The last year of
the 20th century "was one of the most productive in the Navy League's
98 years of service to the nation and to the U.S. sea services," said
NLUS National President John R. Fisher, summing up the organization's
major accomplishments in 1999. "What is of much greater importance,
though, is not what we have already accomplished but what we can--and
must--do in the years ahead. The sea services need our help today more
than ever before--in recruiting and retention, in family-services
programs, and, most important of all, in educating the American people
about the continuing need for a strong U.S. naval/maritime presence
throughout the world.
"We have
taken several initiatives to help resolve some of the most difficult
problems facing the sea services today," he continued. "Our Sea
Power Ambassadors program has been eminently successful in developing a
greater constituency for an expanded shipbuilding budget--which will
benefit the Coast Guard and U.S.-flag Merchant Marine as well as the Navy.
The Navy League worked with other defense organizations and associations
to support Congressional approval of a much-needed pay raise--and
revisions to the retirement program--for military personnel. And the new
Navy League National Scholarship Foundation is expected not only to
benefit sea-service families but also to provide the nation at large with
the well-educated, highly motivated young people who will be among the
political and military leaders and decision makers of our nation for many
years to come."
The 1999 Winter
Meeting (1114 November in Kansas City, Mo.) "completed the agenda
for an ambitious schedule of programs for the coming year," said
Fisher, who succeeded Jack M. Kennedy as national president at the close
of the League's 1999 National Convention in Chicago. "We look forward
to another year of growth, productivity, and continued service to the
Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and U.S.-flag Merchant Marine."
Following, by
department and function, are reports on NLUS headquarters and council
operations during the past year, and an advance look at some of the
principal programs and activities planned for 2000 and beyond.
National
Meetings
The highlight of
the 1999 convention was the "change of command" ceremony in
which Kennedy turned the helm over to Fisher and assumed duty as chairman
of the National Advisory Council, succeeding former NAC Chairman Hugh H.
Mayberry. Six new national vice presidents also were elected in
Chicago--Richard E. Fahrenwald, T. Cole Hackley, Sheila M. McNeill, John
A. Panneton, Ronald K. Weeks, and Robert D. White; Melvin G. Burkart was
elected the new national treasurer. Continuing in their posts were
National Vice Presidents William J. Evanzia, Timothy O. Fanning Jr.,
Robert W. Saul Jr., and Bruce B. Smith; also reelected were National
Corporate Secretary Jerome Rapkin and National Judge Advocate Ward
Shanahan.
Numerous NLUS
councils and individual Navy Leaguers received awards from the sea
services, and from the Navy League itself, during the convention.
"Navy Leaguer of the Year" Harold B. Estes of Honolulu was
selected to receive the League's 1999 Distinguished Service Award, the
highest honor the Navy League bestows on one of its own members; Donald E.
Boyer of Oak Harbor, Wash., was inducted into the Navy League's Hall of
Fame; and National Vice President Timothy O. Fanning Jr. was named by
Kennedy to receive the 1999 President's Award. Morgan L. Fitch Jr. of
Chicago, a past national president and a former chairman of the Naval Sea
Cadet Corps, became the first member of the new NSCC Hall of Fame.
The Winter
Meeting in Kansas City "approved the agenda, and the budget,
developed for the coming year," said Fisher, "and set the course
for the year ahead."
Future national
meetings are scheduled as follows: 2000--national convention in
Philadelphia, Pa. (1219 June), winter meeting in Hilton Head, S.C. (25
November); 2001--national convention in Reno, Nev. (2024 June), winter
meeting in Tampa, Fla. (14 November); 2002--national meeting in New York
City (28 June2 July).
Sea-Air-Space
Exposition
The Navy League's
1999 Sea-Air-Space Exposition (SAS) attracted more than 10,000
active-duty, civilian, and industry attendees, who viewed the latest in
technological innovations exhibited by the over 130 defense contractors
participating.
The theme of the
1999 exposition, the largest of its type in the world, was "Power Up
for 2000." The 1999 SAS also featured an extensive seminar program
led by senior Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard representatives, who
discussed the direction their services will be taking in the 21st century.
SAS exhibits
showcased new defense industry and military developments designed to
address dramatic changes in acquisition policy and the rapidly evolving
sea-service missions. The 1999 SAS also provided, as it does each year, a
neutral forum and meeting place in which sea-service leaders could meet
with industry representatives to renew acquaintances, discuss recent
technological developments, and resolve mutual concerns.
The Navy League
presents its annual Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Award during the SAS
to honor an industry leader who has made an exemplary contribution to the
nation's maritime strength and/or has otherwise enhanced national
security. James E. Turner Jr., president and CEO of General Dynamics
Corporation, was honored as the 1999 recipient. Also awarded during the
exposition was the Albert A. Michelson Award, presented to Dr. Ivan A.
Getting, an eminent physicist with the National Academy of Sciences
Committee for Undersea Warfare. The Michelson Award honors a civilian
scientist or technical innovator whose scientific or technical
achievements have resulted in significant improvement in the strength of
the nation's maritime forces, or the enhancement of the U.S. industrial
technology base.
Councils
and Membership
The Navy League's
newest council--in Naperville, Ill.--was chartered on 13 October, the U.S.
Navy Birthday. A new overseas council, the first ever in a former Warsaw
Pact nation, the Central Europe Council, was chartered on 2 February in
the Czech Republic. Another new council is in formation in Chiefland,
Fla., and plans to charter in the spring of 2000.
In Rhode Island,
the Providence Plantation Council is merging with the Newport County
Council to offer greater participation opportunities to the members of
both councils.
National
President Jack Fisher has placed renewed emphasis on council organization
and development to assist councils with establishing productive leadership
and council programs. These goals are being addressed through workshops at
national Navy League meetings. Individual councils continued to support
the sea services through a wide range of local programs and activities
throughout the year.
Special
Offer for Life Memberships
A limited-time
"special" on the life membership rate was announced at the 1999
NLUS National Convention in Chicago. Until 31 December 2000 the cost of a
Navy League Life Membership will be only $300, and the cost of a
Husband/Wife Life Membership will be $450. In addition, the spouse of a
current life member can become a Life Member for only $150.
National
Publications
Sea Power Magazine
and The Almanac of Seapower continued to disseminate the Navy
League's message on the importance of seapower, naval and commercial, to
U.S. national security and America's economic well-being. Sea Power
included more but shorter and more timely articles on major defense
issues, current legislation, and other topics of particular importance to
the sea services. Among the senior Navy, Department of Defense, and other
officials interviewed in 1999 were Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen.
Henry H. Shelton, USA, Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater,
Secretary of the Navy Richard J. Danzig, Marine Corps Commandant Gen.
James L. Jones Jr., Maritime Administrator Clyde J. Hart Jr., and Vice
Adm. George P. Nanos Jr., commander of the Naval Sea Systems Command.
The 1999 Almanac
included several additional sections in the "Facts and Figures"
departments, all of which were extensively rewritten and updated. The
President's Foreword was expanded to four pages to provide the Navy
League's view on a broader range of the most important national-defense
and sea-service topics of the past year, as well as those likely to be of
major importance in the year ahead.
Both publications
benefited from the shift to an all-electronic publishing system and other
system improvements at NLUS headquarters. Photos are now sharper and more
timely, for example, and there are shorter "lead times" between
the close of the editorial process and the printing and distribution
dates.
Corporate
Affairs
Despite
continuing mergers and acquisitions throughout the U.S. defense industry,
Navy League Corporate Affairs celebrated another successful year. Litton
Industries Inc. and First USA joined the General Dynamics Corporation, The
Boeing Company, Raytheon Systems Company, and Lockheed Martin Corporation
as Corporate Gold members. The Corporate Gold membership was established
in 1997 for companies that have become giants in the defense industry.
There are over 140 Corporate and 24 Business Associate Members of the Navy
League.
With the
continued support of Rear Adm. Winford G. Ellis, the Navy's director of
Special Programs, the Department hosted a number of events of special
interest to the defense and maritime industries. The "Special
Topic" Breakfast Series at NLUS headquarters gives selected groups of
corporate members the opportunity to hear Navy program managers discuss
the direction the Navy is heading as it prepares for the 21st century.
Among the 1999
speakers were Rear Adm. Rodney P. Rempt, deputy assistant secretary of the
Navy for Theater Combat Systems in the office of the assistant secretary
of the Navy for research, development, and acquisition; Rear Adm. Malcolm
I. Fages, director of submarine warfare in the office of the chief of
naval operations (OPNAV); and Rear Adm. John B. Nathman, director of the
air warfare division in OPNAV.
NLUS Executive
Forums have provided another important link between the Navy/Marine Corps
team and Navy League corporate members. The Forums allow industry
executives to understand the challenges facing the sea services at the
beginning of the 21st century, and to learn how industry can be a more
effective partner in development and production of the finest military
equipment in the world. At the August Executive Forum--held in the
Dallas/Ft. Worth area--Rear Adm. Richard W. Mayo, director and fleet
liaison (Space, Information Warfare, Command and Control) discussed the
latest in Navy information technology with a group of corporate members.
Stanley R.
Arthur, vice president of the Lockheed Martin Corporation Electronic
Sector, and chairman of the Navy League's Industrial Executive Board (IEB),
hosted the annual IEB meeting during the League's 1999 Sea-Air-Space
Exposition; Rear Adm. Paul G. Gaffney II, director of the Office of Naval
Research, discussed the Navy's modernization initiatives for the 21st
century at the IEB meeting.
Legislative
Education
In the past year,
the Navy League has expanded its efforts to provide NLUS members
additional, and more timely, information on Congress and current
legislation, and to give Navy Leaguers more opportunities to inform
Congress about their views through the World Wide Web.
Now included in
the Legislative Affairs section of the Navy League's website is an
orientation to Capitol Hill that provides guidelines for corresponding
with members of Congress as effectively as possible. Information on staff
titles and responsibilities and an introduction to the congressional
legislative process also are included on the web page.
The Legislative
Education Department also provides NLUS members with a Congressional
Contact Center on the Navy League web site. This section includes a
"hypermedia" directory of House and Senate membership
information, including:
- Photo,
biography, telephone, Fax, e-mail, web address, district office
locations, key staff names, and committee assignments, where available
and applicable;
- House and
Senate committee information, including committee rosters by
seniority, the names of key majority and minority staff, and contact
information; and
- A new
search-engine capability that allows NLUS members to find their
senators and representatives and congressional districts by nine-digit
zip code; also provided is a daily schedule of important House,
Senate, and committee activities.
The Congressional
Contact Center also enables NLUS members to send e-mail directly to their
senators and representatives--draft letters on many of the Navy League's
concerns on legislative issues also are provided.
A page also is
reserved for special legislative alerts to notify NLUS members of timely
and important ad hoc matters of major importance. Last year, the Navy
League rallied NLUS members to notify elected officials of their concerns
on several issues, particularly the Navy's need for an increase in
shipbuilding funds. Another alert successfully urged the Senate to pass
S.1059, the National Defense Authorization bill, which provided for a 4.8
percent military pay raise. Finally, an e-mail alert urged Navy Leaguers
to ask President Clinton to sign the national defense appropriations bill
that would pay for the military pay raise. He did so, and it became public
law 106-79.
As a member of
the Military Coalition, the Navy League has been actively involved for
several years in advocating for pay table reform and a repeal of the
"Redux" retirement system, which reduced military retirement
from 50 percent to 40 percent of base pay. Both initiatives were
successful last year. The Military Coalition, a consortium of service and
veteran organizations representing more than five million members, meets
regularly to share information, discuss issues of common interest, and
advocate a coordinated legislative agenda. The Coalition provides expanded
opportunities for the Navy League to help active-duty personnel, military
retirees, and their families.
The Department
hosted a special reception at the 1999 Sea-Air-Space Exposition for
members of Congress and their staffs. Vice Admiral George P. Nanos Jr.,
commander of the Naval Sea Systems Command, briefed attendees and answered
their questions about current shipbuilding programs.
In November,
National President John R. Fisher met with Sen. John Warner (R-Va.),
chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, to offer the Navy
League's support for his efforts to preserve the availability of Vieques
Island, Puerto Rico, for combined-arms live-fire training by the Navy and
Marine Corps. After a tragic accident in April 1999, the use of Vieques
became the focus of a heated political debate. The Navy League has taken
an active role in supporting continued Navy and Marine Corps use of this
unique and critical training facility.
Navy
League Web Site
The Navy League's
web site has been redesigned, and a new user interface for the site will
debut in January 2000. Among the new features that have been added are
online registration for conventions, search capabilities, online corporate
membership applications, greatly increased coverage of Sea Power articles,
a complete list of councils (with hot links to their web sites), the
ability to change membership information online, a "virtual exhibit
hall" for Sea-Air-Space, a "Contact Congress" section for
grass-roots use, and online scholarship and essay contest applications.
These and other improvements have increased traffic to the web site by
more than 300 percent.
Among the new
features planned for 2000 are daily updates and links to news about issues
affecting the sea services, an online community section (All Hands) that
includes chat rooms and message boards, enhanced search capabilities, and
online payment for membership applications and renewals.
The Navy League
is committed to harnessing the power of the Internet to improve member
services and communication. Starting in January, members will be able to
point their browsers to www.navyleague.org for comprehensive and
continuously updated information about the sea services.
Community
Education
The NLUS
community education program continues to be central to the overall mission
of the Navy League. Last year the Navy League launched its new Sea Power
Ambassadors program--an initiative aimed at increasing public awareness of
sea power and fostering public support for an increased shipbuilding
program. Almost 400 Navy League members serving as Sea Power Ambassadors
leveraged their community leadership positions and professional status to
deliver the message through such "grass-roots" channels as
editorials and OpEd columns, media interviews, and public speaking
engagements.
Numerous NLUS
councils delivered the preparedness message by sponsoring symposia, panel
discussions, and other community events featuring Navy League as well as
sea-service spokesmen. The Cape Canaveral Council sponsored the
commissioning of the Aegis guided-missile destroyer (DDG) USS Porter; five
other Florida councils teamed up to sponsor activities geared to the
commissioning of the DDG USS Higgins. The Pascagoula-Moss Point Council
hosted the christening of the Navy's newest oceanographic survey ship,
USNS Bruce C. Heezen.
The 1999 Samuel
Eliot Morison Essay contest generated 262 essay submissions; the record
number is believed due in large part to the significant increase in the
scholarship funds available. Teen scholars from 18 regions competed
intensely for the top spot. The grand prizewinner was Whitney Blake Price,
18, a graduate of Maury High School in Norfolk, Va., who won a $3,000
award. Price argued in her entry that the "Battle of
Guadalcanal" was the most significant maritime event of the 20th
century.
Public
Relations
Navy League
public relations efforts continued to spread the word last year about
maritime issues of importance to all Americans.
The 1999
Sea-Air-Space Exposition served as a particularly significant public
relations opportunity to generate positive coverage in the media. The
significant representation by trade press and military media
representatives could in large part be attributed to creative promotional
efforts initiated by the Navy League. The much-improved NLUS web site
provided up-to-the-minute information and introduced the imaginative
"virtual exhibit hall" concept, which featured many of the Navy
League's corporate exhibitors and guest speakers. Navy League public
relations and corporate members collaborated on advance planning for press
briefs and advisory bulletins. This partnering with key corporate
communicators was a significant milestone and forged new grounds for
greater visibility and public awareness of the exposition.
The Navy League's
quarterly newsletter, The Navy Leaguer, was redesigned to enhance its
readability and increase its appeal to advertisers. Now an all-color
publication, The Navy Leaguer introduced NLUS members to Navy League
Scholarship winners. The Planned Giving Education Program also was
featured in The Navy Leaguer, in a four-part series. Additional guest
authors (and photographers) from Navy League councils around the globe
contributed to the "new look" of The Navy Leaguer.
Several proposed
changes to improve the effectiveness of the Public Affairs Recognition
Program and the Donald M. Mackie Newsletter Excellence Awards were adopted
by the Board of Directors at the 1999 NLUS National Convention.
An organizational
restructuring at national headquarters merged Corporate Affairs,
Legislative Education, Meetings and Conventions, and Public Relations
under the umbrella of a Communications Department, headed by a senior
director of communications.
Marketing
Programs
Production has
been completed on a documentary video on the history and heritage of the
U.S. Navy. "Our Navy Story," two years in the making, will be
used as an educational tool to develop an appreciation of America's rich
maritime heritage. It will be shown as well to thousands of new Sailors at
the Naval Recruit Training Center in Great Lakes, Ill.; copies also will
be provided to Navy recruiters throughout the country to help them in
their recruiting efforts.
Plans continue to
be formulated for the Navy League's centennial celebration in 2002.
Periodic announcements will be included in future issues of Sea Power
Magazine and The Navy Leaguer.
NLUS President
John R. Fisher has announced that the Navy League will start a major
membership drive in conjunction with the League's centennial celebration.
The goal will be to reach 100,000 total Navy League members by the end of
the centennial year. The national leadership has committed major resources
to the effort and is calling on Navy League councils to redouble their
recruiting and retention efforts to help achieve that goal.
Meanwhile, the
annual Gold Cup member-get-a-member campaign continues to provide an
influx of new members. Appreciation is extended to all who participated in
the campaign, and to those who participated in the NLUS annual giving
program.
Youth
Programs
The two NLUS-sponsored
youth programs, the Naval Sea Cadet Corps (NSCC) and the Navy League Cadet
Corps (NLCC), continued to grow and thrive. Thousands of young Americans
are now enrolled in the approximately 300 NSCC and NLCC units within the
United States, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The quality of officers, cadets, and
volunteer instructors continues to be outstanding.
NSCC cadets must
be at least 13 years old, but not yet 18. NLCC membership is restricted to
boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 14. The NSCC was established in
1958 and chartered by Congress in 1962 as a nonprofit youth-training
organization. Although the NLCC is not covered in the federal charter,
both programs are sponsored by the Navy League; the Navy and Coast Guard
provide significant training and facilities support.
Local training of
cadets, held at the drill site of the parent unit, includes activities
ranging from classroom instruction in basic military skills to preparation
for summer recruit training. There also are opportunities for educational
tours, briefings, and participation in parades and other community-service
events. During the summer, first-year Sea Cadets participate in a two-week
recruit training period--a condensed version of the training provided to
regular Navy recruits. Cadets who successfully complete recruit training
are eligible for advanced training in any of several fields, including
at-sea training aboard Navy and Coast Guard ships ranging in size from
tugs to aircraft carriers. Cadets who qualify also may participate in
basic and aviation training, submarine orientation, or specialized
training in the health care, music, construction, and law-enforcement
fields. Approximately 1,750 cadets attended recruit training
indoctrination sessions last year at the Navy's Great Lakes Recruit
Training Command and at 120 other regional training sites.
Thanks to local
contributions and various memorial funds, a number of deserving cadets
received training grants to participate in summer training. Many NLUS
councils, and some individual members, also provided funds to assist
cadets who otherwise would have been unable to participate in the 1999
summer training.
The NSCC has for
several years participated in an international exchange program with Sea
Cadet organizations in Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands,
United Kingdom, and Sweden. Each summer, outstanding NSCC cadets are
selected to serve as "young ambassadors" and train with their
counterparts in those countries. In exchange, a number of foreign cadets
are provided the opportunity to visit and train in the United States. Last
year, 106 U.S. cadets and 65 foreign cadets participated in the exchange
program.
The NSCC's senior
leadership is provided by volunteer officers and instructors who
contribute their time and expertise. Cadet Corps officers are appointed
both from the civilian sector and from active, Reserve, or retired
military status. All must complete the professional development courses
specifically designed for NSCC officers. In October 1999 the NLUS and NSCC
hosted the 17-member International Sea Cadet Association's annual meeting
in Washington, D.C.; delegates from Australia, Bermuda, Canada, India,
Japan, South Korea, Sweden, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the
United States participated in the meeting, reviewing the organization's
policy and operations and its plans for the future.
The NSCC
objectives are to:
(a) Develop in
American youth a greater appreciation for the history, customs, and
traditions of the U.S. sea services and their role in national defense;
(b) Develop
individual qualities of patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and other
attributes that contribute to the development of strong moral character
and good citizenship; and
(c) Provide
information to participating cadets about the advantages and prestige of
pursuing a naval or military career.
The purpose of
the Navy League Cadet Corps is to give young people mental, moral, and
physical training through the medium of naval and other instruction, with
the objective of developing principles of patriotism and good citizenship,
instilling in them a sense of duty, discipline, self-respect,
self-confidence, and respect for others.
Since 1975, NSCC
officials said, more than 120 cadets have received financial assistance of
varying amounts to continue their education. In addition, many Sea Cadets
have been selected for appointment to one or more of the nation's service
academies or other officer accession programs, and/or have received ROTC
scholarships.
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