 Thank you very much first. Let me thank Church P for his extraordinary leadership over a 30-year career in the US Air Force and now at the Art of Domain Awareness Center of Excellence at the University of Alaska. Church has been a constant voice of reason in that in constant time and we're grateful for his continued service to our country. I want to thank my old heart for advancing the ideas of democracy here at St. Mary's College of Maryland. I want to thank Bonnie Green and Jennifer Brown at the Patuxent Partnership for co-leading this important event. Thanks to all of you for being here and taking the time out of your busy schedules. It's a great privilege to serve as your speaker this afternoon and as the last person standing before you in DC traffic, I assure you the comments will be brief. Here on these grounds of St. Mary's College of Maryland, 1630, brave men established the first colony of the New World where people of all faiths could live in freedom, tolerance, and safety. For 177 years, this institution has excelled in studying and forwarding these ideas in the idea that a rising tide lifts all boats. Today we must summon those same qualities of strength, courage, and determination as we set sail for America's new frontier, the Arctic. Today the American people are faced in their executive branch and in their congress with the very hazard of which Franklin Roosevelt warned. A government frozen in the ice of its own indifference. That's why I've chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic that too often falls to the winds of ignorance yet is the most important topic in our falling, multi-polar world. American leadership. What kind of American leadership do I mean? What kind of leadership do we mean? It's not leadership that believes democracy is dead or that reaches for the gun before the purse. It's not leadership that places optics before ethics or confuses activity with progress. I'm talking about genuine leadership. The kind that believes America stands as a moral beacon for humanity. The kind that wants all people in nations to compete and succeed in our multi-polar, falling world. Not just leadership that asks the challenges of our time, but leadership of all time. I speak of American leadership because of the new face of the Arctic. The new face of our fallen world. The world where the United States is no longer the world's sole superpower. Today the threat of indigenous powers, world regimes, and terrorist organizations requires us to re-examine American grand strategy from previous decades. To pragmatically assess the change of competition and interaction of Europe, Asia, North America, and the center where they all meet, the Arctic Ocean region. The tier along the maritime borders of Russia and the United States where we find a rapidly melting polar ice cap, the shortest trade route linking Asia, Europe, and North America. Nearly one-third of the world's untapped hydrocarbons and increased abundance and distribution of fish and minerals. The historically intense relationship between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the subtle inevitable rise to China's third ocean strategy. Now some suggest that it's pointless to talk about American leadership in a falling world until our leaders adopt a more enlightened attitude. With our help, I believe they can. But I also believe we must examine our own attitudes toward climate change, toward the Arctic region, and toward Russia. As individuals, as communities, and as one Arctic nation. First, let us examine our attitude toward climate change. Too many of us question the science or believe it's a hoax. Too many of us think it's some far-off problem or that it's too late to do anything. But that is a dangerous, selfish, and naive belief. It leads to the conclusion that our actions today have no effect on tomorrow. That mankind is doomed. We cannot accept that view. Think any leader who does or treats up our joke isn't prepared to leave. The trends are disturbing and they're real. Like in my hometown of Miami, Florida where the seas are swallowing the streets and eating away our beaches. No nation is safe and no nation can rise and adapt on their own. But the United States cannot test every assumption, rebuild every sinking city, patrol every receiving coastline, or accept every migrant by itself. What should we? This is not just about our security. It's about the security of our global commons. So let us focus on a more practical, more achievable role by breaking climate change into smaller parts within and across disciplines, sectors, geography, making it easier to define our goals more clearly and move toward them. Let us recognize our role in creating this problem and embrace our responsibility in solving it. Second, we must examine our attitude toward the Arctic region. It's remarkable to think how much the Arctic has changed. And for that matter, how much America has changed since we became an Arctic nation 150 years ago. We may not know what the next 150 years will look like, but we can all agree that it won't look like the last 150. In this age of climate change, well, as Americans, we must first ask ourselves, what kind of Arctic nation do we want to be? In this age of climate change, let us start by exploring and strengthening our Arctic identity by drawing attention to the countless and often overlooked historical, economic, security, cultural, scientific, environmental, and other ties that exist between the United States and the world's most northern region. Such education has never been more important to our long-term national security. It's clear that this new frontier of our globalized world is changing and changing fast. In the last decade alone, we have seen our temperatures warm twice the rate as anywhere else in the world. The sea ice extent has reached historical lows. New national policies and strategies have been found. New species are emerging while others are disappearing. We've seen a discovery in production, new oil fields and renewables, new investment in development and infrastructure, greater commercial, military and adventure activity. We've witnessed communities rise and villages fall because of rising seas. America's past investment in the Arctic has yielded mixed return on our economy, our security and our national identity. And it makes sense. Our Arctic policy was formed nearly a decade ago at a time of reduced temperatures and tensions. And our strategy for the most part has focused on environmental conservation and monitoring. The latest national intelligence estimate and the remarks of past presidents, secretaries and others have said too little in my opinion. And what has been left unsaid is the heart of the problem that should concern every citizen. And that is we are in the early stages of a long struggle for supremacy in the Arctic. And America is years behind. Most troubling is that most of our leaders and most of our citizens don't even realize it. As Americans, we must never forget that we're an Arctic nation. And we have an important and unique role to play as a provider of peace, as an architect of new security arrangements, as an aggressive proponent of economic growth, as an advocate for indigenous peoples, and as a builder and leader of coalitions to deal with the problems of a rapidly thawing world. Now is the time to usher in a new era of U.S. leadership in the Arctic. If history teaches us anything, it's that the best national defense is a good offense. We must not repeat the mistakes of the past by trying to match our competitors, ship for ship, airplane for airplane, or missile for missile. Rather, we must strengthen and align all instruments of national power to offset their strengths in a way that gives us an advantage. Ultimately, that advantage is measured in sustainable revenue, jobs, and unfettered access in a peaceful environment. If we expect to be the leader of other nations, then we can expect to compete aggressively in the international Arctic economic order. Today, we can bring immediate relief to Alaska Indians by lifting self-imposed restrictions of oil and gas development in the U.S. Arctic. We can reach a deal with Canada on our disputed maritime boundary agreement in the resource-rich Newford Sea, and ratify the Law of the Sea Convention to safeguard our resources. But as a great power, we must look toward the Blue Arctic. Whereas John F. Kennedy reminded us, those who only look to the past and the present are certain to miss the future. By the end of the next decade, this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal of building a new maritime trade group. This bold course of action demands a national pledge to build a new web of deep-water ports, airports, roads, fiber-optic networks, high-speed rails, and oil and gas pipelines, the infrastructure that makes permanent security and economic growth possible. It will stimulate some $1 trillion in investment and draw in countries that account for 80% of the world's energy consumption, all while redefining global trade patterns. Such a course requires an unconventional blend of public missions, commercial solutions, and the ability to understand new trans-border markets and products. Public-private partnerships and international arrangements are valuable and should be created and nurtured whenever possible, especially to expand exports and investment in local capital and infrastructure development. From diplomacy to economic assistance to programs run by the National Academy of Sciences, this audacious task will certainly require a whole-of-government effort. Indigenous Peoples and Congress for both Houses and both parties are critical partners in our progress. Progress that must be met with two key safeguards. First, the need to craft effective strategies for addressing global environmental problems. And second, rigid oversight of finance and investment. But our efforts are not economic alone. We must strengthen our intelligence. This is more than just an organizational chart. We need leadership that empowers our agencies to think creatively and to clearly define and prioritize our threats and ensure that our leaders and our citizens understand them. We have to build the capacity to better collect, analyze, and share intelligence without undermining our constitution and our freedoms. We have to truly connect the dots. We need leadership that can bring people and information together in a way that doesn't exist today, perhaps in the form of a joint energy task force north. From the Alaskan native to the Norwegian scientist to the skipper of the healing, many will contribute and many will lead. Until then, our people and interests remain vulnerable to tactical and strategic surprises. America will never be the aggressor in the Arctic. Our efforts go only far enough to defend our homeland, especially from intercontinental ballistic missiles launched by North Korea or others, to deter, defeat, attack, and to project power. And with overwhelming force, a force that makes clear to the world that in America there is no better friend and no worse enemy. A force that engages the brain for the weapon. A force committed to upholding principles that benefit all nations, like respect for rule of law, individual rights, and freedom of navigation and overflight, especially open shipping lanes. Our forces, along with the forces of seven other nations, Arctic nations, are on the front lines of defense. Side by side, they are a source of strength to us all. Meanwhile, we must establish greater unity of effort across our government to deal with the realities of an opening Arctic. This starts at the top with the creation of a special assistant to the president for the Arctic region. This person could be aided by a strong advisory group of experts and could co-chair the White House Arctic executive steering committee with the vice president. Through them, our first immediate task is to take a top-to-bottom review of where we are strong, where we are not, where we may succeed and where we may not. Making sure that our best talent and the full necessary resources are aligned and applied to high-priority programs and projects. The Arctic is a proving ground for peace and its future lies and its international partnerships. A system of cooperation and dependence in progress. And to realize this vision, America must adapt and strengthen the key alliances, friendships, and principles that serve as the bedrock for peace and stability to a new set of opportunities, challenges, and responsibilities in the Arctic. In practice, we must spearhead new bilateral and multilateral strategies and promote more policy instruments for promoting regional security and economic growth. With any like-minded nation, this brings me to my last point. Let us re-examine our attitude toward Russia, our most critical test of partnerships in the Arctic. Our partnerships with Canada, Norway, and others will remain critical. But Russia will likely represent our single most important bilateral relationship in the region. For the simple fact that together, we share a majority of the natural resources, as well as the Bering Strait, which could very well become the world's most important strategic choke point in the decades ahead. You know, as hard as it is for some of us to adjust to that today, we ought to take the long view and welcome it. There will be obstacles and setbacks. There will be differences in approach and opinion. And there will be doubts and discouragement. It's discouraging to read a recent authoritative Russian text on military strategy in the Arctic that perceives the U.S. and NATO as aggressors. We cannot and will not ignore Russian aggression or the buildup of their forces, even as we look for meaningful ways to work with them. When you look towards forums like the Arctic Council, or if you talk to Russians one-on-one as people, there's more that unites us and divides us. And none is more stronger than our mutual interests in a safe, stable, and prosperous Arctic region. You know, even in times of competing global priorities and tightening budgets, America has mustered the moral courage to achieve long-term national goals. Theodore Roosevelt completed the construction of the Panama Canal ahead of time, under budget and corruption-free, providing America and the world the safer and cheaper way to trade goods. Eisenhower's bold decision to create a modern federal highway system remains a blueprint for an economic and social blueprint today. Kennedy's grand vision to land a man on the moon in a decade was one of the greatest mobilizations of resource and manpower in American history and boosted American confidence and prestige at home and around the world. Reagan's multifaceted, cost-conscious approach to ending the Cold War ushered in a new era of U.S.-Russia relations without firing a shot. The Arctic provides America all these same opportunities today. And you all are doing the hard work the important work the likes of which have never been seen before work that will last through the ages. This defense community of which I'm honored to be a part of has taught me that ordinary people when working together can achieve extraordinary things. Only together will we rise with the tide break through the ice and win the Arctic. Thank you very much and I look forward to our conversation.