The Official Publication of the Greater Austin Council Navy League of the United States January - February 2020 Support Your Council Today February 13 Program ......................... Page 2 Presidents’ Message .......................... Page 3 Chaplain’s Corner .............................. Page 3 Photos from the December dinner ... Page 4 Adopt-A-Cadet .................................. Page 5 Book Report....................................... Page 5 Council Calendar ............................... Page 7 Council Leadership and Community Partners ......................... Page 8 Officers, page 6 Know What an Officer Commission Means By Captain Bill Bray, U. S. Navy (Ret) Ask any officer why he or she is commissioned into service, and why enlisted personnel are contracted into service. Pay close atten- tion to the answer; often it will be incomplete. While serving as a CNO Strategic Studies Group fellow more than two years ago, one of the Navy civilian technology fellows posed this to me: “Why does the Navy of the future need a distinc- tion between officers and enlisted? Isn’t the commissioned officer an artifact that needs to be retired in the interest of eliminating such a rigid class structure?” In the ensuing discus- sion, it occurred to me that the U.S. military officer commission is not widely or fully understood. This is not just the case for the general population, but includes many officers. The officer commission does not exist simply to distinguish the military’s executive class from a technical labor force. The nation could accomplish that without commissioning its officers. Nor does the commission describe the type of work officers and enlisted do. They often perform similar or identical tasks, especially in the infor- mation age. Instead, the U.S. officer commission is a constitutional imperative and must be understood in both legal and professional contexts. The commissioning of officers has a long history and can be traced back to the Roman Empire. In the Middle Ages, sovereigns would offer noblemen commissions to raise armies to protect the realm. The commission was a lawful extension of sovereign power. The granting of commissions became more commonplace under the British Empire. After the American war for independence, the Continental Congress recognized the need to continue the practice. Because there was no unitary executive during the second Continen- tal Congress, authority to grant commissions was somewhat clumsily shared between Congress and state governments. During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the framers like- ly acknowledged the need to vest the power to grant commissions solely in the executive because this solution was present in the first draft that summer. In the closing lines of Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, the President is required to commission all officers of the United States: “. . . he shall take care that the Laws be faithfully
Transcript
The Official Publication of the Greater Austin CouncilNavy League of the United States
January - February 2020
Support Your Council
Today
February 13 Program ......................... Page 2
Book Report ....................................... Page 5
Council Calendar ............................... Page 7
Council Leadership and Community Partners ......................... Page 8
Officers, page 6
Know What an Officer Commission Means
By Captain Bill Bray, U. S. Navy (Ret)
Ask any officer why he or she is commissioned into service, and why enlisted personnel are contracted into service. Pay close atten-tion to the answer; often it will be incomplete.
While serving as a CNO Strategic Studies Group fellow more than two years ago, one of the Navy civilian technology fellows posed this to me: “Why does the Navy of the future need a distinc-tion between officers and enlisted? Isn’t the commissioned officer an artifact that needs to be retired in the interest of eliminating such a rigid class structure?”
In the ensuing discus-sion, it occurred to me that the U.S. military officer commission is not widely or fully understood. This is not just the case for the general population, but includes many officers.
The officer commission does not exist simply to distinguish the military’s executive class from a technical labor force. The nation could accomplish that without commissioning its officers. Nor does the commission describe the type of work officers and enlisted do. They often perform similar or identical tasks, especially in the infor-mation age. Instead, the U.S. officer commission is a constitutional imperative and must be understood in both legal and professional contexts.
The commissioning of officers has a long history and can be traced back to the Roman Empire. In the Middle Ages, sovereigns would offer noblemen commissions to raise armies to protect the realm. The commission was a lawful extension of sovereign power. The granting of commissions became more commonplace under the British Empire. After the American war for independence, the Continental Congress recognized the need to continue the practice. Because there was no unitary executive during the second Continen-tal Congress, authority to grant commissions was somewhat clumsily shared between Congress and state governments.
During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the framers like-ly acknowledged the need to vest the power to grant commissions solely in the executive because this solution was present in the first draft that summer. In the closing lines of Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, the President is required to commission all officers of the United States: “. . . he shall take care that the Laws be faithfully
ANCHOR • January – February 2020 2
FEBRUARY 13DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER DINNER
CAPT SIMON Y. HWANGNaval Surface Warfare Tactics InstructorNavy Emergency Preparedness Office Topic: The Surface Navy’s Top Gun ProgramSend a surface warfare officer on a mission and you’ll have guest speaker who’s an expert on the subject. We can thank LCDR Adam Samuels, USN Ret. for our February speaker. He met CDR Hwang at our dinner last year when RDML LeClair was our guest. So if you’d like to learn more about surface warfare...or just want to have dinner with your Navy League friends, make your reservations now! www.navyleagueaustin.org
Captain Hwang earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in
International Relations from the University of San Diego
and was commissioned through the Naval Reserve Officer
Training Corps (NROTC) Program in May 1999. He earned a
Master in Systems Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School
where he was a winner of the Johns Hopkins University/Applied
Physics Laboratory Excellence in Systems Analysis team award. He is
also a graduate of United States Army Command and General Staff
College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Hwang has operational experience in the Atlantic, Pacific and
Arabian Gulf. He completed deployments and mobilization in
support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Spartan, Inherent Resolve,
and Freedoms Sentinel, including mobilization to combat zones in
Afghanistan. At sea division officer tours were onboard USS Sides
(FFG 14) and USS Mason (DDG 87). His staff assignments include:
U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area, U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. Fleet Forces,
U.S. Fourth Fleet and U.S. Fifth Fleet.
His leadership assignments include Executive Officer, NR Surface
and Mine Warfighting Development Center HQ; Officer-in-Charge,
Afghan Public Protection Force Advisory Group detachment Camp
Riverine Squadron 11, C Company, 2nd Platoon; Executive Officer,
NR United States Fleet Forces, Naval Cooperation and Guidance
for Shipping, Houston; Commanding Officer, NR Space and Naval
Warfare Systems Command 1010; Commanding Officer, NR
United Fleet Forces Command, Naval Cooperation and Guidance
for Shipping, Chicago, where he also served as the Commander, Task
Force (CTF) 524 overseeing five task groups and seven task units
during International Mine Counter-Measures Exercise 2016 in the
US Central Command Area of Responsibility.
In the private sector, he works as a global program manager and is a
certified Project Management Professional (PMP). His work included
managing multi-million dollar programs for major consulting firms,
technology companies, financial institutions, government agencies
and a not-for-profit health plans and hospital foundations.
He has been selected and confirmed by the US Senate as a Captain
in the US Navy for the fiscal year 2020 and is authorized to wear
the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Coast
Guard Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement
Medal and various unit, service and campaign awards.
LOGO WARSYou may notice that the Marine Corps official logo has been removed from the back of the newsletter and replaced by an image of our creation. NLUS received a cease and desist notice from the Marine Corps prohibiting the use of their logo. Apparently it was being used in situations not endorsed or authorized by the U. S. Marine Corps. Even though we requested a waiver as our use was not commercial in any way, we received no response and, since the official logo was included on every one of our 2019 newsletters, NLUS would not let us submit them for the 2019 Mackie Award sub-missions. The cease and desist was specifically for the Marine Corps official logo. It remains to be seen if the “image” we created will fly.
-Editor
ANCHOR • January – February 20203
Council Co-Presidents’Message Council Chaplain’s
LCDR Adam Samuels, USN (Ret)Glenn Looney & Kathy Pillmore
Kathy & Glenn
I am so excited for Spring and the the new year. I am going to make a line in the sand to be
a better person, friend, spouse, and team player. New Calendar on the wall- check!
New goals set - check!
Aaaaaand Go! Go. Go?
Sigh. I guess I’ll continue where I left off all last year then.
It is not that easy to change, to improve who we are or how we respond to others. By this point in our lives, many of us are set into a routine. “This is how I start my day, at this time, with this activity; This is what I will have from the fast food restaurant across the street because it is convenient; I will wait for someone else to remind me to do a task then I will get it done.” This worked last year. Should be able to get by this year, too.
With so many advertisers of “success” out there, it is difficult to admit to ourselves that new goals are not easy to achieve without effort and change, sometimes significant. Routines that have let us get by for years (or decades) are hard to break and change. It can be painful to our ego and require secondary or tertiary changes to other personal activities we may not initially realize to implement. (Re-member when a new Commanding Officer or XO took over and the days or weeks after the Change of Command.)
This year- today- actively think about “I will make the change; no really- self- I AM GOING TO DO IT” and try it for a week and then another (make a routine). Get up 15 minutes early to work out. Go to the library or read and share a new book. Learn and use a new word or concept every day.
Keep your mind engaged by always learning and listening first before cutting someone else off and rehashing what you heard some-one else say on TV or in a BLOG. Stay involved (and perhaps even take a leadership role) to help others grow in your neighborhood, your house of worship, a cause you are passionate about... or even your Navy League Executive Committee (hint hint.)
This year, let us have inner strength, persistence, and an open mind to break the routine of 2019. Try something new to improve ourselves, and be willing to listen to and learn from others.
In your name we pray, Amen.
2019 is in the archives. Our last program of
the year at the Texas Military Forces Museum, although sparsely attended was probably one of our best. The museum, if you haven’t seen it in recent years, has come into its own under the steady hand of Jeff Hunt, its executive director. The exhibits are professionally done and the collection is quite extensive with all things relating to Texas mili-tary history. Each dinner attendee had the opportunity to participate in a Scavenger Hunt which, if they followed it around the museum, provided a challenging, but overall interesting overview of the col-lection. One lucky smart person who got the most items correct took home an official 2019 Texas Capitol Christmas Ornament.
Glenn has been busy on our NLUS Annual Report which is a comprehensive accumulation of everything the Council did in 2019…from adopting units and giving stipends, to our distinguished speakers, to the VA Holiday Table and Toys for Tots collections. Once submitted to national headquarters, the content is evaluated and de-termines whether or not the Council is eligible to receive an award for performance. The Council has won several of these in the past…at various levels from “outstanding” to “meritorious”. Not being a city with a base close by means we have to be more creative with our resources in support of the Sea Services.
To that end, the Council is considering the adoption of the USS Lyndon B. Johnson, a Zumwalt Class destroyer which was launched December 9, 2018 and is looking for a Navy League sponsor. Those of you who’ve been around for a while will recall that the Council had adopted the USS Austin, LPD-4 and for years and supported the ship and crew on many occasions. The Austin was decommissioned in 2007 and we’ve been searching for a replacement. The USS Lyndon B. Johnson will be the third and final Zumwalt-class destroyer built for the United States Navy. The contract to build her was awarded to Bath Iron Works located in Bath, Maine, on 15 September 2011. The award, along with funds for the construction of USS Michael Monsoor, was worth US$1.826 billion. Construction began January 30, 2017, she was christened April 27, 2019. She’s 600 ft in length. Aircraft onboard include Two × SH-60 LAMPS helicopters or; One × MH-60R helicopter; Three × MQ-8 Fire Scout VTUAV. She is sponsored by Lynda Bird Johnson Robb. The adoption depends on the enthusiasm of the council members and the support we are able to provide.
ANCHOR • January – February 2020 4
PhotosDECEMBER 5TH DINNER
Photos (Top row l-r) Executive Director of the Texas Military Forces Museum, Jeff Hunt, accepts a gift from the Council in appreciation for his extremely interesting talk about the Museum’s history • Luann Reyes at check-in • Bob Pillmore purchases an adult beverage from the bartender on duty (2nd row) Janet, Peggy and Sport Jones brought Toys for Tots • John and Jeani Smith guests of Jean and Bob Campos chat before dinner • Dean Nobles and Randy Patterson sell beverage tickets and accept donations (3rd row) Keith and Elise Hoagland toured the museum; Elise earned the prize (a State Capitol Christmas Ornament) for the most right answers on the Scavenger Hunt • Adam Samuels chats with the cadets from The Lone Star Batallion and the Bastrop High School NJROTC honor guard.
Bastrop cadets accept a Certificate of Appreciation from the Council. (Row 4) Glenn Looney conducts the annual Meeting of Members • Kathy Pillmore poses with the extremely animated GNYSGT Pinegar.
ANCHOR • January – February 20205
We’re still collecting books for the VA ClinicIf you’re cleaning house, down sizing, or just getting rid of “stuff”, consider donating those
books you’re about to toss to the VA Outpatient Clinic. Bring them to the next Navy League dinner and we’ll see that they get to the Clinic.
Help your Council host cadets from local JROTC, UT NROTC, SEA CADET and YOUNG MARINE units. Your adoption of one or more cadets at each dinner, helps us to defray our
costs and to continue hosting these great young men and women at our dinners.
Let us know when you make your reservation or at check-in.
$25 covers the cost of a meal for one cadet, but any amount is welcomed!
December 5th Adopters
Glenn LooneyRick Hamblet
Launtz RodgersJoe Cruz
Peggy Jones
The Greater Austin Council mourns the passing of former Council member
CDR Vyron Vernon Harkinsand will make a $100 donation to the
For those interested in history, spies and “irregular”
warfare, this 2016 book on the history of WWII
activities is a well-researched, detailed account of the
many activities.
Even the most avid student of this period will
likely learn of the UK beginnings of this type of
warfare from the dark days of the late 1930s to the
successes of the invasion of Europe at D-Day and after.
Many simple sabotage tools arrising from hardware
and small variety store materials were made deadly by a
largely civilian-based group of inventors and maverick
managers, all under the strictest secrecy. The significant
results obtained by many of these efforts make for a
fascinating tale. Under nearly constant pressure from
the established war fighting organizations, the often
informal “ministry” successes make for a good read.
Contributed by Randy Patterson
The Navy League U.S. has adopted a “new” logo (shown at right) in lieu of the anchor (shown below) that has been used for several years and was updated a couple years ago.
We’d like to know what you think about the new logo. Send your comments to [email protected]
ANCHOR • January – February 2020 6
Officers, Continued from page 1
executed and shall commission all the officers of the United States.”
It is instructive that the framers chose to place this in the “take care” clause as opposed to in Article 2, Section 2, with the other enumerated powers. The framers did not see the commissioning of officers as a power the President could and should wield at his discretion, but rather a responsibility he must properly bear. Thus, the President could be held fully accountable for his constitutional responsibilities as the nation’s executive. Indeed, in 1926 the solicitor general argued success-fully before the Supreme Court that all commissioned officers are an extension of executive power. In other words, the Presi-dent cannot be held accountable to “take care that the Laws be faithfully executed” unless he is fully responsible for and can remove the officers who exercise his executive authority.
Congress creates the office to which the President nomi-nates an officer. Once the Congress approves the appointment, the President grants the officer the commission. While in practice granting commissions to officers is a ministerial act, it does not change the nature of the commission in the constitu-tional context. In the famous Marbury v. Madison decision of 1803, Justice John Marshall wrote that “granting a commission is the distinct act, done in the name of the President, which empowers an officer.”
Commissioning is done to ensure the President is fully ac-countable for what the military does in defense of the nation, and this is why officers serve at the pleasure of the President. It is fundamentally different in nature from the enlisted contract.
Flowing from the constitutional context is the legal context. There are several U.S. and international legal require-ments and distinctions for commissioned officers. For example,
under international law, a warship must be commanded by a commissioned officer. This inextricably binds the state to the actions of the ship. Likewise, under U.S. law, all commanding officers must be commissioned officers. This binds the power and accountability of the commander-in-chief, the executive, to all military command positions.
Finally, officership above all is else a profession. In his famous 1957 book The Soldier and the State, Samuel Hun-tington wrote that the distinguishing characteristics of a profession are expertise, responsibility, and corporateness. The latter characteristic means a shared sense of organic unity and consciousness as a group apart from laypersons.
Military officership, according to Huntington, is a profes-sion because it fully embodies these characteristics. Military officers certainly share a sense of organic unity that distin-guishes them from laypersons. The expertise, Huntington asserts, is the management of violence. While enlisted person-nel are technical experts in the application of violence, the officer is the manager of violence on behalf of the state. The responsibility of all officers is the military security of the state. In return, the society of the state must fairly compensate its military officers, but not overcompensate them, lest their chief motivation for service become confused. The state’s military officers are not mercenaries on behalf of a well-paying client; they are professionals of a higher calling.
The commission binds both the officer to the state to serve lawfully and defend the Constitution, and the state’s executive to each officer, making him or her a direct extension of the executive’s constitutional power.
Captain Bray served as a naval intelligence officer for 28 years before retiring in 2016. Currently, he is a managing director in the Geopolitical Risk practice at Ankura.
Thank You! to everyone who brought items to the November and December dinners for the VA Holiday Table and Toys for Tots Collection. Marine GYSGT Pinegar attended our dinner in December to tout the Toys and take a van load with him. The books and personal items were delivered to the VA the week after the dinner. They were most happy to get the items.
GYSGT....works the room
(Above) Josh Hyde and Mike Wittrock (Volunteer Coordinator) accept the Holiday Table items at the VA Outpatient Clinic. (Right) A couple volunteers sort through the donated books.
ANCHOR • January – February 20207
2019–2020
FEBRUARY 13, 2020CDR Simon Hwang, USNR Naval Surface Warfare Tactics Instructor will explain the world of the Navy’s Surface Warfare program.
APRIL 17, 2020CAPT Marc Leibman, USN Ret., self-described citizen sailor, businessman and author noted author who has written seven books and is ranked by Amazon readers as one of the Top 100 authors of war novels. His topic will be North Korea: The Truth, The Threat and Our Options.
JUNE 18, 2020CAPT Sylvester Shelton, USNR Ret. Premiers his film “Origins of the Pacific Japanese War” which explores the long-term Japanese goal of possessing by martial means the natural resource treasures of Manchuria, China, and the Occidental colonies in Southeast Asia.
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020TBA
NOVEMBER 19, 2020LCDR MC Dale Butler, Department Head, General Surgery Naval Medical Center, Camp LeJeune, NC
DECEMBER 3, 2020TBA
Distinguished Speaker Series Dinnersare held at Austin Womans Club Chateau Bellevue
unless otherwise advertised.
DINNER RESERVATIONS and/or CANCELLATIONS ARE REQUIRED BY MONDAY NOON PRIOR TO THE
DINNER.. UNCANCELLED RESERVATIONS WILL BE BILLED
Social 1815 • Dinner 1915 • Program 2015
Members & Their Guests - $30Military in Uniform & Their Guests - $20
Cadets & Midshipmen and Their Guests - $15
Make your dinner reservations ✔ online (preferred): https://www.
navyleagueaustin.org/program-information.html ✔ by phone: 512.203.4399
(reservations only please)
✔ inquiries/questions: 512.956.6422
~ PLEASE NOTE ~ WE CANNOT GUARANTEE YOUR MEAL
WITHOUT A RESERVATION
.
George T. Jones Scholarship Fund
provides scholarships to graduating seniors in
Navy and Marine JROTC and Sea Cadet programs
Donate Now!Send your tax deductible contributions to
Greater Austin Council NLUSGeorge T. Jones Scholarship Fundc/o Greater Austin Council NLUS8650 Spicewood Springs, #145-625
Austin, TX 78728 or online at www.navyleagueaustin.org/paypal
George T. Jones, 1926-2003
U. S. Navy WWII Veteran and Navy League Member
2008 – 2010 – 2014 – 2017 - 2018
The award-winning ANCHOR is the official publication of the Greater Austin Council Navy League of the United States. It is published six times per year bi-monthly. Copies of the ANCHOR are archived on the Greater Austin Council website at www.navyleagueaustin.org/newsletter.html. Submissions to the newsletter are welcomed and may be sent to [email protected]. Photos should be high resolution jpeg or tiff format. We cannot reprint articles from other publications without written permission from the publication.
Dates and speakers are subject to change. Please check www.
navyleagueaustin.org for calendar updates.
And in the end, through the long ages of our quest for light, it will be found that truth is still mightier than the sword.
The Navy League of the United States is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating our citizens about the importance of sea power to U. S. national security, and supporting the men and women of the sea services and their families.
2020 COUNCIL LEADERSHIPCOMMUNITY
PARTNERS
WHOLESALE FUELS
Proud to serve as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer for the Greater Austin Council – Navy League of the U. S.10% of my commission will go to either the Greater Austin Council Navy League or the George T. Jones Scholarship fund - just mention this ad. You must be a Navy League member for the donation to occur.
