ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter on Friday called on the Naval Academy’s class of 2016 to bolster a Pacific order based on free commerce and open seas backed by American naval might, as he sent the new officers off to work in the nation’s fleets.
“Every port call and flight hour, every exercise and operation, every sailor and every Marine has added a stitch to the fabric of the Asia-Pacific security and stability,” he said.
Carter spoke on a hot, humid day at the Navy and Marine Corps Memorial stadium as the 1,076 graduating midshipmen of the Naval Academy’s class of 2016 sat on the field below. The commencement marks the end of four years of academic and military training at the elite school in Annapolis, and the moment when midshipmen receive their degrees and commissions as officers.
The defense secretary said in his address the United States currently faces five main challenges: Iran, terrorism, North Korea, Russia and China.
“We have to do it all,” Carter said. He focused his remarks almost exclusively on Asia.
In the midst of a presidential campaign where the good of global trade has been questioned, Carter described what he sees as the benefits of open trading between nations and the economic growth it has spurred in East Asia since the end of World War II.
“Economic miracle after economic miracle has occurred there,” he said. “First Japan, then Taiwan, South Korea and Southeast Asia rose and prospered, and now today China and India are doing the same. We want that positive trend to continue because it’s been beneficial to the U.S. economy and its interests.”
But American officials have been concerned that China is seeking to establish a new order. The country has made territorial claims outside its traditional waters and built up artificial islands. Carter warned China that it can’t enjoy the benefits of free trade and an open Internet while also limiting freedom.
“China sometimes plays by its own rules,” he said.
Given the depth of American interests in Asia, Carter said most of the graduating Navy and Marine officers should expect to serve there.
The class of 2016 includes 788 midshipmen who commissioned as Navy ensigns and 256 as Marine second lieutenants. Almost a quarter of the graduating class are women, and for the first time they will enter a military in which every job in the Navy and Marines will be open to them.
For that reason, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who has championed women in the Navy and Marines, called the class of 2016 a special group.
“A more diverse force is a stronger force,” Mabus said. “It’s not about diversity for diversity’s sake.”
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The female midshipmen’s new equality was symbolized in their uniforms. For the first time men and women alike wore trousers and similar high-collared jackets as they walked out onto the field.
Before the ceremony began, the soon-to-be officers gathered in excited huddles off the field. Allyson Strachan, 21, said she will soon be heading to Pensacola, Fla., for flight training.
“It’s everything I’ve always dreamed of,” she said. “This bond with my classmates is unbreakable and very meaningful.”
Strachan’s father served two decades in the Navy and was in the crowd Friday to see her graduate and be commissioned.
“He’s very proud,” she said.
Vice Adm. Walter E. “Ted” Carter Jr., the superintendent of the academy, said that by some measures, the 2016 class was the greatest ever to pass through the elite military school.
“You have elevated the Naval Academy to a new high,” he said. But once the celebrations are done, the new officers will have a job to do, he said: “The real work starts now.”
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