War of 1812 Bicentennial Commemoration Update

Team,
With the War of 1812 Bicentennial quickly approaching, I want to give you a brief update on our Navy’s commemoration program and then share a document with you I recently received from a member of my staff.

The War of 1812 Commemoration program is on track and we’re making good progress. The Naval History & Heritage Command (NHHC) did an excellent job building the commemoration program and putting all the pieces in place over the past two years to get us where we are today. Fleet Forces now has the lead (with NHHC support) and we’ll be executing a very robust program of events.

Our Navy has partnered with many cities and communities across the nation as well as national and international non-profit organizations such as Operation Sail (OpSail), the Navy League, the Naval Historical Foundation, and the International Council of Air Shows (ICAS), to commemorate our nation’s “second war of independence.” There will be celebrations in many cities across our nation with “Signature Events” in New York, Baltimore, Norfolk, New Orleans, Boston, Chicago, and Cleveland. The Signature Events are the largest of the planned events and will include aviation displays, aerial demonstration by our Navy’s Blue Angels and Leap Frogs (our Navy’s parachute team), participation from U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and foreign Naval ships, as well as some of the world’s largest and most impressive Tall Ships.

For those of you in the Hampton Roads area, our Norfolk commemoration will take place next June and there will be plenty to see and do. Virginia Beach will host the event’s air show with our Blue Angels on 2-3 June, and Norfolk and the Port of Hampton Roads will host our Navy and foreign military ships as well as the OpSail flotilla of Tall Ships from 6-12 June 2012 in conjunction with Norfolk’s annual Harborfest celebration. Our Navy has been working very closely with the region to coordinate these events and I’m certain you will not be disappointed.
You can stay up to date with all the War of 1812 events by checking the commemoration website at www.ourflagwasstillthere.org.

Finally, attached is a transcript of correspondence between Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton and Commodore John Rodgers (the first of many Naval officers from the famed Rodgers dynasty) shortly before the Congress declared war on Great Britain. The dialogue, particularly from Rodgers, gives a good sense of what they were thinking (strategically and tactically) at the onset of the war. Rodgers, the battle-hardened veteran of the First Barbary War, was of course supremely confident in our small Navy’s ability to outthink and defeat the much larger British Navy. In fact, despite the overwhelming odds against our Navy, our Sailors and Officers remained confident and determined to win throughout the entire war (and I truly believe that made the difference!). As I read the document, I realized not much has changed over the years; our Sailors today are just as confident, skilled, and have the same fighting spirit as the many who have served before us.  All the best, JCHjr

War of 1812 Bicentennial Commemoration

Team,
Next year marks the start of the Bicentennial Commemoration of the War of 1812. Our Navy is partnering with non-profit organizations and cities around the nation to put together a commemoration program that will celebrate and honor our contribution to the war and the lasting impact it has had on our Navy and our nation. This commemoration program will not only educate the public on the importance of our Navy’s contribution to the war, but will also demonstrate – through Fleet Weeks, Navy Weeks and other special events – the great talent and capability of our Sailors today.

In keeping with our Navy’s commitment to commemorate the War of 1812 and preserve our rich history, I intend to establish a drumbeat on this blog where we can discuss key battles and events and the lesser known facts that I believe shaped the war and in many cases have had a lasting effect on our Navy and nation.

I personally find the War of 1812 to be a very interesting part of our history and look forward to discussing it with you. It’s a war widely known as the “second war of independence” during which our undersized military took on the world’s largest empire and greatest Navy. From USS CONSTITUTION’s (“Old Ironsides”) defeat of HMS Guerriere to the Battle of Baltimore (which inspired our national anthem), to the Battle of New Orleans, our Navy scored decisive victories that continue to inspire us today.

But along with the tales of triumph and glory, there are those of serious economic challenges, military defeat and political division so severe that it threatened to break apart our young nation.
When we declared war on Britain in 1812, our nation had an Army of less than 10,000 and a Navy with 16 ships; we were in a deep economic depression – an unintended consequence of the Embargo Act of 1807 – that was crippling our economy and threatening the livelihood of our nation; and there was a strong minority in Congress staunchly opposed to war with the British Empire. We were clearly unprepared to take on the world’s greatest navy of 1,500 war vessels manned with the battle-hardened Officers and Sailors of the Royal Navy. In fact, the United States was viewed merely as a distraction for Britain, whose real focus was on defeating Napoleon’s France. But our Congress mustered the votes, issued the declaration for “Mr. Madison’s War” on 18 June 1812 and we went to war with what we had.

I look forward to digging into the war’s key battles and discussing the Great Lakes Fleet, our strategy of using American Privateers (who captured over 500 British vessels from 1813-14) and even some of the peculiarities of the war; such as, our greatest and arguably most impactful land battle of the time (New Orleans) which occurred two weeks after we had signed the Treaty of Ghent ending the war (poor communications can also be attributed to the start of the war). The outcome of the battle had absolutely no impact on the war, but was significant because it instilled in our nation a renewed sense of nationalism and pride.
There is much that I look forward to talking about and certainly hope you will join in the discussion.
Stay tuned for updates on the War of 1812 Bicentennial Commemoration.
All the best, JCHjr

Baltimore Navy Week

Team,

Navy Weeks are one of the ways we reach out to communities to educate, increase awareness and show the taxpayers the return on the investment they make in their Navy. It is also a time for our Sailors to get back to their hometowns to participate in community events and share their own personal stories of service to our nation.

Last week was Navy Week in my hometown of Baltimore, Maryland and our Navy was on full display for the city. The week began when our Sailors from the USS CONSTITUTION, dressed in their 1813-period uniforms, simulated the firing of one of her 6,000 pound guns. It was quite a sight from the inner harbor with the USS WHIDBEY ISLAND and USS MONSOON in port and providing free tours to local residents. We also had the crew of USS MARYLAND, USNS COMFORT, CBMU 202 Seabees, and our Navy Band in town. There was certainly no shortage of activities for the public and our Sailors to enjoy.

I personally had the opportunity to attend several events that I thought would be of interest to you.

The first is my visit to observe a demostration of the AAI/MAPC project called the Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle. The CUSV is an unmanned vessel designed and built to conduct critical Navy missions such as Mine Warfare in the Littorals. Mine warfare is a critical mission area for us right now and we need to do a great deal to keep up with the operational challenges we face today.
I was impressed by what I saw at the demonstration and look forward to getting the CUSV into future exercises to test the operational effectiveness and fully unlock the capabilities of this new technology. That will be an important step as we start the much-needed feedback loop to ensure we’re providing our Sailors with the right tools to get the job done. And after meeting with the AAI staff, I am very confident they understand the importance of delivering relevant technologies that work.

My next visit was to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture. The Executive Director of the museum, Dr. David Terry, gave me a fascinating tour of the museum and its exhibitions followed by a lunch where we discussed the importance of a strong and diverse Navy. Dr. Terry also informed me that in 2013 the museum will host the military exhibition For Race and Country: African Americans and the Military Experience from Freedom to Integration. I look forward to the exhibition as I believe it is important that we continue to recognize and preserve the experiences – struggles and triumphs – of our service members from all backgrounds throughout our history. And the Reginald F. Lewis museum is doing just that and in the process providing an exceptional service to their community, our current and past service members, and our nation.

I also had the opportunity to visit UMBC and spend time with the college President Freeman Hrabowski and his leadership team. What Dr. Hrabowski has done with the college is nothing short of amazing. UMBC is ranked at the top among the up-and-coming national universities and the UMBC Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program is the driving force behind that success. They are producing top-quality graduates from STEM programs in technical areas of critical importance to our Navy such as engineering and Cybersecurity. Dr. Hrabowski and his team are very eager to broaden and deepen their relationship with our Navy and after having seen the great work his team has done there, I am convinced that a strong partnership and access to the extraordinary array of talent at UMBC is the way to go. I look forward to seeing our Navy make the most of this opportunity.

The final event that I want to highlight is my visit to Johns Hopkins Hospital where I took part in a lunch, an extensive panel discussion and was provided a tour of the hospital Emergency Department. Johns Hopkins has a special relationship with our military that dates back to the early 20th century. In fact, I was not surprised to learn their medical teams were working in dedicated Army field hospitals as far back as World War I – this is their business and they are the best at it.
Today, Johns Hopkins medical teams are working in 21st century field hospitals aboard our ships in support of humanitarian efforts such as Continuing Promise 2010 in the southern hemisphere and Operation Unified Response in Haiti. The medical staffs of Johns Hopkins are professional in every sense of the word and I was deeply moved by all the things they are doing to help so many people around the world – from providing exceptional healthcare to our military families to literally transforming medical education through the “Genes to Society” curriculum. I mean it when I say that brilliance underlines everything they do at Johns Hopkins Medicine. Our Navy is fortunate to have such a strong relationship with this extraordinary institution.

All said, it was a productive week and I left Baltimore impressed and inspired by the great work so many organizations are doing for and with our Navy, every day.
Thanks again to our hosts and our Sailors for their strong display of pride and ownership for our Navy and our nation.
All the best, JCHjr