Happy 251st birthday, U.S. Navy. Fair winds and following seas.

In the centuries since, the Navy has kept reinventing what's possible at sea. In 1862, the ironclads Monitor and Virginia fought the first battle between armored warships and changed naval warfare overnight. In 1907, the Great White Fleet sailed around the world and announced America as a global power. In June 1942, sailors and aviators at Midway turned the tide of the Pacific War in a matter of days. In 1955, the USS Nautilus got underway on nuclear power, and three years later, she became the first vessel to reach the North Pole. From wooden hulls to nuclear carriers, one thing has stayed the same: the sailors who make it all work.

Today, we honor every one of them. We honor the ones on watch right now, the veterans who came before them, and the families who wait on shore. Your courage keeps the sea lanes open. Your commitment keeps the rest of us free.

Happy 251st birthday, U.S. Navy. Fair winds and following seas.