International Journal of Naval History

From Dr. Ed Marolda, Senior Historian, U.S. Naval Historical Center,

Washington D.C.

Naval History Seminar Program for 2002-2003

Where: Each of the seminars will be held in The Navy Museum, Bldg. 76, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC.  For additional information on the program contact the Senior Historian, Naval Historical Center, Dr. Edward J. Marolda, at (202) 433-3940 or email to edward.marolda@navy.mil

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Lecture: “The Bluejacket’s Manual: 100 Years in the Sailor’s Seabag” by Commander Thomas J. Cutler, USN (Ret.), author of the 23^rd edition of The Bluejacket’s Manual. The BJM has served millions of U.S. Navy Sailors as a basic guide to seamanship and naval heritage since 1902. The speaker, who has also written histories treating the Battle of Leyte Gulf and naval operations in the Vietnam War, will discuss how the BJM began, evolved, and continues to play an important role in today’s Navy.    

When: 12:00-1:00 on Tuesday 24 September 2002.

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Lecture: “To the Brink of Nuclear War: New Evidence on the Cuban Missile Crisis” by Norman Polmar, distinguished naval analyst and author of numerous works on the modern U.S. Navy. Polmar is coauthor with John Gresham of a forthcoming book entitled DEFCON 2: How Close We Came to Nuclear War over Cuba. On the 40^th anniversary of the 1962 crisis, the speaker will relate how new information from Soviet and U.S. sources has changed many interpretations of the momentous international crisis.   

When: 12:00-1:00 on Tuesday 15 October 2002.

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Lecture: “An Archaeological Survey of the Wrecks off Normandy’s Omaha and Utah Beaches.” Barbara Voulgaris and J. Steve Schmidt, members of the Naval Historical Center’s Underwater Archaeology Branch, will provide an overview of the three-year effort to gather data on the ships, boats, and other craft sunk during the D-Day invasion of June 1944.  The speakers will describe, through the use of stunning still images, video, side-scan sonar images, and other data, how relevant information is gathered, analyzed, and preserved in this path-breaking underwater archaeological project.

When: 12:00-1:00 on Tuesday 19 November 2002.

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Lecture: “The Liberty Incident” by Captain A. Jay Cristol, USNR (Ret.), author of the recently published book by Brassey’s Inc. entitled The Liberty Incident: The 1967 Israeli Attack on the U.S. Navy Spy Ship. The speaker, who completed a Ph.D degree in international relations at the University of Miami and served for 38 years in the Navy, will discuss his interpretation of the controversial attack that occurred during the Six Day War of June 1967. His work is based on recently declassified documents and interviews with Robert McNamara, Yitzhak Rabin, and other key American and Israeli political and military leaders involved in the event.

When: 12:00-1:00 on Tuesday 17 December 2002.

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 Lecture: “The $5 Billion Misunderstanding: The Collapse of the Navy’s A-12 Stealth Bomber Program.” James Stevenson will provide an overview of his recent book of the same name, which outlines the Navy’s mismanagement of the A-12 project; former Secretary of Defense Cheney’s less than candid testimony before Congress; and the failure of the Navy and the Air Force to share information that might have prevented the collapse of the A-12 program. Stevenson’s talk will include a summary of the legal proceedings to date.  The speaker is also the author of The Pentagon Paradox, a history of the F/A-18 program.

When: 12:00-1:00 on on Tuesday 21 January 2003.

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Lecture: “Robert Smalls: The First Black Civil War Hero” by Kitt Haley Alexander. In May of 1862, 14 slaves led by a daring 23-year-old harbor pilot, Robert Smalls, commandeered a Confederate transport loaded with munitions, sailed the vessel past unsuspecting rebel troops guarding the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, and turned the captured war material over to a Union blockading squadron. After Smalls displayed bravery under fire, the Army appointed him to command of an Army vessel. Following the war, he served as a major general in the South Carolina militia and five terms as a U.S. congressman.  Ms. Alexander will discuss the life and accomplishments of this American hero.

When: 12:00-1:00 on Tuesday 18 February 2003

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Lecture: “Wrestling with Women: U.S. Navy Perceptions and Policies, 1917-1945,” by LCDR Randy Carol Balano, USNR.  The standard narrative histories of women in the Navy note that the Navy was the first service to enlist women in WWI, yet was compelled to reluctantly accept women into its ranks in WWII.  What factors accounted for the supposed difference in the Navy’s attitudes towards militarizing women in these two conflicts?  The speaker will identify the political, cultural, technological and institutional factors that influenced the Navy’s policies towards women and compare Army and Navy interwar planning efforts.  LCDR Balano, who has taught at the U.S. Naval Academy, is a Ph.D. candidate at Temple University. Her dissertation topic is the integration of women into the fleet.

When: 12:00-1:00 on Tuesday 18 March 2003                       

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Lecture: “Reagan Versus Qaddafi: America’s First War against Terrorism,” by Joseph T. Stanik, author of El Dorado Canyon: Reagan’s Undeclared War with Qaddafi, published by the Naval Institute Press in 2002. The speaker will discuss the Reagan administration’s policies toward international terrorism and one of its most prominent advocates, Muammar al-Qaddafi, and the political and economic strategies, diplomatic initiatives, covert actions, and military operations aimed at the Qaddafi regime. Stanik will also cover the Navy-Air Force strike on Libya in April 1986 and its aftermath.

When: 12:00-1:00 on Tuesday 29 April 2003

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Lecture: “The War of 1812: Interpreting Blockade Theory and Practice,” by Dr. Wade G. Dudley, East Carolina University.  The author of Splintering the Wooden Wall: The British Blockade of the United States, 1812-1815, published by the Naval Institute Press in 2002, will challenge the prevailing interpretation of the Royal Navy’s blockade as virtually impenetrable. He argues that American publicly and privately funded naval forces found many ways to evade the blockaders and prey on British commerce.

When: 12:00-1:00 on Tuesday 20 May 2003

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Lecture: “Musicians for the Fleet: The Armed Forces School of Music,” by Dr. Patrick M. Jones, University of the Arts. The Armed Forces School of Music, located at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, educates musicians for Army, Navy, and Marine Corps bands. It was founded in 1935 as the U.S. Navy School of Music at the Washington Navy Yard. The talk will cover the evolution of the school, key men and women, white and black, involved in its history, and creation of the Navy Band’s “Sea Chanters” chorus and “Commodores” jazz ensemble.

When: 12:00-1:00 on Tuesday 17 June, 2003.