 Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the commanding officer of Officer Training Command, Newport. Welcome to the graduation ceremony for Officer Canada School Class 0824. I, Lieutenant Lee, the assistant class officer of Class 0824. Over the past 13 weeks, the class team has been responsible for morally, mentally, and physically developing today's graduates to serve as professional naval officers, worthy of special trust and confidence. The Class 0824 class team also includes lead class officer, Lieutenant Rokov, class recruit division commander, Chief Paddy Officer of the U.S., and class drill instructor, Staff Sergeant Maisie. Guests are encouraged to take photographs from the seating area at any time during the ceremony, except during the playing of the national anthem. The order of events for today's ceremony are as follows, Lieutenant Hunter, Captain Everett Outborn, United States Navy, commanding officer, Officer Training Command, Newport, and Rear Admiral, Thomas R. T. R. Buchanan, commander, subgroup 10, will arrive. The guests in the class will rise from the arrival of the official party and remain standing for the playing of the national anthem and the invocation. The commanding officer and guest of honor will then address the graduating class and administer the oath of office. The graduates will then be recognized for the presentation of their commission by the guest of honor, and the guests will rise from the playing of the surf songs and the final dismissal. All right. Ladies and gentlemen, please rise from the arrival of the official party and remain standing for the national anthem and the invocation. Officer Training Command, Newport, arriving. Subgroup 10, arriving. Ladies and gentlemen, now the national ladies and gentlemen, Chaplain Everett, will now offer the invocation. We give you our thanks for providing the rest of the space within each of these newly trained naval officers. So they can stay at ground this day and become more mentally and physically developed for the service of our fleet. As they prepare for their next evolution in their communities, remind them of what it means to be a leader as a servant for the purpose. Let them embody humility and selflessness. Remind them to value every sailor and civilian across path. Press upon them the initiative, integrity, accountability, and toughness needed to do the right thing, especially when it's difficult. Embolden them to have them even from there. So as these officers look to the horizon, prepare them for the challenges that lie ahead, giving them the physical and mental and spiritual right to meet each one with confidence. And as we continue to celebrate this moment, we ask for your spirit to reside with us, and all of us who stand to watch this day. In your name we pray. Stand, boys! Stand! Please be seated. Hey! Ladies and gentlemen, Captain Everalcon, Commanding Officer, Officer Training Command Newport. Ladies and gentlemen, Colonel Thut, Colonel Poussin, distinguished guests, veterans, service members, Officer Training Command staff, family members and friends, and most importantly, the soon-to-be commissioned officers of OCS Class 08-TAC-24, good morning. Good morning! Our newest graduates are one of those challenging and fulfilling careers that enable officers. To the family and friends joining us, I applaud you for the great work you did preparing these impressive gentleman leaders prior to their arrival here. Your love, support, and encouragement have produced a wonderful, indigable scene before us. This enabled them to make sound choices when they were grateful to these graduates for their choice to serve. They could not have gotten to this point without the careful guidance and support of our family and friends on behalf of the Navy and the great nation. Please accept my most sincere thank you. To the graduates here today, I'm proud of you. We all had many other options in volunteering to serve your country, yet you chose this path. And thank you for your patriotism and your willingness to serve. I assure you that a life in service or many rewards will bring you fulfillment. You have completed rigorous military, academic, and physical training. You have overcome obstacles. Nothing was handed to you except opportunity. Opportunity to make something more of yourself, to learn, to grow, and to leave. You seize the opportunity and today you are rewarded with rewards. I congratulate you for the significant and memorable achievement. It is now time to raise a new opportunity to lead what is truly the Navy's most precious resource, Sailors of the Fleet. In the years ahead, your knowledge and leadership skills will be tested often. You will be standing watch working alongside fellow officers and sailors around the world, around the clock. Know that you're going to be doing significant and meaningful work for our country. The mission of the Navy is a tremendous importance to our nation and our world. America is counting on you to mature aggression, defend our national security interests, and preserve our way of life. Work hard. Learn the warfare and professional skills of your designator. Strive to be the best and give your best because nothing else is advice. The nation and the Navy expect the best of you, the highest standards of personal and professional conduct, to the Navy's four values, honor, courage, and commitment. I applaud your accomplishments and perseverance. You are about to embark on a great adventure, one in which I hope to find both professional success and personal fulfillment. It will be unlike any other job you have ever had and regardless of how long you serve our nation, it will most assuredly be a time of your life that you will look back with much pride and satisfaction. Congratulations to each of you by wishing fair winds and following seas. It is now a privilege this morning to introduce to our guest of honor the career idol of Thomas R. T. R. Buchanan, commander of Submarine Group 10. Albert Buchanan is the native of Blago, California, a 1992 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a career submarine officer. He is commanded U.S.S. Albany, SSN 753 and Submarine Squadron Point. His leadership is essential to providing combat-ready forces to preserve the peace, responding to crisis and win decisively even more. We are privileged to have one with us today to share his thoughts. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming our guest of honor today, Albert Buchanan. Thanks, Albert, for that kind introduction. Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, fellow officers and candidate officers. Good morning, I'm Albert Buchanan, commander of Submarine Group 10 in Kings Bay, Georgia. And yesterday, as we arrived in Providence, I was none too pleased with the weather, but fortunately today got a little bit nicer day to celebrate with great accomplishment. I certainly appreciate the kind introduction and better than I deserve, for sure. As we gather to celebrate this important occasion, we not only recognize the dedication and achievements of our graduates, and I would remark that it's 92 minus 100 graduates ever. But we also reflect on the rich history and enduring legacy of Navy Officer Candidate School. The roots of Officer Candidate School traced back to the 1942 when America entered World War II, still roving from the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. This horrific two-front conflict presented the United States with a challenge that required the very best of them, the American spirit to overcome. The American people played a crucial role in supporting the war effort by rationing essential materials and volunteering for organizations like the Red Cross. Millions of Americans worked in the factories to produce materials contributing to the immense industrial output necessary for the war effort. And some stepped up to be military leaders, just like you. Going through the rigorous three-month training program in which the Navy and Marine Corps was fast and not only prepare civilians for war, but prepare them to lead America to victory. At that time, this program commissioned both Navy and Marine Corps officers to play an integral role that the Marine Corps continues to play in this institution. Marine drill instructors are very proficient at sending the fleet disciplined, militarized, and physically fit naval officer. And their success is a testament to the strength of the Navy in Marine 14. Next, Navy Chiefs. Something special about OCS is that all the Navy recruit division commanders here wear anchors. For example, as a trust we put in the Navy Chiefs to mentor junior officers and instill them with Navy full values of honor, courage, and commitment. You will no doubt be party to the same fleet as the Chief, and I encourage you to lean on your Chief or Chiefs as a subject matter expert on the technical backbone of the Navy. And Team H, as you embark on your journey into the fleet, equipped with the knowledge and skills imparted to you during your time at OCS, it is important to embrace the significance of your role. The lessons learned here, discipline, resilience, effective communication will be foundational and serve you well as you grow in your service. And I offer you one guiding phrase that I use to help articulate the Center Might team in Kings Bay. It is important for all officers and sailors to remember three things. Maybe it's sex, but consider this a framework for alignment and serves to help articulate how we should approach our today-to-day activities that we strive to accomplish every day. Simply put, it goes like this. Our mission, your story, one team. Our mission, and I know you've memorized the Navy mission over and over from pushups when you got it wrong, but at the essence the point is to know that it's all about deterrence. While difficult to measure deterrence day-to-day, the mission of the Navy is vital to maintaining maritime security, safeguarding American interests at sea and projecting power globally. Your Navy is capable and ready to rapidly deploy forces anywhere in the world to protect the central sea lines for trade and freedom of navigation and deter potential adversaries by ensuring a devastating fight if they dare to attack the United States no matter where we roam. One team. I've spoken of our Navy Marine Corps as one team. Part of the larger joint team that arguably serves as the greatest military force the world has ever known. While you all have unique designators and are ready to become critical members of my teams, please remember everyone that you served with has raised their right hand and sworn to uphold the same hope that you are swearing today. We all have something in common. Mine is just a little bit bigger than yours. We all. And we work together to achieve our mission. Even if we don't always agree we have an obligation as teammates to make our teams better. And finally, central to all of it is why you're sitting here today. It's this idea of your story. Your stories did not did not start when you when you gave your haircut here provided to a canteen said welcome aboard. Some of you grew up in rural towns military families others don't. Some of you went to small private schools and others went to potentially large state schools. Some of you may have sacrificed the promise of a lucrative career to be here and some are reaching new heights today in your family's history. When I speak of your story this is not a braver sort of social media story. This is about bringing your experience to the fleet. Recognizing and embracing different backgrounds that sailors will serve with and work under you in order to be effective leaders. And to elevate those stories of those around you. And we should be proud of how we connect with each other as humans on this living breathing thinking creative team we call the Navy. And the future of your story in four years some of you may be re-entering the civilian world hopefully brimming with a sense of pride from serving your country and content with a few incredible stories of driving ships or seeing the world and some of you will go on to be senior officers in our need leading the change and charge of our service members by keeping Americans safe. One story you may know well is that of Lieutenant Michael Hurting who, like you, graduated at OCS in December of 2000 before departing for Navy SEAL training. As many know operations were at Wings Lieutenant Hurting was in command of the 4-Man or Constance team the task was observing a top caliban commander and after successful infiltration we were both a part of the Afghan stand a goat herder stumbled upon these seals and while the seals let the goat herders go peacefully they were soon surrounded and came under heavy fire after cost of his own life Lieutenant Murphy exposed his position and sent a message for reinforcements he knew the importance of mission of getting his sailors to safety and why tell that story here because this Medal of Honor recipient once had his name written on the back of an OCS class B shirt just like yours and America is relying on you to be the Navy's deck plate leaders in this decade of consequence with the lessons you have learned here you are capable of accomplishing more than you thought possible in your story in the current global landscape is complex and challenging the Navy continues to be committed to protecting the freedom of navigation in critical waterways like the Taiwan Strait sometimes persists in the Middle East over Huki terrorism in the Red Sea where the US Navy and our partners are playing a vital role in safeguarding maritime security and combating threats to global trade routes the Navy is prioritizing its modernization of its fleet and embracing new technologies to adapt to overwhelming and evolving challenges this includes investments on cyber warfare capabilities advanced stealth advanced weaponry to enhance operational capabilities and maintain our security in an increasingly contested maritime environment as near here adversaries seek to expand their influence and capabilities our Navy balances complex geopolitical dynamics while holding strategic interests and integral to this is the Navy's role in strategic nuclear deterrence via our ballistic missile submarines ensuring a critical deterrent against potential adversaries and contributing in our best way possible to global stability in navigating these multi-faceted challenges the Navy remains a cornerstone of the US National Security Strategy constantly adapting and innovating to meet the demands of an ever-changing global landscape and in this environment of modern warfare the skills you learn at OCS will prove invaluable you will draw upon this training to adapt and overcome obstacles that will arise because they will for navigating the complexities of strategic decision making to leading team through a challenging problem but let me just offer one last final thought from Victor Frankl's book the search for meaning everything can be taken from a man or woman but one thing the last of one's human freedom the ability to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances to choose one's own way and let me tell you as a survivor of concentration camp during the Second World War he knew what it meant to sacrifice and we should all take a lesson from it and in closing I offer my party congratulations to our graduates and their families thank you for your support of these wonderful leaders who are embarking on a tremendous journey today we celebrate and recognize the honor, courage and commitment required to traverse a challenging curriculum and as you embark on this next chapter of your journey may you carry with you the lessons learned here and continue to uphold the proud tradition of excellence that defines the United States Navy welcome to America's war fighting Navy see you in the flit thank you the graduating class will now receive the oath of office would all military personnel in uniform please come to the position of attention class raise your right hand high stage your full name have you been appointed an ensign in the United States Navy have you been appointed an ensign in the United States Navy do hereby accept such appointment do hereby accept such appointment and do solemnly swear and do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution in the United States against all enemies against all enemies born in domestic that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation without any mental reservation on purpose of evasion that I will well faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter so help me God We will now recognize the individual awardees for their achievements. Distinguished Naval graduates will also be recognized and have received an overall OCS grade average of the top 10% and accrued fewer than 10 demerits while undergoing training while here at the Officer Training Command Newport. The Commander, Jack Levin Leadership Board, is presented to the answer and chose by the class for their peers, who most inspired their class and who solidified the highest standards of personal example, some management practice and more responsibility. This award is being presented to Edson Harding. Edson Harding has been designated as a SEAL Officer. Edson Harding is a Distinguished Naval Graduate. The Lieutenant Thomas E. Honor Award is presented to the Ensign, who has achieved the highest overall average in academics, military training and physical fitness. This award is being presented to Edson O'Brien. Shelf Quality United States Marine Corps Physical Fitness Award is presented to the Ensign, who achieved the highest overall grade in physical fitness. This award is also being presented to Edson O'Brien. Edson O'Brien has been designated as a Special Warfare Officer candidate. Edson O'Brien is a Distinguished Naval Graduate. The Rear Admiral Stephen B. Uche Academic Award is presented to the Ensign, who has achieved the highest academic average. This award is being presented to Edson Parsons. Edson Parsons has been designated as a Special Warfare Officer candidate. Edson Parsons is a Distinguished Naval Graduate. He will now recognize the remaining graduates. Edson Myers has been designated as a Nuclear Submarine Officer. Edson Rowland has been designated as an Aerospace Maintenance Duty Officer. Edson Gomez has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Edson Dyerway has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Edson Moore has been designated as a Student Naval Flight Officer. Edson Grattur has been designated as a Student Naval Aviator. Edson Bailey has been designated as an Information Professional Officer. Edson Boyer has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Edson Ronas has been designated as an Aerospace Maintenance Duty Officer. Edson Abrara has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Edson Adams has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Edson Anderson has been designated as an Intelligence Officer. Edson Angeles has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Edson Atango has been designated as a Public Affairs Officer. Edson Barrett has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Edson Balasteros Paniagua has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Bowman has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Burk has been designated as a Supply Corps Officer. Ensign Caldwell has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Calamity has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Calamity has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Carter has been designated as a Nuclear Submarine Officer. Enson Caruso has been designated as a Special Warfare Officer candidate. Enson Chen has been designated as an Aerospace Maid and Student Officer. Enson Chaun has been designated as a Supply Core Officer. Enson Curry has been designated as a Supply Core Officer. Enson Danegos has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Enson Danlasky has been designated as a Student-Enabled Abité. Ensin Tanlasky is a Distinguished Naval Graduate. Ensin Desando has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensin Desin has been designated as a Nuclear Service Warfare Officer. Ensin Donahue has been designated as a Special Warfare Officer candidate. Ensin Echo has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensin Enriquez has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Field has been designated as a Nuclear Submarine Officer. Ensign Figueroa has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Flores has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Foss has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Garcia has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Warrant Officer Juan García Villapasencia has been designated as an Air Naval Pilot. Ensign Gaskell has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Goldstein has been designated as a Student Naval Flight Officer. Ensign Gonzales has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Goodwin has been designated as a Student Naval Flight Officer. Ensign Hack has been designated as a Nuclear Submarine Officer. Ensign Heron has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Heron is a Distinguished Naval Graduate. Ensign Hill has been designated as a Public Affairs Officer. Ensign Hicksey has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Hunter has been designated as a Nuclear Submarine Officer. Ensign James has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Leslie has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Lowry has been designated as a Special Warfare Officer candidate. Ensign Lowry is a Distinguished Naval Graduates. Ensign Lujondo Flusa has been designated as a Student Naval Navy. Ensign Matthews has been designated as a Student Naval Flight Officer. Ensign Connor Miller has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Haley Miller has been designated as an Intelligence Officer. Ensign Lucas Miller has been designated as a Special Warfare Officer candidate. Ensign Minter has been designated as an Aerospace Maintenance Student Officer. Ensign Mitchell has been designated as a Student Naval Flight Officer. Ensign Naylor has been designated as an Information Professional Officer. Ensign Noyes has been designated as an Aerospace Maintenance Duty Officer. Ensign Olebeci has been designated as a Supply Corps Officer. Ensign Olebeci is a Distinguished Naval Graduates. Ensign Oldham has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Oriana has been designated as a Student Naval Navy. Ensign Orloff has been designated as a Nuclear Submarine Officer. Ensign Arona has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Peterson has been designated as an Intelligence Officer. Ensign Philpott has been designated as a Special Warfare Officer candidate. Ensign Pierre has been designated as an Information Professional Officer. Ensign Reyes has been designated as a Civil Engineering Corps Officer. Ensign Richardson has been designated as a Student Naval Navy. Ensign Richardson is a Distinguished Naval Graduates. Ensign Rivera-Hasseler has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Royer has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Russell has been designated as a Student Naval Flight Officer. Ensign Shaw has been designated as a Nuclear Submarine Officer. Ensign Sims has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Slap has been designated as a Special Warfare Officer Candidate, and since Slap is a Distinguished Naval Graduate. Ensign Smith has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer, and since Smiley has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Alexandria Solomon has been designated as an Information Professional Officer, Ensign J.P. Solomon has been designated as a Student Naval Aviary, Ensign Taylor has been designated as a Student Naval Flight Officer, Ensign Thacker has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer, Ensign Upton has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer, Ensign Vockingham has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer, Ensign Weaver has been designated as an Aerospace Maintenance Duty Officer, Ensign Wilson has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer, Ensign Wong has been designated as a Supply War Officer. Ensign Gaines has been designated as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Gaines is a Distinguished Naval Graduate. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in recognizing the United States Navy's US officers. Please rise from the crying of the service songs and the final dismissal. Hey, up there, it's good. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now conclude the ceremony. Please remain in your places until after the graduating class take a class photo and remember, the only authorized visitor locations are K-Hall and Nimitz PT Field. On behalf of the commanding officer, thank you for attending today's ceremony.