in his time, president ford commissioned what was then the navy's newest aircraft carrier, the u.s.s. nimitz. his remarks that day ring true this day, as each of us looks upon this great ship, he said, a single thought must seize our mind, that only the united states of america can make a machine like this. there is nothing like it in the world. wherever she shows her flag, she will be seen as we see her now, a solid symbol of the united states strength, the united states resolve, made in america, manned by americans, and so, it is today the u.s.s. nimitz is underway in the arabian sea and the sister ship george h.w. bush, is turning into the wind and ronald reagan stands watch over the western pacific and yes, she is ships stand as a symbol of the united states strength and united states resolve. they are our nation's great instrument of security and, too, of goodwill. so, skipper, as we marvel at the technology and daunting numbers that measure this ship, never lose sight that in time of crisis, you will be the first to respond and when called upon, you will deliver the final word in the b

ford as he delivered his keynote address at the commissioning ceremony for u.s.s. nimitz. s then, the man who presided over the first in class commissioning ceremony is recognized today as the namesake for our great ship and the first in the ford class. [applaus [applause]. much has been said about the first in class technology aboard ford, technology that, like nimitz in 1975, exists nowhere else. the ford incorporates flexibility in the carrier platform to accommodate future systems and technologies, to ensure that the navy is ready to conduct, prompt and sustained combat, incidents, to operations at sea for decades to come. and yet, as ground breaking as this technology is, it will never supercede the quality of the sailor who operates it, and the sailors aboard today are among our nation's finest. they are talented, driven, innovative, dedicated, passionate about what they do and i am very proud to be their capta captain. [applaus [applause] >> james e hornfish, the author of the book "the last stand of the tin can sailor" said it best, a fighting force cannot be reduce