The Naval Institute enters the new year with the outstanding support of our Members and a positive record of accomplishments for 2015. First, when I speak of you, the Members, membership is up for the fourth year in a row. We now have more than 50,000 Members! Our conferences, to include Defense Forum Washington and our Maritime Security Dialogue partnership with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), are proving to be strong draws with outstanding speakers and cutting-edge subjects. The content of USNI News continues to increase readership on an impressive scale, and 2015 marked our highest number of “new starts” for important oral histories. Finally, our Naval Institute Foundation has set a record for the third year in a row.
The Institute’s Board of Directors approved our new Strategic Plan for 2016-18, which sets five important objectives designed to keep us moving ahead on course at flank speed. We aim to:
• Enhance understanding of the Sea Services’ contributions to global security and prosperity
• Advance naval professionals and their profession, and develop future leaders
• Keep alive the lessons of naval history to benefit current and future generations
• Broaden our community
• Build investment capital to ensure resilience and seize strategic opportunities.
With the start of 2016, it is time for the annual election of the Board of Directors and Editorial Board. The slates of both boards are on pages 78-80 of this issue. Now is the time for you as a Member to cast your vote.
In addition to nominations for the Board of Directors and the Editorial Board, we are proposing two changes to the Naval Institute’s Constitution and By-Laws that I strongly endorse.
The first proposed change allows members of the Board of Directors to reset their six-year total service clock if they have been off the board for six years or more. The rationale for this is to encourage and allow those who served on the Board when younger to retain full-term eligibility to serve again after a significant break. For example, we have several Directors who served on the Board/Editorial Board as active-duty officers and chief petty officers. After a six-year break, we want to allow those who served while in uniform to be able to serve up to six more years on the Board in the future.
The second change modifies the last two words in the Naval Institute’s mission statement from “national defense” to “global security.” In our revised Strategic Plan, we emphasize the need to address both national and international issues, not just defense and DOD issues within a U.S. context only. The Board recommends this change to “global security” to reflect that Proceedings, the Naval Institute Press, USNI News, and our conferences seek to address a wider range of security issues of global consequence.
I invite Members who have any questions on the ballot initiatives to contact me at [email protected] or (410) 295-1060.
On 7 December, the Naval Institute hosted Defense Forum Washington 2015 at the Newseum’s Knight Conference Center in Washington, D.C. It was a powerful event, with speakers giving their different perspectives on the priorities, role, and response of the Sea Services during a time of increasing global security challenges and budgetary constraints.
Keynote speakers included Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson, Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard Vice Admiral Charles D. Michel, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Mr. Ronald O’Rourke of the Congressional Research Service, and House Armed Services Committee Member and Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces Representative Joe Courtney (D-CT).
The speakers played to a packed house, with more than 300 in attendance. The entire event was live-streamed at www.defenseforumwashington.com. The Institute thanks USAA, Energy Focus, and Lockheed Martin for their generous support of DFW 2015.
On 9 December, the Naval Institute and the CSIS hosted “Manning the Future Fleet,” an outstanding presentation with questions and answers by Vice Admiral Bill Moran, the Chief of Naval Personnel and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Manpower, Personnel, Training, and Education). Vice Admiral Moran said that as a result of his discussions with sailors in the fleet, he and his team determined the Navy’s personnel policies are out of balance with current and future service requirements. Attention is required in key areas such as the management of personnel, the rhythm and delivery of individual training, the current up-or-out policy, and Goldwater-Nichols reform. He also said that the Navy’s initial set of recommendations to Congress to modify personnel legislation has been completed ahead of likely congressional hearings next year.
The Institute thanks Lockheed Martin for its generous sponsorship of the 2015 speaker series, and we look forward to continuing the very well-received Maritime Security Dialogue in 2016 with Lockheed Martin and Huntington Ingalls as cosponsors.
For the 26th year, the Naval Institute and AFCEA International will cohost WEST 2016, on the theme “How Do We Make the Strategy Work?” at the San Diego Convention Center on 17-19 February.
We have an impressive group of speakers confirmed to include the Sea Service leaders, Commander of the Pacific Command, Commander of the Pacific Fleet, all the key Sea Service Systems Commanders, all Lead Type Commanders, Commander I Marine Expeditionary Force, and Commander 3rd Fleet, among many others.
Given world events, there is a lot to discuss. You can find out more and register at www.westconference.org.
On Thursday evening, 18 February, the Institute again will host what has proven to be a popular Member event at the Ultimate Skybox in San Diego. This is the perfect opportunity for Naval Institute Members to network and meet our staff. We look forward to having several of our program participants as guests. For more information, please go to www.usni.org/memberevent.
This year we expect to conduct 11 or 12 essay contests, most with the support of sponsors from industry, foundations, and other organizations.
The granddaddy of them all is the General Prize Essay Contest, first conducted in 1879. Entries were rolling in as this issue went to press. The winners will be published in the April Proceedings. We are seeking a sponsor for this contest.
The newest contest is the NPS Foundation/U.S. Naval Institute Annual Essay Contest Award. The deadline for this opportunity for students, faculty, and staff at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School is 31 March. See the ad on page 93 for details.
The Emerging & Disruptive Technologies Essay Contest, sponsored with Leidos, already is generating a buzz. The deadline for this contest is 29 February. For more details, see the ad on page 87.
Finally, we are delighted to report the winners of the Mine Warfare Essay Contest, sponsored with the Mine Warfare Association.
• First Prize: $1,000 plus 1-year USNI Membership“Flash Mob in the Shipping Lane!”By Commander Timothy McGeehan, USN, and Commander Douglas Wahl, USN (Ret.)Note: This essay is published in this issue on pages 50-55.
• Second Prize: $500 plus 1-year USNI Membership“Small Ships, Big Thinking”By Commander John A. Craig, Royal NavyNote: This essay currently is scheduled for publication in the March International Navies issue of Proceedings.
On behalf of the entire staff of the the Naval Institute, I wish all our Members a Happy New Year and a wonderful 2016!
Peter H. Daly, VADM, USN (Ret.)
Life Member and Member since 1978