Editor's Page

Proceedings this month commemorates the 30th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War by blending a pictorial of some of the more striking images of that long ago conflict with the reflections of two Marine infantry officers who knew that benighted battlefield firsthand. Joe Hoar eventually pinned on four stars and commanded the U.S. Central Command. Ron Benigo left the Corps after Vietnam and became a successful businessman. All these years later and they, like so many other veterans, are still sorting out their feelings about the war.

This issue contains the winning entries in the Arleigh Burke Essay Contest, sponsored by Northrop Grumman. This is the Naval Institute's longest running essay contest, dating back under other names to 1879, just six years after the Institute came into being. The first-place winner, "Sea Basing—Chasing the Dream," by Navy Commander John P. Patch, takes a critical look at a concept that has entranced the Navy for years. In "Boats in the Water, Boots on the Ground," second place winner Eric Johns, a retired Navy commander, wonders in print if network centric warfare may be great for the brass, but not so great for those pulling the trigger. Finally, retired Navy Captain John Byron, in "Three Great Apes," the third place finisher, argues that the system for assigning Naval officers to new billets needs a thorough overhaul.

This is the annual Naval Review issue of Proceedings, in which our diligent experts provide detailed reports on the state of the Sea Services today. This is traditionally one of our best-read issues. Special thanks to our dedicated authors for again doing the Lord's work. Our production staff, led by Creative Director Karen Eskew, Photo Editor Jennifer Wallace, and Senior Designer Faith Stewart, deserves a pat on the back, too. Producing an issue of this complexity is a little miracle. They are the miracle workers.

I took over as Editor-in-Chief two weeks before we went to press. Thanks to my predecessor, Fred Rainbow, the transition was as close to seamless as one could hope considering that most of my journalism experience has been in the newspaper trade. Fred and his talented staff set this issue in motion and guided it much of the way toward completion. All that was left for us was to power it across the finish line.

Fred was the top editor of Proceedings for 20 years. At the Institute, he was that rare bird, a legend in his own time. To say he will be missed is an understatement. I take over Proceedings fully aware of Fred's legacy, which I intend to honor and hope to build on.

I am also committed to maintaining the integrity of the Open Forum, the signature feature of Proceedings. I should note that this pledge is not an act of great courage. My superiors at the Institute, from CEO and Publisher Tom Wilkerson on down, have impressed on me that I have no more important duty than preserving the Forum.

My journalistic background can be found here. That tells you what I've done. You're probably more interested in what I intend to do. That will declare itself in the weeks and months ahead, when I have a little more time in grade. For the moment, let me say this: One should be wary of stepping on board a vessel this seaworthy and immediately ordering course changes. But we can't be afraid of change or we'll fall victim to it.

John Carroll, perhaps the greatest American newspaper editor of the past two decades, a man who needs two hands to count the Pulitzer Prizes he has led his publications to, told his new staff when he took the reins of the Los Angeles Times a few years ago, "I'm a slow starter, but a good finisher." An enviable goal.