R 121300Z OCT 23
ALMAR 030/23
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC//
SUBJ/UNITED STATES NAVY 248TH BIRTHDAY//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1.  On behalf of all United States Marines, past and present, I extend congratulations to the United States Navy on its 248th birthday.
2.  The United States Navy has answered the Nation’s call at home and abroad since its founding on 13 October 1775.  As its sister service within the Department of the Navy, the Marine Corps is proud to hold the line alongside our shipmates to promote security, build strategic partnerships around the globe, and maintain the world’s premier maritime expeditionary force.
3.  Along with marking the 248th anniversary of the Navy’s founding, this year also commemorates 80 years since some of the defining campaigns of World War II.  In the Battle of the Atlantic, it fought alongside the British Royal Navy to gain control of the North Atlantic against the German and Italian submarine fleets, allowing for the passage of supplies and troops needed to sustain the defense of Great Britain, as well as protecting the sea lanes so that the output of the Arsenal of Democracy would allow the Allied powers to
go on the offensive supporting the Eastern and Mediterranean fronts.  At the same time, America's Navy supported and conducted two major offensives in the Pacific Theater against the Japanese Empire – advancing from Guadalcanal and launching the Central Pacific Offensive by landing Marines at Tarawa.
4.  Marines take great pride in their longstanding partnership with Sailors and look forward to furthering our interoperability with the finest Navy in the world.  On behalf of the entire Marine Corps, it is my distinct honor to congratulate the United States Navy on its 248th birthday.
5.  Semper Fidelis, Eric M. Smith, General, U.S. Marine Corps, Commandant of the Marine Corps.//