For more than 100 years, the Naval Institute Press has been publishing works of fundamental importance to the Institute’s role as an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write in order to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to national defense. The Bluejacket’s Manual, which goes into the sea bag of every recruit who becomes a sailor, was first published in 1902 and is now in its 25th edition. We just published the 10th edition of the Coast Guardsman’s Manual. The Press’s best-selling works of fiction have included Tom Clancy’s The Hunt for Red October and Stephen Coonts’s Flight of the Intruder. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard professionals have counted on the specialized books published by the Press in its Blue and Gold series to prepare them for their responsibilities as they advance in their careers and to serve as ready references and refreshers when required. The Press, a charter member of the Association of American University Presses since 1949, is staying at the forefront of naval and military publishing.
Chances are that if you have ever called the Naval Institute, you have talked to Ms. Jackie Turner. Jackie joined the Institute as a keypunch operator on the circulation staff on 1 April 1970. She rose through the ranks to become senior member of the Member Services staff, handling each new, increasingly important position as a highly skilled professional dedicated to serving the Institute’s membership. Her motto has been: “We are here to make sure the Members have the good and positive service they deserve.” She epitomizes the loyalty and continuity that are hallmarks of the Institute staff.
After 43 years, Jackie Turner retired on 30 June 2013. We thank her for her outstanding service and wish her all future success, good health, and happiness. She will be missed!
As part of my periodic reports to Members on the goals we are setting and the implementation milestones we are reaching in our strategic planning, I am pleased to announce that the Naval Institute website, www.usni.org, has won the Drupal Blue Drop Award for Best Non-Profit Website. This global award recognizes the best websites in terms of design, functionality, and technical sophistication. There are more than 600,000 websites built in the framework of contributors and developers in the Drupal community. From a pool of 60 finalists chosen by that community, www.usni.org prevailed as the number one non-profit website, both nationally and internationally.
The Institute staff is dedicated to improving our use of technology as a core competency. The Blue Drop Award represents important outside recognition and validation for what we have accomplished on the web. We look forward to your feedback as we move ahead and continue to build on this progress!
Please check out the new web page in the “Donation” section of our site titled “Sponsor Student Memberships for Our Future Leaders” (www.usni.org/donate-student-memberships). We are receiving very positive comments on this new program. As you can see on the website page, the number of U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and NROTC companies and units being sponsored by donors is growing by the week!
By underwriting student membership for midshipmen and cadets, donors have the opportunity to bring the benefits of the Naval Institute directly to the next generation of Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard officers and help them advance as leaders. This is also a particularly effective way to honor your alma mater by boosting fellow alumni, while also strengthening the naval profession overall.
Student membership can also be gifted to individuals enrolled in the Naval War College, Naval Postgraduate School, or other service schools (e.g., SWOS Basic School). Starting right now, we are also making Naval History magazine available at a student price of $20 per year, and we encourage you to consider making it a gift to your service academy company or NROTC unit.
Your tax-deductible gift provides these future leaders with a year of Naval Institute membership, including Proceedings, Naval History—in print and digital formats—online access to archives, forums, Member book discounts, and the Naval Wiki.