Links in the Chain

The cadets and alumni of the Military Academy at West Point are known as the “Long Grey Line. Midshipmen and Alumni from the Naval Academy are “links in the chain”. This term is derived from the anchor chain that holds a ship in safety in harbor or is deployed to counter the effects of a storm.

As Admiral R.A. Hopwood, Royal Navy noted in his epic Laws of the Navy;

On the strength of one link in the cable,

Dependeth the might of the chain.

Who knows when thou may’st be tested,

So live that thou bearest the strain.

During the course of this summer, you have learned that your success depends in no small part on the efforts of your squad mates, and the others in your platoon and company. You are links in the chain toward achieving and maintaining your goals and aspirations, each dependent on the others for success. When you reach the Fleet and the Fleet Marine Force, you will recognize that the success, indeed the very safety of your ship, squadron, platoon, or company, is built upon the same principles, every man and woman doing their part as a link in the chain that inspires others and collectively assures success.

You will shortly receive from the Class of `1963 an honor coin. On the front of the coin is the Naval Academy seal bound by a chain and inscribed with the numbers 1963 and 2013. On the reverse are the 1963 Class Crest, and the words Commitment, HONOR, Courage and Quality (our Class motto). We have lived by these words for fifty years. Honor is foremost among them; the others flow from one’s personal and collective honor. Without honor, the others are meaningless. We pass these words to you with every expectation that they too will become your watchwords. They are not empty words. You will be tested from time to time to live up to them, often at times when least expected, just as the links in an anchor chain are tested for strength and durability. The experiences of Captain Cronin so modestly described serve to demonstrate links in the chain under maximum stress. They held. They left Hanoi with their honor—and ours—intact. They lived the words of Anchors Aweigh, “With honor over, honor over all”.

You are now links in the chain, links comprised of commitment, honor, courage and quality, and forged in blood, sweat, tears, shared dedication, camaraderie, and the perseverance to overcome all challenges placed in front of you.

In less than four years when you come down the ramp with your diploma and commission in your hand, members of the Class of 1963 will be there congratulate you and to give you your bars as a second lieutenant or ensign in the Naval Service. We will also give you another coin identical to the one you receive tonight, except that the class crest on the coin will be yours, not ours. The torch will be passed from us to you. We will not see the class of 2063, but you will. You too will pass the torch to future links in the chain.

We are proud to welcome you as links in the chain composed of all those who have preceded you and those who will come thereafter.

As a final note, during our time here the class of 1963 never saw a loss to Army. We have every expectation that you will not either.

Thank you.