On Tuesday, March 3rd, I will deliver my third State of the Coast Guard speech. This is a unique year since I will be delivering this annual address before the President's formal budget submission to the Congress in mid-April; normally the President's budget is submitted in early February.
A new feature at this year's address is a Question and Answer session. Those in attendance will be able to ask questions directly but I'd also like to hear from the field and our external stakeholders. Just post your question as a comment to this blog entry. I'm encouraging you to use this opportunity to ask about Coast Guard-wide issues.
The theme of this year's speech is "The U.S. Coast Guard: America's Maritime Guardian." I want to highlight the Coast Guard's broad impact across the entire maritime domain...in the heartland, the ports, at sea, and around the globe. The Coast Guard provides a tremendous value to the Nation and this is another opportunity to tell our story to the American public. I'll also discuss some of our budgetary and legislative challenges in the coming year.
After the formal event, the text of the speech and video will be posted on Commandant's Corner. I encourage you to review it and discuss it with your shipmates so you can understand our current operating environment and the challenges we're facing in the 21st century.
ADM A
