Thanks LtGen Chiarotti for that introduction and for organizing yet another great Modern Day Marine. These things don’t just happen on their own. Good morning, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. To the Members of Congress and Professional Staff Members here today—thank you.

Your support enables everything the Marine Corps does. We’re grateful, and we do not take your support for granted. The Marine Corps shares a special relationship with the dedicated public servants in Congress. One rooted in mutual trust, accountability and a shared commitment to the defense of our Nation.

As appropriators, you provide the funding that is essential to sustain and modernize our force. As lawmakers you play a critical role in addressing capability gaps through your untiring advocacy while ensuring the Corps’ priorities are aligned with national security objectives.

Today, I will provide you with a brief update on the direction of our Corps the priorities that are driving our actions, and highlight the progress we have made over the last year. Your Marine Corps is first and foremost, a warfighting organization.

As our Nation’s premier expeditionary force-in-readiness we are meeting today’s challenges while simultaneously evolving with the changing character of war. At the leading edge of our naval expeditionary force is the Amphibious Ready Group and Marine Expeditionary Unit—the ARG/MEU.

It is like no other formation in the Joint Force bringing together the Navy’s seapower with the full weight of the modern Marine Air-Ground Task Force. The ARG/MEU is more relevant today than ever before—and the proof is in the pudding.

Recent operations have reminded us of the persistent and growing demand for these versatile units.

Right now, the 22d MEU combating narco-terrorism operations in the Caribbean, the 31st MEU is demonstrating our resolve in the Middle East…and the 11th MEU is on its way to the fight after first providing Humanitarian response and Disaster relief in the wake of a Super Typhoon Sinlaku.

The ARG/MEU is in perfect alignment with the President’s Golden Fleet Initiative which recognizes that a strong naval presence is essential to deterring aggression and maintaining global stability.

The Secretary of War has directed, and the Department of the Navy fully supports our shared and unwavering goal of returning to a 3.0 ARG/MEU presence.

That means, one MEU forward deployed from the east coast, one MEU forward deployed from the west coast and the 31st MEU deployed episodically from Okinawa, Japan.

The Navy and Marine Corps are in complete agreement that our current inventory of 31 amphibious ships Is not sufficient to meet the ARG/MEU presence that our Combatant Commanders are demanding.

To achieve this goal, we are seeking increased, sustained, and predictable investment. The President’s Budget for fiscal year 2027 is a significant and welcome down payment on this effort and it represents a generational investment for the Marine Corps.

Our investment priorities are guided by Force Design, and informed by our campaign of learning. This is a journey, not a destination. Under Force Design, we are investing in the capabilities that are needed to dominate on the modern battlefield.

Our spending plan for this budget advances our ability to counter small unmanned aerial systems sense across domains, decide faster, and control key maritime terrain. To accelerate our modernization efforts, we have transitioned our acquisitions system to the newly established Portfolio Acquisition Executive—Marine Corps.

Under this model, a single leader is now accountable for delivering a capability across its entire lifecycle. This model aligns with our culture of accountability, which is also why for the third year in a row—we have achieved a clean audit opinion.

We are committed to being good stewards of the American taxpayer’s dollar. I can say with confidence that we will use the increased resources outlined in this Presidential Budget effectively.

One of the most effective ways we can focus our resources is at the foundation of our lethality and readiness the individual Marine. For too long, we have asked our Marines to live in facilities that are not up to the standards they deserve.

That is changing with Barracks 2030.

Our Marines are not asking for the Taj Mahal. They just want a clean, temperature-controlled space to lay their head down after a hard day’s work. In fiscal year 2025 alone, we invested $448 Million in new barracks construction and began renovations for 4,200 Marines.

We are deliberately investing in Marines and their families to improve living conditions institutionalize Marine Corps Total Fitness, and ensure support for family resources. We are focused on high quality of life because we have the highest quality people.

We are also getting ahead of future challenges by ‘setting the theater.’ This begins with maintaining our stance in the Indo-Pacific and extends to littoral mobility and logistics in contested environments.

Our current forward posture in the Indo-Pacific is optimal to deterring adversaries and enabling rapid response to conflict. To maintain that posture and to enable operations in contested maritime environments we are investing in littoral mobility.

It extends the reach of amphibious shipping and provides Stand-In-Forces with the ability to persist inside an adversary’s weapons engagement zone. We have selected the LST-100 as our new Medium Landing Ship—or LSM which will significantly enhance our ability to conduct maneuver and sustainment in the littorals.

That is significant because in a contested environment, logistics is king. For decades, we have operated with the assumption that we could move our forces and supplies wherever, and whenever we needed. That assumption is no longer valid.

In a conflict with a peer adversary, our supply lines will be targeted and our ability to sustain our forces will be tested like never before. Therefore, The Maritime Prepositioning Force, remains absolutely central TO PROJECT and sustain combat power.

It allows us to reduce our deployment timelines and to preserve our momentum in the critical, early stages of a crisis. We also recognize that in a less permissive environment we will need to operate without access to those assets.

That is why we are focused on establishing a robust Global Positioning Network.

These prepositioned stocks and equipment enable expeditionary forces while reducing our reliance on long and vulnerable supply chains. To sustain our lethality over a protracted conflict we are making deliberate investments in our magazine depth for both ground and air launched munitions.

Adequate magazine depth will provide commanders with increased options to affect the battlespace while freeing them from the constraints associated with resupply. All together, these investments will reinforce the unique advantages offered by the modern Marine air-ground task force.

They will increase lethality, speed, flexibility, and scalability.

The priorities I've outlined this morning restoring our ARG/MEU presence, modernizing the force investing in our Marines' quality of life, and setting the theater—are all part of a single, unified strategy.

The generational investment this budget represents is a critical enabler for the Marine Corps. As we have proven time and again, we will honor the trust you place in us by using every dollar to build a more lethal and capable force.

We will continue to learn, innovate, and execute with violence of action to ensure your United States Marine Corps remains our Nation's premier expeditionary force-in-readiness.

Thank you ladies and gentlemen—I look forward to the panel.

Semper Fidelis.