 Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all for coming today to the Navy ship naming announcement Today's briefing will consist of statements only there will be no questions in that no questions and answers following the statements Along with Secretary of the Navy Ray Mavis today. We are honored to be joined by second lady Dr. Jill Biden and her special guest her husband vice president Biden Senator Tom Carper and the tenant governor Matt Den Thank you all for being here today, and if you're already I will turn it over to Secretary Ray Mavis our 75th secretary of the Navy Well, thank you all for being here particularly want to thank Dr. Biden for being here senior senator from Delaware at Tom Carper and the lieutenant governor of Delaware Matt Den and Dr. Biden I understand you have brought your spouse with you I'm pleased to announce today You're one of our most advanced Navy platforms a fast attack nuclear submarine SS in 791 will be named USS Delaware The name Delaware has been prominent and honored throughout our great naval history But it is named that has been out of our fleet for too long, and I'm happy to change that today Seven ships have been named for the first state Stretching back to Navy's earliest days of wooden ships under sail the last USS Delaware was Navy's first Dreadnought a coal burning steam powered all big gun battleship but that Delaware decommissioned in 1923 Delaware will be part of the Virginia class Which are built to excel in traditional areas of submarine warfare such as against other submarines against surface targets against targets on land, but Delaware will have some nontraditional capabilities as well Gathering intelligence and delivering Navy SEALs undetected to their missions During her service, which will begin in 2018 Delaware may patrol the waters from the North Atlantic to the Western Pacific to under the Arctic ice Construction of the USS Delaware will begin next year and will be shared by two shipyards Huntington Ingalls in Virginia and general dynamics electric boat in Connecticut These submarines are a great success story They have been on our head of schedule and under budget This summer We commissioned another one of these great boats USS Mississippi well-named That submarine Set a record for the program's fastest delivery a Year ahead of schedule The Virginia class program has been a model for all our shipbuilding in 2008 the year before this administration began our fleet stood at 278 ships 38 ships fewer than on 9-11 2001 Well, we have turned that around while just three ships were built in 2008 We have in the last two years in spite of a more challenging fiscal environment put 42 ships under contract Most of them fixed price multi-year deals We've increased competition and oversight and we're on track to reach 300 ships before the end of the decade The Navy is unique in Constructing these incredibly complex and technologically advanced platforms that are designed to last for 30 40 even 50 years There will be sailors who serve on Delaware who are not yet born Today's sailors Operating these amazing platforms are incredibly talented Highly skilled and eagerly accept the responsibility we demand from any of the most junior crew member Most Americans don't realize what sailors do Or even know anyone in the Navy because less than one percent of our population wears America's cloth And when the Navy is doing our job We're most often a long long way from home. We are truly America's away team That's why we named some of our ships for states and other places in America It's a reminder of home for those who serve and a visible representation of America in every port around the globe There's always a strong connection between the people of a state and the ship that bears its name For that and for many other reasons I'm very proud to announce also today That dr. Jill biden has agreed to serve as sponsor of the uss Delaware Dr. Biden as you all know Our nation's second lady a proud blue star mom And a renowned and accomplished educator Her military connections run very deep and very strong Many of us know of bow biden's service in the u.s. Army including a deployment to iraq But a couple of weeks ago It was announced that dr. Biden's son hunter Will receive a commission in the united states navy as a public affairs officer Her support of the military Goes far beyond that of the service of her sons Dr. Biden is cosponsored with our first lady michelle obama The national initiative Joining forces providing support and expanding opportunities for veterans and active duty personnel and their families That exemplifies the commitment to those who serve and who have served And the strength of character of jill biden And of her home the first state I know Delaware citizens will honor Their state's namesake Follow her as she comes to life in a few years and embrace those Who sail in her for decades to come As she in turn honors the first state's legacy As she sails the seas and defense of our nation and upholding Her state's motto freedom and liberty And the navy motto Semper for this Forever courageous Now it's my happy privilege To introduce The sponsor of the USS Delaware dr. Jill Biden Thank you secretary maybes for that kind introduction. This is a very exciting day As a proud military mom and a very proud Delawarean I am honored to sponsor the USS Delaware One of the best parts of serving a second lady Is that I have the opportunity to meet with so many members of our military and their families I am always inspired by their strength and resilience No matter what challenges they face our men and women in uniform Serve with courage and distinction They are the reason we have the best most powerful military in the world And it's our duty to make sure that they have everything they need to stay safe and do their jobs They need the very best equipment and technology that we can provide them with And soon that will include the USS Delaware It's a special honor for me to sponsor this submarine because I'm such a proud military mom Four years ago as the secretary alluded to I stood in dover delaware watching as our son bow prepared to deploy to iraq with the delaware army national guard I remember it like it was yesterday And this year I'm looking forward to standing with our son hunter when he is commissioned as an ensign in the united states navy He follows in the footsteps of two of his grandfathers who have also served in the navy The navy was a memorable part of my life as a young girl My father would also always take my mother and his five daughters to watch the blue angels at willow grove naval air station His picture in his dress whites Was proudly displayed by the front door of our home and through his stories and beliefs He ingrained in all of us his sense of patriotism and pride in the navy But most of all I am honored for my state of delaware, which is steeped in military history For delaware's war hero captain thomas mcdonough whose famous victory in the battle of platzberg helped end the war of 1812 To new castle serving as the home of some of the first female air force pilots To the thousands of delawarians who have deployed to iraq and afghanistan Our state has so much to be proud of and today Delaware's 77 000 veterans carry on the rich tradition of service This great tradition of having a civilian sponsored navy vessels Helps to cement the critical connection between our service members and the civilians back home Who love them? miss them And owe them a debt of gratitude So in the years to come i'm looking forward to meeting the sailors who serve on the boat I'm excited to get to know their families because wherever the delaware goes all around the world A little piece of my heart will go with her So thank you secretary maybes for this honor Thank you all and may god bless our servicemen and women and their families. Thank you We'll go up naval air station Mr. Vice president, I remember when the guys in my squad were used to like we'll look forward to the uh The air show later to see hopefully five women that look like you and her sisters would show up Never imagine little girls Well, it's great to stand here next to at the u and mr. Secretary Thank you so much for uh reading that letter that we sent to you our delegation sent to you a year or so ago and The action that's being taken here today and great to be here with our lieutenant governor and certainly with our The spouse of the sponsor of the uh this this this ship Spent a lot of years of my my life in the navy about 23 all in plus another four as a naval midshipman and uh I love the navy. I love being part of the navy for all all those years and I uh, I remember We used to fly in and out of willow grove naval air station, but we actually all over the world My job when we weren't flying around in southeast asia was to track submarines And we tracked soviet ballistic faster attack boats cruise boats In our own as well and all the the oceans of of of the world and we would also train with our own submarines And I'm standing here before to tell you that it wasn't all that hard to find the the soviet ballistic missile boats or The fast attack boats or the cruise missiles submarines, but we could almost never find dollars And they were a breeder of heart and it was just so good and it had great wonderful people on the on their cruise Some of the best and brightest in the navy and they knew their stuff They knew their stuff Delaware a lot of people don't think of delor much as a as maybe a navy town but uh when the First swedes and fins sailed across the the atlantic and pulled the end of the christina river They named it the christina rember after the trial queen of sweden But they they landed in a place that they declared, uh, which now wilmington declared at the colony of new sweden And today, uh, there's a replica of the ship that brought the first swedes and fins to to our to our state there There's the on the christina river and about a mile or so from where that ship lies at anchor There is a compass rose that's literally embedded in the river walk that's part of our riverfront In wilmington today and on the compass rose on the eight points of the compass rose There are eight ships that are that are named all destroyer escorts And they are some of the hundreds of ships that were built In wilmington on the christina river during world war two ships that help win the war Not only on the the destroyer escorts side, but troop landing ships and other ships as well The other end of the state of place that our our spouse of the sponsor knows Well, there's a place called cape cape and lopin state park and used to be an all military installation And today it's a beautiful state park beautiful Jewel for for people from all over the world who come to delawin this particularly to to there But one of the military installations that used to be there was an affect naval facility Which is a part of the the team that we used to track those soviet submarines and throughout the the atlantic and and the mediterranean even the mediterranean as well And i as a guy who is a navy p3 mission commander I had the pleasure not even though i was working with the folks in delawin delaware But but working with an affect and our efforts to to track soviet submarines carrying Dozens of of warheads it could have A hot war situation rained down on on our on our on our state So there's a great navy tradition in in in delaware great shipbuilding tradition in delaware and a great submarine Tradition in delaware that we we celebrate here today. I'll close with that with this the the day I was wanted to office and Escorted into the to the senate by by by our vice president when he was a mere mortal But uh, we uh later on we had a Reception just to thank the people who did Help me in the campaign and the vice president was good to come my cast was good to come We had it's a wonderful time for the first time ever I had a chance from people wanted autographs and I would sign my name Tom carpenter and then under that I would sign uh, uss delaware united states senator delaware us I've signed that a thousand times And the first time I ever signed it. I thought you know, would it be great? If we could have a ship named the uss delaware I thought that the first time I ever signed it I signed my name that way just this morning and I thought again Finally at last we're going to have have that ship. So this is a very special day for for those reasons and for many others But uh, I want to thank you, uh, mr. Secretary and it's great to be here with uh with our second late And we're through the time of government and all of you to just celebrate this day. Thank you No one asked me for my autograph at my inauguration So I don't have a similar story Uh, mr. Vice president, uh, it's a nice surprise to have you here today I know that pennsylvania has been trying to claim you for some time I saw yesterday that new jersey had tried to claim you and i'm very pleased that you could be here today So we could establish for the record that delaware still has dibs On the vice president. Thank you for being here Uh, and secretary maybes on behalf of our state Thank you for the honor of allowing us to visit you here at the pentagon today And thank you obviously for your decision to name this ship after the great state of delaware I also wanted to recognize jill biden's role here today and to thank her for her support of military Families between our our air force base in delaware and the extraordinary commitment of the delaware national guard In iraq and afghanistan Boom being one of many soldiers in delaware who have bravely stepped up to serve Delaware families have really been a critical part of our nation's fight for safety and freedom And uh, we've seen the toll that that fight takes on families both when their loved ones are away And for some when they return and we really just can't thank you enough For the role that you've played in the attention that you've drawn to these families Um, some families including families in delaware pay and especially heavy price and bear a heavier burden than others And we actually stand here today Where the last delaware in from the u.s. Navy was killed in hostile fire navy mate second class matthew flocko Was killed at the pentagon on september 11th I met his parents years ago at a park in delaware that was named after him Just about a block from my sister's house in newark and i've gotten to know his mom a little bit I just called her this morning to tell her that i would be down here Last year on the 10th anniversary of the september 11th attacks. She told me about Her mixed emotions on september 11th How much she appreciated all the attention every september 11th that was paid to her son's memory But also how much harder it made it for her to come to terms with his loss And and i wanted to honor today the memory of matthew flocko who died here on september 11th We in delaware are honored to have a ship named after our state We're honored to have dr. Jill biden as the sponsor of the ship And i accept an honor on behalf of each man and woman in our state Who has put himself or herself in harm's way to defend our country It's really their talent and bravery that forms the backbone of our military and again very pleased to be here today on behalf of delaware