 Ladies and gentlemen, please rise and remain standing for the arrival of the official party, the National Anthem and the Invocation. The National Anthem will be sung by musician second-class Nina Church, United States Navy, Navy Band Northeast. Oh say can you see what's so proud Your Douglassy Rosander, the Naval War College chaplain will deliver the invocation. Let us pray. From the book of Proverbs, an intelligent heart acquires knowledge and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. Sovereign Lord in Heaven, we ask for your presence with us today. Graduation marks a milestone in the life of each one being recognized for their months of hard work and perseverance. These students have been stretched, challenged and tested. Thank you for their hard work and success. As a result of their time here, may they be better equipped to lead, serving our nation and benefiting many others. Thank you for their instructors and mentors as well as their families and friends who have encouraged them along the way. Now please be with those being recognized today for their achievements and keep the mindful of your presence. Amen. Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. It gives me great pleasure today to introduce the members of our official party. Captain Allen J. Abramson, Chair, Joint Military Operations Department. Dr. Jay Hickey, Director, College of Distance Education. Dr. David Cooper, Chair, National Security Affairs Department. Professor, excuse me, Professor Bill Spain, Associate Provost. Baster Mary Ann Peters, Provost. Dr. John Maurer, Chair, Strategy and Policy Department. And we're Admiral John N. Christensen, President of the United States Naval War College. Good day and again welcome to all the guests this afternoon's ceremony. Several years ago, we began a tradition at the Naval War College of allowing the graduating student body to nominate their guest speaker from amongst all the talented professionals at the college. I'd like to ask graduating student Colonel Mark Solomon, United States Army, to introduce your faculty guest speaker. Mark? Good afternoon everyone. Captain Ray Calladine asked me if I would be interested in introducing our graduation guest speaker. Seeing as that was the easiest question I've had to answer over the past year of study, I jumped on it right away. John Maurer is a phenomenal professor, scholar and storyteller. And for all of us who have sat through his lectures on Thucydides, Mahan, Germany, and one of his all-time favorites, Winston Churchill, I think you know what I mean. He breathes life into his lectures and makes them come alive. And if you're not careful, you may learn something. I had the additional good fortune of being part of Professor Maurer's seminar last spring. And while it was only one trimester, the transmission belt of knowledge that transpired will last a lifetime. Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, without further ado, I introduce Professor John Maurer. Wow, Mark. I should have given you some better grades. Thanks so much, Mark. I appreciate that. To the official party today, guests, family, students, thank you so much. To the students in particular, thank you very much for this honor. For a professor, the highest honor that a professor can receive is to be recognized, to be honored, by his students. It is a long tradition, in fact, in academia for students to recognize faculty members. And it's held by those faculty members of professors to be the highest honor that they can receive. And so I thank you very much for that. This day is to salute you, however, to salute your accomplishments here at the college. And so what I want to do is talk about the schoolhouse and the college. And a few reflections about leadership, because as Admiral Christensen reminds us here at the college, that the goal, the objective of this college is to educate leaders. Educate leaders. You are already leaders. You were chosen to come here because of the leadership that you have already shown. And you are part of a long tradition of leaders who have come to this college and studied at this college. Indeed, going back to the time of Stephen B. Loos. I have found that I'm not able to speak unless I have a slide up behind me. And so bear with me. This is not usual at graduation talks to have slides, but I thought the slides were appropriate for the occasion. And again, to take us back to the beginnings of the college and the making of a schoolhouse here and the vision of Stephen B. Loos. You know in ancient Greek, skole, the word from which we get schoolhouse and scholar means leisure. Again, you did not have a leisurely time here during the past year. As I know, you know and your families know as well. Now, what the ancient Greeks, though meant by leisure, was not rest. What they meant was to be taken away from the day to day, to have some time to think, reflect, and study. To study. And indeed, that's what Admiral Loos wanted. To create a place here, as he said in his famous 1903 address. A place here for the study of war and statesmanship about how to prevent wars. And so you have come to the world's premier war college. The leading center for graduate professional education on the study of war and the prevention of war. You've been here. You've studied here. You've mastered the curriculum. We have given you a very rigorous demanding course of study and you've mastered it. And because of that today, you are going to be awarded a master's degree. Well, what does leadership mean? How did this school equip you in some way to carry on as leaders in the profession of arms? Well, in one way, I see a reaction right away from some of you in the hang. Oh, no, no. In one way, one of the things that we do to prepare for leadership, of course, is to give you some analytical tools. That's the metaphor we'd like to use, right? A toolkit that helps you to be able to analyze, to evaluate, to think through difficult, complex, dangerous problems. So we gave you some tools. There's Mahan, right? Mark, do you remember the six elements of sea power? Well, okay. Moving right along. Again, those are tools, frameworks to think through these problems, be it Mahan or clouds, we tried to give you those tools to equip you, to prepare you intellectually for leadership, because part of leadership is making tough decisions, having to evaluate alternative courses of action. And the higher up leadership, the more difficult the choices are. And you know that. You know that. There are no easy choices, no easy choices whatsoever. So we've tried to give you a framework, a framework to be able to evaluate those choices in making decisions. But there's more to leadership, of course, than mind and analytical frameworks and tools. Another element of leadership is teamwork. And I think this photograph is a great example of teamwork. Look at this. Admiral Sims, president of the War College. He commanded American naval forces in European waters in the First World War, wrote a book that became a Pulitzer Prize winner. Victory at Sea, it was entitled. Came back here to the college. He could have been chief of naval operations after the First World War. He was asked what he wanted to do. He said, I want to go to the naval war college. Because he believed that the Navy, preparing the Navy for the challenges ahead, the best place to do that was to help educate a new generation of leaders. And indeed, look at that. You can see on the last row at the top, Admiral Nimitz, who's going to command in the Pacific. Imagine that, the desperate situation that Admiral Nimitz inherited after the defeated Pearl Harbor. Preparation for leadership here. And the other circle, Admiral Harold Stark, who was CNO of the U.S. Navy. And you know from the readings he wrote, Planned Dog, which was the big grand strategy, if you will, to guide American strategy during the Second World War of Germany first. But here's a team, a team mentoring leaders, mentoring other leaders, but working together. Look at those relationships there of Stark and of Nimitz. Two leaders in the Second World War. And they're meeting here. They're studying here together at the war college. So one element of leadership is that teamwork. And you all are a team. We're all a team. We're all networked together. And indeed, part of leadership is to be team leaders. And so this picture I think captures that nicely. That networking and teamwork that is also essential for leadership. We're here in Spruance Auditorium. And so here's Admiral Spruance. Of course, he held those commands, high command in the Second World War, the desperate battles of Midway and Philippine Sea. And he studied here as a student. And then he came back here to be on the faculty, to be a teacher here at the college. So that's another element of leadership I wanted to highlight here. Being a teacher. You all are teachers. Those people that you work with every day, you have to educate. Not educate in the sense of formally in the schoolhouse here, but educating others. And indeed, you have been equipped with the study that you had here to be teachers. To go out and educate. To work with subordinates. To educate peers. But also, as you know, how critical it is to educate those above you in leadership positions. Because they need to be told. They need to be told realities that you see. They have to benefit from what you've learned here and from your long experience. So your role as a teacher is to educate those above you in decision making. And Admiral Spruance is a good example of that. Someone who is a teacher here, but also a great leader in wartime. I want to leave you with one last thought about leadership. Another great leader that we studied here at the college, Abraham Lincoln. Of course, being a leader means being able to communicate. This photograph was taken of Lincoln just before he delivered the Gettysburg address in November 1863. Lincoln was not only the great emancipator, he was also a great communicator. He was able to lay out the larger purpose for which Americans were fighting in the Civil War. And again, this picture here highlights something about leadership. Not only the ability to communicate effectively, none of us are going to be Lincoln's. But what this picture also shows is the larger purpose that we serve. Lincoln stood for a great cause. He stood for democracy and liberty. Of government for and by the people. And he understood the great sacrifice that was made during the American Civil War to promote those liberties in our country. And he recognized at Gettysburg the service of those who were in uniform and the sacrifice that they made. And so today, this is a celebration of you. You who are in uniform, who have sacrificed for our country, and will continue to sacrifice for our country. And so it is a great honor for me to be here today to talk, give this talk this morning. It's a very humbling experience to be among leaders. One closing thought I have as chair of the department here, strategy and policy, and my colleagues who are chairs as well know this. One of the things that is our responsibility is to recruit faculty for the college. And one of the things that we use in our recruitment pitch is to tell faculty members about the student body here, and just how accomplished you all are, and how wonderful it is to work with you. And I can tell you that that is an important element of being able to attract quality faculty here to the college. It's you, the student body. So I want to salute you for your sacrifice to the country. I want to congratulate you on your graduation today. And I want to wish you all the best wishes for the future. Please stay in contact with each other and also with the college. So best wishes, congratulations, and God's blessing on you and your families on this important day. Thank you. Professor Maurer, on behalf of the students, staff, and faculty, thank you for your comments and your ongoing contributions to this great institution. For each graduating class, one student is selected for recognition as the president's honor graduate. This award is presented to the student who best displays the high standards of academic performance, naval war college activities, participation in civic and community service, and the promotion of the military and government services in the public interest. For the College of Naval Warfare, the honor graduate for the March 2013 graduating class is Lieutenant Colonel James B. Wallins, United States Marine Corps. Jim, would you please come up to the stage, receive your awards. Along with the certificate, Jim is receiving an engraved Weems and Plath Compass from the Naval War College Foundation. And Jim's name will be added to the perpetual plaque of honor graduates that will eventually go up outside the wall of our office. Eventually. We'll now give our honor graduate a few moments to address his fellow graduates and classmates. Thank you very much for this opportunity. I've been told my remarks cannot exceed the length of an Oscar acceptance speech, so with that in mind, I will try to quickly squeeze in one final argument before the band starts playing in the back. And my thesis is this, a year at the Naval War College should be among the best for those earning the privilege of enrollment because of the high quality of life, the rich and rigorous academic curriculum, and the broadening opportunity to interact with the members of the student body and faculty. This year in Newport is truly glorious. Each day we absorb the breathtaking views of the Newport Bridge over the Narragansett Bay as we wind our way through the gate. And each weekend we embark on all manner of New England adventures unless of course we're in the library. But this is not a vacation and we work hard here. Academic stress may not always approach operational stress and magnitude, but this curriculum is more intellectually demanding than most fleet challenges and has prepared us well for the hard decisions that loom on the bow. Admiral Luce, as Professor Mauer pointed out, envision this institution as a place for the study of war and all questions of statesmanship related to the prevention of war. And what an amazing time it has been for that course of study. During our year in Newport, real world events provided a remarkable backdrop for our studies, the war in Afghanistan, historic civil military challenges, and of course sequestration. We have heard advice from our nation's military leaders on these challenges and we have suggested our own ideas in our seminars, papers, and exams. And in a few weeks we will hopefully become part of the solution. But perhaps the most enduring value of the war college experience rests in the relationships we have built and the lessons we have learned from those who come from different backgrounds. Within our own services we often have a high degree of cultural consensus and day-to-day affairs and it is healthy and refreshing to engage in seminar discussions with those who think differently. Here we have learned much from our civilian and international counterparts who often disagree with our traditional views and offer insightful and better ways forward. To the faculty and administration, thank you for your passionate commitment to making this a world-class institution of higher learning. It is a privilege to have studied here. And I'll close with a quote that may not represent the best approach for students at the war college, but is nonetheless an aspirational leadership philosophy that may be useful to us as we depart. In the unforgettable words of the great British field marshal William Slim, no details, no paper, and no regrets. A master's arts degree in national security and strategic studies will now be conferred to the graduates. Will the graduates please rise? Admiral Christensen, if you'll approach your podium. Admiral, I have the honor to present the March graduates of the College of Naval Warfare. Candidates for the Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies. They have been thoroughly examined and approved by the faculty. You seem to be missing our binder. I'm going to read off your... Yes, sir. I'm going to just... Well done, Ray. By the power vested in me by the Secretary of Navy, the accreditation of the New England Schools of Colleges, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I confer upon you the appropriate degrees and diplomas. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in saluting with our applause the March graduates of the United States Naval War College. Graduates, please be seated. Beyond the requirements of graduation, certain individuals have distinguished themselves through academic excellence. For those in the top 5%, they're receiving a diploma with highest distinction. Those in the next 15% will receive a diploma with distinction. Graduates will now receive their diplomas. Graduates from the College of Naval Warfare, please proceed to the stage as your name is read. Again, guests are welcome to come forward and take photographs, but please try to hold your applause until all names have been read. Admiral, Ambassador Dr. Maurer, Professor Spain, if you'll also rise. Presenting the graduating members of the College of Naval Warfare in their next duty assignment. Commander Andrew D. Amidon, United States Navy, his next assignment is the United States Joint Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia. Graduated with distinction, Colonel Greg Athe, United States Army, his next assignment is the United States Special Operations Command, McDill Air Force Base, Florida. Commander Mark B. Baer, United States Navy, his next assignment is the Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia. Commander Rob G. Bennett, United States Navy, his next assignment is, oops, excuse me, we're not done taking photos, I'm getting out of here. All right. Commander Rob G. Bennett, United States Navy, his next assignment is the Naval Air Facility, Washington, DC. Captain Lewis Andrew Bodner, Civil Engineering Corps, United States Navy, his next assignments to the Naval Operations Support Center, Detroit, Michigan. Commander Thomas G. Bodnovich, Medical Service Corps, United States Navy, his next assignment is to United States Naval Forces Central Command, Minama Bahrain. Commander Joseph F. Cahill, United States Navy, his next assignments to the Op-Nap staff, Arlington, Virginia. Commander J. Calvert, United States Navy, his next assignment is Executive Officer, followed by Fleet Up to Commanding Officer of Navy Recruiting District, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Captain Barbara J. Coder, United States Navy, her next assignment is to Op-Nap staff, Arlington, Virginia. Commander Kenneth M. Curtin, United States Navy, his next assignments to the Naval Submarine School, Groton, Connecticut. Commander Eric C. Estenson, United States Navy, his next assignment is the Executive Officer, followed by Fleet Up to Commanding Officer of the Fighting Marlins of Patrol Squadron 40, Whitby Island, Washington. Commander Mark F. Guarine, Judge, African General Corps, United States Navy, his next assignments to United States African Command, Headquarters, Stuttgart, Germany. Lieutenant Commander Christopher M. Guain, United States Navy, his next assignments to the Navy Cyber Warfare Development Group, Suitland, Maryland. Graduating Distinction, Captain David C. Hagen, United States Navy, his next assignments to the Strategic Studies Group, Newport, Rhode Island. Lieutenant Commander Bartolome R. Huemas, United States Navy, his next assignments to the United States Northern Command Joint Task Force, National Capable Region, Washington, D.C. Graduating Distinction, Lieutenant Commander Ryan J. Logan, United States Navy, his next assignments to the Executive Officer, followed by Fleet Up to Commanding Officer of Screaming Indians of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 6, North Island, California. Commander Diane J. Quattrone, United States Navy, his next assignments to the Staff of the United States Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island. Commander Philip A. Rodgerson, United States Navy, his next assignments to the Bureau of Personnel, Sea Duty Component, Arlington, Virginia. Graduating with Highest Distinction, Commander Rome Ruiz, United States Navy, his next assignments to the United States European Command Headquarters, Stuttgart, Germany. Graduating Distinction, Commander Mark F. Silvernagle, United States Navy, his next assignment is to report as Commanding Officer, Naval Operations Support Center, Meridian, Mississippi. Senate Commander Damon M. Sluts, United States Navy, his next assignments to Commander Naval Air Forces Reserve, Norfolk, Virginia. Commander Jason E. Small, United States Navy, his next assignment is to Commander Submarine Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Graduating Distinction, Colonel Mark E. Solomon, United States Army. He'll be returning to the faculty of the Naval War College here in Newport. Senate Commander James W. Stewart, United States Navy, his next assignment is Executive Officer, followed by Fleet Up to Commanding Officer of the Red Lines of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 15, North Island, California. Commander Genesee Thomas, Plycore, United States Navy, her next assignments to the Defense Logistics Agency, Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio. Graduating with Highest Distinction, Lieutenant Colonel James V. Wellins, United States Marine Corps, his next assignment is to be Executive Officer to the Commander, United States Southern Command, Miami, Florida. And Lieutenant Commander Kevin P. Zeich, United States Navy, his next assignment is Executive Officer, followed by Fleet Up to Commanding Officer, the Sea Nights of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 22, Norfolk, Virginia. And one graduate was unable to be here today, Lieutenant Commander Travis W. Sattel, United States Navy. He's en route to Perth, Australia for assignment in the Personnel Exchange Program with the Royal Australian Navy. Ladies and gentlemen, please join us in a round of applause for our graduates, honorees, and their families. Admiral Christensen will now issue the charge to the graduates. Admiral, if you'd proceed to this podium. That was my fault. We had, we got an exciting day here today. We got Admiral Sam Locklear, four-star Admiral, Commander of the Pacific Command. He commands 52% of the Earth's surface. He's up there with some of our other distinguished faculty having lunch. So it's, we've been running around and everybody who's involved, I've been asking lots of questions. So, but what a great day. Congratulations to our graduates. My remarks will be relatively brief. I don't have to worry, I have no pressure on me to make a good speech because you just got two tremendous sets of remarks. I think both Professor Mauer and Colonel, man, they chose well your remarks were absolutely spot-on. My role up here today is to, well it's to give you a charge and that'll be the last thing I say, but really to recognize and say thank you for all the people who brought us to this day. And there's specifically to this day, Pedestrian Church, who sang the National Anthem so beautifully along with her shipmates from the Navy Band Northeast who make all of these ceremonies special with their incredible talents and that hard work. They do 700 events a year. There's 41 of them, so do the math. They're running around. So for Pedestrian Church and all the band, thank you. Chaplain Rosander, who always gives the best prayers. You know, one nation under God and one ceremony under Chaplain Rosander. It was just a great effort. He begins and ends them all and it really is an honor to have a man of your personal excellence and talent here at all our ceremonies. Thank you Doug. Events team led by Karen Sellers, Dean Kelladai, the Dean of Students and Commander Diane, great job. All of you who made this actual event, AV, Lieutenant Anderson, who's going to have a baby in July. She shifted uniforms in her khakis to the pregnancy one, but she's squeezed into the blues today. She's done a tremendous job and I want to thank her for, you know, usually these four stars show up at 8 o'clock in the morning. I just come to work and go for it. Today he didn't show up till 1050, so the poor team had two hours and 50, two hours and 50 of me, two hours and 50 minutes of me coming up with good ideas. So, but up here on stage, just great leadership. I'm going to read you some stuff from one of our graduates here, a book that just came out, but Dr. Maurer, certainly again great remarks. Ambassador Peters, thank you for everything you do here as Dean of Faculty and Chief Operating Officer. Bill Spain, the great Marine. You can, every Marine that comes through her, but I'm going to co-recognize Colonel Spain and my beautiful wife of 22 years, Teresa, because it's both their birthdays today. So, Teresa, if you would stand up and Bill, stand up. Bill, stand up. Teresa, stand up. No, we're going to sing Happy Birthday to you. Yeah, she's waving me off. I'll read about having the world's best spouse. I was going to sing, but we're not going to sing. Happy Birthday, Bill. Happy Birthday, Teresa. So, to all the faculty that's out there, I see you around the auditorium. Thank you for the excellence, for the A game that you bring every day, challenging these students. You know, in leadership in the Navy, the hardest thing in the world is to have your crew respect you and admire you without trying to be their friend, is to set a high standard and have them meet it. And the great ships, the great commands, the great leaders have always just instinctively know how to do that, how to really push the crew, push the team beyond, just like the great coaches, far beyond where they ever thought they could go, and yet at the end of the day, be respected, be respected. I think Professor Maurer talked about that. So, thank you, faculty. The students, you guys are truly world-class. You came in here. I challenged you to read every word, and most of you did. I challenged you to see New England. Colonel, thanks for pointing out how important that was, the part of it. You're in a great part of the country. You had a great opportunity, and you made the most of it. General Stan McChrystal, retired Army four-star, teaches over at Yale now. He wrote this book called My Share of the Task. You might have heard of him. He was a special forces. He's a graduate of the Naval War College. This book just came out. We got this incredible bookstore here, and I picked up a copy just a couple weeks ago, and he talks about the Naval War College. This is an Army now retired four-star talking about the Naval War College, and so there was one part we talked about the faculty. He talks about his classmates. He talks about the mission, and he talks about the spouse. So, I'm just going to read you some from General McChrystal talking about the Naval War College. Cited in scenic Narragansett Bay, the Naval War College was academically stimulating beyond anything I'd yet experienced. Unlike more structured programs with long class hours, the Navy emphasized extensive reading punctuated by limited but focused seminars. I'd always love to read, and the instructors pushed me into the worlds of Klauschwitz, Homer, and others that helped build a firmer foundation of knowledge. Talking about his classmates. Classes were only four days each week. Four days. Pretty good. I played in the class basketball team with Tim McHale and Ray Odierno. I prepped for and ran the Boston Marathon on Patriots Day and Annie, his wife, Sam and I enjoyed exploring New England. Talks about the mission. It's difficult to explain a soldier's feeling about missing a combat action. Soldiers don't love war but often feel professional angst when they have to watch one from the sidelines. Reports of the rangers performance gave me pride but also guilt and embarrassment that I wasn't there. What he's talking about is Operation Just Cause. They took place while he was a student here and a lot of his brother, army officers that were rangers participated in that and it felt bad to him. I usually talk about you've missed a lot. You gave up the opportunity to be doing something career enhancing like working in the E-ring or professionally enhancing like being in Afghanistan or at sea on the bridge of his ship to come here and pump life back in but I think if you believe General McChrystal the year he spent here was truly a game changer for his career. Finally talking about his spouse, he was complaining about having missed Operation Just Cause and he's talking about his wife Annie. It was the proverbial two by four to the forehead. Swung as only Annie could. I wanted sympathy but it was the last thing I really needed. I still loved being a soldier so I told her I'd buck up. So on behalf of all the spouses, Teresa thank you for 22 great years. Thanks to all the spouses out there who bucked your spouses up here. To those of you that were geographic bachelors, bachelorettes that were here without your families, on behalf of the nation thank you for that additional sacrifice you made. It's not our first choice, it's for you to be separated. I know the military does that plenty without us adding to it. So thank you for that. A couple other comments. Admiral Guillermo Barrera, we talked about how rich the school is Commander John Craig because of our international contributions to all of our international faculty and students and teachers. Thank you for making this a better college and a better country every day. John Odegaard from the foundation, Admiral Locklear who's running around his classmate from graduate school. The foundation, I was thinking of that movie it's a wonderful life you know every time you hear the bell ring it's an angel getting their wings. If we rang a bell at the college every time something the foundation supported you'd hear the bell all day long from cakes to presents to professors to travel you know the country's going through a tough time but this foundation that John Odegaard leads is always there to help the naval war college to do it better to do it right. There was one other comment I was talking about I wanted to I was thinking about the small group of you here. There's just a small group of you here but it's kind of befitting of a school that's called a war college. To all of you families thank you for raising these wonderful young men and women and for supporting them while they're here. You probably know in June we have a magnificent graduation out on Dewey field huge tent it's usually the weather's beautiful choker whites the cno comes it's a big deal. You're getting kind of a smaller deal here but again it's appropriate to what we are we're a war college and to to take all every single officer and have them start in the fall and graduate in the spring would be very inefficient and right now our country in our military can't afford that inefficiency so we start the school three times a year and because of that the two off-cycle graduations are a little smaller. Reminded me back in the day when the you know the Naval Academy they did the four-year course in three years during World War II so the guys from the class of 47 graduated in 46 that's kind of what you are you're one of the war classes you come in off-cycle you're mostly Navy we've got a few Army and and Marines in here in the in the springtime you'll see a graduation or in June you'll see much more Air Force and the various agencies so it's a great little ceremony here it's you graduates are every bit as quality you took the exact same courses you distinguish yourselves every day I enjoyed seeing a lot of you in the gym and in church and around town thank you for all you did my final thing is to charge you to go out there and make us proud of you to who much is given much is expected it was said well that a year out of a very expensive year in your career was given to you to read to study to think and now much is expected of you to go out and continue to think critically and to lead to lead your country to lead your classmates to lead your shipmates and your fellow soldiers and Airmen Marines so on behalf of the Naval War College thank you for all of you for being here Dean Kelledai thank you for another great ceremony and God bless you all Chaplain Rosender will now deliver the benediction please rise let us pray eternal father for these men and women a rigorous and challenging academic year is now to close but their voyage continues as they go from here serving on land sea or air within our nation and beyond may their knowledge skills wisdom and friendships be fully utilized to maintaining peace and security enable them with honor courage and commitment in all things and protect them as they serve granting them safety and success we also ask that you watch over those who serve today in harm's way please be near to their families and to those recovering from the effects of war now bless these men and women as they go forth to do great things thank you for the service they render to our great nation and be with them and their families as they depart for new destinations and challenges amen ladies and gentlemen please remain standing for the departure of the official party