 Ladies and gentlemen, Admiral John Braynard, the 30th Chief of Naval Operations. Going pretty well so far, huh? Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for coming today and good morning. Secretary Mavis, Admiral Ruffett, thank you very much for your support, getting me here for your mentorship, and for all of you who've taught me, and most of all for your trust during these years. I appreciate that very much. The fact that the President and the Secretary of Defense would nominate me in the Congress would confirm me as the 30th Chief of Naval Operations. 2011 was a big three-zero year because this is also our 30th wedding anniversary, so it makes it pretty easy to remember some things in a year. As Admiral Ruffett and Secretary Mavis said, it's terrific to see our international military leaders here today. Thank you very much for joining us. Your partnership is so incredibly important, and I look forward to seeing some of you at the International Sea Power Symposium next month. Folks, I understand the traditional role of the incoming officer. You get up, I did that, dress up, so far so good, I showed up, and if I do this right, in short order, I'll shut up. This morning, I had a G-Wiz moment. I drove through the gate out here, and boy, what a flashback, 40 years ago almost. I passed through the same gate as a midshipman selected. A skinny kid from Western Pennsylvania from a steel town, horned room glasses, a bloody holly look, hair too long. My sister-in-law says squirrel bait, I don't know what that means yet, but that's what she said that equals. And all I wanted to do was not be in the steel mill. That was my plan, you know, you got to reach certain goals easily. And I didn't know, I knew what I didn't want to do, but I didn't know what I wanted to do, and I thought, well, this naval academy thing in this Navy will be a good enabler, and I'll take off, and well, folks, I haven't figured it all out yet, but here's where you go, here's where you end up. How about that? Now how does this happen? How do you get here? I'll tell you, it's not possible without parents who couldn't be with us today, who taught me hard work, humility, honesty, and the blue-colored values of those of us that live in the Pittsburgh area. I had great loving siblings here today, check it out, make sure I do this right. Four sisters, anybody has four sisters, you know what I'm talking about. And the younger brother who's gone all the time and I couldn't teach him anything. But most importantly, perhaps, and many of you in the military know how this works, you got to marry up. You definitely got to marry up. And in Darling, I found a loving, giving, patient, underlying, dedicated woman, dedicated to me, to the family, and to the Navy that she loves and all her sailors and families that she loves, and who's agreed to take one more job. She has raised amazing children who we drag all over the world, Jonathan, Brian, and Sarah, who all continue to serve in the Navy or our country in their own ways today, each choosing to serve their own way. But as we all know, we can't be here. I look across the audience and I see mentors, mentors for 36 years, people who have taken the time to nurture me. Again, patients and many who took a chance on this young top here. From my first of department heads, Steve Arndt, now that's patients. My first CEO, Porter McNeil, all the way to Admiral Ruffhead, who brought me along in Admiral Mullen, who also brought me along in my recent years. But it's also pretty important when you come from an institution like this to graduate with the best class ever, the flower children of Class of 75. Now that Admiral Ruffhead is not my boss anymore, just another four star, and haven't been accused of being his only vice, I've got to tell you something. I talked to Alan and that is not what he says. I'm not his only vice. Sir, a few words. I want to thank you again. You've been an amazing boss and mentor. Again, great patients. Thank you for leading me, for leading our Navy and all that you've done. It's wonderful that this is, in fact, the Omega for you and Alan, where we all began. Alan, you are really the finest first lady of the Navy and the best ambassador that I have seen for our country, leading our spouses and our families. Thank you again so much, and darling, and thank you very much. Well, the last two years as a vice, I've had a part in crafting, all Navy's navigation plan for the future. I take a fix today. I look at it and I say, we're pretty much on course, and we're not in shore water. Things are good. And Ruffhead explained it, and I think he's done a magnificent job. My plan is to keep it that way. But I know we've got uncharted waters ahead. I see storm warnings out there, and I see the clouds forming. Folks were in for some heady weather, I think out ahead. Unfortunately, in a former life, they say you prepare to die, and we would submerge and avoid it all together. But this is not going to work. Our first step, we've got to rig for heady weather. And when you do that, and you're out of sea, the first principle is you've got to ensure the safety of the crew. Very important. You've got to establish a reliable gyro that you know will get you where you need to go. That you can steer to, and you've got to stay on course. My priorities, our course, are one, we've got to remain ready to meet the current challenges today. We've got to build a relevant and capable future fleet. And we have got to continue to care for our sailors, their civilians, our civilians, and their families. And recruit and nurture a motivated, a relevant, and a diverse force. Now we'll approach our challenges and we'll implement our changes that will have to be done in the future with three tenants in mind. One, war fighting first. We have got to be able to apply our craft to fight win if we're called upon. We will build the ability to win tomorrow as well. Two, we have got to operate forward. That is where we're most effective. We provide example rough head, as Secretary said, an offshore option. We will have access to the maritime crossroads of the world. And three, we've got to be ready. We've got to be ready for our assigned missions. We will harness the teamwork and the talent and the imagination of this wonderful diverse force that we have. But we have to be responsible to employ the resources that we're given. And we have a professional and a moral obligation to uphold the covenant, to weave all with our sailors, civilians, and our families. Ultimately, we'll give the President offshore options. No permission ship, no permission slip required. They'll be effective, they'll be efficient. Our solutions will be joined and the Marine Corps will remain our primary partner. Folks, I'm very excited to be the Chief of Naval Operations. If you're going to win any weather and you're on a ship, the best place to be is right on the bridge and steering. I'm confident we'll get through there. We'll stay on course. We'll need to be judicious, deliberate, and vigilant. And it's my honor and pleasure to lead these young men and women in the Navy and the world. I look forward to taking on the challenges with them and with you. And I thank you very much for coming today.