Compass Points - Happy Birthday USN

Continental Congress begins the navy.

Compass Points - Happy Birthday USN

Continental Congress begins the navy.

October 13, 2024

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Sunday is a good day for reflection.

Today is a good day to reflect on the United States Navy. On October 13, 1775, 249 years ago today, the Navy was established by resolution of the Continental Congress.

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Resolved, That a swift sailing vessel, to carry ten carriage guns, and a proportionable number of swivels, with eighty men, be fitted, with all possible dispatch, for a cruise of three months . . .

-- Continental Congress, 1775

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Among the first naval officers commissioned were five first lieutenants, including future naval icon, John Paul Jones.

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But there was much more to Jones than iron determination and courage under fire. He also was a visionary, a naval officer who thought in broad strategic terms. Arguably the most important strategic concept Jones seized upon was that of global power projection. In his words and deeds, he made it a crucial part of American naval planning during the War of Independence, and it remains an influential part of U.S. military strategy.

Jones also foresaw the crucial role naval power would play in America’s future. In fact, he predicted it outright in a letter to his friend Thomas Bell, captain of an American privateer. Bell had written Jones in 1778 of the bleak state of affairs in Philadelphia and within the Continental Navy. Jones responded: “Let us not altogether despond. Tho’ I am no prophet, the one will become the first city, and the other the first Navy within a much shorter space of time than is generally imagined.… Our Marine will rise as if by enchantment and become, within the memory of persons now living, the wonder and envy of the world.”

--  Joseph F. Callo, John Paul Jones: Sea Power Visionary

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The Navy today is not at the high level predicted and expected by John Paul Jones. To get better, the Navy has started a force-wide improvement program called, "Get Real Get Better."

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We are pursuing Get Real Get Better because, although we are a world class Navy, not all performance is world class. We have too much variability in performance, notable in:  shipyard delays, force development failures, operational and safety incidents, and pay and personnel issues. Meanwhile, our pacing challenge is getting bigger and better. Our status quo is not a winning position over time.

-- Get Real Get Better, grgb.navy.mil

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Compass Points salutes the US Navy on its birthday.

During the 20th century, John Paul Jones' prediction came true. The Navy and Marine Corps team became the "wonder and envy of the world." In the last few years, however, both the Navy and Marine Corps have become mired in problems. The Navy does not have enough ships and cannot seem to keep the ones they have out of the shipyards and on the oceans. At the same time, the Marine Corps has allowed the fear of precision munitions to change its focus from worldwide crisis response to small units of missile Marines on Pacific islands.

 At least the Navy understands it must "Get Real, Get Better." The Navy understands that the status quo is not good enough. After five years focusing on small missile units on Pacific islands, is the Marine Corps ready to move beyond the island detour? At their best, the Navy and Marine Corps team gives the Nation an incredibly powerful global force. As dangers around the world multiply, the safety and security of the Nation require the Congress to push forward to rebuild, upgrade, and enhance the worldwide Navy Marine Corps team.