I have the honor of holding an office once held by Secretary of the Navy Eduardo Hidalgo; it’s a privilege to stand on his shoulders, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve in this capacity. I think Secretary Hidalgo, who championed equal opportunity, would be pleased to see the achievements being made by minorities in our sea services today. It’s fascinating to think about how much the Navy, and the Nation, has changed and evolved over the past couple decades (my father was a Vietnam-era A-7 pilot, at the time one of perhaps a handful of Hispanic pilots in the Fleet. Dark complected, with a deep South Texas-Spanish accent, his callsign, the nickname given to aviators for radio communications, was ‘Greaser’ Garcia. Of course he claims it was because of his nice, smooth carrier landings). The Naval Academy’s Class of 2013 will be 35 percent diverse, the most ever. Navy ROTC scholarships at Historically Black Colleges and Universities have tripled since 2006. For the first time in our history, the Navy’s four Sailors of the Year are all women (two are African-American, one is Latina). A few months ago, Admiral Nora Tyson made history when she became the first woman to take command of a carrier strike group. It’s why we’re determined that by 2030, we will have a flag pool, that is, post-command O-6’s, that looks like America. And as we speak, the first ever cadre of female Ensigns selected for duty aboard submarines have started nuclear power school. I received a fascinating brief at the Center for Naval Analysis, the Navy’s think tank, earlier this year. First, it has never been more difficult to get in the Navy or Marine Corps or Coast Guard. There’s an ongoing debate about whether that’s a function of the troubled economy (I happen to believe it has more to do with a generation that was defined by the events of 9/11, who has known nothing but war their entire adult lives, and who are responding to their country’s call). But by any objective criteria (percentage of high school diploma holders, aptitude, test scores, etc.), the quality of our recruits has never been greater. Consequently, we have a level of attrition at boot camps that is at an unprecedented low. These young Americans simply don’t drop out. They’re qualified, they’re motivated, and they’re sharp. In 1998, we lost 16 percent of Marine recruits to attrition. Last year, just 12 years down the road, only 9 percent of Marine recruits attrited. That’s incredible. The percentage of DOR’s (Drop on Request) has been cut in half in a decade. We’re simply getting a superior recruit. Now here’s the fascinating part. The attrition rate for Hispanics is half of THAT; about 5 percent. The analysts are dumbfounded. They can’t explain it. Statistically, when a young Hispanic recruit gets an opportunity at Marine Boot Camp at San Diego or Paris Island, or Navy Boot Camp at Great Lakes, they’re simply not quitting. Now the working hypothesis is that because the Hispanic high school dropout rate is so high (45 percent in parts of my native South Texas), that those young people who do successfully get through a high school like that, who find a way to navigate their way through the hazards of gangs, the temptation of drugs, the temptations that lead to teen pregnancy, and the dangers of crime, who’ve literally willed themselves into position to get to boot camp, bring a special set of skills. Perhaps having made it through a situation like that, that all of a sudden, a Marine Corps Drill Instructor may not be the scariest thing they’ve had to deal with. This is the story of Hispanic America. I think it’s the story of America at its best. This idea that the opportunity exists for every one of us to earn a place at the American table, through service to this country. 500,000 Hispanic served in WWII. They served alongside their counterparts. They gave their sweat, and in some cases, their blood. And when they came back stateside after the War, back to a nation which in some regions didn’t allow them to vote, to serve on juries, for their children to attend certain schools, or to use certain public accommodations…they knew something had changed. They knew they had definitively earned their place at the American table. And so what do the Sea Services get out of it? We get a great Marine, great Sailor, great Coast Guardsman. You’ve come through a life of challenges like that, all of a sudden, jumping out of a Dolphin helicopter in frigid waters with a sea state of 12 feet to complete a CSAR (Combat Search and Rescue) mission doesn’t seem that tough. We get a Sailor who is not afraid to lead a Repair Locker in fighting a no-kidding fire and saving his shipmates. And we get a Marine who is not afraid of an Al Qaeda fighter who is looking to take that opportunity away. And just like those generations before them, in the great American tradition, they can pay for an education with their sweat and in some cases their blood. Only now, with the historically generous 9/11 GI Bill, they can transfer that education to a spouse or a child if that’s a better fit. But it’s necessary. Your Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Team have never been called on by the Nation to address a more diverse and wide array of challenges and threats. And those challenges and threats accordingly require a diverse and wide array of ideas and capabilities to meet them. America in 2010 cannot afford to overlook any talent. Not when the Nation needs a Sea Service that can wage a brutal two-front war against vicious radical jihadists, and simultaneously be capable of sending a 1,000 bed hospital ship, a nuclear aircraft carrier, a Marine Expeditionary Unit, and 16 support ships to rescue the island nation of Haiti following their earthquake a couple months back. A Sea Service that patrols and protects the waterways of the globe ensuring access for trade and navigation. When that’s the breadth of mission the nation needs you to execute, we can’t afford to overlook any talent. And we’re not.