Navy League of the United States - Citizens in Support of the Sea Services

Navy League Aims to Continue On ‘Right Direction’ in 2007

The Navy League concluded 2006 by setting the stage for the change in leadership that will come toward the end of 2007. National Vice President J. Michael McGrath, former president of the Florida Region, was chosen as the successor to National President John A. Panneton during the Winter Meeting Nov. 4 in Arlington, Va.

McGrath will take the reins as national president at the 2007 National Convention in Palm Springs, Calif. The convention will be held Oct. 30-Nov. 4, several months later than usual following the decision at the 2006 National Convention in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, to eliminate the Winter Meeting and combine its business with the convention.

Currently the Navy League national vice president for Region and Area Presidents’ Liaison, McGrath is a retired naval officer and 23-year Navy League member. He has held a number of leadership positions within the organization on the local and national level, including the national vice presidencies for Strategic Planning and Membership and Marketing. He and his wife, Gloria, are life members of the Mayport, Fla., Council.

The key points of McGrath’s platform are stabilizing membership, increasing local and national corporate affiliates and members, identifying new forms of revenue, bolstering youth service programs and increasing public awareness of Navy League efforts.

“My goal is to make sure we continue to head in the right direction,” he said.

During 2006, Panneton focused on many of the same concerns, with particular attention being paid to the Navy League’s more than 270 councils, both at home and abroad, and ensuring they are able to pursue their mission of supporting the Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Merchant Marine, and educating the public on issues of concern to the sea services.

At the National Convention in July, Panneton assigned National Vice President Al J. Bernard, former president of the National Capital Council in Washington, D.C., to a newly created position, national vice president for Council Presidents’ Liaison and Council Activities. Bernard will serve as the headquarters liaison for developing, promoting and conducting special council events. He will work with the Navy League region/

area president chain of command to provide a resource for assisting with ship commissioning ceremonies, fleet weeks and similar celebrations of the U.S. maritime heritage, public education seminars and other major council events.

Position duties include establishing and maintaining a planning process and/or guidelines to follow for each type of event, engaging outside agencies as Navy League national points-of-contact for special events, maintaining a calendar of special events and seeking assistance from National Headquarters staff.

In late September, Panneton traveled to Barcelona, Spain, to meet with the presidents of the Navy League’s European councils and share his vision of how the organization needs to forge ahead in this new global environment. During a workshop at the “Second European Councils Conference,” hosted by the Barcelona Council, he said the Navy League must adapt internationally to the same changes the navies of the world are facing.

“Just as Adm. Mike Mullen, chief of naval operations, envisions a ‘1,000-Ship Navy’ allowing coalition military training, humanitarian relief and diplomatic engagements, so must the Navy League councils spread throughout the world, and work together in a cohesive, integral way sharing information and resources,” Panneton said.

A common challenge he said U.S. and European councils often face is a relative lack of information or publicity about the myriad projects and events Navy Leaguers are involved in, such as fund raising, commissioning of ships and scholarships. Panneton spoke of the need for a strong public relations campaign by councils to not only garner recognition for Navy League accomplishments, but attract potential new members by showing just how active and energized the organization is.

Representatives of 11 councils from Nice and Marseille, France; Rome and Naples, Italy; Alicante, Barcelona, Madrid, Palma de Mallorca, Rota and Valencia, Spain; and London attended the conference to discuss, review and plan future objectives and missions of the overseas councils. Special guests included Gen. James L. Jones, then-supreme allied commander, Europe, and commander of the U.S. European Command; and Adm. Henry G. Ulrich III, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe, and commander, Allied Joint Forces Command, Naples.

The Navy League has moved to bolster its international presence and support efforts in recent years. The position of vice president for International Relations was created in 2005. That post is held by Jackson C. Stevens, a national director from the St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles, Council.

At the 2006 convention, a policy change was enacted to permit a non-U.S. citizen to serve as council president or area president when the region president and the local sea service military commander(s) attest that the exception would be in the best interests of the Navy League and the sea services in the region. At present, there are 30 Navy League councils based outside the United States in Asia, Europe, the Pacific Rim, South America and the Caribbean.

Stateside, Panneton visited a number of councils and council/area/region events around the country during the year, and was a special guest speaker at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting in Hampton Roads, Va.; the Northwest and Pacific Southwest Region annual conferences; a Denver Council dinner meeting; the New York Council’s awards dinner and the Chattanooga, Tenn., Council’s anniversary dinner meeting. He also attended the commissioning of the Virginia-class submarine USS Texas in Galveston, Texas, and the chartering of the Pacific Merchant Marine Council aboard the National Liberty Ship Memorial SS Jeremiah O’Brien in San Francisco in December.

Panneton also met with, or attended events for, a number of sea service officials during the course of the year. These included change of command ceremonies for the commandant of the Coast Guard, during which Adm. Thad Allen took over for Adm. Thomas Collins, and Vice Adm. Vivien Crea assuming the post of vice commandant of the Coast Guard from Vice Adm. Terry M. Cross.

The Navy League’s new headquarters building in Arlington, Va., continues to add to its tenant list and is now nearly full. The ground-floor space is currently occupied by three restaurants, with another set to move in during 2007, along with a bank. Coast Guard Recruiting Command and the Association of General Contractors of America have opened offices in the building, and Banner College now has a campus there as well, including classroom and bookstore space.

Military and civilian organizations also regularly use the large conference area spaces for receptions, seminars and special events. Among them was a dinner meeting hosted by the National Capital Council at which Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter was the featured guest speaker.

The National Capital Council also hosted the “Welcome Aboard” reception for the final Winter Meeting at the headquarters building Nov. 2.

More than 200 Navy Leaguers representing U.S. and international councils attended the Winter Meeting, which was held at the Key Bridge Marriott, Arlington, Va. Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton was the featured guest speaker at the dinner that concluded the meeting on Nov. 4.

During the convention in July, several changes were made to the makeup of the Navy League Steering Committee, with two new national vice presidencies being created. Along with the national vice president for Council Presidents’ Liaison, a national vice president for Homeland Security was created, with newly elected John Tozzi, a Navy League Executive Committee member, named to the post.

The remainder of the Steering Committee remained largely the same. Re-elected national vice presidents were: Joseph S. Donnell III (Corporate Affairs and Development), James H. Erlinger (Youth Programs), Randy W. Hollstein (Legislative Affairs), William A. Kopper (Membership and Marketing), Richard C. Macke (Sea Services Liaison), J. Michael McGrath (Region and Area Presidents’ Liaison), Robert Ravitz (Public Relations) and Jackson C. Stevens (International Relations).

Also re-elected were: J. Robert Bishop, national treasurer; James L. Chapman IV, national judge advocate; and Albert J. Herberger, national corporate secretary. Past National President Sheila M. McNeill will continue as national advisory council chairman.

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 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

The Navy League relies on the generosity of its members to fund annual operations and special programs and events in conjunction with its mission. Thanks to the leadership and patriotism of individual donors, member corporations, family and educational foundations and Navy League councils, the Navy League received more than a half-million dollars in gifts and bequests in 2006.

The Navy League’s Annual Fund provides critical funding for education, advocacy and youth programs. Specific programs that benefit from this fund include the Legislative and Grassroots outreach programs, as well as the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps.

The Navy League Building Fund has been a popular and successful capital campaign to support the construction and equipping of the new national headquarters building. It is an investment that will provide many returns for the Navy League well into its second century of operations. In addition, the 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 building.

Other members have chosen to have a name inscribed in the Navy League Honor Wall in the building’s main lobby. Featuring individual names inscribed on black stone and incorporating floor-to-ceiling illustrations of the four sea services, the wall is a permanent tribute to all those who have answered, and will continue to answer, the call to duty.

The Navy League is 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 offering scholarships through the Navy League Foundation. In 2006, the Navy League Foundation awarded more than $50,000 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 Sea-Air-Space Exposition (SAS) is the largest maritime exposition in the world. It provides an outstanding forum for the exchange of technical and professional information between industry and the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security.

For more than 40 years, Navy League has hosted SAS in Washington, D.C., and has provided members of the sea services and DoD military and civilian employees the chance to see the technology they work on or support first hand, without the cost in time and money of traveling to remote locations. Such direct dialogue also fosters better understanding of user requirements and provider issues. It is this opportunity for interaction that has made SAS the signature maritime event in the nation.

With its theme of “Operations from the Maritime Domain,” SAS 2006 featured more than 150 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. During the three-day program, held April 4-6, more than 10,000 people attended the exposition and participated in the professional seminars.

SAS 2006 also drew attendance from staff members of House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over defense affairs, as well as a number of foreign military industry and diplomatic officials. The largest was the group of students from the National Defense University International Fellows Program, which included officers from militaries in Romania, Croatia, Jordan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Dominican Republic, Thailand, Tanzania, Mongolia, Bangladesh and other nations.

SAS 2006 drew top decision-makers of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and U.S.-flag Merchant Marine. Guest speakers included Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter; Adm. John Nathman, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command; and Adm. William J. Fallon, commander, U.S. Pacific Command.

Among the sea service leaders who participated in panel discussions were: Delores Etter, assistant secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition; Navy Vice Adm. Evan M. Chanik Jr., director, Force Structure, Resources and Assessments J-8, Joint Staff; Vice Adm. Lewis W. Crenshaw Jr., deputy chief of naval operations for Resources, Requirements and Assessments; Marine Lt. Gen. Emerson N. Gardner Jr., deputy commandant for Programs and Resources; Rear Adm. William E. Landay III, chief of naval research; Brig. Gen. Randolph D. Alles, commanding general, Marine Corps Warfighting Lab; Navy Rear Adm. Nancy Brown, director, Architecture and Integration, U.S. Northern Command; Coast Guard Rear Adm. Timothy S. Sullivan, military assistant to the secretary of Homeland Security; Coast Guard Rear Adm. Joseph Nimmich, director of maritime domain awareness; Vice Adm. Paul E. Sullivan, commander, Naval Sea Systems Command; Vice Adm. Walter B. Massenburg, commander, Naval Air Systems Command; and Maj. Gen. William D. Catto, commander, Marine Corps Systems Command.

More than 1,000 military and civilian guests enjoyed the April 5 black-tie reception and banquet. The Navy League presented its Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz Award to William H. Swanson, chairman and chief executive officer of the Raytheon Co. He was presented with the award by Panneton and Secretary Winter. Swanson was selected for the award in recognition of his demonstration of public responsibility and support for a robust, responsive defense industrial base as head of one of the nation’s top five defense contractors.

The 2006 SAS was hosted by the National Capital Council, and chaired by Sharon Gurke.

The revenue generated by SAS supports a multitude of Navy League programs in support of the sea services, including public, community and congressional education efforts, and many award and recognition programs for Navy, Marine and Coast Guard men and women. Navy League councils across the United States and overseas support recognition programs for sailors, Marines and Coast Guard men and women of the quarter, adopt-a-ship or -base programs, ship commissionings, ship visits, community education and many other programs.

The 2007 SAS will be held April 3-5 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington.

Corporate Affairs

The Navy League is very proud of its partnerships with its member corporations. Its industry members 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, protect our interests overseas and provide a safe environment for commerce to flourish.

Navy League Corporate Memberships provide 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.

Navy League’s premier program on behalf of industry members is the SAS Exposition. More than 60 percent of Navy League corporate members participate in SAS each year — as the largest event of its kind in the world, it’s the see-and-be-seen event for the maritime industry.

Throughout the year, the Navy League also sponsors a variety of forums and special events. Ranging from a small roundtable discussion between chief executives and sea service chiefs to a reception highlighting the success of a new program for families of military deployed in Iraq, the Navy League strives to provide members with many opportunities to engage with the sea service community.

The “Special Topic Breakfast” series is especially popular among Washington-area member representatives. Featuring a distinguished speaker from among senior military and civilian program offices, these “not-for-attribution” forums give industry the latest information and insights on sea service acquisition priorities and developments. In 2006, Special Topic Breakfast guest speakers included: Delores M. Etter, Rear Adm. William E. Landay III, Vice Adm. Lewis W. Crenshaw Jr. and Navy Rear Adm. Charles S. Hamilton II, program executive officer for Ships.

Under the leadership of National Vice President of Development and Corporate Affairs, Joseph S. Donnell III, 2006 corporate membership enjoyed a growth of more than 10 percent, for a year-end total of 215 industry members, up from 191 in 2005. Foremost among these were Navy League “Corporate Gold Members.” This membership category, established in 1997, was created to better serve organizations that are not only recognized leaders in the defense industry but also leaders in supporting the nation’s sea service men and women. As of December 2006, there were 20 Corporate Gold Members (up from 11 in 2005), 160 Corporate Members and 35 Business Associate Members.

In 2006, Corporate Gold Members included Accenture, ATK, BAE Systems, The Boeing Co., Booz Allen Hamilton, Curtiss-Wright, DRS Technologies Inc., DynCorp International, EDS Corp., The Embassy of Canada, General Atomics, General Dynamics Corp., Honeywell, KBR, Lockheed Martin Corp., Maersk Line Ltd., Northrop Grumman Corp., Raytheon Co., Smiths Detection and Wells Fargo Worldwide Banking.

Legislative Affairs

In 2006, the national Navy League Office of Legislative Affairs (NLOLA) engaged in a variety of outreach initiatives in support of sea service priorities. One of two spheres of the Navy League national’s legislative activity is a multifaceted Capitol Hill presence, maintained primarily by the National Vice President for Legislative Affairs, Randy Hollstein, and the staff legislative director, John Fleet. The other is support of the ongoing nationwide Grassroots Legislative Initiative (GLI) being executed by Navy League members designated by their respective councils and areas.

Key Players: In addition to the national vice president, the other key membership element is the Legislative Affairs Committee. The committee is comprised primarily of the region vice presidents’ for Legislative Affairs, who are the vital link with all Navy League councils and areas on grassroots legislative matters. Each region vice president is tasked with guiding council and area designees toward achieving the GLI’s target of direct constituent contact with 60 percent of all members of Congress on a select force-structure message. To this end, the region vice presidents report monthly to the national vice president and Legislative Affairs Committee chairman on related progress.

NLOLA also periodically solicits input from the Legislative Advisory Board on the salience of the annual legislative agenda and related national president’s letters to the Congress on developments at critical stages of action on annual authorizing and appropriating legislation. Members of the advisory board each bring a significant depth of government relations and industry experience. The efficacy and resonance of national president’s letters that evolve from this monitoring of the annual legislative process is only enhanced by the parallel championing of the underlying letter message by the region vice presidents, who are encouraged to rally their respective councils to advocate on the same issues in the dual capacity of Navy League member and congressional constituent with their own House and Senate members.

Nonpartisan Advocacy: In keeping with the Navy League’s 501(c)(3) status, NLOLA advocacy activities are neither partisan nor conducted to influence elections to public office. They are undertaken for the sake of promoting the legislative branch’s awareness of the sea services’ current and future mission requirements. Somewhat distinct from the issue focus of most peer organizations, NLOLA almost exclusively monitors and addresses the impact of legislation on operational capabilities and readiness of the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and U.S.-flag Merchant Marine.

NLOLA’s broader advocacy effort also is enabled through its limited membership in The Military Coalition, a consortium of 36 veterans’ and military support 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.

Visibility in Washington: Perhaps the most mission-relevant and tangible element of NLOLA’s presence on Capitol Hill is sponsorship and promotion of numerous programs and policy luncheon briefs for congressional staff. The topics and presenters are coordinated by the respective service congressional liaison offices. NLOLA concurrently promotes the briefs via direct contact with the defense-focused legislative staff members in all 535 congressional member offices and relevant committees. In 2006, NLOLA sponsored 18 such briefings.

The setting enables NLOLA to personalize its awareness advocacy effort in real time, as well as promote Hill awareness of Navy League functions such as council unit adoptions and SAS. The briefings typically draw 40-75 House and Senate staffers. Other initiatives include coffee discussions and evening receptions hosted in tandem with the Navy-Marine Corps and Coast Guard Caucuses, which provide informal but close-quarter audiences for senior service leaders with members of Congress.

Public Relations

The 2006 SAS Exposition was the main opportunity to generate media coverage for the Navy League, the sea services and our defense industry partners. Approximately 100 print and broadcast media representatives attended SAS 2006. The SAS media room credential and information areas were staffed by Navy League volunteers and communications department personnel during the three-day symposium.

The Office of Public Relations worked closely with exhibitors and the sea services to provide journalists with information about programs and initiatives. Navy League public relations staff prepared advisories, news releases and worked with several defense industry and exhibiting government agencies’ public relations representatives to coordinate media briefings on new programs, initiatives, equipment and technology. Several SAS exhibitors held news conferences and briefings in the SAS media conference room.

Navy League public relations also publicized the Adm. Vern Clark and Gen. James L. Jones Safety Awards presented at the SAS 2006 Secretary of the Navy luncheon.

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 council activities around the world. It is being reformatted for 2007 with a new layout and organization.

The public relations efforts of the headquarters staff continued to be complemented by the highly professional efforts of Navy League councils. During 2006, the Public Relations Director made several council-assist visits to councils on the mainland and overseas and provided council information packets that included fact sheets on Navy League supported partnership programs, such as the Barnum and Bailey Circus, the Navy League Hiring Center, and the Department of the Navy and Department of Defense speakers programs.

During the 2006 National Convention in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, public relations efforts were successful in obtaining local print and broadcast coverage of the convention activities.

Innovation is the watch-word for Navy League public relations as the staff continues to improve, expand and develop the key public relations and marketing strategies and tools, such as the Navy Leaguer and the website, to bring national and international attention to the Navy League’s efforts in supporting the sea services.

Membership

Navy League membership remains at 63,000 strong in more than 270 councils around the world. Ship adoptions continue at a strong pace as new ships are commissioned and join the fleet. Navy League Councils have formally adopted more than 250 U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA ships and submarines. In addition, councils have adopted more than 200 Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard commands, bases, squadrons and units. In support of various youth programs, councils have adopted or support hundreds of NJROTC/MJROTC units and Naval Sea Cadet and Navy League Cadet divisions/squadrons around the country.

Navy League councils also continued to host numerous ship visits, recognize Sailors of the Year and Sailors of the Quarter, and award more than $200,000 in scholarships.

National Publications

The Navy League’s national publication, Seapower magazine, continued to report on 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.

The June Seapower cover story “Double Whammy,” by correspondent Amy Klamper, has been singled out on Capitol Hill and by Navy and Marine Corps leadership for its insight into the security clearance problems service members that have fallen victim to payday loan debt may face — and the impact it was having on readiness within the services. In the months that followed, Congress, state and local governments, and the services stepped up their efforts to rein in the interest rates payday lenders can charge, limit so-called predatory lending practices and provide better financial management education and resources to service members.

On the international front, Seapower reports highlighted relationship-building initiatives in Asia and the Pacific Rim — notably through the efforts of the Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy, which has made two humanitarian missions to South Asia in the past year — and Africa, as well as Marine Corps moves to bolster its foreign training complement. The September cover story, “Hezbollah’s Surprise,” also shed light on the growing, and more potent, arsenals of some militant groups around the world. The cruise missile attack by Hezbollah on an Israeli Navy warship of Lebanon caught many defense experts, here and abroad, by surprise and quickly prompted tactical changes for U.S. Navy ship operations close to shore.

In December, Seapower also reported on the Iranian Navy’s evolving strategy for “unbalanced warfare” that would blend such high-tech means as diesel submarines and cruise missiles with swarms of small boats and mines to defend against a conventional naval force, such as the U.S. Navy.

Seapower special reports and major features from 2006 highlighted:

The Navy’s initiative to re-activate its Riverine forces;
Marine Corps advances to help lighten the combat load for troops;
The evolution of Marine Corps Distributed Operations;
How the Littoral Combat Ship’s “hybrid sailors” are revamping the way the Navy will man its ships;
The revitalization of short-sea shipping; and
The Coast Guard’s plan to restructure its forces and reassess its security plans for U.S. ports.

Seapower also continued to highlight sea service leadership in 2006, and included in-depth features and interviews with each of the services’ top commanders. In March, Adm. Mike Mullen, chief of naval operations, was interviewed, followed by Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen in August, just after he had assumed the duties as commandant. The Marine Corps’ outgoing and incoming commandants, Gen. Michael Hagee and then-Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, were featured in July and September, respectively.

Among other sea service leaders and high-ranking officials interviewed or featured in Seapower during the past year were Vice Adm. Charles L. Munns, commander, Naval Submarine Forces; Rear Adm. William E. Landay III; Adm. William J. Fallon; Delores M. Etter; Marine Brig. Gen. Carl B. Jensen, who coordinated the evacuation of U.S. citizens from Lebanon during the war between Israel and Hezbollah militants; and Lt. Gen. John G. Castellaw, Marine Corps deputy commandant for Aviation.

Seapower’s December 2004 redesign continues to be recognized for its more vibrant and inviting look. In the fall, Seapower was chosen twice as a winner in the “2006 American Graphic Design Awards.” The judges selected the May 2005 Seapower cover — a composite photo illustration of a Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle designed by Pensaré Design Group Ltd. of Washington, D.C. — and the 2006 Almanac cover, again designed by Pensaré and featuring a photo by U.S. Navy Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Eric S. Powell, as indicative of the excellence in design celebrated by this national competition.

In December, Seapower unveiled its new digital edition. Online and interactive, and containing all the features of Seapower’s print edition, the digital edition is fully searchable and contains a clickable table of contents and hot links to advertiser sites. Readers will be able to receive and read each issue of Seapower on their computers in 2007.

Regional Activities

The Navy League continued to expand the services available through the Regional Activities Department in 2006. Council, area and region leaders can now choose from 19 workshops and 18 guides that provide guidance and proven ideas for improving their operations. The training workshops cover a broad spectrum of council operations, including management and governance, membership recruiting and retention, strategic planning, fund raising and electronic communications. Workshops are available at no cost and can be scheduled through headquarters at a mutually agreeable time and place. All workshops and council guides are posted on the Navy League website under “Navy League Councils/Council Resources.”

Major initiatives supported by regional activities staff in 2006 include Operation Homefront, a program to support the families of deployed sea service personnel; the Navy League Hiring Center, a free job-matching service available to sea service members, their families and veterans; and the Navy Professional Reading Program. Ongoing support of routine operations includes ship adoptions, ship commissioning ceremonies, new council formation and major event planning. A “Council Event Planning Guide” was issued in 2006 to assist field leaders with that activity. The newly appointed national vice president for Council Liaison now works with the regional activities staff.

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 8,468 cadets are now enrolled in 371 NSCC and NLCC units in the United States, Puerto Rico and Guam.

At the request of the Navy, the Navy League established the NSCC in 1958, and it 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 11-13 for the NLCC and 13-17 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 Navy-approved NSCC recruit or one-week NLCC 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, leadership and Homeland Security training. At-sea training on Navy ships or Coast Guard cutters is available as well.

For the sixth year, federal funding was available for cadet training. Almost 2,200 Sea Cadets and more than 750 Navy League Cadets participated in recruit and orientation training at 18 regional military bases or stations, and another 3,800 received advanced training at more than 50 other bases and stations. In addition, 61 U.S. cadets and their adult escorts participated in an international exchange program with Sea Cadet units from overseas.

The federal funding was used almost exclusively to offset increasingly expensive berthing and messing costs for all cadet summer training. Since 1975, more than $258,400 has been provided to more than 197 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 Officer Training Corps scholarships. There are now almost 500 former Sea Cadets enrolled at the U.S. Naval Academy or in the Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program.