R 101209Z OCT 24
ALMAR 028/24
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC//
SUBJ/UNITED STATES NAVY 249TH BIRTHDAY//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1. On behalf of all United States Marines, past and
present, I extend congratulations to the United States Navy on its
249th birthday.
2. On 13 October 1775, the Continental Congress created the
Continental Navy. Since then, the United States Navy has honorably
defended this Nation and its interests at home and abroad. Rising
from its humble beginnings, the United States Navy now maintains
maritime order on a global scale while building infrastructure and
conducting humanitarian relief operations around the world. Marines
everywhere are proud to serve alongside Sailors in the world's
premier maritime force.
3. As the Navy approaches a quarter-millennia of service, let us
remember some of the many milestones in its proud history. The
Naval Act of 1794 authorized the building of the legendary six
frigates and permanently established the Navy under the U.S.
Constitution. The USS Constitution defeated HMS Guerriere in the
first of the famous frigate duels of the War of 1812. USS Holland
(SS-1), the Navy’s first submarine, was commissioned on 12
October 1900. The Nation’s first dreadnought battleship, USS South
Carolina (BB-26), was commissioned 1 March 1910. In the First World
War, the Navy shepherded the American Expeditionary Forces across
the submarine-infested Atlantic as the United States projected its
power to the European continent across seas for the first time. In
the 1930s the Navy and Marine Corps together developed the carrier
task forces and Fleet Marine Force that would lead to victory in the
first major Pacific war. The Navy fought the first carrier battle,
in which neither side came within sight of the other, against
Imperial Japan in the Battle of the Coral Sea from 4–8 May 1942.
The U.S. Navy’s victory over the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War
II established it as the premier naval force in the world. The
commissioning of the first nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus
(SSN-571), on 30 September 1954 and the first nuclear-powered
aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise (CVN-65), on 25 November 1961
revolutionized shipbuilding and provided the Navy with a
decisive advantage in reach and staying power which lasted through
the Cold War and beyond. The creation of amphibious ready groups in
the 1960s allowed the Navy-Marine Corps team to respond to security
threats and humanitarian emergencies around the globe. Today,
the United States Navy remains the preeminent force providing sea
control and power projection on a global scale.
4. Marines have served alongside Sailors from the beginning and
look forward to many more years standing together with their naval
brethren in whatever duty the Nation requires. On behalf of the
entire Marine Corps, it is my distinct honor to congratulate the
United States Navy on its 249th birthday.
5. Semper Fidelis, Eric M. Smith, General, United States Marine
Corps, Commandant of the Marine Corps.//