Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Interview With Navy Secretary Gordon England

Aired July 04, 2002 - 09:10   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, on board the nation's oldest and most famous battleship, the USS Constitution, 28 immigrants will become naturalized citizens. And the man who will lead the newly minted Americans in their first Pledge of Allegiance is Secretary of the Navy Gordon England. It's honor to have you with us this morning. He joins us from Boston Harbor, home of Old Ironsides. Happy July 4th.

GORDON ENGLAND, SECRETARY OF THE NAVY: Happy July 4th to you, Paula. Terrific to be here. And by the way, CNN is broadcast all of our ships at sea, all of our sailers and Marines will be watching. So to all of them, happy Fourth of July.

ZAHN: Oh, I'm glad we could get that message across for you, sir. So Mr. Secretary, as you lead these 28 immigrants through the ceremonies a little bit later on today, how much will September 11 be on your mind?

ENGLAND: Well, of course September 11 is on everybody's mind, Paula. I mean, it's changed the nation and it's changed the world. And well, I think since September 11, people appreciate their freedoms and the liberties that we have, and I think it's a great day for the immigrants, but it's also a great day for the United States of America to welcome these terrific people to America. That's what America is all about.

ZAHN: And Secretary England, you will be leading them through the first Pledge of Allegiance they will recite as Americans. When you recite the Pledge of Allegiance, will you repeat the phrase "under God"?

ENGLAND: Certainly I will repeat that phrase, "under God." I mean, it's the Pledge of Allegiance, it is our nation's pledge. Our people believe in that pledge. They recite it every day. And while there may be a few people at the Ninth Circuit Court that disagree, that's not the case among every day Americans. So no, we will definitely, definitely be reciting that "under God," no question about it.

ZAHN: And on this day, when you mark this very special transition for 28 immigrants, describe to us your level of concern about many of the sailors you just addressed at sea?

ENGLAND: Well, I mean, there are concerns, obviously, as the president said, this is going to be a long war. On the other hand, that said -- I mean, I'm here in Boston with my family, with millions of other American who are celebrating the Fourth of July. So this is a great day to be out celebrating our independence, and I encourage all Americans to do that.

At the same time, this is a war. And this is going to be a long war. The president said, "be prepared for a long war." And we are prepared. The military is prepared. But look, America needs to go about and live their lives every day, and I'm pleased to be here in Boston with my family. We are going to be vacationing here in the next couple of days.

ZAHN: We hope you have a really good time there. Mr. Secretary, I know...

ENGLAND: We're going to.

ZAHN: ... that you're not in a position where you can give us all the specifics of the security that you have in place to keep your Naval personnel safe and our ships protected. Is there anything you can share with us about how different the security is today versus pre-September 11?

ENGLAND: Paula, we actually increased our security after the Cole event and after 9/11. Obviously, we've increased security here in the United States, at all of our bases around the world, wherever we have a congregation of military personnel, wherever our assets are located. So we have heightened security, and I obviously can't discuss the extent of those measures, but we have taken very significant measures, as has, you know, the United States government for all of our places here in America and overseas.

But again, that's going to be a way of life for us. A new Department of Homeland Security, that will be their primary role is for the security of the American people. And so this is going to be the way of life for us, and, again, we need to live our lives, but also just be aware and prudent of what's going on around us every day.

ZAHN: Mr. Secretary, the picture of you is quite stunning, because when you think about it visually, you're standing in front of a ship that was considered cutting-age technology back in 1794. It was the latest technology to take on pirates. If you could in the final seconds we have of this interview, walk us through the next stage of these DDX ships that are in development.

ENGLAND: Well, Paula, let me just say this. The Navy -- I mean, change is the way of the Navy, and that's the strength of the Navy. I mean, here we are on Old Ironsides, but since then we've gone to cannonballs to cruise missiles, signal flags to Internet, we've gone from sail to nuclear power. So the Navy has continued to evolve over the years. We will continue to do that.

And now we have another new class of ships that we call DDX. It will be a very modern class of ships, as we move forward into the future. And it's a family that has three different classes of ships in the DDX. But in addition to that, of course we still have new ships for our Marines, in terms of our assault ships, our expeditionary ships, and also on our airplane side of the business, and our submarines. So the Navy has evolved now for 226 years in terms of technology. But the one constant is our people, Paula. At the end of the day, it's the people that make the difference, and that's the strength of our Navy and that's the strength of our nation.

ZAHN: And do you have a final message, sir, for all those men and women who are so proudly defending this country today, even as this nation finds itself at war?

ENGLAND: Paula, I just say God bless them. I mean, they're out there, the volunteers. They volunteered to protect and defend the United States of America. We have a great tradition of this nation of men and women who have stepped forward. All these veterans. This is the founding of the nation. And we still have people out there volunteering to protect and defend our liberty and liberties of people around the world.

I just say God bless them. Happy Fourth of July. And I'll tell you, the president and the American people, we sincerely appreciate what they're doing for us.

ZAHN: We salute them all. Secretary England, thank you for spending part of your holiday with us this morning here on AMERICAN MORNINGS.

ENGLAND: Listen, terrific being with you. Thank you very much.

ZAHN: Enjoy Boston and the whole area.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com