Digitizing Proceedings
Realizing an important strategic goal, the U.S. Naval Institute has just completed digitizing every issue of Proceedings published over 140 years. With the contents preserved electronically, they will be available to Members now and in the years to come to access, use, and enjoy.
The 1970s brought dramatic change to the naval services and to Proceedings. The transition from a long, bitter conventional war to a promising new generation of ships and aircraft also refocused the Navy on the Cold War, which had continued unabated during the near-decade morass in Vietnam.
Meanwhile, the first three years of the decade naturally included articles relevant to Southeast Asia. The January 1970 Proceedings included Commander Murland Searight’s “Prepare to Sweep Mines,” describing Tonkin Gulf operations and anticipating clearing Haiphong Harbor in 1973. Vietnam-oriented articles also included prisoner-of-war issues and Marine Corps aviation in Southeast Asia.
In February, Ambassador Robert McClintock addressed “An American Oceanic Doctrine,” noting that while other fleets had shrunk or disappeared, the Soviet Navy was growing. Russian subjects remained a recurring topic throughout the 1970s.
Beyond Vietnam, Asian concerns included Lieutenant Commander Scott Allen’s June 1972 “China: Nuclear Dragon,” regarding the PRC’s increased nuclear capabilities eight years after its first detonation.
The May 1973 Proceedings debuted the Naval Review issue, previously released as a book. It was a giant magazine: some 600 pages with essays, current events, and coverage of all flag officers. Forty-five years later, the annual issue, though much smaller, remains a standard reference worldwide.
Other articles in 1970 noted the Naval Postgraduate School’s 60th anniversary and the 125th anniversary of the Naval Academy as it strove to achieve a balance between professional and academic courses.
February 1971 included Captain Sumner Shapiro’s “The Blue Water Soviet Naval Officer,” describing the increased professionalism of our potential enemy. A year later a related article was Admiral Isaac Kidd Jr.’s “View From The Bridge of the Sixth Fleet Flagship” that described more than 50 Soviet ships in the Mediterranean and called for greater U.S. proficiency to offset any deficit.
In November 1972 the outspoken and entertaining Captain Jerry O’Rourke described “The Wondrous World of Jet V/STOL,” assessing vertical short-takeoff and landing aircraft, a British invention adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps in the form of the AV-8A Harrier in 1971. Meanwhile, in the early 1970s a new generation of carrier aircraft was entering service, including the F-14 Tomcat, EA-6B Prowler, and S-3 Viking.
A historic subject inevitably arose in 1973—the centennial of the U.S. Naval Institute. That milestone was addressed in the October issue, with Captain Roy C. Smith III providing a 27-page assessment of the Institute’s first 100 years. He concluded, “The spark of an idea which the founders fanned into flame, called the Naval Institute, still burns brightly.”
Before the launch of Naval History in April 1987, Proceedings was a frequent source of historical articles. In July 1973 John T. Mason Jr. discussed founding the USNI oral history program. He stressed the need for preparation both by the subject and the interviewer to achieve long-term benefit to future researchers.
January 1974 launched a significant series, “Navies in War and Peace,” the first of Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union S. G. Gorshkov’s 11 articles for the Soviet journal Morskoi Sbornik, published in 1972 and 1973. Each installment included commentary by an American officer, providing a rare contribution to increased understanding of Russian sea power.
The year ended with the musings of another significant naval leader: “Thoughts on Man’s Purpose in Life . . . and Other Matters” by Admiral Hyman G. Rickover. The don of Navy nuclear power quoted George Bernard Shaw in saying, “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
Rickover continued into the new year, assessing “Nuclear Warships and the Navy’s Future” in January 1975. In a blast at the Navy and cheap weapon systems that he insisted could not win wars, he declared that the nation needed a permanent program to build nuclear-powered ships. To a large extent that decision already had been made with the advent of the Nimitz class of carriers, with the name ship, CVN-68, commissioned later that year.
Proceedings authors have always known that a navy consists of more than ships under way. Thus, Admiral Kidd returned in August 1975 with “Naval Material Command Supplies Everything But People.” He candidly addressed shipbuilding problems, determining what the Navy was capable of doing, what the Department of Defense agreed to, and what Congress would be asked to do.
In 1975 America prepared to celebrate its bicentennial, and Proceedings got a head start in October. The 48-page feature celebrated the birth of the U.S. Navy in October 1775 and launched a year-long observance. In July, CNO Admiral James L. Holloway III offered “The U.S. Navy: A Bicentennial Appraisal.” In a related statement Admiral Holloway said, “I reject any advice to pull down the Stars and Stripes and sail home from the seas of the world to safe anchorage at home port. If we do, our home ports will no longer be safe.” (Cited in All Hands, January 1976.)
With Vietnam falling astern, Proceedings increasingly focused on current subjects and events. In February 1975 Captain J. Huntly Boyd Jr., contributed an insightful article, “Nimrod Spar: Clearing the Suez Canal,” based on his experience supervising salvage operations after the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.
Proceedings devoted the March issue to the Coast Guard with “Tradition of Excellence, Time of Change,” by Commandant Admiral Owen W. Siler, along with eight other articles by and about “Coasties.” The magazine continues annual coverage of the service, which now has expanded law enforcement and counterterror responsibilities.
Meanwhile, conventional warfighting remained a natural focus of Proceedings articles. In October, Rear Admiral Julian S. Lake contributed “Air Electronic Warfare,” describing U.S. and Israeli experience against electronically controlled antiaircraft guns and missiles in Vietnam and the Yom Kippur War.
One of the major topics of the 1970s was females on board ships. In July 1977 Edna J. Hunter and Carol B. Million wrote “Women in a Changing Military.” They noted that the armed services had evolved dramatically in that regard but had a long way to go. Four decades later the Navy still struggles with sexual issues, with commanding officers being relieved at a high rate, often for fraternization.
Another command-related article appeared the following month when Commander Robert E. Mumford Jr. provided “Get Off My Back, Sir!” He called on Fleet COs and execs to provide more innovation and independence for junior officers, who often bring a fresh approach to traditional subjects and problems. Mumford’s piece generated a great deal of Comment & Discussion in subsequent issues.
Although the Navy had not fought a war at sea since 1945, in January 1978 Lieutenant Commander Charles R. Jones wrote “Weapons Effects Primer,” a useful technical piece on varying explosive impacts on ships. He focused on what crews should know to have the best chance of dealing with enemy ordnance, and the crucial role of damage control.
While the surface force had seen no significant combat since World War II—and submarines none—some authors anticipated the need to prepare for that contingency. The March issue was devoted to surface warfare, with Vice Admiral James H. Doyle Jr. examining the smallest U.S. Navy since 1941 while the Soviets continued growing at sea. In September Admiral Worth H. Bagley provided “A Surface Navy For Today’s Threat,” advocating more ships armed with cruise missiles.
Submarine topics came from Gerald Keith Burke in November 1978 with “The Need for Trident,” while the magazine staff added a March 1978 pictorial, “Building the Tridents’ Home” at Bangor, Washington.
August 1978 provided a look at the future with Timothy Keen’s team writing “Microcomputers and the Navy.” They concluded that the prospects for microcomputing were “truly exciting,” a prediction fully verified 37 years later.
Proceedings averaged one Soviet-related article per year throughout the decade, finishing with Robert T. Burns’ July 1979 offering, “Soviet-Cuban Enterprises in Africa.”
Lieutenant Commander Nicholas J. Schmitt helped conclude the decade with a criticism of the promotion system in “The Up-or-Out Policy.” He noted that the system too often passed over some well-qualified officers to the detriment of the service.
At this writing, very few 1979 naval personnel remain on active duty 36 years later. But the pages of Proceedings continue serving the founders’ goal of an open “sea forum” for discussion, argument, and even agreement.