Kamala Harris Hopes Midshipmen Can Solve Modern Defense Threats

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The U.S. Naval Academy graduated its class of 2021 on Friday. The in-person ceremony commissioned 1,084 Midshipmen as officers in the Navy and the Marine Corps, the Associated Press reported.

Vice President Kamala Harris delivered the commencement address. She warned the graduates that they will face complex defense threats from this interconnected world, journalist Brian Witte wrote. The AP explained that Harris pointed to the coronavirus pandemic, the Colonial Pipeline hack and climate change as examples of futuristic dangers that the Mids may face.

"This, midshipmen, is the era we are in, and it is unlike any era that came before," Harris said, according to the AP. "The challenge before us now is how to mount a modern defense to these modern threats."

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Witte also mentioned that Harris was the first woman to give the Naval Academy's graduation speech. Harris is the nation's first female Vice President. She is also the first Black person, as well as the first individual of South Asian descent, to hold the office.

The Naval Academy also broke a barrier this academic year by selecting a Black woman as its brigade commander for the first time. Sydney Barber, a graduating senior from Lake Forest, Illinois, earned that distinction last November. The brigade commander leads the academy's student body.

Commencement was the last event of Commissioning Week. This was the first graduation ceremony at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium since 2019. The celebration was virtual in 2020.

This year's festivities included a performance from the Blue Angels flight team on Wednesday. The squadron also flew over the stadium on Friday.

To learn more about Harris' remarks, check out the AP's full story.

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