NLUS Moves Forward Into 2006
With a changeover at the national presidency and the
move to a new headquarters building, 2005 was a year of transition for
the Navy League of the United States.
John A. Panneton took the reins as national president
from Sheila M. McNeill at the Navy League National Convention in June
in Norfolk, Va. McNeill now serves as chairman of the National Advisory
Council.
Panneton has made membership and retention, youth programs,
corporate affairs and sponsorships, development and public relations
the top priorities for his two-year tenure.
“We have a great opportunity to bring the Navy
League forward as we look to develop new ideas in support of our programs,” he
said in a note to Steering Committee members after the convention.
Panneton also noted that “support of the councils
is essential. These are the people who make it happen; they are the driving
force of everything we do.”
During his first few months as national president, Panneton
presented Acting Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon R. England with the
Robert L. Thompson Award for Outstanding Civilian Leadership and met
with him and Dionel M. Aviles, undersecretary of the Navy, to discuss
the Navy League’s continued support of the service.
Panneton had similar meetings with senior Coast Guard
officials Commandant Adm. Thomas H. Collins, Vice Adm. Terry M. Cross,
vice commandant, and Rear Adm. Joel R. Whitehead, assistant commandant
for government and public affairs.
He also visited a number of Navy League councils and
attended such events as the National Capital Council’s presentation
of its Sea Services Award to Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the
Senate Armed Services Committee.
In August, the Navy League moved into its new seven-story,
nearly 200,000-square-foot headquarters building, constructed on the
site of the old Navy League building on Wilson Boulevard in Arlington,
Va. The national staff had spent three years in temporary offices across
the street.
The state-of-the-art new headquarters is the first so-called “green
building” in Arlington County, meaning it meets the “Smart
Growth” criteria of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design program. The program advocates the
construction of buildings that reduce pollution and are visually attractive,
energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.
Among other “green” features, the Navy League
building makes extensive use of Environmental Protection Agency-approved “Energy
Star” products and systems, which are designed to cut energy costs
and reduce pollution.
The Navy League will occupy about 10 percent of the
building. The remainder will be devoted to commercial office and retail
rental space. The ground-floor space is being filled by four restaurants.
Other office tenants include Coast Guard Recruiting Command and the Association
of General Contractors of America.
The building was officially dedicated at a ceremony
Nov. 28. Earlier in the month, most Navy Leaguers got their first look
inside the new headquarters during the annual Winter Meeting. The Washington,
D.C.-based National Capital Council hosted a “Welcome Aboard Reception” in
the building on the opening night of the meeting for attendees, guests
and sea service officials.
Most of the business at the Winter Meeting was conducted
at the Crystal Gateway Hotel in Arlington, Nov. 3-6. There, the Board
of Directors approved the Navy League’s Maritime Policy for the
upcoming year, which will be released to Congress and the public in early
2006 [See President’s Message, page VII, for details.]
Committee and board meetings focused on such topics
as a nascent effort to establish a Merchant Marine Caucus and the possibility
of combining the Winter Meeting and the Sea-Air-Space Exposition and
moving the National Convention to the fall.
The Legislative Affairs Committee hosted representatives
of the legislative affairs offices of the three uniformed maritime services.
Navy Capt. James Colgary, Marine Col. Chris O’Connor and Coast
Guard Capt. James Howe discussed their respective services’ legislative
priorities and expressed appreciation for the Navy League’s support
of their Capitol Hill outreach activities, emphasizing its value to their
efforts to maximize congressional awareness of their missions and concerns.
A Sea Services Panel discussion featured James E. Caponiti,
associate administrator for National Security for the Maritime Administration;
Coast Guard Rear Adm. Robert S. Branham, assistant commandant for Planning,
Resources and Procurement; Navy Rear Adm. James A. Robb, director, Fleet
Readiness Division; and Marine Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Conant, director,
Capabilities Development Directorate.
The Winter Meeting included an inaugural First Lady’s
Reception in Honor of Senior Enlisted Spouses. Hosted by Alice Panneton,
wife of the national president, the reception included Doreen Scott,
wife of Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Terry D. Scott, and Jenny
Harris, wife of Sgt. Major of the Marine Corps Gary Harris.
During the dinner that closed the Winter Meeting, the
Navy League also honored a group of enlisted personnel from the Navy
and Coast Guard who participated in Hurricane Katrina rescue and relief
efforts.
During the 2005 National Convention in June, the Navy
League slightly revamped its leadership structure. The vice president
of information technology, established several years ago to investigate
technology uses for the organization, has become the vice president of
community education and information technology as its role expanded.
It is headed by James H. Offutt.
An international relations vice presidency also was
created to bolster Navy League efforts outside the United States. It
is headed by new Vice President Jackson C. Stevens of the St. Maarten
Council.
Stevens was one of four new vice presidents elected
at the convention, Joseph S. Donnell III, James H. Erlinger and Thomas
E. Jaffa being the others. They join returning vice presidents Randy
W. Hollstein, William A. Kopper, Richard C. Macke, J. Michael McGrath,
Offutt and Robert A. Ravitz.
Along with the national president, vice presidents and
National Advisory Council chairman, the Navy League Steering Committee
includes J. Robert Bishop, national treasurer; James L. Chapman IV, national
judge advocate; and Albert J. Herberger, national corporate secretary.
During the past year, the Navy League continued to voice
support on behalf of the Coast Guard’s Deepwater Program and infrastructure
improvement efforts, the Navy’s ongoing transformation, sea service
recruitment efforts, and the need to balance fleet size concerns with
national security missions and ever-improving capabilities.
The Navy League also worked to further its “Grass
Roots” Legislative Transformation Initiative, which is geared toward
increasing the involvement of Navy League regions, areas and councils
in legislative affairs activities.
The following is a status report on the Navy League’s
other principal activities, events and accomplishments during the past
year.
Development/Foundation
It is the unique responsibility of the Navy League Development
and Foundation Affairs Department to keep supporters informed of the
good work of the Navy League and offer distinctive options that appeal
to donors to continue to support its mission. The Navy League relies
on the generosity of many Americans who contribute in order to show their
support for the men and women risking their lives to defend the nation’s
freedom and way of life.
Thanks to the leadership and patriotism of individual
donors, member corporations, family and educational foundations and Navy
League Councils, in 2005 the Navy League received nearly $1 million in
gifts and bequests in support of its mission.
Foremost among the Navy League’s development activities
has been the capital campaign fund to support the construction of the
new Navy League Headquarters Building. It is an investment that will
provide many returns for the Navy League well into its second century
of operations.
The Navy League building has afforded many families,
councils and private donors the chance to honor loved ones and personal
heroes through the naming of particular rooms and elements in the new
building. Other members have chosen to have a name inscribed in the Navy
League Honor Wall, which has been installed in the building’s main
lobby. Incorporating floor-to-ceiling illustrations of the four sea services
as well as digital imagery of the nation, the Honor Wall is a permanent
tribute to all those who have answered, and will continue to answer,
the call to duty.
Other Navy Leaguers demonstrate their respect and commitment
to sea service personnel by contributing to the Annual Fund. This provides
necessary support for education and outreach programs, legislative initiatives
and support to military families. One recent initiative is support of
the Military Spouse Corporate Career Network, which aims to help military
spouses to secure well-paying, portable employment opportunities with
national organizations and corporations. Another initiative is the launch
of the Navy League Hiring Center, an online tool that matches transitioning
servicemen and women to available jobs, as posted by Navy League member
companies.
The Navy League is also committed to investing in tomorrow’s
leaders today. It actively provides time and support for youth programs,
including the Naval Sea Cadet Corps and the Navy League Cadet Corps,
as well as for scholarships through the Navy League Foundation. In 2005,
the Navy League Foundation awarded more than $47,000 in scholarships
to eligible high school seniors across the country. More information
can be found on the Navy League website at www.navyleague.org/scholarship.
Sea-Air-Space Exposition
The Navy League’s 2005 Sea-Air-Space (SAS) Exposition,
held March 22-24 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.,
served as something of a sendoff to many of the officials involved.
As McNeill prepared to relinquish the national presidency
to Panneton, all of the 2005 SAS featured daily guest speakers — England,
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Vern Clark and Air Force Gen. Richard
B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — also were set
to leave their posts. All offered words in parting on behalf of the Navy
League at SAS.
Clark, who retired in July and has been replaced by
Adm. Mike Mullen, noted this was his fifth SAS and said “please
know that this sailor greatly appreciates the Navy League and all that
you do to support the sons and daughters of America.”
Myers, who retired Sept. 30 and was replaced by Marine
Corps Gen. Peter Pace, saluted the Navy League for its long history of
service. “My hat’s off to you and what you’ve done,” he
said.
England, who was nominated as deputy defense secretary
last spring and in December was still awaiting congressional confirmation,
added that the organization’s continued support of the sea services,
as exemplified by events such as SAS, shows that “the sun never
sets on the Navy League. Teddy Roosevelt would be proud.”
An estimated 10,000 people from the active-duty military,
civilian and industry communities attended SAS 2005. With its theme of “Ensuring
Global Access,” the event boasted several hundred exhibits showcasing
the latest military hardware and technologies, and presented dozens of
seminars and briefings on such hot-button issues as the Coast Guard’s
Deepwater Program, future budget plans, doctrine and policy developments,
and technological priorities.
SAS 2005 was hosted by the Navy League’s Washington,
D.C.-based National Capital Council. The 2005 SAS Chairwoman was Sharon
Gurke.
SAS 2005 drew top decision-makers of the U.S. Navy,
Marine Corps, Coast Guard and U.S.-flag Merchant Marine. Along with England,
Clark and Myers, sea service leaders who participated included: Dionel
Aviles, undersecretary of the Navy; Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael
W. Hagee; Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thomas H. Collins; Adm. Robert
Willard, vice chief of naval operations; Gen. William Nyland, assistant
commandant of the Marine Corps; John Young, assistant secretary of the
Navy for research, development and acquisition; Vice Adm. Terry M. Cross,
vice commandant of the Coast Guard; and Allison Stiller, deputy assistant
secretary of the Navy for shipbuilding.
A variety of sea service personnel and program officials,
staff members of House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over defense
affairs, and senior officials from the Departments of Defense and Homeland
Security also were in attendance at SAS.
The Navy League presented its Fleet Adm. Chester W.
Nimitz Award to Fred P. Moosally, president of Lockheed Martin Maritime
Systems & Sensors and a retired Navy captain. Hagee, a classmate
at the Naval Academy, helped present the award to Moosally. The award
honors a leader from industry who has made an exemplary contribution
to U.S. maritime strength.
England was on hand to present the Adm. Vern Clark Safety
Awards for Navy individuals and units, and the Gen. James Jones Safety
Awards for Marine Corps individuals and units. The awards, which were
introduced in 2004, are endowed by England, his wife, Dorothy, and three
Navy League corporate members — Lockheed Martin Corp., General
Dynamics Corp. and Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.
Corporate Affairs
The Navy League is very proud of its partnerships with
its member corporations. These industry leaders are responsible for providing
the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and U.S.-flag Merchant Marine
with the tools, resources and supplies they need to win the fight against
terrorism and keep the nation’s ports secure.
Navy League Corporate Membership represents a unique
opportunity for private industry, and provides many benefits to companies,
including the chance to network with U.S. and allied defense industry
leaders at Navy League events, meet senior decision-makers on Capitol
Hill and in the nation’s armed services, and demonstrate their
support for the U.S. sea services.
In acknowledgment of their support of the Navy League,
and for their commitment to maintaining a second-to-none maritime force,
the Navy League endeavors to add utmost value to the corporate membership.
Its premiere exposition, Sea-Air-Space, provides members the opportunity
to demonstrate their latest offerings and interact with uniformed and
civilian defense workers at all levels of responsibility. In addition,
the Navy League sponsors forums and extends invitations to special events
and opportunities that enable members to interact and meet with the military,
legislative and defense leadership in unique settings.
For example, the Navy League hosted several Special
Topic Breakfasts to give corporate leaders the latest information on
sea service acquisition priorities and developments. Guest speakers included
retired Marine Lt. Gen. Frank Libutti, undersecretary for Information
Analysis and Infrastructure Protection, and Dionel Aviles, undersecretary
of the Navy.
In May, then-CNO Clark and then-National President McNeill
welcomed the CEOs and select executive leaders of Navy League Corporate
Gold Members to an exclusive dinner at the Tower Club in Tyson’s
Corner, Va. This annual dinner provides an intimate forum for the exchange
of ideas and insights into current issues and defense priorities.
At the end of 2005, the Navy League had a total of 191
industry members, including 11 Corporate Gold Members, 156 Corporate
Members and 24 Business Associate Members. Among members, “Corporate
Gold” is a special affiliation. This membership category, established
in 1997, was created to better serve companies that are not only recognized
leaders in the defense industry but also leaders in supporting the nation’s
sea service men and women. Current Corporate Gold Members include: ATK,
BAE Systems, The Boeing Co., DRS Technologies Inc., EDS Corp., General
Dynamics Corp., KBR, Lockheed Martin Corp., Maersk Line Ltd., Northrop
Grumman Corp. and Raytheon Co.
Legislative Affairs
The Navy League Office of Legislative Affairs (NLOLA)
worked vigorously on numerous projects supporting the priorities of the
sea services, while continuing to provide Navy League members with information
about current legislation, and making it easier for them to inform their
senators and representatives about their views on national defense and
homeland security.
NLOLA represented the Navy League through visits with
members of Congress, and with the professional staff members of relevant
House and Senate committees. The organization sponsored briefings at
which experts on various pertinent topics presented information to key
members of personal and committee staffs.
In conjunction with the National Capital Council, NLOLA
hosted congressional staff members at the 2005 SAS, ensuring congressional
member and staff awareness, and enabling their attendance at functions.
NLOLA also sponsored Navy-Marine Corps and Coast Guard Caucus gatherings
at which service chiefs were able to engage in frank dialogue with members
of Congress interested in concerns and priorities of the respective services.
Throughout the year, NLOLA collaborated with the Navy,
Marine Corps and Coast Guard legislative affairs offices to host briefings,
receptions and other events attended by members of Congress and key staff.
Critical to the effectiveness of outreach of such initiatives is close
collaboration with the service legislative affairs offices in publicizing
such gatherings and ensuring that members of key congressional committees
are consistently encouraged to attend. At press time, NLOLA was scheduled
to sponsor an event honoring the founding chairmen of the Coast Guard
Caucus in late November, just prior to Congress’ adjournment for
2005.
Among the major legislative issues addressed by NLOLA
in 2005 were the Coast Guard’s Deepwater initiative, the Navy’s
DD(X) program, and the Marine Corps’ significant need for reconstitution
of assets exhausted or lost in sustained high-tempo operations in Afghanistan
and Iraq. NLOLA grass roots outreach on Deepwater is cited by senior
Coast Guard leadership as influential to the compromise reached on fiscal
2006 appropriations for the program, a source of much concern after the
full House initially approved a $500 million outlay, almost 50 percent
below the budget request of $966 million. Shortly after the Gulf Coast
hurricane disaster, funding was approved at $933 million, a figure welcomed
by most, in light of the added fiscal burden of recovery in an already
strained federal budget scenario.
NLOLA’s advocacy effort also is enabled through
the Navy League’s limited membership in The Military Coalition,
a consortium of 36 veterans’ support and similar organizations.
Coalition representatives meet monthly to share information, raise individual
concerns and identify consensus on various legislative initiatives, mostly
in the realm of policy affecting personnel and their families.
Through the first half of 2005, NLOLA collaborated with
Tom Dwyer, a professional consultant and current member of the Navy League,
to optimize grass roots involvement of informed and willing Navy League
members nationwide. The adage about “politics being local” compels
any organization, even one with a nonpartisan legislative agenda like
NLOLA’s, to recognize that the channel allowing maximum impact
for championing the agenda is the one between a constituent and his or
her members of Congress.
Vital to message efficacy in the case of any specific
cause championed initially through a national president’s letter
to Congress is the active involvement of region vice presidents for Legislative
Affairs, who are encouraged to rally their respective councils to personally
champion the same issue with their own House and Senate members.
Public Relations
The 2005 SAS Exposition once again offered an opportunity
to generate media coverage for the sea services, exhibitors and the Navy
League. More than 60 print and broadcast representatives attended SAS.
The SAS 2005 Press Room credential and information areas were staffed
by Navy League volunteers and communications department personnel during
the three days of the symposium.
The office of public relations worked closely with exhibitors
and the sea services to provide journalists with the information they
requested. Information was coordinated for the SAS Show Daily, which,
for the second year, was published daily by the Washington, D.C.-based
newsletter Defense Daily, in cooperation with the Navy League. Navy League
public relations prepared advisories, news releases, pitch letters and
press kits, and worked with several defense industry public relations
representatives to coordinate press briefings on new equipment and technology
Assistance was provided to the Navy League national
president in preparing for several interviews and speeches. Navy League
public relations coordinated the Safety Awards Board that screened and
selected the 2005 winners of the Adm. Vern Clark and Gen. James L. Jones
Safety Awards presented at the Secretary of the Navy luncheon at SAS
2005. All aspects of this event were coordinated by the public relations
office.
In preparation for SAS 2005, a points of contact (POC)
luncheon for Sea Service POCs was held on Feb. 17, 2005. There were more
than 30 POCs from various agencies and commands who attended. The public
affairs chiefs from all three sea services attended as speakers.
The Navy Leaguer, the Navy League’s national newsletter
for members and councils, continued to be published in hard copy and
online, providing news about a broad spectrum of Navy League council
activities around the world. The newsletter also underwent a redesign,
with the October issue featuring a new look and layout.
A public relations workshop was conducted on June 3,
2005, at the Navy League National Convention in Norfolk, Va., for council
members and officers. Capt. Steven E. Vandeplas, Coast Guard chief of
public affairs, and Capt. Bruce A. Cole, deputy chief of Navy information,
assisted in conducting the workshop. The public relations efforts of
the headquarters staff continued to be complemented significantly by
the highly professional efforts of Navy League Councils.
The headquarters office of public relations,
in coordination with the National Public Relations Committee, completed
the design and construction of the new “Talk-in-a-Box” (TIAB). Three hundred
kits were prepared and shipped to all council presidents in July. The
TIAB contains a generic Navy League speech with an accompanying Power
Point presentation keyed to the speech (which can be edited by councils),
navigational DVDs and videos, including a Sea Cadet video and material
on the U.S.-flag Merchant Marine, Navy and Marine Corps combat operations
in Afghanistan and Iraq. This ‘all-in-one’ presentation kit
will assist council members in communicating to community groups about
who the Navy League is as an organization, what it does and the importance
of its mission.
Membership Services
The Navy League membership staff, in concert with all
other Navy League National Headquarters departments, will be implementing
a new Association Management System (AMS) in 2006. This new AMS will
significantly enhance operations across all functional lines and provide
improved support to the membership.
The Online Community enrollment continues to grow and
several enhancements to the Reports section have been made based on user
feedback from Navy League councils. Two new councils were chartered during
2005, the Napa Valley Council in California and the Thailand Eastern
Seaboard Council. The Navy League now has nearly 280 councils in North
America, Europe and Asia.
National Publications
The Navy League’s national publication, Seapower
magazine, continued to report developments of interest to the sea services,
highlight groundbreaking advances in programs, strategy, materiel and
manpower and examine issues that hold promise, or could be cause for
concern, for the future. In addition, Seapower’s “Almanac” issue
continues to be the world’s most widely used reference publication
about the sea services.
A year after its publication, the October 2004 Seapower
cover story on piracy was featured on the cable news networks CNN and
CNBC following a pirate attack on a cruise ship off the coast of Somalia
in early November. In an effort coordinated by the Navy League’s
public relations department, Executive Director Stephen R. Pietropaoli
was interviewed by both networks, and later by a number of news publications,
to discuss the growing problem and U.S. Navy efforts to defend against
piracy.
Special reports and major features from 2005 highlighted:
- Future concepts for unmanned
aerial vehicles and the Navy’s adoption of the Global Hawk
as a surveillance testbed;
- The
evolution of Special Operations Forces and missions;
- Antisubmarine
warfare in the network-centric age;
- New
sensor nets to track the more than 120,000 merchant vessels worldwide
and 9 million cargo containers that enter U.S. ports each year;
- New
roles for Marine Corps reconnaissance; and
- The
continuing difficulties the Coast Guard faces as current repair costs
eat away at funding geared to bolster its future fleet.
In September, Seapower reported on Taiwan’s reduced
conscriptions and seeming indifference on defense preparedness in the
face of rapidly expanding Chinese forces. The November issue featured
an account of the reborn Iraqi Navy, a genuine success story that has
emerged from the war in Iraq. And the October and November issues paid
tribute to the sea services’ unprecedented rescue, recovery and
cleanup operations following the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita. While so much else was going wrong in the days and weeks after
the storms, sea service efforts to save lives, repair damage and restore
some sense of normalcy were nothing short of remarkable — especially
when so many sailors, Coast Guardsmen and Marines suffered losses themselves
in the disaster.
A redesign that was introduced in the December 2004
issue of Seapower, highlighted by a new layout and feature formats to
make the magazine more vibrant and inviting, continued to be refined
during 2005. In the fall, Seapower was named a winner in the “2005
American Graphic Design Awards.” The judges selected the February
2005 cover — designed by Pensaré Design Group Ltd. of Washington,
D.C., and featuring a photograph by Brian Wolff — as indicative
of the excellence in design celebrated by this national competition.
A monthly “Program Snapshot” feature was
added in the November issue of Seapower to provide a quick look at the
machines being developed and built for the sea services, and the program
managers responsible for them. The “Seapower Forum” also
was introduced in February and will run intermittently throughout the
year. Designed as a discussion about the more controversial defense issues
of the day by experts in the field, the first “Forum” focused
on shipbuilding.
Among the sea service leaders and other high-ranking
officials interviewed or featured in Seapower during the past year were
outgoing Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark; Marine Corps Commandant
Gen. Michael Hagee; Vice Adm. Vivien Crea, commander of the Coast Guard
Atlantic Sea and Maritime Defense Zone Atlantic; Lt. Gen. Michael Hough,
Marine Corps deputy commandant for aviation; Adm. Timothy J. Keating,
commander, U.S. Northern Command; Rear Adm. William E. Landay III, Navy
program executive officer for littoral and mine warfare; and Vice Adm.
Terrance T. Etnyre, commander, naval surface force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.
Regional Activities
The Navy League rolled out new workshops, council guides
and other field initiatives in 2005 to provide expanded headquarters
support for area, state and regional activities. Three new workshops, “Grassroots
Legislative Program,” “How to Establish a Council Website” and “Council
Annual Planning Retreat,” and three new Council Guides, “Council
President Turnover,” “Council Ship Visit Planning” and “International
Council Operations,” were introduced. The “Area President
Handbook” and the “Region President Handbook” were
updated and reissued.
A major new initiative to support transitioning sea
services personnel, the Navy League Hiring Center, was also supported
by Regional Activities. There are now 19 training workshops covering
a broad spectrum of council operations including management and governance,
membership recruiting and retention, strategic planning, fundraising
and electronic communications. All workshops and Council Guides are posted
on the Navy League website under “Navy League Councils/Council
Resources.”
The monthly electronic “Council Alert” newsletter
continues to provide field leaders with timely information on best practices
and good ideas, new programs and workshops, national meeting notices,
membership benefits and promotions, announcements of rebate mailing,
insurance and various topics of interest to the field. Council Alerts
continue to be posted on the Navy League website under “Navy League
Councils/Council Alerts.” The alerts are available to anyone with
an e-mail address who wants to be included in the distribution.
Members of the team continued to attend council, area
and regional meetings to support training workshops and improve communications
between headquarters and the field. The Navy League website serves as
an excellent planning resource — an all-purpose “first stop” for
new council officers and others seeking information about the Navy League.
Among the data included on the website under Navy League Councils are
lists of adopted ships, Naval Sea Cadet Corps units and other youth groups,
ship commissioning events, council guides and training workshops, the
Navy League Operations Manual, business-card order forms, Navy League
graphics, council change forms and the council information notebook.
Youth Programs
The two Navy League-sponsored youth programs, the Naval
Sea Cadet Corps (NSCC) and Navy League Cadet Corps (NLCC), continue to
grow. More than 10,200 cadets are now enrolled in 378 NSCC and NLCC units
in the United States, Puerto Rico and Guam.
The NSCC, established in 1958, was chartered by Congress
in 1962 as a nonprofit youth-training organization. The NLCC is not covered
by the federal charter. All of the nation’s armed forces, including
the reserve components, provide training and facilities support for both
programs. Membership is open to boys and girls ages 11 through 13 for
the NLCC and 13 through 17 for the NSCC.
Most cadet training is carried out at local naval or
military facilities and supervised by carefully selected volunteer officers
and instructors, many of them active-duty or retired military personnel.
That training is supplemented with summer training, starting with a two-week
recruit-orientation program encompassing a broad range of military subjects.
These include skills and operational specialties ranging from basic seamanship,
cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and swimming to health care, aviation
training and law enforcement. At-sea training on Navy ships or Coast
Guard cutters is available as well.
For the fifth year, federal funding was available for
cadet training. Almost 2,200 Sea Cadets and more than 950 Navy League
Cadets participated in recruit and orientation training at 18 regional
military bases or stations, and another 4,000 received advanced training
at more than 50 other bases and stations. In addition, 47 U.S. cadets
and their adult escorts participated in an international exchange program
with Sea Cadet units from overseas. The federal funding provided was
used almost exclusively to offset increasingly expensive berthing and
messing costs for all cadet summer training.
Since 1975, more than $231,500 has been provided to
more than 188 cadets who received NSCC college scholarships. A large
number of cadets also have received appointments to one of the service
academies or have won Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps scholarships.
There are now almost 500 former Sea Cadets enrolled at the U.S. Naval
Academy or in the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps program.
