the people of Hawaii alongside her husband, Layton. Thank you both. I also want to extend, although she is not here right now, thanks to Congressman Jill Takuta, who represents Hawaii's second district and serves as yet another stalwart leader of this great state. These leaders, alongside Senator Brian Schatz and Congressman Ed Case, fight all day in and day out to continue moving the aloha state forward. Throughout my lifetime, I have always had and held a special fondness for Hawaii, especially its people and its long-held traditions. My wife, Betty and I, honeymooned here, and we were just 21 years old, mere babies. Later, we frequently brought our children here throughout my years in the military and later when I served in the private sector as well. I know that I might not live here, but in many ways I consider Hawaii home as well. We shared with our children the love we have always held in our hearts to the people in the land. And so I am truly honored to be with you all here today, representing the President, the Secretary of Defense, and Chairman and Joint Chiefs of Staff. Admiral Arcolino, Admiral Paparo, thank you for your leadership and teamwork. Does the Navy and the Joint Force work together to tackle this challenge? I also want to thank Kahu, Kikoa, and Kumohina for blessing us in this event with your presence and your participation. We are also honored to have our esteemed elders, Uncle Bruce and Auntie Kay Hill, who I was blessed to spend the day with yesterday at that beautiful fish pond. And I'm so thankful for the vision of our leadership here in the Navy to participate with the community of Hawaii, to clear that fish pond, to bring it back to life, and to be able to share it with future generations of both service members and the people of Hawaii so that we can always respect the traditions and the many stories that have been told there and many stories that are yet to be told. Vice Admiral Wade, thank you for your leadership of the Joint Task Force to safely defuel the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility and prepare it for permanent closure. Your stewardship of this team as the Navy's operational commander has truly set the standard for the Navy's consistent and continued commitment to doing right by our service member and the people of Hawaii. I will always be honored to know that I nominated you to the Secretary of Defense to lead this special mission, and I am truly pleased that both you and your wife, Kathleen, have contributed so much to this effort. Rear Admiral Barnett, thank you for the time and work you also dedicate to Hawaii as Commander Navy Region Hawaii and for all that you have already contributed to efforts to defuel and close Red Hill. And importantly, thank you for the commitment you have made to the work that you're about to begin as you lead Navy Closure Task Force Red Hill. I know that you are ready for this task. Please know that you have the same focused attention and support of the entire Department of the Navy that Vice Admiral Wade has had as you now lead the efforts to thoroughly clean, permanently decommission, and ultimately close this facility. For more than a century, the military has been honored to call Hawaii home. Our work here helps us understand and value the environment, the air, the soil, the water, and most importantly, the people of Hawaii. We recognize our solemn responsibility to protect Hawaii's environment and natural resources. Collectively, we all bear responsibility and commitment to care for and protect this beautiful place. As we all know too well, the original fuel spill that led to the eventual contamination of the Red Hill well took place in May of 2021. Shortly after the second spill in November, I as then the new Secretary immediately directed all operations to cease at Red Hill. Secretary Austin then stood up, Joint Task Force Red Hill to defuel and then close, permanently close, Red Hill. And the team here, Navy Region Hawaii, the Joint Task Force, federal, state, local officials, communities, families, native Hawaiians all came together to make things right. Together as a community, we worked hard because it was our responsibility to do so for the benefit of all Hawaiians. And for all our service members, and for all the future generations of those who will call Hawaii their home. Today, we are marking the transfer of authority of Red Hill. But more importantly, we are pledging continued collective commitment because there is still much work to be done, as has been said before. Seamlessly, from Commander Joint Task Force to Commander Navy Closure Task Force, we transfer the charge of the task and with it the responsibility to always be laser focused on the health and safety of the people, the community and the environment. For Admiral Barnett, you have our continued trust and confidence to lead Navy Closure Task Force Red Hill in the months and years ahead. And as we move forward, the Department of Navy remains steadfast in our commitment to the people of Hawaii. We recognize the deep ties that bind us to this beautiful land and its people. And I am proud that we are strongly building back the trust that is essential to us moving forward together. And we remain dedicated to engaging with the community in respectful ways throughout the rest of this process. Ensuring that all stakeholders remain informed and involved. Together we will build a stronger future, one that safeguards national security, our communities and the beautiful environment of Hawaii. In closing, I ask God to grant our nation, our Navy and the people of Hawaii fur winds and following seas in all these endeavors. Mahalo nilo ah. Thank you. Please welcome the Commander of the United States Pacific Fleet, Admiral Paparo. Aloha, my dear friends. So much work has brought us to this day and I must recognize this. In the United States Navy, the very highest compliment that can be given to a unit is Bravo Zulu. Short, concise to the point, recognizing that the mission has been accomplished. Many hundreds of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, civilians and senior NCOs and flag officers have brought us to this day right now. Your work has typified professionalism, intellect, but most of all the heart to do what is right and what is just. And in passing this Bravo Zulu, we give you the very highest compliment. To my dear friend, Steve Barnett and Navy Closure Task Force Redhill, you have got the nearly impossible task of improving upon perfection, but that you will. Steve Barnett, you have been handpicked for this moment. 33 years of service as an engineer, as a leader, has brought you to this moment right now. But you won't do so alone. You'll do so with the experience of many of the members of Joint Task Force Redhill. You'll do so with your deep friendship with John Wade, another leader, I revere. And you will do so with the teamwork of all of the sailors and all of the civilians that you'll execute your task. You won't be alone. Our eyes are clear. Our hearts are full. Our duty is sacred. And we all draw from the deep wellspring of aloha, of goodwill and of the help of everyone in the community. And if you are with an earshot of my voice, you are a part of this. And together we'll improve upon the exceptional work of JTF Redhill. And we will do what is right, what is just, what is our kuleana. Mahalo to all. Navy Closure Task Force Commander, we're Admiral Barnett. Aloha and good afternoon. Governor Green, Senator, SecNAV, ASN, Abrils, friends, family, distinguished and distinguished guests, especially to my Navy Closure Task Force. Thank you for being here. Safe, deliberate, engaged, committed. Safe, deliberate, engaged, committed. This is our motto. Every morning when I wake up, I recite it. When I discuss our mission with everyone, whether it's my staff, elected officials, the community, our motto is based on the principles that we as a Navy Task Force will operate on. Vice Admiral Wade, my friend, Mahalo to you and to the JTF Redhill team. You did a great job de-fueling over 104 million gallons of fuel from the facility. You did it safely, removing the most pressing threat to the aquifer. And you set the conditions for the Navy Closure Task Force to close, like you said, to immediate the facility and more importantly to continue the healing process. Our participation with you since your initial operating capability in this transition period has allowed us to learn, to learn from the experts, to learn from the whole Joint Task Force. Like everyone has said, you've established high standards for us to maintain. But I'm confident, I'm confident that the Navy Closure Task Force is prepared to take this responsibility and the momentous effort to decommission the facility. As you know, for more than 80 years, the facility has kept our ship sailing, it's kept our aircraft flying, it's enabled the United States of America to safeguard our nation and its most important assets, our people. But right now, today, it's time for us to move to the next phase. To do this, Navy Closure Task Force, we will safely and we will expeditiously decommission this facility. We will continue the long-term environmental remediation of the Red Hill and the Aquifer to protect Hawaii's most important resource, the water. Make no mistake about it, this will take a tremendous amount of hard work, it's going to take a tremendous amount of dedication and just as much commitment. But we're ready. At each step, we'll continue to work with our state and federal partners. The Hawaii Department of Health, thank you for being here. The US EPA, thank you for your help. The engagements and the partnerships that we have with our stakeholders, the elders, our Kapuna, the community, our military and civilian families, and our workforce. You're all vital to ensure our mission success. I want you to hear this from me right now and let me assure you, your voices will be heard. I've been told and I've learned that when the Hawaiian community speaks about making things right and getting things back into alignment, we should come from a place of truth. This is something that I take to heart because alignment and truth are key to the healing process. As a task force, we will be aligned with our Navy Corps values of honor, courage and commitment. This will make us make the right decisions that positively impact our environment, our Ohana, our country and our Navy. Our intentions and our actions must be congruent for true alignment. As our North Star for Truth, we will heed the great words of the poet Greenville Kleiser. He said it best, our desire for the truth must transcend all minor considerations. We must be honest and severe in our self-appraisal. We must realize our own needs and we must learn the art of learning. Navy Closure Task Force. My command philosophy remains the same from Navy Region Hawaii. We will do the right thing, we will be loyal to ourselves, we'll be loyal to our family, we'll be loyal to the community and we'll be loyal to the team. Just as importantly, we will take care of a holistic well-being. As the late John Lewis said, don't give up, don't give in, keep the faith and keep your eyes on the prize. We know what that is. I thank everyone for attending today's ceremony. I wish you the very best. I thank you in advance for your support and your guidance. Mahalo. Ladies and gentlemen, please rise as Kahukukua gives us the benediction. Aloha, kiaikaku, aloha. Instead of looking at me, would I encourage you guys, you can bow your heads if you'd like to, but I'd like you to look at the mountains. We've been looking at this whole time. There's more mountains this direction. And our land is very important for us as people of Hawaii and we're going to continue to ask God in this transfer authority ceremony to just be ponno. I would love for each one of you to think about wherever you live and we're born and raised and the importance of that is and who helps you take care of your land. And for us, we just want to have a say in our land and the current military are doing exactly that. Just helping us to understand we're all in this together. Maybe we could write a song about that. So I'm going to ask Kahukua, I'm going to ask the Lord's blessings upon us in what we do as we move forward in this transition. Let's pray together, please. Let's pray together, please. Kahukua, as we look to the land around us, it's a very special place for all of us who are here in Hawaii. Kahukua, not just because there's not much of it, but it's a very prized part as we have heard of our past, of our present and into our future. So Kahukua, we want to make sure that we give you all that is important to us and that is those who have come before us, that is for us today and into our legacy, our children. So today, Kapuka ki, we mahalo, what today we have known as Red Hill. This space has helped us divide our makupuni in its jurisdiction but it unites us in a situation such as this, no matter who we are. So Kahukua, we ask that you will give your divine strength, your guidance, your encouragement to this Navy Closure Task Force, Red Hill. Help us to continue to heal our land, to remind us all that we all have kuleana, we all have responsibility and to do it with honor and courage and commitment, whatever role we play here in Hawaii. So today, we pono and mahalo, Admiral John Wade and our Joint Task Force, Red Hill, as they have completed a great mission and Kumuhina and I were asked to pray when we did this original blessing. Kahukua, we were asked to be sure that we could ask your guidance, Kahukua, in moving all of that fuel out of Red Hill and now, Kahukua, we come to ask once again for that your health, your strength, your guidance will now be with Admiral Steve Barnett and our Navy Closure Task Force, Red Hill. And so we pule this blessing. Kahukua, we will be remiss to we want to honor, respect and honor those who were truly affected by this, whether it was sickness or health challenges or family disagreements, whatever it was, Kahukua, today we ask for forgiveness so that we can move forward to the completeness of this task. We pule this blessing with much aloha. Amen. Amen. Amen. Mahalo. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's ceremony. Please take a piece of fruit and some water with you as you leave and thank you all for coming.