    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [April 19, 2004]
    [Pages 601-603]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Presenting the Commander in Chief's Trophy to the United
    States Naval Academy Midshipmen
    April 19, 2004

        Welcome. Please be seated. Nice going, you finally got back.
    [Laughter] I am proud of the Midshipmen of the United States Naval
    Academy, the proud keepers of the Commander in Chief's Trophy. Welcome.
    Earning the trophy says a lot about these men. It says you work hard,
    you set high standards, and you beat Army. [Laughter]
        I'm honored that Tony Principi, the
    Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, has joined us. He is a
    proud graduate of the Naval Academy.
        I appreciate Senator Thad Cochran from
    Mississippi who is with us, who is on the U.S. Naval Academy Board of
    Visitors. Senator, thank you for coming. You honor us with your
    presence.
        I appreciate the Governor of Maryland, Bob Ehrlich, joining us today. Thank you for coming, Governor. He
    claims he was a pretty good linebacker in his day--[laughter]--slow but
    could hit hard. [Laughter] Also on the U.S. Naval Academy Board of
    Visitors is the Lieutenant Governor from Maryland, Michael
    Steele. Thank you for coming, Michael.
    Glad you all are here.
        Gordon England is with us, the
    Secretary of the Navy. He reminded me of the time I went to the Army-
    Navy game in the fall of 2001. It was a miserable experience for the
    Naval Academy. My, times have changed. [Laughter] Mr. Secretary, I'll
    give you some of the credit.
        General Hagee, Commandant of the Marine
    Corps, is with us. General, thanks for coming. I told the General coming
    in, his troops in Iraq are performing brilliantly. Thank God we're on
    the same side.
        I want to thank Vice Admiral Rodney Rempt, the Naval Academy Superintendent, for joining us today.
    Coach Johnson, Paul Johnson, a winning coach,
    is with us. Coach, appreciate you being here. Proud you're here.
        As I said, it's been a while since the Commander in Chief's Trophy
    was at the Academy. It turns out that the last time it was there--when
    Ronald Reagan was the President. And a lot
    of the players on this team weren't even born. [Laughter] That's a long
    time ago for them. [Laughter] It's not so long ago for some of us older
    fellows.
        I--here's what I found interesting about this team and its captain,
    Greg Cooper, that the night after you beat Army,
    Cooper flies to Colorado Springs to pick up the trophy. That's called
    desire. [Laughter] It turns out that Cooper wasn't sure how big the
    trophy was and that it was too heavy for the flight home. So he rents a
    truck and drives the trophy from Colorado Springs to Annapolis. When we
    recruit the

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    finest, we look for determination in the U.S. military, and we have
    found it in Captain Cooper.
        I've watched some of your games on TV. The first scouting report I
    got, however, on the mighty Midshipmen football team was from Number
    41--that would be President George H.W.
    Bush--who went to see the Rice game. I don't know if you remember the
    Rice game, but Navy beat a pretty darn good team by 32 points in
    Houston. He said, ``Prepare the grounds for the arrival of the
    Midshipmen this year to receive the Commander in Chief Trophy.'' I said,
    ``Okay.'' [Laughter]
        One of the things that the young men at the--and women at the Naval
    Academy learn is leadership, how important it is to be a leader, what it
    means to lead, how one sets standards and calls people to a higher
    calling. That's what we expect of the officers who wear our uniforms,
    and that's what Coach Johnson has taught the
    young men who play football for the Naval Academy. He believes in high
    standards. His view is: Failure is not an option; success is what we aim
    for.
        He had some great individual stars on this
    team but, obviously, was able to say to those stars, ``You're playing
    for something greater than yourself. You're playing for the team, so
    that perhaps, if you do what I ask you to do, and if you work hard
    enough, you can come to the White House and receive the Commander in
    Chief's Trophy.''
        Coach Johnson, you have set a high
    standard. You and your team has achieved one of the most dramatic
    turnarounds in NCAA football history. And it is my honor to welcome you
    and your team and your leadership qualities here into the East Room of
    this great house of the people.
        You know, I know that every player works hard to work--to win on
    Saturday afternoons. And that's vital if you're a football player. I
    mean, what the heck, you might as well work hard so you can win. I don't
    know a lot of people who work hard so they can go out and lose. But one
    of the things that I know you know is taking place now is that you're
    preparing to lead our Nation in a time of war, that you wear uniforms of
    football so you can--and you'll wear a uniform of the United States of
    America as we fight the first war of the 21st century. It is the
    teamwork that you're learning on the field that will enable you to lead
    others to make America more secure. That's the lesson you're learning as
    you became great football players.
        I'm proud of your predecessors. Many of the people who played
    football at the Academy are now serving overseas. They're serving
    brilliantly in zones of combat. They're doing everything they can to be
    as tough and as compassionate as we expect our soldiers to be. They're
    tough on the one hand and compassionate on the other. We have got a
    mission in this Nation, and that is not only to make ourselves secure
    from an enemy which hates our freedom but, at the same time, spread
    freedom so that the world will be more peaceful, so people have a chance
    to live with dignity and hope. And members of the classes before you,
    members of the great Naval Academy classes, understand that mission, and
    they're accomplishing it with great class and dignity.
        Many of the seniors here will be given that same opportunity to
    serve our Nation. And I just want to tell you the Nation will be
    grateful for your service, be grateful for your sacrifices, will be
    grateful of what you do to make the world a better place for all of us
    to live.
        And now it's my honor, Coach, to present
    the Commander in Chief's Trophy to winners, people who achieved the big
    dream, people who will represent our country in the finest of Navy
    traditions. May God bless them, and may God bless their families. And
    May God continue to bless the United States of America.
        Coach Johnson.

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    Note: The President spoke at 1:02 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House.