“So, what is the state of the Coast Guard today? Well, I can report that we’re ready to meet mission demands, but we’re facing some real challenges,” said Papp. “But, when you’re facing challenges, it’s reassuring to be surrounded by a good crew.”
As might be expected from the Coast Guard’s longest serving commissioned cutterman, Papp’s address was peppered with nautical references and took on the tone of an ‘all hands’ meeting between a ship’s captain and its crew.
“No one else can do everything that we do. We protect citizens at sea, we protect America from threats delivered by sea, and we protect the sea itself. We are a military service, federal law enforcement agency, and our Nation’s lead maritime first responder with the mandate and bias to act. We are locally based, Nationally deployed, and globally connected.”
Click here to watch the speech or click here for the full transcript of Admiral Papp’s State of the Coast Guard address.
This post was originally posted to CG Compass by Christopher Lagan
