"Where’s the Chief?” This was the title of a 1995 Proceedings article by Captain Chris Johnson. The article reinforces the importance of senior enlisted professionals in today’s armed services. The Surface Warfare Association selected this contribution as the best article of the year. The title also struck a chord at the Naval Institute, where the senior enlisted professionals for too long had not been as involved as either we or they might have liked in the organization’s activities.
Today, senior enlisted professionals are engaged with the Naval Institute and are playing critical roles in helping shape the profession of arms and this organization. On our spring book list, we published Ask the Chief: Backbone of the Navy by Jack Leahy. The author of our 2002 Honor, Courage, Commitment: Navy Boot Camp, former Radioman Leahy chronicles the wisdom, character, and dignity of the chief petty officers’ community. On our fall list is The Chief Petty Officer’s Guide by retired Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Hagan and Jack Leahy. What the Naval Institute’s Bluejacket’s Manual is to new sailors, this book will be for those sailors who aspire to be chief petty officers.
The three senior enlisted professionals of the sea services are honorary vice presidents of the Naval Institute. An enlisted professional also serves on the Board of Directors and Editorial Board. With Master Chief Delta Hinson’s recent return to sea, this board position is vacant, and we are searching for a replacement. Any active-duty enlisted member of the Naval Institute interested in this opportunity to play an active role in heading this organization should contact CEO/Publisher Tom Wilkerson or me.
Still, the fastest and potentially most significant and lasting way for anyone to participate in this organization is to write. Every month, the pages of Proceedings and the magazine’s staff of editors are available to those who dare to make a difference. With Booz Allen Hamilton, we sponsor the Enlisted Essay Contest. In this month’s issue is a comment on one of this year’s prize winners, “If You’re the Chief, Be the Chief.” Captain Mark Nesselrode calls the essay by Master Gunnery Sergeant Billy Stewart “one of the most lucid and accurate portrayals of leadership I have read in Proceedings or any other source.”
Essay contests permit us to feature a particular subject area and with cosponsors enable us to award significant cash prizes and recognize the winners publicly. We are pleased to announce the return of the Marine Corps Essay Contest, courtesy of a three-year commitment from Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. The contest encourages individuals with an interest in the Marine Corps to engage in critical thinking to advance the warfighting excellence of the Corps. The deadline for this year’s contest is 1 September.
Finally, this issue marks Dave Baker’s last Combat Fleets column for Proceedings. As the editor of The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, Dave has contributed his book’s namesake column for 15 years. Dave is turning over the editorship of both the critically acclaimed reference with the 2005-2006 edition and this column to Eric Wertheim. Dave will begin writing the Lest We Forget bimonthly ship’s column for Proceedings and continue his Historic Fleets column for Naval History.
Editor's Page
By F.H. Rainbow
—F.H. Rainbow