ADM. MICHAEL MULLEN: Well, good afternoon. It is a very special treat for me to be here with you this afternoon. I actually look around the audience and I see many old friends that I grew up with. And I don’t get to do that very often. I see Jim Doyle and Dave Altwig and we are forever in your debt for years of leadership. And too many to name. But I can also sort of replay some of the thoughts as I step up here being away from the Navy that are going through some of their heads like geez, he doesn’t look too bad, you know. (Laughter.) Or god, the job has really aged him. (Laughter.)
Well, I am here to say I am doing fine. Best job I have ever had, most challenging times we have ever been in. And we are able actually to succeed because of two of the officers that we honor today and many others who are here in the room. And I have great confidence in them. And I will talk a lot about Brad and Jane and the Hicks family. But I also see Phil Balisle in the audience, a dear friend. And actually I first knew Brad when he was CO of the Hayler. And we were in the fleet at the same time when I was in Yorktown.
But what could be easily missed, that is where I first knew Joe Horn, who was Balisle’s XO on Anzio. And about that time, we started scheming about the future of the Navy, and believe it or not, all the way back then that this was our plan. (Laughter.) And it is terrific, you know, when a plan comes together. (Laughter.) And I assure you, Gen. O’Reilly, you will – you had been exceptionally well-served – I know that – with Brad’s performance. And I will speak to that. But you will also be exceptionally well-served with Joe Horn and Marge and the Horn family. We are delighted that this plan did come together. So thanks.
All of your presence here today really speaks to the leadership of Brad and Jane Hicks. And although we are to send them on their way today celebrating their achievements, their achievements make this a great Navy day and a great day for our military and a great day for our nation.
It is particularly special to have the Hicks family here from all over, as Brad has said. Their eldest son, Army Maj. Larry Hicks, who you saw earlier, with his wife, Kristine, and their daughters, Shiloh and Rhesa, are out here from California. Their middle son, Sam, and his son, Trevor, their daughter, Martha DeMarco, her husband, Joey, and their son, Jacob. Is that you, Jacob? How are you? (Laughter.) And also, Jane’s mother, Anne McCrea, and sister, Kerri Petzinger are here with Kerri’s husband, Buddy. Brad’s brother, David Hicks, and his wife, Jean, and Brad’s sister, Judy Hale, with her husband, Murray, are also with us today. It is just great to have the whole family here.
Families truly serve as much as we do. And Brad has always been one to ask about people’s families to make sure that his sailors and their subordinates make time for their families. And Jane, you certainly have a marvelous one here yourself today. And there are likely hundreds of other families whom you have helped make life as a Navy spouse more joyful and less stressful.
What the Navy asks families to do is really just extraordinary. In fact, we do that in all our services. And Jane has stood by Brad for more than 33 years. As COMNAVHOUSELANT – if you will, she battled while he was away the household appliances, the cars, the garages that wouldn’t work, previous floods and weathered many, many hurricanes. And I am sure Brad will thank her himself here shortly. (Laughter.) But on behalf of both Deborah and I, we want to personally acknowledge all you have done for Navy families, breast cancer awareness and in your full-time job supporting Brad. Thanks. (Applause.)
I would also like for all of us to just remember those who are deployed around the world today, troops and sailors on point, many in harm’s way, as we speak. They are the ones who serve. They are the ones that make a difference. They are the ones that defend all we stand for. They are the ones that Brad spoke about earlier in those remarks from President Kennedy. They and their families make so much difference in the world.
As I said, I first met Brad Hicks when he was in command of Hayler. And he is legendary for lighting up a room. He is legendary for many things actually. (Laughter.) But for lighting up a room, celebrating life and he always put everyone around him at ease. It is a great gift from him to all of us. Whether he did it by simply walking about the ship to talk to Sailors like he did when he was in command or playing pick-up beach volleyball like he did in Kauai just a couple of weeks ago on probably what was his 150th trip to Hawaii – (laughter) – in these jobs. And that was a time where we were celebrating the successful Japanese ballistic missile engagement. Brad is the guy you want on your team.
When he moved the Navy’s missile defense command from the Navy Annex here in D.C. to Dahlgren last April – now, we all know Brad, and there is precious little he can’t get done. I actually woke up this morning, looked at the weather, knew it would be pouring and I wondered is Hicks still going to try to have this thing outside? (Laughter.) And will he create the weather to allow that? And the only other thing despite trying that he didn’t get done, he did not want to move this office to Dahlgren. And he schemed far and wide – (laughter) – to make that happen. And obviously, he failed. (Laughter.)
But when he finally did it – he understands his orders – last April, as the first commander of Navy Air and Missile Defense Command – and by the way, I think every job he has had since has been a flag officer has been created for him out of nothing. When he shifted his flag to Dahlgren – and this is all about Brad – 80 percent of the workforce, all the way down to GS-7 level, went with him. Brad Hicks is that persuasive, that likeable. And he works a crowd like the best politician, though he is decidedly apolitical.
He thinks about Sailors. He speaks up for them. Yet, he has never been afraid to turn over a rock or look in the high-angle irons to ensure everything was at 100 percent. He always aimed to address and fix what needed fixing.
As many of you know, Brad is from Kentucky. But he doesn’t have an old Kentucky home so far as I know, just a mesmerizing drawl, a fondness for Kentucky whiskey and a passion for all things Louisville. And for a long time, I thought he was an Acquisition Corps guy, even right up until the other day when I checked because he always seemed to be in the know with acquisition and programming. But no, it turns out he is not. He is just a relentless, straight-stick SWO who knows how to keep talking until you are eating out of his hand. And then he will spend your money like only a sailor can. (Laughter.)
And I am not talking about what he must have dropped on his car. He spends the Navy’s money like he stole it. (Laughter.) It goes without saying the tools and technology for Aegis ballistic missile defense don’t come cheap. But you will never find Brad chasing down a budget. He refers to the $45 million BMD upgrade as a bargain for the taxpayers. And what Brad has spent in taxpayers’ dollars, he has given back tenfold in his own time, in his energy, in his leadership and in his good cheer.
And from what I have seen, he has really represented the heart and soul of Navy missile defense over the last decade. He hasn’t done it alone. But he has been at the heart of this and is chiefly responsible through incredible perseverance for the Navy’s critical role in ballistic missile defense today. As Adm. Arleigh Burke had counseled, which Brad would well know since as a lieutenant, he helped collate Adm. Burke’s notes for E.B. Potter’s biography. And I quote, “In this modern world, the instruments of warfare are not solely for waging war. Far more importantly, they are the means for controlling peace,” end quote.
This phrase cannot be more applicable to any weapons in our arsenal than the 21 ships of the ballistic missile defense fleet. From day one in the missile defense world, and I remember when the Navy was persona non grata in missile defense. Today, however, because of Brad and many others’ efforts and his keen operational perspective, his insistence on maintaining the systems-engineering approach and the integrity of Aegis and his spectacular ability to communicate this to our Nation’s leaders and those of our allies, we are living with a Navy success story.
Now naval ships are part of the answer to global missile defense and certainly will continue to be as far into the future as I can see: a joint multi-national instrument of warfare to control peace.
Wayne Meyer was the first to envision integrate war-fighting systems in our armed forces. And today they are prolific in all of our services and in the militaries of many other nations as well. “Build a little, test a little, learn a lot” is still the Aegis systems-engineering mantra. And Brad Hicks doggedly fought to apply that approach to ballistic missile defense for our nation and for our allies.
Last February, I was privileged to be in the Pacific Fleet Command Center to witness the joint collaboration firsthand. NASA, NSA, STRATCOM, NORTHCOM, PACOM, JFCC-IMD, Space and ISR. And I am sorry about all of those acronyms for people that don’t live with us every day. There were a lot of important people on that space center – in that command center and many others actually. And there are arguably few events in our nation’s history that involved so many agencies cooperating so closely with such large technical hurdles to clear in such a short period of time.
And Brad Hicks dubbed, actually at a dinner with Adm. Keating of PACOM, the tethered goat was right there in the middle of it all. He didn’t want to be with us. He didn’t want to have dinner. He just wanted to stay focused on the mission. And it is quite an image with him just sitting there quietly, isn’t it? (Laughter.)
But in just over 40 days, he and his team brought us from maybe to mission success. And it was the culmination of everything that the pioneers and the proponents of Aegis had dreamt of. Even if we were just shooting at something that couldn’t hide or shoot back at us, it was an acquisition promise delivered, a truly deployable war-fighting asset.
And I personally remember celebrating when the final frame of video came down from that missile. At that point, Rear Adm. Hicks was relieved, but unsatisfied. He kept pressing, wanted all the data. And that is the kind of leader he has been for so long and the kind of go-out-on-a-limb innovator, the kind of Sailor he is, and that we have all come to know and love. He will take a vision, plan with precision, trust his people, follow through and then party with them when the mission is complete.
So Brad and Jane, now that Joe and Marge have the watch, it is time to celebrate. In your retirement, may you keep the wildflowers blooming in your yard, stay away from tall ladders – (laughter) – stay away from propane gas – (laughter) – and as you are fulfilling your need for speed racing around in your Corvette, please know how much we appreciate all the two of you have done.
We wish you the best, fair winds and following seas, my friend. Thank you so very much. It has been great fun. May God bless you all, our military, our Navy and our families and this country we so dearly defend. Thank you.