[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.
____________________