Flight Plan from the President

Earlier this year at a briefing for various Navy related' associations I heard a presentation by the Honorable Gordon R. England, Secretary of the Navy, that was most compelling. The subject was the War on Terrorism and he placed it in a perspective that was as enlightening as it was stark in nature.

"It took over six years for the Allies to rid the world of fascism," he stated, emphasizing the 'ism.'

"The Cold War lasted from 1950 to 1989. It took that long to break down communism," he went on.

"Now we encounter terrorism," he said, again stressing the 'ism' and reasoning that the War on Terrorism may take far more than a generation to resolve.

Those extremists who are perpetrating this war don't want what we in the free world have. Acquiring our land, our property or our possessons is not their goal. They simply want us and our way of life 'gone.'

The Secretary noted there is nothing in the history of mankind that guarantees America's survival. The War on Terrorism is and will continue to be formidable. But its a war which we must win if we are to survive.

"I visited Sailors in the Iraqi Freedom theater of operations," said England, and I asked one of them, 'How do you feel about what you're doing,?' The Sailor answered, Td rather fight for us here than in Chicago.'"

At this writing, Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, not to mention other regions of conflict around the globe, continue unabated. It seems as if every day brings a new problem, a new dilemma. It is very easy to become frustrated and dismayed over these events. Americans like to see the light at the end of the tunnel and sometimes that light is dim indeed.

Paraphrasing John Steinbeck, "But we will prevail," despite the seeming uncertainties of our time. And U.S. Naval Aviation is right in the middle of the ongoing struggle.

In this issue, Admiral James L. Holloway III, USN (Ret.), our Chairman of the Board Emeritus, describes the DPG-Defense Planning Guidance. His article explains the innovative changes in the way we will deploy our forces. It is "must" reading if we are to understand how and why our Navy and Naval Aviation forces are deployed.

In the meantime, our key mission at ANA is to educate the public about Naval Aviation and that is a continuing responsibility. We must emphasize the past, and our very rich legacy, as well as the future.

A journalist recently visited the new World War II Memorial on the Mall in Washington D.C. and in his column bemoaned the fact that visitors cannot derive an understanding of why that conflict was fought by looking at the various elements of the Memorial. I don't agree with his observations but he did make an important point when he described how he approached young people at the Memorial and asked them what they knew about World War II. he was apalled that even though these young folks were looking at the exhibit they didn't have a clue as to why World War II was fought!

It follows that organizations like ours, populated by a large number of World War II veterans - not to mention those who served in Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia et al, must tell our story. ANA serves as an advocate for today's Naval Aviation but we must also stress the past as the subhead on this magazine proclaims: "The Voice of Naval Aviation, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow." When we say "Educate the public," it's important that the public includes the youth of America.

A number of our squadrons have linked with NJROTC units or local high schools (such as our Alliance, Ohio Squadron) and have excelled at explaining the important of Naval Aviation and its rich heritage.

On page 63 in this issue there is reference to the Joe Foss Institute, named after the famed Marine flyer. It is seeking volunteers to make presentations in school classrooms and assemblies across the country. General Foss once said, "We can't expect them (our young people) to understand patriotism if they don't understand how we got where we are."

As I have mentioned frequently, the strength of ANA is its membership. In order for us to continue our advocacy of the service we love and cherish, we need to grow in number.

Can you imagine how terrific it would be if only one in two of our 8,500 voting members signed on a new member? We would be in the five digit realm in a New York minute.

This is the second column in a row that I must close with a heavy heart. In February we lost Admiral Moorer to whom we pay tribute in this issue. Now, as a complete shock, we have lost sue Henderson. We didn't expect this - we knew that Sue's spirt would survive. But God has spoken, and we will try to understand. Zip wrote the following tribute to Sue and I don't think our thoughts could be more truthfully described.

The following tribute is conveyed with a heavy heart.

It is with profound regret that we report the passing of Sue Henderson, ANA's long-time Secretary/Treasurer. From 1985 until her retirement due to lung cancer in 2002, Sue was the very heart of the Association. Her cheerful presence, wonderful sense of humor, total dedication to ANA and sparkling personality made life a little better not only for our small staff here at headquarters but for the multitude of members who called in and inevitably had a friendly, and often uplifting chat with her.

Sue loved ANA and its people and this love shined through every day on the job. When her illness led her to resign, she regretted the inevitable loss of contact with the countless members she got to know through convention gatherings and over the phone. Despite her illness, Sue maintained her optimism and her undaunted spirit. Sue and her husband, Marsh, moved to Tucson in December 2003 to be nearer their grandchildren. They were planning to attend our June convention in Northern Virginia and were excited about renewing friendships with members from all over the country. With her huge heart and a selfless outlook on life Sue was a natural at comforting members who often conversed with her about their suffering from sickness and age. She passed away quietly in her sleep early on Monday, 26 April. The exact cause of death is unknown at this time. Her untimely passing at the age of 64 leaves an enormous void which will be most difficult to fill because she remained in touch even though she had moved away.

We will miss her very much.

RADM P.D. Smith, USN

Copyright Association of Naval Aviation Spring 2004
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