[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 99 (Friday, June 16, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H6074-H6076]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               CONGRATULATING NAVAL ACADEMY CLASS OF 1995

  (Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks and include extraneous 
matter.)
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Naval Academy Board of 
Visitors and a Member of Congress who has three of the greatest Naval 
installations in the country in my congressional district--the Patuxent 
Naval Air Station, the Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center, and 
the Naval Research Laboratory--I was extremely honored to join this 
year's graduation exercises at the U.S. Naval Academy. 

[[Page H6075]]

  Last year President Clinton in speaking to the graduates said that 
``I came here today because I want America to know there remains no 
finer Navy in the world than the U.S. Navy, and no finer training 
ground for naval leadership than the U.S. Naval Academy.''

  Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more with the words of our commander 
in chief.
  This year, the graduation speaker was Secretary of the Navy John 
Dalton, who spoke of the timeless traits of leadership, traits I 
believe as Members of this body and as a nation we should practice in 
our everyday lives. I would like to submit the address by Secretary 
Dalton for the Record and close with one of his quotes to the 
outstanding graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy's Class of 1995:

       This institution is unique because its mission is to ensure 
     that in your hearts you are unique. . . . That foremost and 
     everywhere the defense of American liberty will remain your 
     task  . . . whether in the Naval service or elsewhere.

  My congratulations to the graduates of the class of 1995.
  Mr. Speaker, I include Secretary Dalton's address for the Record:

                     Timeless Traits of Leadership

               (By Secretary of the Navy, John H. Dalton)

       Thank you, Chuck [Admiral Larson]. I want to congratulate 
     you on the outstanding job you have done here at the Academy. 
     One of the decisions I am most proud of was my decision to 
     make Admiral Chuck Larson Superintendent of the Naval 
     Academy. He has stepped in and demonstrated once again his 
     extraordinary leadership ability. I thank you, the Academy 
     thanks you, the Naval Service thanks you, and, above all, 
     America thanks you for producing such outstanding young 
     officers as we have graduating here today.
       I am very pleased today to have two people--who are very 
     special to me--here with us. . . . First of all, my claim to 
     fame--the first lady of the Navy, my wife, Margaret . . . and 
     sitting with her is a young man who graduated with honors 
     last year from Davidson College and taught for a year at a 
     Peace Corps-related service in Jamaica--teaching kids in the 
     third world . . . and who is going to be entering Officer 
     Candidate School this August to become a Naval Officer of the 
     United States Navy: my son John.
       We are also very pleased to have with us today an 
     outstanding Member of Congress, who has been a strong support 
     and friend of the naval service, Congressman Steny Hoyer.
       I have a letter I would like to read to you from our 
     Commander-in-Chief. He wanted to be here today, but was 
     called to that other Academy out in Colorado. I took the 
     first prize and came here. The letter reads:
       Congratulations to the class of 1995 as you complete your 
     studies at the United States Naval Academy. You can take 
     great pride in the skills and character you have developed, 
     knowing that you are well prepared to meet the tremendous 
     challenge of leadership. Through the past 150 years, more 
     than 60 thousand Naval Academy men and women have helped to 
     keep our nation great.
       Today, America looks to you to maintain this tradition of 
     excellence. I am confident that you will be equal to the 
     task. As you establish new standards of able performance and 
     lead the Naval and Marine Corps into the 21st Century, you 
     will stand as a beacon of liberty and democracy for nations 
     around the world. On behalf of all Americans, thank you for 
     your dedication to the idea of freedom and your commitment 
     for defending the Constitution of the United States. Best 
     wishes to each of you for every future success. Signed. Bill 
     Clinton
       It is simply not possible to describe what a great honor 
     and privilege it is for me to be the principal speaker at the 
     sesquicentennial graduation ceremony of this great 
     institution that I love. I'm proud to be a graduate of the 
     United States Naval Academy, and I know how proud and excited 
     you are today because I remember so well how I felt as I sat 
     where you now sit on graduation day in 1964. The speaker was 
     Congressman Carl Vinson, Chairman of the House Armed Services 
     Committee. Due to the day's excitement, I remember very 
     little of what he said.
       Three decades from now, you probably won't remember much of 
     what I say either. But, I hope that you get the main point. 
     Actually, in preparation for this speech I went back to 
     review Carl Vinson's text. He said, ``during your Navy 
     careers there not only will continue to be Secretaries of the 
     Navy, but these Secretaries will also continue to shoulder 
     heavy responsibilities.'' Those words did not have any 
     significance to me at that time. They certainly do now! Paul 
     Nitze was Secretary of the Navy then and handed me my diploma 
     as I will have the honor to present yours to you today.
       At graduation last year President Clinton said, ``I came 
     here today because I want America to know there remains no 
     finer Navy in the world than the United States Navy, and no 
     finer training ground for naval leadership than the United 
     States Naval Academy.'' I could not agree more. Today, I want 
     to talk to you about naval leadership and my experience here 
     as a midshipman.
       When I was a sophomore at Byrd High School in Shreveport, 
     Louisiana, we had a guest speaker who said that in his 
     opinion the finest overall education that anyone could get in 
     our country was at the United States Naval Academy. My mother 
     always taught me to ``hitch my wagon to a star,'' so I 
     decided right then the Academy was where I wanted to go. That 
     was the only place I applied, but in the spring of my senior 
     year, I learned that I had not been accepted. I was 
     devastated! So, I went to LSU for a year, which I enjoyed, 
     but my heart was still set on the Naval Academy. The next 
     year I was admitted into the Class of 1964.
       I got off to a rocky start as a plebe and continued to have 
     some painful and humbling experiences. I wanted to row crew, 
     but got cut plebe summer. The first time they published an 
     unsat list for academics my name was on it. I wanted to fly, 
     but my eyes deteriorated. I competed for a Rhodes Scholarship 
     and was not selected.
       But, I also had many great and memorable experiences here. 
     I marched with the whole brigade in John F. Kennedy's 
     inaugural parade. Sadly, I later led a special honor company 
     that marched in his funeral procession to Arlington National 
     Cemetery. I spent first class summer on a foreign exchange 
     cruise with Her Majesty's Royal Navy in Singapore. I had the 
     privilege to serve as a striper in one of the truly great 
     classes ever to graduate from here. For four years in a row, 
     we ``beat Army'' in football . . . and I am confident that 
     come the first Saturday in December, we are going to start 
     that habit one more time!
       The greatest lesson I learned came from our Superintendent, 
     Rear Admiral Charles C. Kirkpatrick. He repeatedly told us, 
     ``You can do anything you set your mind to do, and don't you 
     forget it.'' I pass that on to you. You can do anything you 
     set your mind to do, and don't you forget it.
       I know that right now your minds are on the end of your 
     long voyage here . . . and the pride and joy you feel in what 
     you have accomplished. Your family and friends share that 
     pride and so do I. But along with the celebration, this is 
     also a moment for each of you to think seriously about the 
     challenges you will face in the future.
       As you move forward in life, the one thing you will always 
     need is a framework on which to base your approach to 
     leadership. I have given much thought over the years to my 
     own framework. It helped me with the leadership challenges I 
     faced--as a midshipman, an active duty submarine officer, a 
     Naval reservist, a community leader, and government official.
       Recently an acquaintance of mine, a theologian from 
     California, sent me a list of eight specific leadership 
     traits that he drew from chapter 27 of the book of Acts in 
     the Bible. In a succinct way, he has caught traits essential 
     to my leadership framework. Now I'm not a preacher and this 
     is not a sermon. But you certainly don't have to be a 
     religious person to appreciate the value of these traits, and 
     you don't have to be a Biblical scholar to interpret them.
       These traits have stood the test of time. The list is as 
     follows: A leader is trusted, a leader takes the initiative, 
     a leader uses good judgment, a leader speaks with authority, 
     a leader strengthens others, is optimistic and enthusiastic, 
     never compromises absolutes, and leads by example.
       This list can be exemplified by predecessors of yours from 
     this Academy who have captured the essence of these 
     leadership traits.
       The first trait is trust. I am told by Admiral Larson that 
     your class admires President Jimmy Carter, Class of 1947, and 
     so do I. He personifies trust. He was successful with the 
     Camp David Accords and the Middle East Peace Treaty, and he 
     continues to serve the cause of peace in the world, because 
     he is so honest and straightforward that he is genuinely 
     trusted.
       As plebes, you memorized a great example of trust. At the 
     Battle of Manila Bay, Admiral George Dewey (Class of 1859) 
     turned to the captain of his flagship and said, ``You may 
     fire when ready, Gridley.'' This Academy teaches trust and 
     Admiral Dewey trusted each captain and crew to fight without 
     need for his personal direction.
       A leader takes the initiative. ``Carpe Diem'' Latin for 
     ``seize the day'' has always been a fundamental tenet of 
     leadership.
       I find inspiration in this regard in the deeds of Vice 
     Admiral Jim Stockdale, a classmate of President Carter, who 
     took command of his fellow Prisoners of War in Hanoi at the 
     height of the Vietnam conflict. Admiral Stockdale initiated 
     and led cohesive resistance to torture and abuse despite the 
     daily uncertainty of his own fate.
       Good judgment is also critical to good leadership. Good 
     judgment is not just evident in success, it can be most 
     evident in defeat and disappointment.
       In the Battle of the Coral Sea, the carrier USS Lexington--
     one of our few assets following Pearl Harbor--took multiple 
     hits that caused her to list and burn. Rear Admiral Aubrey 
     Fitch (Class of 1906), commander of the carrier group--and 
     later a Superintendent of the Naval Academy--calmly assessed 
     damage control efforts. He then turned to the Lexington's 
     captain and said, ``It's time to get the men off this 
     thing.'' Twenty-seven hundred lives were saved by that one 
     judgment call. A good leader needs to make tough decisions 
     especially when things are going wrong.
       The next trait is at the heart of a leader's personality. A 
     leader speaks with authority. A leader needs to have 
     sufficient confidence in what he is saying so that potential 
     followers will be convinced. The best way to 

[[Page H6076]]
     convince people is to speak with authority. And if that authority is 
     matched by knowledge then the chances for leadership are 
     greatly enhanced.
       The development of the concept of amphibious warfare was 
     initiated by Marine Corps Commandants who combined authority 
     with conviction and knowledge. From its origins during the 
     tenures of Commandants John Lejeune, Wendell Neville, and 
     Benjamin Fuller, through the establishment of the Fleet 
     Marine Force under General John H. Russell, all Naval Academy 
     graduates, the development of the Marine Corps as America's 
     expeditionary force was the result of leadership. It was 
     backed by the experience of campaigns in the Caribbean, 
     Central America, the Pacific and China. These leaders spoke 
     with authority in directing new ideas because they had 
     experienced the old ideas and borne the scars.
       Likewise, when Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Arleigh 
     Burke (Class of 1923) began the project to build the first 
     fleet ballistic missile submarine, he needed to convince both 
     the civilian leadership and the Navy itself that the program 
     required top priority. The authority of his presentation was 
     fortified with his combat experience--and his reflections 
     about the deterrence implications of that experience.
       A leader strengths others. A good leader does not seek to 
     impose his or her own attitudes or solutions on others. 
     Rather, the leader provides the support and guidance that 
     prompts others to have confidence in their own abilities and 
     decision-making.
       When Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz (Class of 1905) arrived 
     to take command of the remnants of the Pacific Fleet at Pearl 
     Harbor, his first effort was to renew the confidence of the 
     staff and the commanding officers that they could go on to 
     victory. Rather than making heads roll, he made them think. 
     Rather than emphasizing the mistakes, he convinced his 
     subordinates that they were the ones to overcome the past. 
     Those who served under him recalled that his very 
     ``presence'' seemed to give confidence wherever he was. He 
     strengthened others to believe their abilities could achieve 
     the crucial victory that they sought.
       A leader remains optimistic and enthusiastic. To lead 
     effectively, see the glass as half-full, not half-empty. 
     Believe, every morning, that things are going to be better 
     than before. Attitudes are infectious. Optimism and 
     enthusiasm overcome the greatest challenges.
       Captain John Paul Jones captured this idea with the 
     immortal quote, ``I have not yet begun to fight.'' I have a 
     painting of that famous battle between the Bonhomme Richard 
     and Serapis hanging in my office and it inspires me every 
     day. John Paul Jones's spirit of optimism and enthusiasm has 
     been a part of our Navy since the American Revolution.
       A leader never compromises absolutes. Defense of American 
     freedom and obedience to the Constitution of the United 
     States are two absolutes the Naval Service lives by, and for 
     which our Sailors and Marines may face death.
       Admiral Hyman Rickover (Class of 1922), the father of the 
     nuclear Navy--by whom I was interviewed for the Navy's 
     nuclear program--vividly demonstrated this commitment to 
     absolutes. He wanted to ensure there was no compromise in the 
     safety of our submarines. And he did this by setting an 
     example. Most Americans don't know that Admiral Rickover went 
     on the first trial dive of every nuclear submarine the Navy 
     built. He knew that it wasn't enough to simply certify on 
     paper that a new submarine was safe. If Sailors were going to 
     trust their lives to an untested submarine, he would go with 
     them. If something seemed like it was going wrong during the 
     dive, he would calmly go to the compartment where the problem 
     appeared and sit to watch the crew handle it. How could you 
     be afraid when this small, wrinkled old man was not? How 
     could you treat safety as anything but an absolute.
       This leads to the final quality on this list of traits: 
     example. The best leaders need fewer words than most, because 
     they lead with their lives. In the sports world, example is 
     not just ability, but both the willingness to lead and the 
     humility to support a team effort that is stronger than one 
     skilled individual. Roger Staubach class of '65 and David 
     Robinson class of `87 are competitors who set the example as 
     both leaders and teammates.
       Among today's Naval leaders, Rear Admiral Anthony Watson, 
     class of 1970, has set an example that many young Americans 
     have decided to follow. Raised in a public housing project in 
     Chicago, he was a recognized leader in every position from 
     midshipman to Commanding Officer to Deputy Commandant here, 
     and became the first African-American submariner to make flag 
     rank. He takes over soon as Commander of the Navy Recruiting 
     Command, a position that demands a very public example.
       And finally, I want to mention an academy graduate who 
     exemplifies the fact that women in the Navy and Marine Corps 
     no longer face any limits to their dreams. Since the age of 
     ten, LCDR Wendy Lawrence, class of 1981, dreamed of becoming 
     an astronaut. Three years ago she fulfilled that childhood 
     dream. She became the first female naval aviator chosen by 
     NASA for the astronaut program and was a mission specialist 
     on the shuttle Endeavour's last mission. LCDR Lawrence 
     demonstrates that what matters to the Naval service, above 
     all else, is your performance as an officer. Man or woman, 
     you will rise as high as your abilities will take you.
       These eight traits of leadership provide a path, a course 
     that has been marked for almost two thousand years.
       There is a long line of Naval heroes before you . . . men 
     and women tried by history. Your turn has come. That's what 
     you were trained for. That is why the Naval Academy has 
     existed for 150 years. Not just to educate . . . not just to 
     train you in the arts of war . . . not just to provide 
     competent officers. But to instill you with a commitment and 
     tradition of service and leadership that will remain with you 
     forever.
       In character and in deed, you will always be the ones to 
     set the example. This institutional is unique because its 
     mission is to ensure that in your hearts you are unique . . . 
     that foremost and everywhere the defense of American liberty 
     will remain your task . . . whether in the Naval Service or 
     elsewhere. Those people behind you are counting on you. When 
     you shake hands with me as you receive your diploma, let's 
     regard it as a pact--a bond between two graduates of this 
     extraordinary institution--to be as worthy as we can possibly 
     be of those who have gone before us . . . of those who march 
     with us today . . . and of those who will follow us. In a few 
     moments, your diploma and our handshake will seal that bond. 
     And then the real challenge will begin.
       God bless you. God bless the United States Navy and United 
     States Marine Corps. And God bless America.

                          ____________________