Embassy of the United States in Manila

Transcript of U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone’s remarks during the reception on board the USS Blue Ridge, Manila

March 15, 2005

Admiral Greenert, thank you very much;

Admiral De Leon, thank so much for honoring us this evening;

Asst. Secretary and good friend Abadilla, thank you;

Distinguished guests;

Capt. Maynard;

Capt. Giardina;

Command Master Chief Knight;

Men and women, soldiers, sailors of the wonderful United States Ship Blue Ridge;

Thank you all so much for your warm hospitality. And thank you for coming here and joining the rest of us from the United States of America who are privileged to serve in this wonderful, warm, hospitable, and safe country. It’s well-protected by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and its alliance with us. This is an important relationship. It’s a historic one. It’s unique in all of the world. I’ve been in the U.S. Foreign Service for a quarter of a century and there is no place like the Philippines when it comes to relations with the United States. Not only are we close allies and close friends; but as this ship itself demonstrates: we’re not just close to each other, we are each other. Of the 800 or 900 men and women who serve on this ship, I am told reliably that at least a hundred are Filipino-Americans, and I salute you in particular. We’re very proud of our Filipino-Americans in the Armed Services of the United States of America. In fact, it has been my sad duty to bury more than one who were not yet citizens, but who served proudly in our uniform in war time, keeping both our countries safe and keeping the world safe. So I salute you all.

It’s important that you come here. We do exercises all the time. We say that “you play like you practice,” so when a tsunami happens somewhere west of here, or when a typhoon hits here or an earthquake, or landslides, or floods, we’re able to come in and plug right in with our Armed Forces of the Philippines colleagues and allies and friends, with whom we are already on a first-name basis. We know each other’s frequencies. We know each other’s work habits. We know the terrain. We know the air. We know the seas. We work with each other seamlessly, and it’s because we practice together all the time.

And in between practicing, there is no warmer, friendlier place for Americans to come, whether civilians or military. And I have to say, and I guess it’s safe to say on a Navy ship, although we tonight are joint and combined, and we have people from other services:

The Philippines, since World War II, at least, has been Navy country.

And I think our sailors will find when you’re ashore that Filipinos will eagerly welcome you with open arms.

I’d like to add to that welcome, if I could, a welcome to the United States of America Embassy here in Manila. As the Admiral saw today, it is a historic place, and we’d love to offer a little tour around it to any sailors from the Blue Ridge anytime that you’ve got some leave, and you’re in the neighborhood. So, please put us on your checklist for your morale and welfare people. Check with us, and we’d be honored, really honored and tickled to show you around the place and tell you a little bit about the history of this great relationship.

Again, thank you all so much for coming. Thanks for your warm hospitality tonight. This is great. Please come more often. The previous ship visit to Manila, I’m sorry to say, was in 2002, so it’s been three years. That’s too long. I’d like to see more visits here, a lot more often.

Thank you very much Admiral Greenert, and officers and sailors, and everybody on board the Blue Ridge for coming.

* * * * *


*Transcript of U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone’s remarks during the reception on board the USS Blue Ridge,* Manila March 15, 2005** Admiral Greenert, thank you very much; Admiral De Leon, thank so much for honoring us this evening; Asst. Secretary and good friend Abadilla, thank you; Distinguished guests; Capt. Maynard; Capt. Giardina; Command Master Chief Knight; Men and women, soldiers, sailors of the wonderful United States Ship Blue Ridge; Thank you all so much for your warm hospitality. And thank you for coming here and joining the rest of us from the United States of America who are privileged to serve in this wonderful, warm, hospitable, and safe country. It’s well-protected by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and its alliance with us. This is an important relationship. It’s a historic one. It’s unique in all of the world. I’ve been in the U.S. Foreign Service for a quarter of a century and there is no place like the Philippines when it comes to relations with the United States. Not only are we close allies and close friends; but as this ship itself demonstrates: we’re not just close to each other, we are each other. Of the 800 or 900 men and women who serve on this ship, I am told reliably that at least a hundred are Filipino-Americans, and I salute you in particular. We’re very proud of our Filipino-Americans in the Armed Services of the United States of America. In fact, it has been my sad duty to bury more than one who were not yet citizens, but who served proudly in our uniform in war time, keeping both our countries safe and keeping the world safe. So I salute you all. It’s important that you come here. We do exercises all the time. We say that “you play like you practice,” so when a tsunami happens somewhere west of here, or when a typhoon hits here or an earthquake, or landslides, or floods, we’re able to come in and plug right in with our Armed Forces of the Philippines colleagues and allies and friends, with whom we are already on a first-name basis. We know each other’s frequencies. We know each other’s work habits. We know the terrain. We know the air. We know the seas. We work with each other seamlessly, and it’s because we practice together all the time. And in between practicing, there is no warmer, friendlier place for Americans to come, whether civilians or military. And I have to say, and I guess it’s safe to say on a Navy ship, although we tonight are joint and combined, and we have people from other services: The Philippines, since World War II, at least, has been Navy country. And I think our sailors will find when you’re ashore that Filipinos will eagerly welcome you with open arms. I’d like to add to that welcome, if I could, a welcome to the United States of America Embassy here in Manila. As the Admiral saw today, it is a historic place, and we’d love to offer a little tour around it to any sailors from the Blue Ridge anytime that you’ve got some leave, and you’re in the neighborhood. So, please put us on your checklist for your morale and welfare people. Check with us, and we’d be honored, really honored and tickled to show you around the place and tell you a little bit about the history of this great relationship. Again, thank you all so much for coming. Thanks for your warm hospitality tonight. This is great. Please come more often. The previous ship visit to Manila, I’m sorry to say, was in 2002, so it’s been three years. That’s too long. I’d like to see more visits here, a lot more often. Thank you very much Admiral Greenert, and officers and sailors, and everybody on board the Blue Ridge for coming. * * * * *
	Last Update :: 01/05/2007
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