SECNAV
Message from the 78th SECNAV
SUBJ/MESSAGE FROM THE 78TH SECRETARY OF THE NAVY// RMKS/1. To our Sailors, Marines, civilian employees, and their families and loved ones: Today, together, we again embrace the most sacred duty defending our nation and working to build a world more defined by peace than conflict. I join you as someone who loves the Navy who spent 26 years in uniform and another 17 striving to make sure you had the capabilities you needed to fulfill your mission effectively and safely. Serving you as your 78th Secretary of the Navy is a high honor. It also carries grave responsibilities to which I will dedicate all my skill and devotion. You should also know I have a bias for action. Our Navy and our nation face critical challenges on multiple fronts. Like Secretary Austin, I view our most pressing challenges as the four Cs - China, Culture, Climate, and Covid, and we need the resources and capabilities to address each now. China is determined to reduce our military superiority. We will not let this happen. We will deter China's aggression, protect our national security, and preserve the peace. Our determination, our skill, and our courage will demonstrate our strength and conviction. Culture comes down to one goal. Every Sailor and Marine of all races, genders, religions, and ethnicities must treat one another with dignity and respect. This is not just about doing the right thing. It is about ensuring our Navy and Marine Corps will be the most talented, most combat ready, most committed force possible. Climate change exacerbates every challenge we face, from naval installations to frequent deployments. It is also a global struggle for resources that demands ingenuity and innovation. It demands solutions that mitigate climate damage while ensuring our operational success and competitive edge. Lastly, we must combat Covid. This means we must continue to vaccinate our naval forces with expedience. If we are not vaccinated, we are neither deployable nor combat ready. Immediately, the Navy and Marine Corps will make every effort to vaccinate and care for our force and defeat the scourge Covid has inflicted on our troops. Both our nation's security and your success as Sailors and Marines require your enthusiastic, unwavering commitment. We will succeed or fail together. Accordingly, with a leadership ethos forged as a Destroyer Captain, I will strive to be direct and transparent with you about what we need to accomplish together. Please know your safety and welfare will always be paramount to me, and I will work tirelessly with you to meet the challenges that lie ahead. To do this, we must possess the resources needed to expand our capabilities. I will make that my top priority. I am committed to ensuring you have the tools and training you need to succeed. Just as I am committed to confronting our maintenance backlog, managing our operational requirements, and building our Navy of the future. When I began my Navy career over 40 years ago, as a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy, I looked up to then Secretary of the Navy Edward Hidalgo. Like me, he was an immigrant to this nation and, like me, his experience taught him why the world needs a strong U.S. Navy. Most of all, I understood that while I served our nation, he also served me. The same is true today. I am your Secretary of the Navy focused on your and our collective promise to our Constitution and nation. We will succeed together. It has never been more important that we do. Finally, a personal note. My wife Betty and I well understand the sacrifices your loved ones make and how crucial they are to our success. We are both honored to be back once again working shoulder-to-shoulder with you. We look forward to getting out to the fleet and meeting you all soon. Full Speed Ahead. 2. Released by the Honorable Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Navy.//
SECNAV’s 100 Day Message
ALNAV 083/20 MSGID/GENADMIN/SECNAV WASHINGTON DC/-/SEP// SUBJ/SECNAV 100-DAY MESSAGE// RMKS/1. Shipmates, in my first 100 days as your Secretary, I have had several opportunities to engage with many of you across the fleet. As some of you may have heard during my confirmation hearing, re-establishing a strong culture starting with leadership, trust up and down the chain of command, upholding good order and discipline, and empowering people to embrace their responsibilities have all been top priorities for me. My conversations with many of you have filled me with great pride and confidence in where our force is headed. These interactions reinforced what I already knew when I took this job: our Navy and Marine Corps is composed of a remarkably talented force of our finest Americans, executing difficult missions with commitment, perseverance, and excellence every day. I fully recognize you routinely perform your duties under austere conditions, the challenges of which have only grown during the global Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. I am acutely aware of the strain that cancelled port visits, increased family separation, and PCS challenges have had on you as you've continued to protect our nation during this pandemic. I know many of you joined the Navy to see the world as did I when I joined in 1990 and I want each of you to be able to demonstrate to the world the best our nation produces. I promise you we will loosen restrictions as soon as it is safe to do so. The best part of serving as our Secretary is getting out to the fleet and talking with the remarkable Sailors and Marines who are accomplishing our mission every day. I am in fact returning from Pearl Harbor as I write this. I enjoy taking questions because it keeps me up-to-date on the issues that each of you face. Questions about educational benefits, particularly Tuition Assistance (TA), are the most common queries I get. First, it is terrific that so many Sailors and Marines are taking advantage of the educational opportunities offered by our Department. It is one of the greatest benefits of serving in uniform. Education not only makes us a more effective Naval Force, but increases employment options for Sailors and Marines after leaving the service. Last year, 43,000 personnel took advantage of TA so many, in fact, that we ran out of TA money. Unfortunately, this meant that some TA requests were denied, which disrupted many individual's college plans. To ensure that every Sailor and Marine could apply for TA, we temporarily capped the number of credit hours at 12 per year. In order to remove the cap, we have requested more funding for the program to prevent future funding shortages. I would like each of you to receive all the education you can complete. We are also pursuing accreditation for the Navy Community College program so that the courses you take can count towards a degree program. Additionally, if your operational schedule permits, you will be able to take courses while at sea or deployed through the Navy College Program for Afloat College Education. This program currently offers 332 distance learning courses that are self-contained and do not require internet connectivity. Recently while in San Diego, I was also asked if women would be able to serve on Columbia-Class submarines, our planned replacement for Ohio-Class ballistic missile submarines. Yes! I am happy to report that berthing facilities for Columbia are being designed to allow mixed gender crews, allowing women to continue to integrate and excel in our submarine force. Finally, I received a great question from a Sailor who was unable to take the SAT or ACT due to testing center closures because of COVID-19; this meant his Seaman to Admiral (STA-21) application was incomplete for reasons beyond his control. Thanks to his question, your shipmates here in the Secretariat are working to ensure that those who were unable to take the SATs or ACTs due to COVID-19 will not be disadvantaged at the STA-21 selection board. Please continue to ask questions like these they help identify the gaps and the issues that are sometimes overlooked. My direction to leadership at all levels is to provide responsive, transparent guidance ensuring you receive the support you require to do your jobs to the best of your ability! I am looking forward to meeting many more of you and hearing what is on your mind as I travel throughout the fleet. I am committed to building an even more capable force while improving the quality of life for you and your families. Finally, I am looking forward to sharing with you some more exciting announcements in the very near future. In the interim, continue to do the great job you are doing every day the one I tell all Americans I meet how proud I am of each of you. And as always, thank you for all that you do to protect our nation, around the world every minute of every day. It is the greatest honor to serve at your side. Full speed ahead! 2. Released by the Honorable Kenneth J. Braithwaite, Secretary of the Navy.//
SECNAV’s 30-Day Message to the Department of the Navy
RMKS/1. Shipmates, nothing in my career could bring me more pride than to be back with you as part of Our Navy-Marine Corps Team. In my first month as Your Secretary, its been my honor to exchange elbow greetings with many of you. Ive met with Marines in the field and Sailors at sea. Ive seen the urgency of dedicated service each of you bring to your mission and the strength you bring to Our Team. I am inspired by the work you do every day to keep our country safe. And I am, most especially, proud of each one of you as you exhibit Service Above Self! As you stand watch around the world, I know your thoughts turn to events at home. From the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to the continuing struggle for racial equality, our Nation is confronting many complex challenges. Our naval force is unfortunately not immune from these challenges, and we should not turn away from the hard questions. During my recent visit to Naval Air Station Oceana, Our Shipmate Aviation Machinists Mate Airman Josiah Crosby asked me about racial disparities in the force. I applauded his courage and initiative in bringing up this important topic to address something that has plagued our nation since its birth. Thank you, Josiah! We need to talk about equality and justice if we are going to create the One Team approach we strive to attain. And we must act on those hard conversations, throughout the ranks and across the force, right up to the desk of the Secretary of the Navy. All of us serve in the wake of courageous African American Sailors and Marines like Master Chief Petty Officer Carl M. Brashear, the Montfort Point Marines, and Vice Admiral Samuel Gravely, Jr. They inspire us in our service and our determination to expand opportunity and equality throughout our force as they remind us that their actions in serving others was based on the right "ism" - Patriotism! We must also however, bear the legacy of those who stood in their way. Segregation and injustice didnt happen by accident. It was a reflection of society. Thankfully, African American Sailors like John Lawson, Medal of Honor recipient, proudly served in the Navy during the Civil and Spanish American Wars. Many of his African American Shipmates made the ultimate sacrifice during these same wars. Sadly even in the aftermath of such courageous action, it took conscious decisions, many from the very office I now hold, to deny them that same opportunity in the Navy and Marine Corps during World Wars I and II. It also took conscious decisions and behaviors at every level to begin to change that culture of oppression, harassment and inequality. I am reminded of the first African-American Naval Aviator, Ensign Jesse L. Brown, who was shot down in Korea and the actions of his Caucasian squadron mate, Lieutenant Junior Grade Thomas J. Hudner, who purposely crashed his plane next to Ensign Brown in an attempt to save his life. So it takes conscious decisions like Lieutenant Junior Grade Hudners to make it right. We must never forget that equal treatment, equal justice, and equal opportunity require continuous, determined effort. Alongside Admiral Michael M. Gilday and General David H. Berger, I am committed to confronting inequities in our command environment and military justice system. I am determined to ensure a command environment that encourages the hard questions, and stands ready to work alongside you to find the right answers. "United" is, and always will be, the most important word in "United States Navy and Marine Corps." So talk to your Shipmates. Speak up to your leadership. Listen to your subordinates and get this issue out in the light. Work together to identify root causes and build lasting solutions. Learn from one another and help us all unite and move forward as One Navy-Marine Corps Team. Full Speed Ahead! 2. Released by the Honorable Kenneth J. Braithwaite, Secretary of the Navy.//
77th Secretary of the Navy Sworn in Friday
Here’s a link to the Navy Times article:
77th Secretary of the Navy Sworn in Friday
Here’s a link to his first message:
Senate Confirms Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite
Here’s a link to this article:
