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# 									Remarks at the Marine Security Guard Graduation Ceremony							

Remarks

Richard R. Verma, Deputy Secretary of State  for Management and Resources

Quantico, Virginia

March 1, 2024

*As delivered*

Thank you so much. What a nice introduction. Good morning, everyone.

Lieutenant Colonol McNerney, everyone gathered here. Thank you for your command staff’s leadership in preparing the Marines of Class Two-Tack-Twenty-Four for service around the world. You’ve all done an amazing job, so big round of applause for the faculty and staff [inaudible].

To our families gathered here, let me say this: I’ve worked with or around Marines nearly my entire career, beginning with my service in the Air Force and carrying through to today. And in my own family, my father-in-law Fred Blackwell, went to the Marine recruiting station at the age of 17, lied about his age so he could fight in World War II as a Marine. He was always so proud of his service in the Marines and we were always so proud of him.

Marines have an inherent quality of valor and patriotism that the Corps refines, but that starts with all of you, all of our families. On behalf of the State Department, thank you for instilling these values in the Marines sitting here today. So to our families, a big round of applause.

And to our Marines: Congratulations. You made it.

You got through one of the most demanding schools in the Marine Corps – a program that challenges your marksmanship, your physical fitness, your judgment, and your mental resolve.

But more importantly, your instructors taught you to think on your feet, to be calm under pressure, and to make the right call when it matters.

They also reminded you that Marines pay attention to details.

Details like an unlocked safe, a broken light, or suspicious person. Details that many wouldn’t notice, but that Marine Security Guards know could mean the difference between life and death.

Indeed, it is Marines’ well-earned reputation for impeccable attention to detail that is one of the reasons why our Nation has long entrusted you to protect our diplomats, our embassies, and our secrets … in every clime and place. In every clime and place.

I recognize that no one loves long graduation speeches, in fact I gave the commencement speech at my alma mater a few years ago and a friend of mine said “don’t worry, no one will ever remember what you said, they’ll only remember if you spoke too long.” So I will not speak too long. Let me do three quick things: first, tell you a little bit about my own experience working with Marines; second, explain the special relationship the State Department has with the Marine Corps, and then just tell you where we are today.

Let me start with the personal stuff, and here I’m going to go way back to when I was about the age of many of you. Like I said, I’m going WAY back.

Back to when I first worked on Capitol Hill for legendary Pennsylvania Congressman Jack Murtha, who, among his many admirable traits, was a Marine officer that had joined in 1952, he was a decorated Vietnam veteran, and continued in the reserves until 1990.

Among his other roles in the Marine Corps, Jack Murtha was a drill sergeant at Parris Island. I think we can all imagine what that must’ve looked like back in the 50’s, and how scary he remained through the 80’s and 90’s, when I worked for him. When you’re a drill sergeant, you’re always a drill sergeant.

But let me tell you, whether it was from those days at Parris Island, or somewhere else, Jack had developed a patriotic, inclusive manner that made him a beloved Member of Congress.

He taught me so much about leadership, patriotism, and national security. He was my commissioning officer into the military and I have always been grateful for that lightning strike of an opportunity to work for a great and famous Marine at the start of my career. He showed me the values of service, support of the mission, and support of each other. He showed me all of those values that each of you hold so dear.

As I said, I’ve had the good fortune to work with many Marines since then. That’s one reason why I make a point of meeting every MSG Detachment at every post I visit – that’s about 35 posts in the 11 months I’ve been in this position. I look forward to seeing some of you next time I’m on the road.

Another reason I make sure to meet every detachment is because I had the honor and privilege of working closely with our MSG detachment when I was the U.S. Ambassador to India.

When I say honor and privilege, I really mean that. It was an honor to arrive on my first day to the salute of the detachment in New Delhi . . . and it was a privilege to say hello each morning to the Marine standing watch at Post One.

It was also an honor and privilege to participate in the Marines’ ceremonies and activities.

MSGs at Post are part and parcel of the greater Embassy community, and your promotion ceremonies, your award ceremonies, the Marine Corps Ball, and philanthropic activities are all cherished parts of embassy life for everyone who serves there.

More importantly, as I tell each and every Marine Security Guard I meet, we could not do the job of diplomacy,

development or anything we are trying to do across the interagency or across the globe without each of you. You are the key part of the embassies and consulates – there are no embassies without you.

That was certainly the case for me. I got to know several of our MSGs at Embassy Delhi. I witnessed their leadership as they put together the Marine Corps Ball, Toys for Tots drive, and other major community events.

We had Marines from every corner of the country and every type of background. Like me, there were several first- and second-generation Americans that were proud to serve their new country putting everything they could into this mission.

I got to see their competitiveness when we played basketball together. I like to think I crossed them over a few times, but I was also thankful they saved their hard fouls for each other, and not me. I think they thought they had to go easy on me because the court happened to be in my driveway. They were too nice to let my young kids see their Dad catch a hard elbow.

They even convinced me to run the New Delhi half-marathon with them.

That was . . . let’s say maybe not my best idea I had ever had. But the Marines made it fun – a great example of Marine camaraderie. They kept me going with their encouraging words, saying things like “Just a little farther, sir...” even when there were nine miles left! I was running as fast as I could, and they were shuffling their feet.

It was because I got to know them, that I was not only honored and privileged, but also humbled and moved, when I passed by Post One to the salute of the Marine Security Guard as I left the embassy on my last day as Ambassador.

Yes, each day in Delhi was a reminder of the Marines’ excellence.

Now let me just say a little bit about the long relationship with the State Department because it was a reminder of that long and special relationship that we have together.

Though the MSG program became official in 1948, Marines have provided security for U.S. diplomats on their missions abroad since the beginning of our Nation’s history.

Our founders knew from the beginning that one of the most persuasive ways our young Nation could make itself understood abroad was to send Marines along with a diplomat.

Things were simpler then. The only thing the diplomat had to say was something along the lines of “you can talk to me, or you can talk to these Marines.”

That’s why Marines landed with a diplomat in Haiti in 1799, on one of the State Department’s first overseas missions.

Marines were there again in France in 1803, as diplomats negotiated an end to our conflict with the French government.

Indeed, the Marines’ reputation for – quote “steadiness and smart actions” – was so well known that in 1805 our Consul General in Tunis asked the Navy for money, weapons, and one hundred Marines to expel the pirates on Africa’s Northern, Barbary coast.

In one of the great examples of history serving as a guide to the future, the State Department’s request for staffing and funding was denied, and so the Consul General set out with the detachment already on board his ship . . . which included a whopping total of eight Marines: an officer and seven enlisted.

You see things haven’t changed all that much – our standard Marine Security Guard detachments are still eight Marines … and the State Department’s budget and staffing requests still routinely get denied!

But what also hasn’t changed is that Marines and the State Department share a unique ability to thrive abroad with little more than our shared commitment to the mission and our expeditionary nature.

And so it was with the Consul General and those eight Marines. That group set forth on one of America’s most storied military expeditions, leading them eventually to the pirate fortress outside Tripoli.

There, the Consul General made one more peace offer, which the pirate leader rejected immediately, saying “my head or yours.”

My guess is the Marines know well what happened next, so I will skip to the end, which is that it didn’t take long before those Marines and the group they assembled were planting an American flag on top of that fortress.

There’s another great part to this story. At the ceremony restoring him to power, the leader the pirates had deposed offered the Marine Detachment’s commander a sword with a distinctive hilt. A replica of that sword is still carried by Marine officers today.

There you have it. From the Shores of Tripoli, to the 1948 law formalizing the MSG program, to now over 185 diplomatic missions today, Marines and Diplomats have worked together abroad, promoting our nation’s security and prosperity as a powerful symbol of America’s soft – and hard – power.

That brings me to today’s MSG program and the work you are about to do.

Earlier I told my story of walking by the MSG Detachment as I left Embassy New Delhi for the last time as Ambassador.

That moment remained my last minute of service as a diplomat until last April, when I returned to the Department of State as Deputy Secretary.

My most important responsibility in this new role is to look after the safety and security of our people and facilities overseas.

Even though my new job is in Washington, it didn’t take long before MSGs were once again central to my daily work.

I was back on the job for exactly 10 days when Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan, erupted unexpectedly into a civil war.

I learned that when something like that happens, one of the first questions from the Secretary of State or the White House is “How many Marines do we have there?”

For a lot of people, hearing “detachment commander, five sergeants, and six corporals” wouldn’t be much of a reassurance, but it was for me.

I knew those 12 Marines in Khartoum would keep our Embassy secure long enough for us to assess the situation and take next steps.

And that’s exactly what happened. For the next week, warring factions battled in Khartoum’s streets.

They weren’t attacking the Embassy directly, but there was fighting all around the Mission. An Embassy vehicle got shot up.

Those MSGs stood their guard … making it known, as they ever have … that if anyone attacked our diplomatic mission, they would have to deal with the Marines.

They kept our compound safe until April 23, when the embassy was evacuated and temporarily closed.

There’s a photo of the MSG’s last moments in Khartoum that made national news. It’s a photo of the detachment standing at attention while two Marines lower and fold the American flag under the watchful eye of their commander, each Marine paying attention to every detail.

There’s a second photo of those Marines handing that folded flag to the Ambassador.

Those photos – taken just a little more than two weeks after I returned to the State Department – serve as a reminder of the tentative peace that pervades in much of the world and how quickly it can be shattered.

They serve as reminder that it is because MSGs remain vigilant and ever prepared that there are embassies and consulates open right now in places threatened by terrorism, authoritarianism, civil strife, and natural disasters.

Places like Jeddah, where the Detachment recently responded to an armed assailant attacking our compound. 

Like Tel Aviv, where MSGs provided security for over 100 Embassy employees as a war began and rockets flew overhead.

Like Kyiv, where MSGs enable a diplomatic mission intent on ensuring the failure of Putin’s authoritarian invasion.

Yes, those photos remind us that it is because of MSGs that America can promote its national security through global diplomacy and development, building global partnerships for peace and security.

And for that … our Nation is so grateful to all those Marines serving abroad with our diplomatic teams around the world.

We can thank the MSG instructors here at Quantico … and we can thank every member of the Corps that made them Marines … We can thank all of you, the families … Steel forges steel.

May you be blessed with safety and protection on the next leg of your journey.

I look forward to seeing all of you the next time that I travel around the world to our posts and embassies.

And I personally want to thank you for your service and wish you a hearty congratulations. Thank you very much.

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