Savannah, Georgia Remarks During a Visit A board the U.S.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower.

In 1942, before many of you were born, I entered the Navy as an ROTC student at Georgia Tech. Later I went to the U.S. Naval Academy, and I was graduated in 1946 in the Class of 1947. And I then went to the U.S.S. Mississippi and the U.S.S. Wyoming, an old battleship that was doing modern experimental work.

Later I went into submarines and served on the U.S.S. Pomfret, later the U.S.S. K-1. And I was the commanding officer of the precommissioning crew of the U.S.S. Seawolf, the second atomic submarine that was ever built. Then I resigned from the Navy, and a number of years later I got a slight promotion to my new job. [Laughter]

But I'm still one of you. As President of the United States and as Commander in Chief, I've had a chance today to be reassured that our Nation is strong, that that strength is being used to preserve peace around the world, and that the destiny of our country rests on the shoulders of strong men like yourselves, who exemplify superb service and courage in one of the great ships of the greatest navy in the greatest country on Earth.

You can be truly proud of what you are doing. I know that for many of you this is your first tour at sea, and you serve on one of the newest and the best ships in the world. I've had a chance today to see how the ship operates, to study it before I came out this morning from an air base in Savannah. I've seen your nuclear reactor areas and the machinery areas, the flight deck operation. I've been on the bridge. I've seen your great crew maintain the U.S.S. Eisenhower and operate it in a means that would make the Navy proud had you been training for these specific duties for years and years, or even a whole career.

It's extremely important that the Eisenhower, as a major fighting component of our Nation's defense, be constantly ready for that purpose. We hope and we pray that the tremendous nuclear power and tactical power of our country won't have to be used in combat during our lifetime. And the best way to ensure that this is the case, that we do maintain peace for our own country, for our allies, for our friends, is to be strong. And as long as I'm Commander in Chief and President, I'll do the best I can to keep our country strong.

There is an inherent partnership between civilian leadership—myself, the Secretary of Defense, who's here, the Secretary of the Navy, who's here, Dr. Brzezinski, the head of my National Security Council, who is here—on the one hand, along with the Congress, and you, the fighting men of our Armed Forces.

There's also a close partnership that's required and certainly has been exhibited today between the ship's crew and the air combat fighters who have exhibited their superb capabilities to me and to you today.

We also have seen the supporting ships, and I know that you see the importance to a carrier operation to have that close teamwork. The Nation depends .on you, and I'm proud to be the Commander in Chief of a group of men as well-qualified, as deeply dedicated, as patriotic and courageous as all of you.

On behalf of the people of the United States, I would like to thank you for what you do for our country and for freedom and peace around the world.

God bless every one of you. I'm proud of you.