Reshaping the Navy
We open the new decade with a navy about to experience big changes in its size and in its composition. What that size will be, what that composition will be, and who will determine these things are all matters of major concern to the nation in general and to the naval profession in particular.
There is only so much money available for defense, and even though the amount will be great, it will quite likely be substantially less than it has been. How much of it will be used for the Navy will depend on men’s judgments. The degree of influence naval officers have on the way that money is spent, on the size of their Service and on its composition, will depend in Part on the thinking and articulation of those officers. If the quality of thought and its expression are good, if the conclusions can stand up amidst the fierce competition of other people’s Ideas, the Navy will be strong and able to serve the country well. If the Navy attempts to get by with old ideas un suited to the present and the future, naval desires will probably be disregarded. The Naval Institute, through its books and the Proceedings, provides the forum through which naval officers can work out and exchange their ideas on those fundamental matters.
This January issue, the first in our new format, is the result of more than a year of planning and development involving a new printing method, a new page design, and a new paper which reflects much less distracting light into the reader’s eyes. Basic content and editorial approach remain unchanged with the exception of the annual May issue. This special issue will be the complete 1970 Naval Review included as a major professional reading benefit to members of the U. S. Naval Institute.
96th Annual Meeting
The Naval Institute’s 96th Annual Meeting will be held Thursday, 19 February 1970, at 1600 in the Brigade Assembly Hall at the U. S. Naval Academy. All members, their wives, and guests are invited to attend. Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, U. S. Navy, Chief of Naval Operations and President of the Naval Institute, will make the key address. The Secretary-Treasurer and Publisher will give a report on the activities and accomplishments of the Institute in 1969. The results of the election for members of the Board of Control will be announced, and prizes will be awarded to the winners in the Naval Institute’s General Prize Essay Contest and to the winners in the prize essay contests of both the Naval Academy’s Brigade of Midshipmen and the Coast Guard Academy’s Corps of Cadets.
In the Next Proceedings
Rear Admiral Worth H. Bagley’s hypothetical magazine article, "1974,” looks back from the future at the five- year period which began in 1969 and explains why the Soviet Union began limited war at sea against the United States in 1974.
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R. T. E. Bowler Jr.
Secretary-Treasurer and Publisher
U.S. Naval Institute