By JAMES D. HESSMAN, Editor in Chief

"It is during these times of crisis that the Navy League is needed more than ever before. Everyone wants to know what he or she can do to help. Every Navy League council is already gearing up to do more of what we already have been doing, and to do it better. That is and has been our mission for almost a century."

So said NLUS National President Timothy O. Fanning in one of several e-mail letters he sent, within days after the 11 September terrorist attacks, to Navy League council presidents and national directors, members of the NLUS Steering Committee, state and region presidents, and other Navy League leaders.

Many Navy League councils, and thousands of individual members, Fanning said, "have already been doing a number of things to help the members of the sea services" and the thousands of civilians who had been killed or seriously injured in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Other councils "are still in the planning stages," he said, and/or have been working with other patriotic organizations in their communities to help support the war effort in various ways.

Among those most directly affected by the attacks, Fanning pointed out--in addition to those who had been killed or injured, and their families--are all other naval/military personnel now serving on active duty or in one of the nation's National Guard or Reserve components. "Deployment schedules have been changed and many ... Reserve [individuals and units] have been called to active duty." The families of these personnel also are facing serious problems, the most difficult of which, perhaps, are "the unknowns: Where are they going? Will they be in combat? How long will they be gone?"

The families of active-duty personnel who have not yet been ordered overseas, and of Reservists who have not yet been called up, Fanning noted, "have the same concerns, and are asking themselves the same questions."

A Few Suggestions

Fanning also provided an initial list of "some but by no means all of the ways we can help, both as individuals and as an organization." Among his suggestions are the following:

--Visit local recruiters. "Ask how you can help--one of the most likely answers you will receive is by helping recruiters gain access to local high schools."

--Contact Family Service Centers at local bases "to identify ways to assist active-duty and Reserve personnel, deployers and nondeployers alike. Identify their needs, and the needs of their families, and do whatever you can to help meet those needs."

--Make the council's already-scheduled Navy and Marine Corps Birthday celebrations major community events. "As a corollary, ask each council member to invite at least one non-Navy League civilian ... to attend as his or her guest--every attendee also could invite one local Sailor or Marine to attend (with spouse, if married) to show that the Navy League cares."

--Visit local Reserve Centers. Offer assistance to families of Reserves who have been called up. (A listing of the Naval Reserve units that have been mobilized is on the web at www.navy-reserve.org/legislative/mobilizedunits.html)

--Meet with the ombudsmen, "and/or other points of contact, of any of the council's adopted ships, stations, or units to offer your assistance." (Councils that have not already adopted one or more ships, stations, etc., Fanning said, "are very strongly encouraged to start the process immediately; the 'how-to' information is available both in the Operations Manual and from NLUS national headquarters.")

--"Visit your local cable TV company and ask whoever is in charge of programming decisions to do a story on the sea services and the Navy League." (The public relations department at NLUS headquarters "can help with material if needed," Fanning said.)

--Target Thanksgiving Day and various religious holidays in December "as special opportunities to demonstrate NLUS support for deployed USN/USMC/USCG units by sending them 'Care Packages.'" (Because of the longer time required for overseas mailings, he added, "this should be done as soon as possible.")

--Expand Sea Cadet recruiting "to tap the natural instinct of America's young people ... to do something patriotic for our nation." Also--"and this is of particular importance," he emphasized--recruit additional adult leaders for Sea Cadet units. (Many NSCC adult leaders are members of the Naval, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard Reserve; a number of them already have been called up, and others are expecting orders in the future.)

Current Needs Continue

Fanning made several additional points in the first of the several e-mail letters he sent to the NLUS leadership. The first was to "get every member of the council involved [his emphasis]." Council presidents can do this, he said, by creating "whatever ad hoc committees are needed" to plan and carry out the council's new sea-service support programs, and by ensuring that "every member is assigned to at least one committee."

Councils also should remember, Fanning said, not to overlook the Coast Guard or the U.S.-flag Merchant Marine. All of the nation's armed services depend on the U.S.-flag merchant fleet to provide the sustainment shipping needed to resupply U.S. ground and air units that are deployed overseas in times of international crisis. And the Coast Guard--which is responsible for the security of U.S. ports, coastal waters, and inland waterways, Fanning pointed out--"will be playing a major role ... in homeland defense" for the foreseeable future.

The terrorist strikes will have an "immense" effect on all of the nation's armed services, Fanning summarized. He cautioned, though, that the war on terrorism, although it will be of paramount importance in the new U.S. national-defense strategy for many years to come, will not translate into a reduction of any of the other responsibilities that have been assigned to the services. "All the various 'things'--ships, aircraft, weapon systems, spare parts, etc.--that were needed before are still needed, and most of them in larger quantities than before," Fanning said.

"Aging ships and aircraft will wear out more quickly. The much higher tempo of operations that is now likely will translate into a need for additional maintenance and more spare parts, and will consume even more defense dollars.

"There will be new needs as well," he continued, "in the fields of surveillance, special-forces operations, and counterterrorism in general, to cite the most obvious examples. Nonetheless, the long-term needs of the sea services, and of the nation's other armed forces, will continue--and will become even more important as our nation faces a number of new challenges that will not go away soon.