[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 86 (Friday, June 26, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1268-E1269]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  REMARKS OF ADM. ROBERT KRAMEK, COMMANDANT, U.S. COAST GUARD AT HIS 
                       CHANGE OF COMMAND CEREMONY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB CLEMENT

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 1998

  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, on May 29, 1998, Admiral Robert Kramek 
retired as Commandant of the United States Coast Guard after 41 years 
of service to our country. I believe that his remarks at his Change of 
Command Ceremony will give you but a small glimpse into the life of a 
Coast Guard officer and the dedication and sacrifice that he has made 
during his many tours of duty and 19 moves in 19 years. As the Ranking 
Democrat on the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime 
Transportation, I would like to thank him for his leadership and the 
working relationship that we have developed. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, it 
is with great pleasure that I present his comments to you:

                     Remarks of Adm. Robert Kramek

       Chairman Wolfe, Secretary Slater, distinguished Cabinet 
     officials, distinguished Administration officials, Chairman 
     Ralston, Service Chiefs, CINCs, distinguished flag officers 
     and active duty and retired and general officers, our friends 
     from foreign nations that are here, leaders of Government and 
     industry, family and friends, and most of all, our Coast 
     Guard team, I'm very honored to be here today.
       And I'm very proud to have been the Commandant of our Coast 
     Guard these past four years. The awards I have received 
     today, however, are the Coast Guard's awards, the team that I 
     belong to; and I accept them only on behalf and as a member 
     of that team, the team of live savers and guardians of the 
     sea.
       Today my words to you are those of happiness and 
     appreciation and thankfulness for all that you've done to 
     make my vision for the Coast Guard a reality.
       It seems like it was only yesterday that I was having a 
     discussion with my father regarding attending the Coast Guard 
     Academy. He was convinced it was the right thing for me. I 
     wasn't so sure. But he was right.
       So today, alongside the Barque Eagle where I started almost 
     41 years ago, I want to take time to thank you for this great 
     opportunity to serve and to be a Coast Guardsman. Thank you 
     to my classmates in the Class of 1961.
       They're never outdone. They've been there from start to 
     finish, all the way. And what a great journey it's been. What 
     a wonderful bond we have together. Together, supportive of 
     each other, and supportive of a strong Coast Guard, you've 
     set the standard for all classes, especially in leadership.
       We cut the ribbon just last week on the Leadership 
     Development Center. And just a couple of days ago, you gave 
     out a leadership award at the Academy in my name to Ensign 
     Green, Class of '98, and made him an honorary member of our 
     class and he's joined us today.
       Thank you for that.
       I thank you for the active duty journey in the Class of 
     '61, and I close that chapter of our careers today. But we 
     still have much to do together in supporting our Coast Guard 
     and our Academy.
       Thank you to the President, and thank you to my Secretary, 
     Secretary Slater, and the one Department of Transportation 
     team for empowering me to lead this great Agency. The Coast 
     Guard is vital to America. Nobody else in Government can do 
     what the United States Coast Guard does.
       A member of the Armed Forces, a law enforcement agency, and 
     a humanitarian service serving the American people. Saving 
     lives and property, keeping the oceans clean and safe, 
     protecting our borders and being a distinct instrument of 
     national security.
       Mr. Secretary, you supported my vision and plans and goals 
     to be the premier maritime service in the world, and I thank 
     you for that.
       Thank you to our Congress and their very talented staffs 
     for supporting our Coast Guard with the legislation and the 
     resources to do our job. We've spent a lot of time together 
     making sure our Coast Guard was Semper Paratus.
       Thank you to the Joint Chiefs and the Joint Staff and to 
     the CINC's for helping me make the Coast Guard a distinct 
     instrument of national security and being part and including 
     the Coast Guard in the joint vision.
       Our readiness as an Armed Force has never been better, but 
     our Services have never been in higher demand either. We're 
     proud to serve as one of America's five Armed Forces, as 
     we've done for over 207 years.
       Thank you to a great interagency team that has helped the 
     Coast Guard to carry out its multitude of missions. Because 
     we're an Armed Force and law enforcement agency, we require a 
     great deal of support from everybody.
       The State Department, Justice, Department of Defense, 
     Department of Commerce, and especially my colleagues from 
     Customs, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the FBI, the DIA, the 
     CIA and NOAACorps and the National Security Council.
       You've been especially helpful to all of us in prioritizing 
     and carrying out our responsibilities for the Nation.
       As the interdiction coordinator serving the President, and 
     as recent operations have shown in Puerto Rico and Haiti and 
     the Dominican Republic, together and continuing to work 
     together results in a potent team that can stop the flow of 
     drugs to America.
       Thank you to our wonderful support groups, the Military 
     Coalition, the Navy League, the maritime industry, the 
     boating industry and even Coast Guard City USA, Grand Haven, 
     Michigan that's joining us today.
       Thank you for always thinking of the Coast Guard and taking 
     care of us in your communities. Thank you to my senior team, 
     the Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Dick Herr.
       My senior and strategic advisory group, my Area Commanders 
     and Chief of Staff. And all the flag officers and senior 
     executive service personnel that have turned my vision and 
     goals into an executable business plan that was world class 
     and a model for all in Government to follow.
       You are the wardroom of our Coast Guard and have exhibited 
     unparalleled management ability and exceptional leadership. 
     You streamlined the Coast Guard without any loss of service 
     to the American public and made us a model of one of the most 
     efficient Government organizations in history; a quality 
     Agency.
       Thank you for that.
       Thank you to that great team. We call it Team Coast Guard: 
     active duty, civilian, reservists and auxiliarists. Eighty-
     three thousand strong working together. You are the real 
     reason that we can live our motto of being always ready.
       You've eliminated work place barriers. You've worked 
     together as a family. You've integrated your talents and 
     together made us the premier maritime service in the world. 
     Your selfless service is admired by everybody.
       And I'm saddened by the loss of our shipments who have 
     given their lives in these last four years on search and 
     rescue cases so that others may live. We live in a world of 
     perilous operations, and our rescuers deserve the best 
     support that we can give them.
       And to all those around the world this morning as we've 
     here at this ceremony who are standing watch, saving lives 
     and serving America, thank you. Thank you to my personal 
     staff, the Commandant's staff and the U.S. Interdiction 
     Coordinator's staff.
       No one works harder or is more dedicated than you are, 
     especially the Master Chief Petty Office of the Coast Guard 
     and the Chaplain of the Coast Guard. I thank you.
       It's fun to smile with you and travel with you and work 
     with you and to share experiences. As one of you said 
     recently, ``We're a really tight group.'' We certainly are, 
     and I thank you for that.
       Thank you to my family. What a wonderfully supportive, 
     loving group of people. You have great accomplishments on 
     your own right, and I'm very proud of all that.
       I'm especially proud of my children. Nineteen moves to 
     nineteen different locations. You've each attended eight 
     different schools. I move three of you during senior years of 
     high school at great personal risk to you socially, 
     athletically, academically; but you're extraordinary.
       All graduating from high school with honors, all graduating 
     from college with honors. Now two in law school and one on 
     her way to get her MBA. All tremendous, caring, loving 
     people.
       We did it together. Sometimes in the pop-up camper in every 
     national park in the United States between duty assignments, 
     sometimes biking across Glacier National Park, sometimes 
     trying to catch salmon for dinner in Alaska.
       To studying calculus at the dining room table so you could 
     pass your exams and putting together your plans for the 
     future, your matrix of life. And thank you for even getting 
     to church on time.
       Thank you to my wife Pat. No one I know is more dedicated 
     and loving than you. Every moment, every day, you've been 
     there for all of us. Total selfless support and love. And 
     you've been there for our Coast Guard family as well making 
     sure we take care of all of their needs.
       Pat, I hope these flowers will remind you today and always 
     what a great team we've been. I couldn't have done it without 
     you.
       Today's state of the Coast Guard is strong because of its 
     people. They are strong. But we've cut back about as far as 
     we can to meet the great challenges of balancing our budget 
     and the mandates for change of a

[[Page E1269]]

     smaller Government at less cost and improved service to the 
     public.
       We've done that. We are smaller today than in any time 
     since 1963. And our fleet of aircraft and ships are some of 
     the oldest in the world--37th oldest out of 41 Coast Guards 
     in the world.
       I don't feel this speaks well for the greatest nation on 
     earth. Our recapitalization budgets have been half to two-
     thirds of what they should have been the past ten years.
       And we should not put Americans, as well as the Coast Guard 
     who saves them and answers their call for help, at risk by 
     continuing to operate equipment that has reached the end of 
     its service life, some of which we've had since World War II.
       It's time to approve the recapitalization of our fleet. Now 
     that the budget is balanced, we can do that. On the other 
     side of that bridge to the 21st century, I see an increasing 
     demand for Coast Guard services, and history is making it 
     that way.
       Our maritime trade will triple in the next 15 years. Mega 
     ships will require world class ports to come into and 
     discharge their cargo to keep us a globally competitive 
     nation. We need a world class waterways management system in 
     this country.
       And Mr. Secretary, I thank you for taking the leadership on 
     that new strategic initiative. There's tremendous pressure on 
     our coastal areas both in environmental protection, use of 
     the waters and for safety.
       Our Exclusive Economic Zone is the largest in the world: 
     47,000 miles of coast line out to 200 miles protected by the 
     Magnuson Act which provided a new 9.3 billion square miles of 
     ocean for the Coast Guard to patrol as a maritime law 
     enforcement agency.
       The pressure of our borders is greater than ever from drug 
     smugglers to illegal migrants. We are the land of milk and 
     honey, and no wonder everybody wants to come here.
       And operations other than war dominate our national 
     security picture. And in order to do that, we have to work 
     together jointly.
       Will the Coast Guard be ready for the 21st century? You 
     bet.
       This last week, the 21st Commandant of the Coast Guard, 
     Admiral Jim Loy, and his team were putting together the Coast 
     Guard's plans to be Semper Paratus. I know no better leader 
     for the Coast Guard as we enter the 21st century than Admiral 
     Jim Loy.
       Jim, Pat and I wish you and Kay great success. You are a 
     great team, and we'll be proud you're at the helm of our 
     Coast Guard.

     

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