Just over one year ago, in a period of several days, the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard were called into action to respond to an especially challenging and near-simultaneous series of events across the globe.
• 11 March 2011: An 8.9-magnitude earthquake followed by a tsunami hit Japan. The USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) Carrier Strike Group and the USS Essex (LHD-2) Amphibious Ready Group with Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit responded within days. They provided immediate disaster relief and helped to deal with the consequences of four badly damaged nuclear power plants, three of which threatened to melt down.
• 15 March 2011: With widespread rioting ongoing in Manama, Saudi troops and light armor entered the Kingdom of Bahrain where the U.S. 5th Fleet is headquartered. The USS Boxer (LHD-4) Amphibious Ready Group with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit was accelerated to the theater to provide backup theater reserve and evacuation options. The USS Enterprise (CVN-65) Carrier Strike Group continued on-station in the North Arabian Sea supporting tactical air operations in Afghanistan.
• 17 March 2011: With only a handful of U.S. ships in the Mediterranean Sea, the President considered intervening in Libya to prevent Moammar Gadhafi from acting on a threat to massacre his own people in eastern Libya. The USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) and other ARG units had “swung” from Southwest Asia, transiting the Suez Canal on 2 March as a “hedge.” The Marines of the 26th MEU had just swung from operations in Afghanistan to rejoin the Kearsarge at sea in the Mediterranean.
• 19 March 2011: U.S. Navy destroyers and submarines and Royal Navy combatants commenced Tomahawk land-attack missile strikes on Libya to suppress air defenses and allow NATO aircraft to support Libyan forces fighting for their independence.
None of these events was “planned” when those units trained to deploy. Yet such is the nature and professionalism of the Sea Services that they were not only on station, but ready to respond so effectively to the unforeseen. This is what ready, capable, and global American sea power does for the Nation.
Here are some points to consider about our Naval Institute.
Our Institute:
• Preserves our naval history
• Documents wars, conflicts, crises, and challenges as they occur
• Traces the evolutionary development of American sea power from the earliest days of the Republic
• Examines sea power as it continues to evolve, through the essays and debate in our open forum
• Captures and expands on the rich tapestry of courage, achievement, and sacrifice of those who have served
• Maintains a unique heritage collection of manuscripts, art, and more than a half-million photographs
• Invests every donation to this 138-year-old nonprofit institution wisely to develop content that helps Sea Service professionals advance within their profession and helps the citizenry understand the contributions of American sea power.
Today, our Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard are serving in the far corners of the Earth—present and ready. The current tensions over the Iran nuclear issue and Iranian threats to close the Strait of Hormuz are just the latest examples of the importance of American sea power’s ability to respond across the globe.
That global presence can sometimes be taken for granted. Indeed, the cycle of deployments continues each and every day, and it is part of the fabric of what the Sea Services are. Some deployments merit special note. For more than 50 years, Proceedings has documented the illustrious career of the Navy’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise. Last November, her third commanding officer, then-Captain James L. Holloway III, U.S. Navy, who took her into combat in the Vietnam conflict and would go on to serve as the 20th Chief of Naval Operations, saluted her 50th anniversary in his Proceedings essay “Happy Birthday, Big E.”
The ship returned from her previous combat deployment—mentioned above—in July 2011. As this issue goes to press, the Enterprise is standing out on her final operational deployment. Her service to the Navy and the Nation is without parallel. That contribution was possible only because of the tens of thousands of sailors and Marines who served to bring her to life over five decades. The U.S. Naval Institute wishes the gallant ship and her crew “Fair Winds and Following Seas.”
I hope to see many of you at the Institute’s Annual Meeting 11 April in Arlington, Virginia!