The debut in June of "Crossing Swords" as an occasional point/counterpoint feature drew quite a hit of mail. The exchange about the so-called "generals' revolt" clearly struck a chord with readers. Many also reacted strongly enough to "Midway is Our Trafalgar," by Commander Brian Fort, to write to us. This month our lead story, "Aircraft Carriers Are On Their Way Out." by retired Admiral and former CIA director Stansfield Turner (below) is likely to set off another cascade of letters. For us, the editors of Proceedings, this type of response is as good as it gets. Here's why:
We at the Naval Institute do not editorialize. At times readers scold us tor our refusal to take a position on issues that mutter to USNI members, everything from the DD(X) to the Joint Strike Fighter to the war in Iraq to U.S. Naval Academy admission standards.
But we are not advocates. And, though it would be presumptuous for us to refer to ourselves as teachers, we like to think that the menu of articles that we set before readers each month plays an important educational role. We're into light, not heat.
That doesn't mean we don't like heat. We love it. But it's up to our readers to provide it, just as it's our job to publish stories in which authors take on the tough issues, even knowing that as many may disagree with them as find their arguments persuasive. The way to register your sentiments on an article in Proceedings is to write a reasonably short letter for inclusion in our Comment and Discussion section. The letter can have some bite to it, in fact we hope it does. It can be opinionated and it may he strongly worded. What it can't do is contain a personal attack or intemperate language. Or he boring or crippled by acronyms and/or jargon, essentially the same standards we try to impose on feature articles. Beyond those things, the lid's off.
The C&D section is one of our most popular. It is in these pages that issues of consequence are debated, hopefully with sufficient sophistication to clarify the matters under discussion. At their best, the letters are from responsible, thoughtful, and authoritative individuals who agree, disagree, or want to expand on an article in the magazine. C&Ds are the essence of the Independent Forum that we at Proceedings take such pride in. the element that sets us apart from other journals that focus on national defense.
My purpose here is to encourage all of you reading this to submit letters to our C&D section. We want to know how you feel about the articles we print, and we're especially grateful when a letter further illuminates an issue discussed in one of our articles. Our readership is exceedingly bright and accomplished in the profession of arms. The quality of Proceedings is dependent on our success in plugging into that expertise. So let us hear from you. Email letters to [email protected]. Snail mail works, too: Proceedings, 291 Wood Road, Annapolis, MD 21402-5034.
I've already mentioned Admiral Turner's piece on aircraft carriers, which 1 suspect will have you either nodding your head in approval or hanging it on the table. My suggestion? Either way. write us a letter. Several of our other articles are likely to stir emotions. For one. "If It Ain't Broke...." a negative critique of the reorganization of the Mine Warfare Command by retired Navy Captain Robert O'Donnell and longtime contributor Scott Truver. For another, check out "Impending Future," by Ensign Andre Agraviador. The article is the first-prize winner of the Commander William Earl Fannin Capstone Essay Contest for graduating Naval Academy midshipmen, sponsored by the Academy Class of 1945.
Not all our articles will raise readers' blood pressure. Most simply enlighten, usually by relating something that makes you say to yourself, "Hey, that's really interesting, 1 didn't know that." My candidate in this category for July is "Mission Improbable" by Captain Mike Budney, until last month skipper of the USS Emory S. Land (AS-39). The kind is a sub tender-a sub tender!-that for the past two years has been traipsing the diplomatic circuit in Gabon. Angola. Ghana, and other West African nations that border the Gulf of Guinea.
We end with a collective Semper Fidelis from all of us here to lieutenant General Jim Conway, no stranger to Proceedings as both author and subject, tapped last month by President Bush to he the 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps.