 As we celebrate the 236th birthday of our Navy, I want to urge every member of our Navy family to take this opportunity to reflect on the last year and the incredible contributions you have made. Our Navy is globally deployed. Our Navy is globally engaged. The range of operations and just the wide geography of our fleet shows how important a strong Navy is to the continued safety and security of our country. Our Navy has been the ultimate guarantor of freedom, not just for the United States, but for the world. This is as true today as it has been any time throughout history. Whenever and wherever freedom of the seas is threatened, we will respond. In the last year, several operations stand out, demonstrating the skill, professionalism, and the value of our Navy, where they're meeting national maritime commitments by providing direct support to coalition operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, where they're responding to Japan's earthquake and tsunami, or bringing to justice the world's most wanted terrorist. Time and again, our Navy, all of our Navy, has shown its strengths and our nation's will to empower democracy worldwide. Across the Navy, aboard ships and ashore, every sailor and every civilian has stepped up to meet every challenge. And one of these is the challenge we have to become energy independent. We have reached major milestones in creating more efficient bases, in testing biofuels in our aircraft and vehicles, and in implementing new and more efficient ways of using energy that makes us better warfighters and better stewards of America's resources. You, our sailors, our Navy civilians, and your families, continue to build on a legacy of national service more than 235 years in the making. You embody the honor, the courage, the commitment, that has been the hallmark of the U.S. Navy since 1775. And I thank you. I thank you for defending our country. I thank you for the dedication you and your families demonstrate every day. And I thank you for being part of the most formidable expeditionary fighting force the world has ever known.