SECNAV Del Toro Delivers Remarks at Fleet Week Miami Kickoff Concert

Good evening, everyone! And welcome to Miami Fleet Week!

I am quite confident tonight’s event will prove to be the highlight of your week.

It is an honor to be with you here tonight to speak with you at this beautiful Miami venue!

And I want to thank my dear friend Emilio Estefan for making Latin Music such a significant part of the American landscape and for making tonight possible, as well.

Allow me to take a brief moment to thank my wife Betty, for being by my side throughout our 40 years of marriage which included a naval career, a career in the private sector and now, again, service to our Navy and Marine Corps team.

And I welcome our uniformed service members.

You servicemembers who serve so proudly as part of our Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard - we are indeed the strongest, most lethal, and most resilient armed forces in the world because of you.

Thank you for your incredible service and dedication to this great nation.

I want to recognize and thank Blue Star Families, an organization which strengthens military and Veteran families across the world.

Now I’d like to again recognize Ms. Kathy Roth-Douquet for her extraordinary distinguished public service by granting her the Secretary of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award.

I’m sorry folks, my notes are a bit displaced—I’m supposed to next introduce someone knows Miami, salsa, and a conga line.

Would anyone know who that is? Can someone help me?

Now, Gloria (Estefan), I need you to hold on for a second.

I know you’re excited to be here amongst all these great Sailors and Marines.

But I need to you hang on for a second.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Miami holds a special place in my heart, not only because of its incredible food and culture—but also because Miami warmly welcomed my family to the United States when we fled Fidel Castro’s Cuba in the early 1960s—just like Gloria’s and Emilio’s.

Miami became a safe haven for thousands of Cubans who were forced to flee government persecution and oppression.

The city welcomed the Cuban refugees with open arms—and still does today.

But Miami did not only provide refuge. It allowed the Cuban diaspora that came here—like my family—to rebuild their lives, start businesses, and become pillars of this community.

Today, Miami is a thriving metropolis in large part thanks to that tradition of welcome and the Cuban-Americans who have helped build the city over the past 70 years.

That shared history is what makes Miami one of the greatest cities on Earth—and emblematic of what makes this country the greatest country in the world.

Miami is a shining example of what happens when a city welcomes all who come seeking a better life.

That is why it is my honor and privilege to announce the name of the next Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarine, SSN-811, USS Miami.

I am also honored to announce the ship sponsor of the future USS Miami, Ms. Gloria Estefan.

Now more formally, you may know Gloria from one of her many internationally chart-topping hits.

An eight-time Grammy Award winner and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, she was named one of the Top 100 greatest artists of all time by both VH1 and Billboard.

As I said earlier, she, too, was an immigrant whose family fled Cuba and settled in Miami.

Gloria’s father, José, was a member of Brigade 2506, and was captured and held as a prisoner in Cuba following the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

Upon his return to the United States, he joined the U.S. military and proudly fought in the Vietnam War.

Her mother was an educator here in Dade County.

Tonight, I am honored to announce that Ms. Gloria Estefan will be the sponsor for USS Miami.

The ship’s sponsor fills a critical role throughout the life of a warship, serving as the bond between the ship, her crew, and the nation they serve.

And I can think of no one more fitting to take on this vital role—no one with more resilience and grit and whose spirit embodies that of Miami than Gloria.

Thank you, Gloria, for your lifelong commitment to our Navy, to our service men and women, and to the United States of America.

You, like the service members who will serve on this proud ship and the city it will be named after, represent the absolute best this country has to offer. Thank you.

Our Navy and Marine Corps Team is the most powerful, capable, and lethal Force this world has ever seen because of the people in this audience tonight.

And I know that we can have the best ships, aircraft, equipment, and weapons—but without the best Sailors and Marines, all of this will go to waste.

You are the reason why we are the greatest armed forces and nation in the world.

I hope that you enjoy this concert tonight, and I hope that you enjoy Miami and its beautiful music, food, and culture throughout this week.

But I do have to ask you for one thing before I go.

Remember when your Chief or Gunny told you that there’s never a free lunch?

That’s the case right now.

After this concert, you have a job to do.

Your job is to go out in Miami and recruit at least one Sailor or Marine into our Department of the Navy.

If you’re in the Coast Guard, your job is to recruit at least one future Coast Guardsman or woman.

I think you can all do that for us and our nation!

Thank you for all that you do to ensure that America is the greatest nation in the world.

May God bless you and our service men and women stationed all around the globe.

Thank you.

Now I turn the podium over to you, Gloria.