CNO Remarks at National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) Gala

Thank you to NIAF for this incredible recognition. It is truly an honor to be with you this evening to receive the Leonardo Da Vinci Award for Military Service.

As you just saw in the video, my grandparents came to America in search of the American dream - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and new opportunities for their families.

They arrived with the firm belief and the strongest of convictions, that if you worked hard, learned all you could, and did things the right way that you and your family would find success in this new world.

My grandfather, Rebello Franchetti, a seasoned stonecutter, lived those values, as did my grandmother, Chiarina Rhea, the matriarch of our family. Together, they laid a strong foundation for my father, Lawrence Franchetti to be the first person in our family to go to college, become an engineer and find his success as a plant manager.

Through the example they set they passed on those same values - values you've heard a lot about tonight, to me. And I passed them on to my own college freshman, Isabel Maria Franchetti, who studied Italian and learned about our Italian heritage firsthand, when we lived in Italy as part of our Navy journey.

There is no doubt that those values and the love and support of my family laid the foundation for my success as a naval officer and as the 33rd Chief of Naval Operations.

But, there is also no doubt that this award and my every success I've had is owed to our amazing team of Navy Sailors and civilians. People who come from across the rich fabric of America. People with who I've had the opportunity to serve with over all these 39 years.

So, as we sit here tonight enjoying this friendship and this wonderful dinner, many of our Sailors are deployed. They're standing the watch very far from home and far from their family. In fact, on any given day, roughly 110 ships and 70,000 Sailors and Marines are deployed operating around the world and around the clock to preserve our Nation's security and prosperity, to deter any would-be adversary, and stand ready to fight and win decisively, if called. I could not be more proud of our Navy team.

And, they are doing it alongside Allies and partners, including the very capable Italian Navy, and just in case you didn't see it in the news, our Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group just wrapped up a series of operations with the Italian Carrier Strike Group, ITS Cavour in the Indo-Pacific, and I can say with confidence that the partnership between the U.S. Navy and the Italian Navy grows stronger every single day. So, thank you again to NIAF. Thank you to all of you. I could not be more proud of my Italian-American heritage or more grateful for the values that helped pave my way. Thank you very much.

Have a great night!