[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 22783-22784]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                225TH BIRTHDAY OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY

  Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me in 
commemorating the 225th birthday to the United States Navy, by passing 
Senate Resolution 373. Several of the Senate's other veterans of naval 
service have joined me in sponsoring this resolution and I thank 
Senator McCain, Senator Moynihan, Senator Warner, Senator Cochran, 
Senator Robb, Senator Bob Smith, Senator Miller, Senator Bob Kerrey and 
Senator John Kerry.
  While we like to celebrate on a birthday, we must pause in solemn 
reflection, for yesterday, the Navy family suffered a tragic loss. I 
send my heartfelt condolences to the U.S.S. Cole and her extended 
family. Like thousands of Sailors before them, these brave men and 
women have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country. The 
loss is felt by the entire nation, and the entire nation grieves with 
you and expresses gratitude for your sacrifice.
  October 13, 1775, was the day that the Continental Congress 
established a ``Naval Committee'' to acquire and fit out vessels for 
sea and draw up regulations. By the following month the committee 
procured two ships, two brigs and later two sloops and two schooners. 
From these modest beginnings, the greatest Navy in the world has grown. 
Down through the years, the Navy has been central to the history of 
this nation, and ever-integral to her longevity and prosperity.
  Mr. President, I had the honor of serving in the Navy. Perhaps my 
greatest honor during my service as a young naval intelligence officer 
was working for Admiral Arleigh ``31-Knot'' Burke, when he was Chief of 
Naval Operations. A heroic WWII destroyer squadron commander, Admiral 
Burke was truly a man of vision. Under his tutelage I learned valuable 
lessons about the Navy's place in our history, but also about the key 
role it plays today in economics, science, politics, and international 
relations. Then as now, the world was an uncertain place, and the Navy 
played a vital role in calming the waters.
  Admiral Burke is the namesake for the class of destroyers to which 
the U.S.S. Cole belongs. The Cole tragedy brings the spotlight on the 
Navy and the day-in, day-out honor, courage and commitment of her 
sailors. At the commissioning of the lead ship in the class, Admiral 
Burke stated fittingly ``This ship is built to fight, you had better 
know how.'' A quote reminiscent of Captain John Paul Jones legendary 
declaration: ``I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not 
sail fast, for I intend to go in harm's way.'' These are the best ships 
in the world, manned by the world's best Sailors, but they are not 
impregnable fortresses, they do sail in harm's way.
  Many have expressed incredulity at the attack on the warship Cole. 
But, she was in a vulnerable situation--coming pierside to replenish 
fuel in a presumed-benign environment. The task that was to occupy Cole 
and her crew over the next several months--maritime interdiction duty 
in the Persian Gulf--was more precarious. Ships refuel in foreign ports 
daily as they have for many years. But this tragedy is a reminder that 
the peace and prosperity we enjoy is not without cost, nor are the 
commitments we make to our allies.
  The U.S.S. Cole is one of the Navy's finest warships--one of 318 
operational ships. 4108 Navy aircraft are also operational today. 42 
percent of those ships are away from homeport and 32 percent, like the 
Cole and the U.S.S. George Washington Battlegroup, of which she was a 
member, are deployed. These numbers provide a snapshot of the Navy's 
diligence around the globe. Their involvement in contingency operations 
over the last 10 years is also very telling. From 1946 to 1989 (44 
years) the U.S. Navy responded to 195 crises, while from 1990 to 1999 
(10 years) the Navy responded to 122 crises. Such optempos demand much 
of the men and women in uniform, and their loved ones

[[Page 22784]]

back home. It also places tremendous stress on our ships and aircraft. 
While deployed battlegroups have maintained their readiness, they often 
do so at the expense of non-deployed units. In my view, we must 
maintain our commitment to support the fleet and ensure they continue 
to be the best equipped in the world. We have a distinct responsibility 
to our Navy, not to blindly increase ship production in response to 
rampant deployment rates, but to ensure we are ready to face clearly 
defined missions and threats.
  Today, as in the future, America relies on its Navy. For 225 years, 
the Navy has responded to each new demand and comes through in the 
clutch. Ever-present, around the globe, minutes away from crises as 
they occur, today's Navy is deterring would-be aggressors; and 
providing fledgling democracies with visible reassurance of U.S. 
support. Daily, Navy men and women are our ambassadors in ports of call 
and as participants in multi-national operations and exercises. As one 
of the eleven members of this Senate to have worn the Navy uniform, I 
am pleased to share my pride in our sea service with all who have worn 
Navy blue down through the years. I also send greetings to the 373,910 
men and women on active duty today, the 182,970 ready reservists, and 
the extended Navy family of civilian personnel, families and loved 
ones.
  As we celebrate this 225th birthday, I close solemnly, and offer the 
first verse of the Navy Hymn in memory of those who have most recently 
perished in service to their Navy and their country:

     Eternal Father, Strong to save,
     Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
     Who bid'st the mighty Ocean deep
     Its own appointed limits keep;
     O hear us when we cry to thee,
     for those in peril on the sea.

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