Good morning; it's great to be here with the Naval Submarine League, a great advocate of the United States submarine community. Last night I watched the President's State of the Union Address. The question is: am I disappointed? The answer is: yes, because I was waiting for him to say "two submarines per year." I have always been proud as a Connecticut state representative, and as a Member of Congress, to represent Groton-New London, the Submarine Capital of the World! For us, it's more than a name; it's more than a title. It's our history and our culture. It goes back to the days of the Revolutionary War, when General Washington authorized a Connecticut resident from Old Saybrook to design and build a subsurface vessel. The world's first submarine, TURTLE, engaged in operations against enemy British forces in New York harbor by trying to affix an explosive device onto one of Admiral Howe's ships. The attack did not work perfectly—but it did encourage Howe to move his fleet away from an anchorage near Manhattan; so, in that regard, it was a success. It was also one example of the U.S. Army and the U. S. Navy working together. That's because, when TURTLE was designed and built, no self-respecting mariner would attempt to operate it, so they had to get an Army sergeant.
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