John Adams, newly catapulted to celebrity by David McCullough's biography, has long been revered at the Naval Institute. His exhortation daring us to read, think, speak, and write not only hangs in the Board Room, but also inspired a Naval Institute advertising campaign.
Do you remember what fall used to be like? There was the promise of a new school year ahead, with fresh pencils, new notebooks, and stem teachers with time-tested lesson plans. Older now, we must seek our own knowledge and pose our own questions in the best tradition of informed citizens in a functioning democracy. We turn to books, such as David McCullough's John Adams or the six Bluejacket paperback classics reissued this month by the Naval Institute.
David McCullough spoke to Naval Institute members at the most recent Annual Meeting and Annapolis Seminar. (See June Proceedings, pages 42-43, and September-October Naval History, pages 40-43.) He has an extraordinary ability to add meat to the bones of history, to inspire his listeners and readers to want to know and understand more. Using the powerful image of John Adams, with his son John Quincy in tow, walking a snow-swept beach on his way to embark for Europe and an uncertain future, Mr. McCullough reminded us that the Naval Institute's mission requires no less dedication and merits the same confidence. We must work to inspire our members to spread the word, to encourage others to learn more about our nation's sea services and their glorious history and rapidly approaching future.
Mr. McCullough told us stories most of us had never heard about Adams's pivotal role in the Navy's rebirth in 1798, but Adams's words always have been with us. Prominently displayed inside the front covers of years of Naval Reviews (now the May issue of Proceedings) was "Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write." The phrase, now hanging proudly in the Naval Institute's Board Room, is central to our mission-keeping open a unique forum in which tough questions can be asked and answered courageously.
In the fall the Naval Institute goes back to school, too, from 3-4 October in Virginia Beach. U.S. Atlantic Fleet Commander-in-Chief Admiral Bob Natter will be the lead speaker at our sixth annual Warfare Exposition and Symposium. U.S. Joint Forces Commander General William F. Kernan and former Secretary of the Navy and award-winning novelist Jim Webb highlight a sparkling agenda.
The seminar discussions in Virginia Beach always are stimulating. Help us make this the most successful ever-- invite other members and friends to attend and participate. Admission is free to both the seminar sessions and the exposition-which includes more than 100 defense contractors exhibiting everything from boots to tomorrow's weapon systems. More information is available on our Web site, www.navalinstitute.org and page 96. We hope to see you in Virginia Beach.
Urge your colleagues to read books and magazines. Enjoin them to think-and to join our members in exchanging ideas in seminar discussions and in the eForum that will, ultimately, create a smarter, stronger force. Finally, do as John Adams did-take up your pen, or keyboard, and write! You'll find the forum an inspiring place, filled with new ideas. Dare to read, think, speak, and write!
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By Tom Marfiak