The following letter was written by Norman Polmar and has been broadly circulated.THE NAVAL INSTITUTE IN CRISISThe meeting details can be found here on the USNI website. I will be in attendance.
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
As you know, the Board of Directors--for now--has withdrawn the proposed change to the mission statement that would have made the Naval Institute an advocacy organization.
Unfortunately, the battle is not over. The majority of the Board still seeks to establish an "advocacy institute" under the umbrella of the Naval Institute.
In addition, members of the Board are discussing the possibility of selling off the Naval Institute Press (it doesn't make enough profit). I am also concerned about the future of the Proceedings and Naval History magazines because neither appears in the Board's proposed new USNI structure. What does appear is a specific New York PR firm that will head the Naval Institute's "advocacy group."
This is not the Naval Institute that we have worked for and that we love and respect.
Thus, if at all possible, I urge you to attend the annual meeting scheduled for Friday/29 April, from 10 to 12 noon at the Georgetown University Conference Center.
Conference center: 3800 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20057;
tel... 202 687-3200. Parking is available.
And, encourage your friends and associates who believe in the Naval Institute and the open forum to attend this meeting. Whether you can attend the annual meeting or not, communicate to the Board of Directors in writing or by e-mail telling them what you think about the proposed changes to our Naval Institute.
A final point: While the majority of the Board seeks to radically change the Naval Institute, there is a minority, led by Dr. Jack London, that has steadfastly opposed such changes; other minority members are Mark Johnson, Ed Miller, and B.J. Penn. Seek them out at the meeting or contact them before to express your appreciation for their efforts.
Best wishes/Norman
Norman Polmar
Something has been bothering me, and I was very pleased to see CDR Salamander raise the topic on Tuesday. The USNI Board of Directors has made their case based on the financial situation of the Institute, but as CDR Salamander points out, the audited financial statement of the Institute completely discredits the argument Steve Waters has been making.
I am getting very tired of the dishonesty by the Board of Directors. Norman Polmar's letter is almost certainly a byproduct of a recent meeting where Steve Waters met with the entire Editorial Board, and from what I have heard about that meeting Steve Waters basically insulted everyone in the room and criticized everything about USNI while making it clear his intention is to outsource the Naval Institute Press, which I think anyone familiar with USNI will agree is effectively killing the professional print wing of the Institute.
It was very odd to see how the mission statement issue spilled onto the pages of Proceedings in the April edition. Page 6 is an open letter containing the rationale for the mission statement change by Steve Waters that specifically paints a bleak picture of the Institute. Page 7 is the dissenting opinion by the minority of the Board of Directors. Pages 8-9 is the State of Naval Institute that discusses what a great year USNI just had in 2010. Page 14 is the unanimous statement by the Editorial Board against the proposal by the Board of Directors. Then we have some really nice irony that page 12, between all of this back and forth, where one will find a boilerplate article advocating sea power on by none other than VADM John Morgan.
If that kind of unconvincing bumper sticker stuff by Morgan is what the Board of Directors has in mind for USNI, then I expect the Board of Directors to resign at the annual meeting. Look, the Editorial Board should be embarrassed for printing that article (or perhaps they are making a point that is apparently completely lost on Morgan), because that Morgan article is nothing more than bullet points straight out of an average Rhumb Lines, and some of the Rhumb Lines are better. USNI might as well reprint Denny's best version of Rhumb Lines once a month and call it a day if that is the Board of Director vision.
What the hell does the Independent Forum mean to John Morgan when he publishes the exact same content CHINFO does? If this was Jeopardy, I'd be asking for "An Original Idea in Proceedings for $2000, Alex."
Would someone who supports the Board of Directors please email me, even if it is in strict confidence and privacy, and at least attempt to articulate and convince me the vision by the Board of Directors is good? Could someone email me to explain why that bunch has not resigned in disgrace yet? How is it even possible USNI has a Chairman of the Board of Directors who does not respect or like the very organization he represents?
USNI members who cannot attend in person (and everyone who can, should attend in person) needs to sign up and tune into the webcast, because for the cost of free if the Board of Directors doesn't produce real ideas with a clear vision for the membership, it will be the best show you've ever watched on the web.
Finally, if you have not done so yet - VOTE. Yes, it still matters, so go vote if you have not.
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