US Naval Institute: Navy Times Article

Navy Times has an article in the Print edition this week discussing the changes at the US Naval Institute. What I find interesting here is that the print article came out on Monday, which means the article had to have been written last week. It is a good article, and I encourage members to pick up a copy of Navy Times at newsstands to check it out. This part stuck out for me.

The institute will not become a lobbying organization like the Navy League, nor will it interfere with the editorial board, according to the chairman of the board of directors. “You can be an advocate for the importance of the sea services without agreeing with every budget request or every program,” said Steve Waters, a former Navy lieutenant who is the managing partner at the Compass Advisers Group. “We’re not going to be a lobby, we’re not going to be a shill.”

Then what is the Naval Institute going to be under this new vision? What makes the new mission statement critical to this new direction? Whether one reads this paragraph in the Navy Times article or the letter by Steve Waters posted on the US Naval Institute Blog, Mr. Waters is basically saying USNI is going to be either the same but better, or not different but better. The only materials that describes an actual vision for what 'better' means to the Board of Directors are posted here and on CDR Salamanders blog, and the Board of Directors has not attempted to deny that.

Something else bothers me.

The letter by Steve Waters posted to the USNI Blog was dated March 10, but it is unclear who he sent the letter to because the only place I have seen a copy of the letter is on the USNI Blog - posted on March 14. Why was the position of Steve Waters and the Board of Directors on this issue being articulated to the Navy Times readership before the position of Steve Waters and the Board of Directors was being articulated to US Naval Institute membership?

I encourage any member who has not voted yet to vote to REJECT this measure. The only way to ever get some answers is to vote this proposal down so the Institute can have a real debate.