WEBVTT 00:05.880 --> 00:08.102 - Marines, Sergeant Major Ruiz here. I have a 00:08.102 --> 00:10.102 message for you, but just give me 60 00:10.109 --> 00:11.998 seconds, I'm going to give you a 00:11.998 --> 00:15.140 personal story. It connects to 00:15.149 --> 00:17.879 the message. Fifteen years ago, I was the 00:17.889 --> 00:20.111 Lima Company first sergeant within 00:20.111 --> 00:22.333 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines and we 00:22.333 --> 00:25.940 were deployed to Nowzad, Afghanistan. To 00:25.950 --> 00:28.117 any Marine who was in that company with 00:28.117 --> 00:30.228 me, I miss you and I think about you 00:30.228 --> 00:32.659 each and every day. On this specific day, 00:32.669 --> 00:36.630 October 28th, 2009, I was the 00:36.639 --> 00:38.806 vehicle commander for the Shock Trauma 00:38.806 --> 00:42.479 Platoon. Then, we held the ER doctor in 00:42.490 --> 00:44.657 the back with our beloved Corpsmen and 00:44.657 --> 00:46.768 the security detail that would get to 00:46.768 --> 00:49.090 the point of injury should and when 00:49.099 --> 00:51.979 things happen. IED strikes happened 00:52.110 --> 00:54.830 that morning. And as we made our way 00:54.840 --> 00:58.020 there, there were more IED strikes. As 00:58.029 --> 01:01.169 we dismounted and attempted to get to 01:01.180 --> 01:03.700 the injured Marines, there were more 01:03.709 --> 01:06.489 IED strikes. And so the day developed 01:06.500 --> 01:10.459 into a very, very long and painful day. 01:13.330 --> 01:16.139 There was a moment that's seared in 01:16.150 --> 01:20.110 my brain. I have the casualties now 01:20.120 --> 01:22.709 in the back of the Shock Trauma Platoon 01:22.720 --> 01:25.769 vehicle and I need to get to the LZ. 01:26.620 --> 01:28.989 But one of the vehicles that was 01:29.000 --> 01:31.279 supposed to clear the way for me had 01:31.470 --> 01:34.919 also hit an IED. And what I 01:34.930 --> 01:37.389 can see right now as I'm thinking, as 01:37.400 --> 01:40.010 I can try to explain what's in my head, 01:40.260 --> 01:43.720 the movie reel in my head, is the 01:43.730 --> 01:47.050 banging against the back hatch of the 01:47.059 --> 01:49.281 vehicle. Remember the hatches that used 01:49.281 --> 01:52.260 to come down like this? And there's this 01:52.269 --> 01:54.830 Marine who's Spartan-kicking the 01:54.839 --> 01:58.339 door open, over and over. And he comes 01:58.349 --> 02:01.220 out of that, off the ramp, and with this 02:01.230 --> 02:04.540 minesweeper, points at me and basically 02:04.550 --> 02:07.900 says follow me, and clears the road 02:07.910 --> 02:11.389 for me to get to the LZ. Just watching 02:11.399 --> 02:14.850 that Marine who just suffered God 02:14.860 --> 02:18.199 knows what, concussion, whatever, 02:18.389 --> 02:21.919 break through to get to me, not 02:21.929 --> 02:24.096 thinking about themselves, will forever 02:24.096 --> 02:26.207 be burned in my brain. The aftermath 02:26.207 --> 02:30.110 of that day was 11 casualties, from 02:30.119 --> 02:33.100 routine to urgent to killed in action. 02:33.889 --> 02:37.119 October 28th was just one day for me 02:37.559 --> 02:39.559 and for you who are listening to me 02:39.570 --> 02:42.559 right now, you have your own date that 02:42.570 --> 02:45.880 that's burned in your brain. One after 02:45.889 --> 02:48.509 another. As you remember, in the Helmand 02:48.520 --> 02:51.100 Province, that was for a while a 02:51.110 --> 02:54.199 normal day. Everyone that day faced 02:54.210 --> 02:57.039 danger and chaos and tragic misfortune. 02:57.710 --> 02:59.750 But our Marines got after it like 02:59.759 --> 03:01.815 they've always done, like they always 03:01.815 --> 03:03.926 will do. It is a story for me that I 03:03.929 --> 03:06.589 will never forget. And this was common 03:06.600 --> 03:08.378 in Nowzad and all over the Helmand 03:08.378 --> 03:10.433 Province. Thousands of you have 03:10.433 --> 03:13.740 your own stories to tell. Marines, and 03:13.750 --> 03:15.806 when I say Marines, I'm speaking to 03:15.806 --> 03:18.240 those in and out of uniform, today 03:18.250 --> 03:20.270 the Secretary of the Navy announced 03:20.279 --> 03:23.050 that the next big-deck amphib, the LHA 10, 03:23.059 --> 03:25.470 will be named the USS Helmand Province. 03:25.479 --> 03:28.139 This name not only honors 03:28.149 --> 03:30.205 the battles won and the successes of 03:30.205 --> 03:32.427 our units in the Helmand Province, but 03:32.427 --> 03:34.538 it also honors the names of those who 03:34.538 --> 03:36.720 left blood, sweat, tears, and even 03:36.729 --> 03:39.039 their lives on the battlefield. The 03:39.050 --> 03:41.161 stories of what Marines did in combat 03:41.161 --> 03:44.250 are epic and more often today are not 03:44.259 --> 03:47.470 shared enough. Soon, our stories of 03:47.479 --> 03:49.423 Helmand Province will be etched in 03:49.423 --> 03:51.590 steel, representing the fighting spirit 03:51.590 --> 03:53.929 of Marines. The legacy of our beloved 03:53.940 --> 03:56.051 Marines who were killed or wounded in 03:56.051 --> 03:57.996 action during combat operations in 03:57.996 --> 04:00.410 Afghanistan lives on in the namesake of 04:00.419 --> 04:03.279 this amphib warship. But make no mistake 04:03.500 --> 04:05.660 that when you see her and you see the 04:05.669 --> 04:08.119 name that she bears, the warrior 04:08.130 --> 04:10.710 spirit of every United States Marine 04:10.759 --> 04:12.949 who served in the Helmand Province 04:12.960 --> 04:15.429 lives within the soul of this vessel. 04:16.200 --> 04:18.256 May she cruise the seas and flex her 04:18.256 --> 04:20.533 military might for generations to come. 04:21.049 --> 04:23.105 Helmand Province is a chapter in our 04:23.105 --> 04:25.910 history and our best days are just over 04:25.920 --> 04:29.200 the horizon. Semper fidelis, Marines. Oorah.