Well, good morning. It is an honor to be with all of you. You are rock stars. Thank you so much for all that you've done to step up and to serve our country and to lead with vision.
Years and years ago, I had a gentleman tell me, never get angry on behalf of someone, or rather never get angry on behalf of yourself. Always get angry on behalf of other people. And he also said to me in that same conversation that I had with him, he said, a leader with no followers is just a man out for a walk.
And when I look out at this crowd of leaders, I want you to know that you will have an opportunity that few people get in this world. You will have an opportunity to lead and to cast a vision, and we all know that Scripture tells us that without a vision the people perish. You are people that are stepping into a time of consequence. You will be people of significance. You will be people that will change people's lives because of what you have the opportunity to do, how you will serve them, and how you will make sure that when consequences come that affect your people, that affect the United States of America, you will get angry on their behalf, that you will step up and that you will lead, and that you will present the vision that the United States of America is.
This day today is a very big deal. It's a very big deal for all of you, but for your families, but also for this country. Today you graduate after years of hard work, after surviving the Swab Summer, setting sail for weeks on EAGLE, Physics 2, and what may have seemed like endless hours of drill on the parade field.
You are more than just a graduating class. You're commissioning into the Coast Guard at the most exciting and at the most promising time that we've seen in decades. You're the first graduating class of a brand new Coast Guard. You're the next generation of Americans that are the finest maritime fighting force that we have or that we've ever seen before.
But this moment means so much more than just a diploma and a handshake. You know, when President Trump asked me to serve as the secretary of Homeland Security, the goal was very simple. Our mission is to make America safe again and to do so with honor and with integrity. A top priority of that goal is transforming the United States Coast Guard.
In fact, I remember having many conversations with President Trump and one of them most recently about the Coast Guard, and he said to me, “Kristi,” as we sat in the Oval Office, “What do they need?”
And I said, “Sir, they need everything. They've been neglected for too long. They need cutters. They need airframe. They need infrastructure that supports that. They need training and equipment. They need more posties out there serving alongside of them, and sir, they are the point of the spear in our national defense. They are the key elite group that will lead our other military branches into the future and secure our country, not just here on our coastlines participating with our military, but they will lead across the world and how they conduct missions with our navy, our army, our defense forces, everywhere that they go.”
And he said, “Kristi, make sure we get them what they need. Get them the future that they need.”
Now I want to share with you. I want to share with you today what part of President Trump's vision is for the future of this force. With your help, President Trump and I are going to make America's Coast Guard the strongest, the most capable, also most effective military service in the entire government.
I've traveled across the United States and I've seen the Coast Guard at work. They've been protecting our country from Alaska to Miami, New York, San Diego. I've met with many Coast Guard men and women. And I've heard from them about your heritage, your dedication, your patriotism, and all of your devotion to duty. I've also gained an understanding of what you need, and I've heard it from people on the front lines, people that are doing the work every single day to provide security.
Those needs represent the biggest Coast Guard readiness crisis that we have seen since World War II. You were 10% short of your enlisted workforce. Ships we had sailing with 75% of their crew. Many of these ships are old. They're outdated. They have obsolete technology. Aircraft were grounded because we operated them long past their service life, and shore infrastructure was crumbling.
Ladies and gentlemen, that may have been the Coast Guard of the past, but that will not be the Coast Guard of the future. A new chapter for America's Coast Guard, one like we have never seen before, starts right now.
Under my confirmation, I directed the service to begin the largest transformation since the modern formation of the service was established in 1915. We call it Force Design 2028. Force Design 2028 is our roadmap to revolutionize the Coast Guard, and today we're going to begin implementing that bold blueprint.
Force Design 2028 focuses on four different campaigns: on people, organization, acquisition, contracting, and technology.
We're going to build a more agile, capable, and responsive fighting force. To do this, we will improve training systems. We'll boost access to medical care, modernize both the Coast Guard Reserve and the civilian management system. We will reorganize the service and we're going to be more effective and capable in ensuring that the Coast Guard will always be ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
As part of this campaign, the service will reduce the number of its admirals by 25% so that we can return the decision making to the front line where it belongs.
We will develop a high-velocity acquisition and contracting system. This new system will rapidly deliver equipment and resources to the services that needs it to fulfill its commitment to the American people. We'll accelerate the adoption of secure, cutting edge technologies that are fit for the challenges of our future. And these changes will define the Coast Guard that you will lead.
You're coming into the Coast Guard at a better time in history than it's ever seen before.
Now President Trump and I are deeply committed to protecting and to defending this nation. We recognize that the Coast Guard's vital role in our safety and security is paramount. We are growing the number of icebreakers to meet the demands associated with the Arctic region, and we're focusing on recruiting, and we're succeeding.
Admiral Mundy tells me that the Coast Guard has already exceeded its annual recruitment goal by 108%. So far this year, the Coast Guard has recruited more than 4,700 new members, 1,200 more than the same time last year. And over the last four years and the next four years, we will grow the service by at least 15,000 new personnel. There's never been a more exciting time to enter the fleet.
So I'd like to offer you something as you step forward today. Five different reflections from me personally. Lessons that I have learned over my lifetime that I wish I would have known at your age, and lessons that I hope you carry forward with you in your noble service.
Number one: that you are needed.
Now I would say that as I was growing up, I grew up as someone who didn't necessarily know I had any gifts or talents to offer the world, but I want each of you to know that you do. Each of you brings something special and unique to the Coast Guard. I realize that our armed forces prioritize discipline, precision, unity, but each of you has a special gift, a unique talent. Use those, let those shine. Use those to serve others and to do your job and your duty that you have assigned to you within this Coast Guard fleet. Use your talents to find special ways to contribute to our nation's safety, our security, and our prosperity.
And on that note, I do want to give a couple of shout outs to some of the incredible achievements that we've seen out of this class. I know Parker Madden and Wyatt Duthu both reached 100 career hits in baseball. Where are they at? I heard they…stand up, be recognized. Awesome. You guys aren't a little competitive, are you? You're sitting a little far apart. Declan Rooney reached 1000 career points in basketball and was named to the NEWMAC All-Conference team. Where's he at? Nice work. In women's basketball, we had Glory Blethen set the Coast Guard record in career blocks. Where is she at? Nice work. And Caitlin Coates set school records in goals scored and points in women's lacrosse. Stand up. This year, Samuel Humphrey received the Dale G. Gabel Scholarship award for the highest proficiency in math, science, and engineering coursework. Where is he at? Nice. And the [Foundation Education?] grant to attend graduate school at the Arctic University of Norway went to Elise Beauchemin. Is she here? You’re all a bunch of overachievers. Thank you so much for setting the bar so high.
Whether your accomplishments are in sports, academia, or something else, your skills will prove valuable in your service. There will always be a role for you to play. It may be something that you don't even expect, but it will be exactly what you were meant to do.
Number two, the second thing I'd like to leave with you today is I wonder if any of you have ever been in a vehicle driving down the road and you realize your car is not functioning properly. It jerks, something's wrong. You're not quite sure why you can't turn the corners properly. It's sticking, something's wrong, and then you look down and you realize you have the emergency brake on. Have anybody ever done that before? I have. Come on, be honest, you can't lie at your own graduation. And then you take the emergency brake off, and you're just shocked at how well your car drives. It's like it's amazing and you just can't believe that you just did that.
Well would I encourage you in life to take your emergency break off. There's so many things in our lives that hold us back. It might be our insecurities. Maybe we think we aren't smart enough, strong enough, or outgoing enough. There's something in your life that always causes you to hesitate to take that next opportunity, to go for that leadership position, take on that new challenge.
Whatever it is in your life that is your emergency break—I'm going to encourage you to take that off today. Let it go. Whatever opportunity comes your way, just say yes. Go do it. You have no idea what will happen to you. If you attend that meeting, take on that assignment, that new challenge leadership role, you might learn that you have a gift or talent you didn't know that you had before. You might meet somebody there that changes your life forever. Might be your business partner someday, your new husband or wife, or somebody that becomes your mentor. Take off your emergency break and go and enjoy life and have confidence in who you are and what you have to offer.
Now Johann [Wolfgang] von Goethe, a great German author and statesman, once wrote, “Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men.”
This country was founded by brave men and women who dreamed the huge dream of a nation founded on the principle of freedom. This Coast Guard has been built and strengthened by the dreams of men and women working to save lives.
So what will you dream? What will you build, invent, create, fix, teach, heal, or protect? The Coast Guard needs you to dream those big dreams. Our nation needs you to build and to dream those big dreams. What dream will come next for you? Only you get to decide that. That's the power and the duty of freedom.
Now, number three: quit being in such a hurry. Lessons from, that you have every single day that were taught here: you wanted to hurry up and get through them because they were challenging, because they were something that you wanted to get on to the next big thing. But not being in a hurry allows you to learn more, to build relationships and to be people that aren't constantly rushing to get to the next thing, but are fully present in what they're accomplishing that day.
I'm fascinated by the story of Edith Monroe. Now you all know the story of her son, Douglas Monroe, the only Coast Guardsman to ever be awarded the Medal of Honor. But just as incredible in its own way is the fact that his mother, Edith, decided to join the Coast Guard after he gave what President Lincoln called the last full measure of devotion to this country. Edith Monroe took the oath to join the Coast Guard's Women's Reserve just two hours after she accepted the Medal of Honor on her son's behalf of President Franklin Roosevelt. She was 48 years old when she joined. When asked why she decided to join the Coast Guard, she said, “We are a Coast Guard family through Doug. He loved his service and I am very happy to be eligible to serve in it.” She was certainly in no hurry to join the Coast Guard, but she joined when she knew it was the right thing to do. She didn't think it was too late.
You will do great things. You might feel called, but you might not feel ready to be sent yet. Like Edith Monroe, your moment will come. It might be today. It might be when you're 28, it might be when you're 48 to take on that next challenge. But when that moment comes, seize it, grab it, take a hold of it, and you will win and win that challenge.
Now, number four: life is built on the power of relationships. You may have had people in your life that have told you your entire life that education is the most important thing that you could accomplish. They may tell you that whatever job is out there or what you will do will define who you are. What I will tell you is that the world still moves on relationships, that the people that you meet, that you spend time with, will help you make the connections that will make you be successful.
I want to tell you a story about a very special woman to me that I met years ago when I was at a meeting in Montana. She walked up to me and we were having a nice conversation, and she happened to have on this beautiful bracelet that had pearls on it and I commented on it and I said, “I like your bracelet.” And she said, “Well, let me tell you about why I always wear pearls.” She said, “I wear pearls because they're the only precious gem that's made from a living creature.” She said, “And it's made from going through something hard. When the oyster gets a piece of sand into it, it hurts. It causes a great pain. But it works on that hard pain and challenge to form something around it that ends up turning it into something that's beautiful, turns it into something precious.” And she used that opportunity to tell me about her Christian faith and about how Jesus can take your life that is hurtful and painful and challenging and turn it into something beautiful.
But I also have applied that to things in life that are hard and difficult. I happen to be raised by a father who's a cowboy, who gave us impossible things to do, and many days I thought he's not trying to raise us children, he's trying to kill us children with all the work that he gave us. But I realized years later that the reason that Dad gave us so many hard things to do, because when we accomplished those impossible tasks, we became problem solvers. And when we got through a challenge that was difficult, we didn't think we could do, it gave us the confidence to take on the next hardest thing.
For some reason, this generation of Americans has decided that going through hard things is bad or wrong. I would tell you the exact opposite thing. Hard things are good. Challenges teach you who you are. They turn you into being a problem solver, and they give you the confidence to take on the next difficult thing.
So whether it is something that you have in your life that you carry with you… For me, ever since that lady told me the story, I've always born something that has a pearl on it to represent that life is hard. Sometimes my job is hard. Sometimes our family has challenges. But we can take those hard things and turn something precious into it, something that living creatures go through that we can turn into something that will be cherished forever and that we can use as a testimony to the kind of people that we can be if we accomplish them and persevere through them. It's people more than tasks or titles that are going to shape your journey in life. Take on the challenges and make sure you build those relationships.
The last thing I want to leave you with today is to always remember to say thank you. You all have professors here. You have parents and family members, other loved ones who helped you make it to this point. You all have classmates and peers who stayed up late. They helped you study for tests. They helped you get over some kind of an obstacle in training, and there's someone that you need to thank today. Maybe when you leave here, you pick up the phone and call that individual. Think of the one person who kept showing up for you, even when you doubted yourself. So find that person today, whether they're here or if you need to write them a letter or call them on the telephone, say a heartfelt thank you. Gratitude is powerful and it pays dividends.
Because we woke up in this country today, we are more blessed than 99% of the people in this world, because we woke up in the United States of America.
Now our nation is facing unprecedented threats to our national security. With incredible men and women like you joining our Coast Guard, I am confident that the American people will be safe.
Take these lessons as you become officers in a military service that is more in demand than ever before. The American people expect you to win, and they need our country to win. When you stop deadly drugs from reaching our shores, you save Americans from addiction and overdose, and you spare families from being ripped apart. When you work to secure our maritime trade from the threats of communist China, you not only protect our nation's economy, you secure our future. When you rescue those stranded at sea, you save lives. And when you sail icebreakers into the harsh and the unforgiving Arctic, you make our nation more secure.
Your bravery, your dedication, your selflessness are reflected in your motto, Semper Paratus, always ready. Whether you leave here today to go to a cutter, if you go to flight school, a sector, defend our nation, maybe in the cyber domain area or anywhere else, you will be challenged, but leadership is not for the faint of heart.
2 Timothy tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind. He has given you sound minds that make good decisions. Use them, and then look out on this field.
I am confident that each and every one of you will rise to the occasion and that you'll meet those challenges. As you graduate today, know that you are ready and that we need you to be. Our commander in chief, President Donald J. Trump, supports you. As your secretary, I will always have your back. And I'm confident that you will support the American people.
May God bless you and God continue to bless the great United States of America. Congratulations.
I want you to stay standing for a moment because I've got a big announcement to make. We were not planning to do this yesterday, but we did get approval from President Trump in the Oval Office yesterday to announce the new leadership team that will be leading the Coast Guard into the future. This is exciting news for all of you as this leadership team has the vision to implement Forest Design 2028 and to be examples to all of you as you take on this unprecedented time in Coast Guard history.
I'm proud to announce that today Admiral Kevin Lunday will be the new commandant of the US Coast Guard. Congratulations, Commandant. Thomas Allen will be the vice commandant of the Coast Guard, recommended for promotion to admiral. Give him a round of applause. Today I'm also privileged to announce a promotion of Deputy Commandant for Operations Vice Admiral Nathan Moore. And Jo-Ann Burdian as Atlantic Area commander recommended for promotion as vice admiral. Congratulations, Jo-Ann. As your new Pacific Area commander recommended for promotion to vice admiral, Joseph Buzzella. And for the new position of chief of staff, recommended for promotion to vice admiral, Douglas Schofield.
I learned long ago that leadership has consequences. It matters who's in charge. It matters not just to the people that they lead, but it also sets an example for others across the communities, the states, and the nation in which they serve. These leaders have the full faith and trust of me, they have the full faith and trust of the president of the United States, and I am certain that they will not let us down. Congratulations to all of you and welcome to your new leadership roles.
"Secretary Noem Commencement Address to U.S. Coast Guard Academy." C-SPAN video. May 21, 2025. https://www.c-span.org/program/commencement-speeches/secretary-noem-commencement-address-to-us-coast-guard-academy/660178