 Hello Navy fans, I'm Vice Admiral Phil Cullum, a Chicago native and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Fleet Readiness and Logistics. Back home in Chicago, celebrating Navy Week. I want to talk about why we need a strong Navy. Ninety percent of the world's trade travels by sea and your Navy protects those shipping lanes. Your Navy operates on, above and below the sea. We're agile, flexible and deployed around the world, positioned to defend our nation's interests every single day. I'm also here to commemorate the Bicentennial, the War of 1812. The fighting spirit, ingenuity and boldness which defined our Navy in 1812 lives on in our sailors of 2012. If you're in Chicago, visit NavyWeek.org to see the different events that are planned, such as ship tours, Navy Band concerts and the Blue Angels. You'll have a chance to talk to our sailors about the jobs they do in the Navy and they have some interesting stories to tell you. In fact, the majority of our sailors began their Navy career just a few miles north of Chicago. I'd like to end by saying that your Navy is America's way team, our nation's front line of defense. Just look at a globe and you'll see that about 70 percent of the world is covered by water and we, the United States Navy, have it covered.