 Evan McCauley, thank you for that introduction. I can't quite get used to seeing you in civilian clothes outside the Pentagon. But I'm glad you're here. And I'm glad to be with my fellow Black Shoe Sailors. I was in the Navy so long ago, we didn't even have a designator, be a swoe. We were just Black Shoe Sailors. And I'm pretty proud of it, too. One of the rock bands at the time had a song that another J.G. and I were in charge of the television station on the USS Little Rock. It was, the USS Little Rock was COG-4. So it was channel four. It was the only channel we had. So pretty much if you wanted to watch TV, that was it. But the song was, Brown Shoes Don't Make It. And we played that pretty incessantly, particularly on crews. But I want to thank you, Terry, and the members, Surface Navy Association, for all that you do to support the debate and the discussion and just make sure that we are not missing things on professional label issues. And we have to have organizations like this if we're going to continue to develop creative solutions for the world that we face and will face in the future. And I want to start by talking about something that all of you know a lot about and believe deeply in. And that's C-Power. And I know that you're all steeped in naval history and in what C-Power means. But I want to talk about some recent examples and maybe offer a little perspective about them. And one of the reasons for that is that our partnership with the American people is important. And I think it's important that we make sure they understand what their Navy does for our nation, how hard the job is sometimes, but also how skilled our sailors and Marines are at doing that job. Because the Navy is America's away team, the Navy and Marine Corps. And when we're doing our job, usually we're a long way from home and the American people don't get to see it. And because of my job as Secretary, I get a unique view of the Navy and Marine Corps. And the importance of C-Power to America. Over two centuries ago, when our country was founded, the founding fathers that wrote the original documents recognized that having a Navy and Marine Corps to sail the world's oceans, to protect our commerce, to protect our national interests was vital in making the United States a player on the world stage. From George Washington's first schooners to the Federalist Papers to the Constitution, the Navy was seen as important, yes, in wartime, but also in peacetime. As you well know, that's called presence. Presence is what we do. Presence is what the Navy and Marine Corps are all about. For 238 years, we've been there when our nation called. This year is the 200th anniversary of Thomas McDonald's victory in the Battle of Lake Champlain and the 150th anniversary of David Farragut's victory in Mobile Bay. From those famous surface battles of the 19th century to battles in campaign across the Pacific in World War II to Iraqi waters in the North Arabian Gulf, our Navy has been ready to fight and to win our nation's wars on and from the sea. But during our history, we've also been there to provide the President with options in times of peace. From David Porter fighting pirates in the Caribbean in the 1820s to the Great White Fleet sailing in the early part of the 20th century to the blockade during the Cuban Missile Crisis to today's global operations, our presence gives our leaders alternatives. Our presence can deter adversaries, reassure allies, and it provides the critical backing needed to make diplomacy work. In recent years, we've had a lot of examples to illustrate what the Navy means to our country. Every time North Korea starts rattling sabers and shooting missiles, our ballistic missile defense ships are already there, already on patrol. There's no escalation. We already have that presence. A few years ago, when the crisis started in Libya, there was tomahawks from Navy ships and submarines which destroyed Libyan air defenses and opened the doors for the resolution there. In Syria, there was a credible combat power with the US Navy that opened the door for diplomacy. Nobody, nobody doubts our ability to act. Because of our global presence, we are ready before a crisis begins. We don't have to move ships from home. We don't have to escalate the situation. We're on the scene, ready for whatever comes, and the President has immediate options because of our immediate presence. Just a few weeks ago, we saw a different example in the Pacific. As Typhoon Haiyan moved toward our friends in the Philippines, our naval forces in the region tracked the course of the storm. The George Washington strike group was on patrol already and ready to respond and go where help was needed because we were already there. Our Marines in Ospreys and C-130s were on the ground just a few hours after the storm to assess the damage and begin to deliver aid. And within just a few days, we had a dozen ships in the waters around the Philippines and hundreds of aircraft to help the Philippine government. With our helicopters and Ospreys, we helped provide the rotary lift needed to deliver aid and to save lives. Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief are an important part of what our Navy and Marine Corps do, like in Haiti, Japan, Indonesia. Our humanitarian missions helped build our partnerships around the world. They encouraged stability and security by helping people in need. And we are lucky to be the ones demonstrating the generosity of the American people. But it shouldn't be lost on anyone that we're talking about military aircraft and military ships. When we needed them, we very rapidly had a dozen combat-ready warships. And a massive amounts of air support in the Philippine waters and airspace to respond to the storm. That the emergency happened to be humanitarian doesn't mean we couldn't do the same thing in a different kind of crisis. Navy and Marine Corps are ready to go before day one of any crisis. Already trained, already there, ready for orders. It's what sets us apart. No need to mobilize. No time needed to move our forces around the world. We aren't dependent on basing rights or overflight permission. And we don't take up an inch of anybody else's soil. Before the bell rings and long after the guns fall silent, presence means we are where it counts, not just at the right time, but all the time. And my job is secretary. I have the responsibility of overseeing how we recruit our sailors and Marines, how we train, and how we equip. Every one of those jobs requires us to set priorities in order to help us lead our department. I've set four areas that we have to maintain our focus, people, platforms, power, partnerships. And those four P's combined to give us that fifth one, presence around the world. People, Admiral William Sims, our naval commander in England during World War I and former president of War College once said that a fleet of the most powerful vessels would be of little use without well-trained people. That's even more true today than when you wrote it a century ago. The equipment that we use, the ships, the aircraft, the weapons, the cyber systems, everything that our sailors and Marines operate are technological marvels and are the best in the world. But they aren't much use without the people who wear the uniform, who sail and fly and operate these wonders. You here on active duty, the sailors and Marines around the world are the real marvels. You're what gives the United States our edge and what sets us apart from the world. We demand and expect a level of competence from our junior personnel, unlike any other military, unlike any other nation. We push responsibility down further and faster than anybody else. I'll give you a quick example. I was on the Ronald Reagan, not long after the tsunami in Japan. And I was getting briefed on the operation, on the disaster relief operations that came off of Reagan and her strike group. And in a room full of admirals and captains, I got briefed by J.G. and a second-class petty officer. And the reason that they briefed me were they were the ones that had done the planning. They were the ones that had coordinated those missions. In other navies, I don't think that would have been the case. Only very senior people would have been part of that team. But in the United States Navy and Marine Corps, we push that authority down, we push that responsibility down, and we get and expect a very high degree of professionalism and of results. So in today's very complex, very technological, very high-tech world, more than ever, people matter, platforms. I bet you all are relieved that I'm only taking a couple of minutes on every one of those peas. We have the most advanced platforms in the world. But quantity has a quality all its own. The size of our fleets, of our fleet, the number of ships and submarines and the number of aircraft in our Navy is what gives us the capacity we need to provide that global presence America relies on. And you've probably, if you've heard me speak at all, probably heard me give you these numbers. I think it's important to understand how we ended up at the fleet size we have today. On 9-11, 2001, the US Navy had 316 ships. By 2008, after one of the great military buildups in American history, we were down to 278 ships. In the four years before I became Secretary, the Navy put 19 ships under contract. Not enough to sustain the industrial base and not enough to keep the fleet from continuing to decline. And I am very proud of the fact that in the first four years I've been Secretary, we have put 60 ships under contract with a smaller top line. And under our current plan, we'll bring the fleet back to 300 ships before the end of this decade. And we've done it with initiatives to spin smarter and more efficiently. Things like just basic things. Competition, blockbys, driving harder bargains for the taxpayer. But all those things have set in motion the plan for providing our Navy with the platforms we need to execute our missions. To maintain our essential presence and all that that brings, platforms matter, power. Power and energy are central to our naval forces and our ability to provide that presence, because it's what we need to get our platforms there and keep them there. And that's why energy is a national security issue. And even if we can provide all the oil we need in the United States, it's still the ultimate global commodity, traded oftentimes on fear and speculation. Oil prices surged as tension with Syria went up. And Syria is not a major oil producer. But traders call this a security premium. And those prices stayed up for weeks afterwards. That same scenario played out in Egypt and Libya. Plays out every time somebody threatens to close one of the maritime choke points, or other potential instabilities arise. Just in two fiscal years, 11 and 12, DOD had $3 billion in unbudgeted fuel price increases. And there are not many places, even in the Pentagon, to get $3 billion. You go to operations and maintenance. So you steam less, you fly less, you train less, you repair less. And if the bill gets too big, you start having fewer platforms because you can't afford to fuel. So in 2009, I announced some goals for the Department of the Navy. And the biggest of these goals is that by 2020, at least half of all our energy, both a shore and a float, will come from non-fossil fuel sources. And we're making progress on that. We're also making progress on energy efficiency using less to do the same thing. Under a presidential directive in 2011, Navy is working with Department of Agriculture and Department of Energy to develop a national biofuel industry. This past year, under authority of the Defense Production Act, which was passed in 1950 to say that if there's something defense needs that's not being delivered at scale, we can help develop that industry. DoD announced an award to four companies who committed to produce about 150 million gallons a year of drop-in military grade compatible with everything biofuels at an average price of well below $4 a gallon. Actually, it's below $3.50 a gallon, which is a price that's really competitive with what we're paying today for conventional fuels. Now, these programs aren't about today's climate issues or politics. They're about making us better war fighters. They're about finding ways to diversify the fuels we need to maintain that global presence, making sure that we have something that we can plan on that's stably priced so that we can budget and so that we can use the other money in the budget for what it was meant to be used for. And the Navy has always, always taken a leadership role in this, say, old coal, coal to oil, pioneering nuclear. We've taken the lead in energy issues. Finally, partnerships. For 70 years, the United States Naval Forces have protected the global commons, maintained the foundation of the world economy. But the reality is, it's why we have and should have done a lot. We can't do it all alone. And we shouldn't. And central to our future success is the Navy and Marine Corps' long history of lasting partnerships across the planet. Navy and Marine Corps are particularly suited to develop those relationships, particularly in the innovative, small footprint ways our defense strategy requires. Helping those international partners increase their abilities and become more interoperable with us helps us all in an interconnected world where the burden of security has to be shared, those partnerships matter. So each of these four priorities contributes directly to our ability to provide the presence and the options that the Commander-in-Chief and the American people have come to and should expect. They're what make Navy and Marine Corps the most immediate and capable option when a crisis develops anywhere in the world. Over the past few years, we've faced a whole lot of budget instability. And our people, platform, power, partnerships have guided how we approach this instability and how we will address them in the future. And since this is Surface Navy Association, I want to talk just a little bit more about shipbuilding. The FY14 Shipbuilding Plan, which we submitted to Congress last year, sets the foundation for the fleet we're going to need in the 21st century. In 2012, the baton came back from a near record-setting deployment after almost 11 months at sea. They were out for 249 straight days. They missed the record by two days. I would have been tempted if I had been the CO just already in for 249, stay out two more days. And this past year, Mahan returned from the Eastern Med after a nine-month deployment. And they sure aren't the only ships that have seen their deployments lengthen and be extended. And this puts an incredible stress on our families, particularly since these are peacetime operations. And the sailors in the audience and those of you who have been sailors know this because you live it and have lived it every day. And the size of our fleet is one of the reasons for these long and stressful deployments. And during these budget ups and downs in the past few years, I've tried to do everything in my power as a secretary to protect shipbuilding. And the bipartisan budget agreement, the House and Senate, helps. It helps by giving us some predictability, by allowing us to plan a little ways in the future. But it's important to note this only goes through next year, through 2015, about a year and a half from now. Last week, I was in San Diego and Mobile at shipyards. NASCO and Austin are prime examples of the drive to increase efficiency and improve construction methods so that we can afford the fleet that we need. NASCO is building supply ships and auxiliary ships and innovative new designs like multiple landing platforms and a float forward staging basis. And in terms of the first mobile landing platform from idea to delivery, it was less than five years, which is pretty astounding in the shipbuilding world. In Mobile, I was there for the christening of the USNS Fall River, our newest joint high speed vessel. Partnerships between our uniformed sailors, our Navy civilians, and our industry partners, which produce these ships, are absolutely critical. It's not in my prepared remarks, but I want to say one more word about our Navy civilians. On September 16th, we lost 12 of our own at the Washington Navy Yard in that horrific shooting. And it was at NFC, a place that designs and contracts, bills, all the platforms that we have. Two days after this shooting, I went back. I went over there. I went there the day of the shooting, but I went back. And most of the people were already back at work. They were back at work because of the importance of what they do and the importance of the work that they perform to give us this fleet that we need. Those 12 that we lost died just as surely in the line of duty as if they'd been on the front lines of a battlefield. And that partnership, uniformed Navy and Navy civilians, is an incredibly strong, incredibly effective, incredibly patriotic, incredibly resilient group and partnership. And through the designs that came out of NFC, through those designs that I talked about at Austin and at NASCO, it's going to allow us to be creative, come up with new con-ops. It'll help us face the 21st century. The surface warfare officers and sailors here today are going to be a big part of that. We need your innovative energy. We need your thinking to develop them. And in today's budget environment, but actually all the time, we need that kind of thinking to spread beyond just the tactical. When we find changes that need to be made, we have to go beyond tweaking or chipping away at the margins of existing structures, pruning the edges sometimes just didn't enough. We have to be willing to look at entirely new ways of doing things. And I think I just gave two examples of that, the joint high-speed vessel and the float forward staging base. And getting locked into, that's the way it's always been done. We tried that once and it didn't work. We've never done it that way. Here is not a rationale, it's an excuse. And we've never been big on excuses in the Navy and the Marine Corps. More than two centuries, the Navy and Marine Corps provided the American people with the flexible, the agile force needed for their defense. And if you join the Navy or Marine Corps, usually means you've already got that spirit of wanting to know what's over the horizon. It's really true. Join the Navy and see the world. And that same spirit makes naval leaders that look for innovation, look for novel solutions, look for what's coming over the horizon instead of what's behind you. Because of this, we do everything we can to encourage our leaders and our sailors as a whole. Think about alternatives and new ideas and engage with organizations like SNA. Get your suggestions, your concerns, your ideas, and see how we can integrate them into our thinking and into the fleet. Today in Afghanistan, our Marines and our sailors and our soldiers, our airmen, continue to fight bravely. But we're winding down that mission. Our nation is focused, as we ought to be, on bringing troops home from two land wars, which have dominated more than a decade. Yet, as everybody here knows, there are no permanent homecomings for sailors or Marines. We have been forward-deploying a global Navy ever since Captain Edward Preble took the Essex into the Pacific in 1800, day after day, year after year. Our sailors and Marines deploy a long way from home, a long way from their families, and they do it all the time, in peacetime as in war. For over 238 years, our Navy has been the most visible and capable sign of American power around the world. Forward-deploying, we remain the President's most responsive and immediate option to do whatever the American people need for us to do and whatever our interests demand that we do. We must endeavor, even in these difficult and uncertain times, to keep it so. So simple for us, forever courageous, simple for Delos, forever faithful. Thank you.