（全文翻译）
早上好！

尊敬的代理海军部长Thomas Harker，David Burger将军（海军陆战队司令），Mike Gilday上将（海军作战部司令），Sean Buck校长，TR Buchanan上校（见习军官司令），各位教师和员工，感谢你们培养出了如此出色的队伍！校友们，感谢你们多年来对伟大母校的支持！我自己的军事顾问Frank Machniak少校也是2004年的毕业生，也感谢你今天能来。

毕业生的父母和朋友们，感谢你们目前和未来要为此做出的牺牲！

也向Kim Johnson和John Johnson致以哀悼，你们的爱子走得太早了，他不会被遗忘（注：这指的是毕业班中一位因故遇难的学员）。
（毕业生们）： 看看你们不平凡的征程：你们完成了早5点半的体能训练和严格的考试，你们在体育和学术上双优异， 你们享受生活。你们挽起袖子接种疫苗，你们终于等到了这毕业的一天！

今天这一天不单单是毕业日，这更是接受任务的日子。再过几分钟，你们就要举行宣誓礼，这是和我就任副总统时所宣读的同样的誓言，去捍卫我们的宪法和抵御任何的敌人。这一誓词源于我们的立国之本。不管我们的世界发生什么样的变化，这个誓言的呼召是不变的。当你走进这个世界的时候，你必须牢记这一点。
这是因为这个世界变化快。我们正处在一个时代的转折点。看看过去的几个月吧，我想你当然知道我在说什么，然后再看看我们国家历史上的几个关键时刻作为参照。
想一想，在1929年经济大萧条之前和之后的世界是不同的；1941年珍珠港被袭之前的世界，和那以后的世界；1964年我国民权法案之前的世界，和那以后的世界；冷战结束和柏林墙倒塌之前的世界，和那之后的世界。在这些关键的历史时刻，我们的国家不得不严正地审视我们的优先和选择，我们对危机的准备。
另一个转折点是20年前的9/11恐怖袭击，被劫客机撞击了世贸大厦和五角大楼，93号航班坠毁于宾夕法尼亚。那一天重塑了我们的生活和我们的国家。那个事件测试了我们的系统，我们的结构，和我们在这个世界上的定位。

好吧，毕业生们，见习海军军官们，我们现在进入了下一个时代，一个有着新试炼，新挑战和新际遇的新的纪元。
我们经历的这次新冠危机，加速了本来已经发生的一切，把我们的世界加速进入了这个新的时代。它永远地影响了这个世界，它永远地改变了我们的视角。如果我们以前还不明白的话，我们现在应该懂了，
我们的世界是相互联系的，是相互依存的，我们的世界也是脆弱的
。

想一想，一场致命的流行病在几个月就席卷全球；几个电脑黑客就能打断一整片海岸线的燃料供应，单独一个国家的碳排放就能威胁整个地球的可持续发展。见习官们，这就是我们生活的时代，一个和以往截然不同的时代。

我们目前的挑战，就是如何构建一条现代的防御体系来应对这些现代的威胁。

让我分享一些个人体验。几年前我还在参议院的时候，我参观了我们的洛杉矶级潜水艇Scranton号，它就停泊在加州圣地亚哥，当时我是参院情报委员会成员。所以我问船员：怎样应对网络和信息攻击？船员们告诉我：很简单，就是靠设备和专才。
所以说，见习官们，在我的眼里，你们就是这些专才。外国敌对势力会把目光盯在我们的军事技术上，知识产权上，甚至干扰选举，染指我们的关键性基础设施。本月发生的勒索软件攻击事件就是警讯，像这样的警报很多。

我们必须保卫我们的国家免遭这样的威胁。同时，我们必须充分利用我们正在学到的东西，比如量子计算，人工智能，机器人，这些能把国家放在优势地位的关键性技术。这些谁来做？就是你们。你们承担这个责任，因为美国军队是世界上最好的，最勇的，最杰出的。
想想看，海军原来用对讲机，现在是卫星导航。美军向来是在研发和技术创新的第一线。这是美国的骄傲。我现在看到你们，就知道你们会继承这样的领先地位。
还有气候变化，这是对国家安全的切实威胁，你们将是应对这个危机的专家。你们当中有海洋工程师，将把航船驶过变薄的冰层；你们当中有机械工程师，将负责加固下沉的军事基地；你们当中有电子工程师把太阳能和风能转化为战斗力。

随便问任何一个海军陆战队员，她是愿意背20磅重的电池呢还是轻便可卷起的太阳板，我肯定她选择太阳板。男的也一样。

美国人民依赖你们，最优秀，最勇敢，最杰出的战士。即使在这次疫情中美国人民也看到了我们的军队是如何帮助给全国接种疫苗，因为你们深刻理解流行病传染病这样的生物威胁是这个时代另一种威胁。你们在应对这个威胁。我们的军方研发了使疫苗成为可能的关键技术；海军科研人员找到了如何使用三维编织机生产口罩；海军实验室监控了疾病的扩散。海军和海军陆战队研究了流行病和未来军队的医学准备之间的关联。

2021的毕业班，对于这一切你们做好了准备吗！你们为未来的时代和挑战做好了准备。这不仅仅是你们学到和将要学习的知识和技能，还有更重要的内在因素，那就是你们每一个人，和你们团结一致的集体。
我的讲话即将结束，但我想讲讲你们。作为副总统，我对海军学院开始比较了解了。每一天我身边的同事都有海军和陆战队的成员，和你们的历史和传统。我今天来乘坐的是“陆战二号”直升机；我的官邸位于美国海军天文台；我在白宫办公室有一张桌子的木料来自我国早期名舰宪法号，是一位海工程师亲手打的；副总统办公司过去是海军部长的办公地点；我曾给你们的士官旅长颁发肩章。
士官们，你们不知疲倦，你们充满雄心，你们作战勇猛，你们充满理想，你们是美国精神的化身。保持住这些，因为在未来的职业中，你们也会目击最恶的人性，但是请承诺你们永不忘记最好的自己，你们永远不能忘记你们代表的理想，责任和忠诚。
为这些理想和民主而奋斗。记住，我们的宪法不单单是我们所要捍卫的，它也是我们的指引。它是你们服役的指引。它的开头就是三个简单的单词：We the People， 是我们而不是我。我们的国家一开始就被设计成了一个集体项目，我们同舟共济。

最后，我想说说我来到这个场馆的路上，我停下来在海军学院的墓地向我以前的一位同事默哀致敬，他是一位伟大和有勇气的美国人，麦凯恩参议员（海军学院校友）。大部分人都不知道，麦凯恩的遗愿是葬在自己在海军学院的最好的同学Chuck Larson上将身边，这是集体精神终极的榜样。
在整个的美国历史中，美国海军和陆战队的军官们曾牺牲一切来保卫我们的自由。今天，你们即将宣誓做出同样的承诺。你们是海军伟大链条的下一个环节。
见习军官们，当你们站起来宣读誓言的时候，当你们向这个新时代启程的时候，拜登总统和我，以及全国都你们都有强烈信念，对你们非常自豪。
再次感谢，愿上帝保佑！
（英文）
Acting Secretary Thomas Harker, General David Berger, Admiral Mike Gilday, looking out at these midshipmen, I know we are all filled with pride. Vice Admiral Sean Buck, Captain TR Buchanan, faculty and staff, thank you for educating such a fine crew. Alumni, thank you for the support you have shown over these years to this great institution. And to my military aid, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Machniak, who graduated in 2004, I’m very proud to have you with me here today.
Family and friends of these graduates, thank you for the sacrifices you have already made and will make.
And I also want to acknowledge Kim and John Johnson. Your son was taken far too soon and I promise you that he will not be forgotten.
And finally, to the class of 2021, congratulations. Congratulations.
And look how far you’ve come. So you endured 05:30 PT and PRONO exams. You excelled on athletic fields and in academic exercises. You enjoyed the fair at Dillows. I know. Karaoke at Harvest. You guys rolled up your sleeves and you got vaccinated and you made it to this day. You made it to this day.
And this day, this day that is not only a commencement, this day that is a commissioning. And in a few minutes, you will take an oath. And it’s actually the same oath I took as Vice President, an oath to support our Constitution and defend it against all enemies, an oath that has its roots in the founding of our nation. And no matter what changes in our world, the charge in this oath is constant.
Remember that as you walk out into the world, because the world you all are walking into is rapidly changing. In fact, we are at a significant turning point. Just look at the last several months and you know what I’m talking about. And look at several moments in our nation’s history for perspective.
Think about it. There was the world before the stock market crashed in 1929, and the world after, the world before the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, and the world after, the world before the Civil Rights Act in 1964, and the world after, the world before the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, and the world after.
At some of these critical moments, our nation was compelled to take a hard look at both our priorities and our preparedness.
And another turning point was September 11th, 20 years ago this year, when airplanes hit the twin towers and our Pentagon, when Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania. That day shaped your entire life and it shaped our entire nation. It tested our systems, our structures, our very standing in the world.
Well, midshipmen, we are now entering the next era, a new age, a new epoch with its own tests, with its own challenges, and with its own opportunities.
The global pandemic you see, of course, has accelerated what was happening before and it has accelerated our world into a new era. It has forever impacted our world. It has for ever influenced our perspective. And if we weren’t clear before, we know now our world is interconnected, our world is interdependent, and our world is fragile.
Just think, a deadly pandemic can spread throughout the globe in just a matter of months, a gang of hackers can disrupt the fuel supply of a whole seaboard. One country’s carbon emissions can threaten the sustainability of the whole earth. This, midshipmen, is the era we are in and it is unlike any era that came before.
So the challenge now, the challenge before us now is how to mount a modern defense to these modern threats.
So let me share with you, for example, a personal experience. A few years ago when I was in the United States Senate, I visited the USS Scranton. It was outside of San Diego, California. And at the time, I was also a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. So when I was aboard the vessel, I asked the officers, I said, “Hey, tell me, what does it take to protect such a valuable asset against cyber attacks?” And they told me, “You know, it’s pretty simple, equipment and experts.”
Well, the way I see it, midshipmen, you, you, you are those experts on the issue of cybersecurity. Foreign adversaries have their sights set on our military technology, our intellectual property, our elections, our critical infrastructure. The ransomware attack by criminal hackers earlier this month, well, that was a warning shot. In fact, there have been many warning shots.
So we must defend our nation against these threats. And at the same time, we must make advances in things that you’ve been learning, things like quantum computing and artificial intelligence and robotics, and things that will put our nation at a strategic advantage, and you will be the ones to do it. You will be the ones to do it because the United States military is the best, the bravest, and the most brilliant.
And just think, from walkie talkies to the internet, to satellite navigation, the United States military has been on the forefront of research, development and technological advancement. That is a point of American pride. And as I look out at all of you, I know you will build on that leadership.
And then of course there is climate change, which is a very real threat to our national security. And I look at you and I know you are among the experts who will navigate and mitigate this threat. You are ocean engineers who will help navigate ships through thinning ice. You are mechanical engineers who will help reinforce sinking bases. You are electrical engineers who will soon help convert solar and wind energy into power, convert solar and wind energy into combat power.
And just ask any Marine today, would she rather carry 20 pounds of batteries or a rolled up solar panel, and I am positive she will tell you a solar panel, and so would he.
The American people are depending on you, the best, the bravest, the most brilliant. We saw this during COVID-19 when Americans watched how members of our military helped vaccinate our nation, because you know biological threats like pandemics and infectious diseases are yet another threat in this era. And you are confronting this threat. Our military helped develop the technology that made the vaccine possible. Naval researchers also figured out how to use 3D knitting machines to make masks. Naval labs monitored the spread of the disease. And the Marine Corps and the Navy are leading on making the connection between the pandemic and medical readiness of our fighting forces for the future.
Class of 2021, you are prepared for all of this. You are prepared for any threat and you are prepared for this new era. And it is not only because of the knowledge and the skills you gained here or those you will continue to learn, but it’s because of something more. It’s because of who each of you is. It is because of who collectively you are.
So as I conclude today, that’s what I want to talk about. I want to talk about you. As Vice President, I’ve come to know the United States Navy quite well. Every day, in fact, I’m surrounded by sailors and Marines and your tradition and your history. And I mean that literally. So I often travel on Marine Two. In fact, that’s how I arrived today. My residence is on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory. My west wing office features a desk built by [inaudible 00:13:55] from timbers of the USS Constitution. My ceremonial office was once occupied by the Secretary of the Navy, and displayed there, I have placed the shoulder boards of your brigade commander, Midshipman Sydney Barber.
And so here’s what I know. Midshipmen, you are tireless. You are ambitious. You are a fierce fighting force. You are idealists in the truest sense. You are the embodiment of American aspiration. So hold on to that, because in your career, you may witness some of the worst of humanity, but promise that you will never forget the best of who we are, that you will never forget the ideals you stand for, duty, honor, loyalty.
Fight for those ideals and fight for our democracy. And remember, our Constitution is not only something to defend, it is a guide. It is a guide for your service. It begins with three simple words, We the People, not I, we. Our nation was designed to be a team sport and we are in this together.
So finally, I’ll just share with you on my way to the stadium this morning, I stopped by the cemetery to pay my respects to my dear former colleague, a great and courageous American, Senator John McCain. Yes. So most people don’t know he wanted to be buried next to his best friend who he met on the yard, Admiral Chuck Larson. That is the ultimate example of what I mean, in it together.
So midshipmen, throughout our history, officers in the United States Navy, officers in the United States Marine have risked everything to defend our freedoms. Today, you will swear to do the same. You are the next links in the chain.
And so, midshipmen, when you stand to take the oath, I want you to know that as we embark on this new era, President Joe Biden and I, our entire nation have great faith in you and we are proud of you, so very, very proud.
Congratulations again. May God bless you and may God bless the United States of America. Thank you.
扫码关注我们
合作与投稿：[email protected]
扫码关注我们
继续阅读
阅读原文