The virtual graduation ceremony for Training Group 43 at Recruit Training Command. More than 40,000 recruits train annually at the Navy’s only boot camp. (U.S. Navy video by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Spencer Fling)
Transcript
(dramatic music)
[Marcher] Eyes right. (rhythmic music) ♪ Tap tap skid it to your right ♪ ♪ Tap tap skid it to your right ♪
Hello everyone, I’m Captain Eric Thors, commanding officer of Recruit Training Command. I welcome you to the virtual edition of our recruit graduation ceremony. Even though you can’t be here in person, it is important to be able to share this experience with you, the families and friends watching this significant milestone online. Next time you see your sailor, I’m sure they will have many stories to tell you about their boot camp experience. But first, allow me the opportunity to tell you our side of the story.
Hurry up, let’s go, get on the bus, let’s go. (rumbles) Out of the bus, into the building.
[Eric] Recruit Training Command is the quarterdeck of the United States Navy.
Good order and discipline will be maintained 24/7. Proper military posture will be maintained 24/7.
[Eric] Every enlisted sailor begins their Naval career here, and our mission is fairly simple. It’s to transform civilians into smartly-disciplined, physically-fit sailors ready for follow-on training and service to the fleet, and while doing so to instill in them the highest values of honor, courage and commitment.
You are no longer a civilian. Whatever you were before is now over. You are about to begin a journey that’s gonna make you a part of the greatest naval force the world has ever known. This training will not be easy, it wasn’t meant to be. (breathes heavily)
[Eric] Our training environment is controlled chaos.
You guys not disciplined today.
Do it!
[Eric] And while it may not seem like that to the recruits, each and every event has meaning and purpose.
You’re gonna sound off at the top of your lungs. Do you understand?
Yes, Petty Officer.
[Eric] We are designed to develop skill sets that sailors can carry throughout their entire career. (faint speaking) We push hard on physical fitness. (faint speaking)
You better catch somebody, you better not-
Watch standing.
You’re not looking, man, look. Try it, read it, and look it.
I have been-
[Eric] And creating a warrior mindset.
Now with the mental scan, you’re gonna be focused on your mind.
[Eric] A true body, mind, and soul approach.
When I say gas, gas, gas, you’ll have 15, one five seconds to don your faces, don your straps, check for seal, and put your hands in your pockets.
[Eric] All of our recruits receive training that will help them the second they get to the fleet. (faint shouting)
Arms up, listen, put your visors down all the way.
[Eric] Firefighting, damage control, weapons and seamanship, our crews get hands-on training and application with them all. (faint shouting) (dramatic music)
I put my hands in front of your faces, you stop shooting, you got it? All right, put your ears on.
Stand by. (faint shouting)
[Trainer] All right, put your ears on. (gunshots)
Again, one breath. Face comes up, one breath, head down. (splashes) (faint shouting)
[Instructor] At the surface, stay awake, good.
Bottom one, right here.
So I need everything you got, because once we start this evolution again, I’m going to expect you to adapt, overcome, and peak.
Petty officer, all lines manned and ready. Petty officer, all lines manned and ready. (faint speaking) (gentle music)
Work together as a team, execute the mission, and the next time I see you, you’ll be sailors. Hooyah Navy.
Hooyah!
[Eric] Everything they learn is tested in a battle stations.
[Sailor] Right, left. (buzzes)
Identify yourself.
[Seaman] Chief, Division 001 manned and ready for battle stations, chief.
[Chief] Very well.
[Leader] You will not relax anything that is on you, got it?
Understand.
[Eric] A 24-hour event where the recruit ceases to exist- (faint shouting) And a sailor is forged.
Sir, we’re underwater. (faint speaking) Sir, we’re underwater. (faint speaking) You just wanna make sure to add height, add height.
Freeze. (faint speaking)
[Eric] Navy boot camp really is a machine with a swarm of moving parts, all working towards the same goal, making a sailor.
I will serve my country’s Navy combat team with honor, courage, and commitment. I am committed to excellence and the fair treatment of all. (gentle music)
The sailors forged here are the bedrock of our Naval forces, they give our Navy its combat edge and enable us to help keep this nation secure. Each of them you see here today has earned the right to wear the uniform recognized throughout the world as a symbol of freedom. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the newest and sharpest sailors in the United States Navy. (drumming)
[Announcer] Division 307, commanded by Petty Officer First Class Sarah Sanders, Petty Officer First Class Brian Dodson, and the Recruit Chief Petty Officer Seaman Alex Sanders from Atlanta, Georgia. (drumming) Division 308, commanded by Petty Officer First Class Christian McKey, Petty Officer Second Class Juanisha Jenkins, and the Recruit Chief Petty Officer Seaman Josalyn Carol Freeland from Davenport, Florida. (drumming) Division 309, commanded by Petty Officer First Class Eduardo DiFrancisco, Petty Officer First Carly Suttle, and Petty Officer Second Class Natalia Taliferro, and the Recruit Chief Petty Officer Seaman Kari Barr from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (drumming) Division 311, commanded by Chief Petty Officer Carly Hattie, Petty Officer First Class Justin Hunter, and the Recruit Chief Petty Officer Seaman Christopher Bixby from Garland, Texas. (drumming) Division 313, commanded by Senior Chief Petty Officer Roger Newberg, Petty Officer First Class Ron Gomez, Petty Officer Second Class Hector Rosa, and the Recruit Chief Petty Officer Seaman Cameron Kellyhobbs from Elmira, New York. (drumming) Division 314, commanded by Petty Officer First Class Julio Gordon, Petty Officer First Class Tonido D’Abrez, and the Recruit Chief Petty Officer Seaman Carol Lashawn from Memphis, Tennessee. (drumming) Division 316, commanded by Chief Petty Officer Sarah Loughlin, Petty Officer First Class Sean Lacursey, and the Recruit Chief Petty Officer Seaman Stacy Smith from Rifle, Colorado. (drumming) Division 317, commanded by Chief Petty Officer Janelle Dumas, Petty Officer First Class Jeff Sears, Petty Officer Second Class Angel Zuniga, and the Recruit Chief Petty Officer Seaman Amy Obona from Westbury, New York. (drumming) Division 318, commanded by Petty Officer First Class Roberto Santana, Petty Officer First Class Christopher Jefferson, and the Recruit Chief Petty Officer Seaman Devin Philly from Elkhart, Indiana. (drumming)
Well good day, Recruit Training Command staff, family, and friends, and what a fine Navy day it is. And though I’d much rather be with you there in person to celebrate this momentous occasion, even in this virtual construct it is a distinct honor and privilege to be able to address you today as we welcome our newest sailors to the fleet. First I would like to congratulate our graduates, our newest shipmates. It has been a long and arduous journey full of challenges, some of which you probably didn’t think you would meet. But you’ve already overcome so much here at boot camp, individually and collectively as sailors and shipmates. Now, the fleet is gonna expect much from you as you go forward, but I know that the staff here at RTC has prepared you to not only meet those expectations, but exceed them. They’ve instilled in you warrior toughness, professional competency, and character rooted in the Navy’s core values of honor, courage, and commitment. An example of this toughness and resiliency was on display in July when sailors from the USS Bonhomme Richard, some of whom had been in the Navy only a few weeks, courageously fought that fire aboard their ship. Sailors from nearby ships like the USS Decatur stepped up to back them up. And when our Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Gilday went out to San Diego to visit those involved he spoke with federal firefighters who said our sailors displayed competency, fearlessness, resiliency, and confidence. This fire’s just one of many examples of the challenges yet to come, and what the Navy and the nation rightfully demands us to be able to meet. Those traits are essential and inextricably linked to the training that starts right here at boot camp. And I know that you will continue to grow and be ready to meet any challenge that awaits you in your Naval career. Now to the family and friends, I want to express my sincere thank you and gratitude for the love and support that got your sailor to where we are today. You will continue to play a vital role in their future success. Your sailor’s journey will not always be easy, but with your love and support, they can overcome anything. Please keep them and their shipmates in your thoughts and prayers. Lastly, I want our new sailors to know this. We all come from different backgrounds, from different walks of life, but today you’re part of the Navy family, my family, your family, our family, and it is a family that takes care of each other and treats everyone with dignity and respect. We all have the common mission of supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States and the country whose course it directs. I am honored to call you shipmate. Congratulations, sailors. I look forward to seeing you in the fleet, NETC out.
Let us pray. Good morning, Lord, we thank you for this day. We thank you for bringing these young sailors through the transformation of boot camp. They have learned what it is to have honor as they have been continually tested and held to the highest standards. Help them to use these lessons in the fleet. It took courage to step onto the plane and leave everything they knew behind. Bless them with the same fortitude in the future, help them to trust in your goodness to carry them through when the challenges of life arise. They have proven themselves and their commitment to their families, to their nation. As we continue with the ceremony, I ask that you would solidify their commitments in all things. These core values will separate them from those they walk among. They may look the same Lord, but never let them be the same. As they now bear the title of United States sailor, let them always be the best of what our country has to offer. We pray these things in your name, amen. (martial music)
Throughout your time here, you’ve been taught toughness. You have been taught to run to the fire. You have been taught to deal with acute stress, how to process it and still move forward. You’ve been taught all that stuff. You’ve been taught to overcome challenge, and you have overcome challenges. The fact that you’re sitting here today says you’ve done that. ‘Cause here’s what I’m gonna tell you. You’re gonna be tested, it’s coming. One of you is gonna be sitting in your gym, working out, and you’re gonna hear a loud crash off the back of your ship, and when you get up topside, a helicopter with 25 people has hit the back of the ship and fell in the water. And now you go to mass casualty and start rescuing people. One of you is gonna be eating from the mess decks, and you’re gonna hear the flight deck fire alarm go off, and you’re gonna run to the flight deck to suit up, and there’s a Harrier jet with two 500-pound bombs on board, a pilot in the cockpit, and the plane’s on fire, and you’ve got to go combat the fire. One of you is gonna be sitting in combat off the coast of Africa, and you’re gonna hear missiles inbound, this is not a drill. And you’re gonna have to react. Everything I just said has happened to our Navy in the last four years. And sailors like you responded and took action. Your test is coming. Are you ready?
Yes, Master Chief.
Weak, weak! Are you ready?
Yes, Master Chief!
I am proud of each and every one of you. You are absolutely the generation of sailors I want to go to war with. Be proud of what you’ve done, earn it every day. I’m proud to call you shipmate. I look forward to seeing you in the fleet. I look forward to see you at graduation tomorrow. Congratulations to your parents. Hooyah.
Hooyah!