International Journal of Naval History

From the U.S. Naval Historical Center, Washington D.C.:

Eller Prize Article: The Director of Naval History awarded the Rear Admiral Ernest M. Eller Naval History Prize for the best article published in 2001 to Commander Richard Mobley, USN (Ret.). His article, “Pueblo: A Retrospective,” appeared in the Spring 2001 issue of the Naval War College Review.  The author’s well-researched and written narrative addresses how U.S. civilian and military leaders, despite the lack of reliable intelligence information, the absence of strong U.S. military forces in Northeast Asia, and other difficulties managed to developed various plans of action and concentrate powerful air and naval units in the region within days. President Lyndon Johnson decided not to use force to recapture the ship or free her crewmen, but U.S. military forces were prepared to execute a number of options had he done so. Leaders preparing to deal with future crises will profit from a reading of Commander Mobely’s article.  The entire article can be read online at: http://www.nwc.navy.mil/press/Review/nwcrlisting.htm 

Receiving Honorable Mention in the competition was Michael J. Bennett, an authority on the Civil War, for his article, “ ‘Frictions:’ Shipboard Relations between White and Contraband Sailors.” This piece, which appeared in the 2001 (No. 2) issue of Civil War History, persuasively argues that relations between black and white sailors were strained. Issues of pay equity, rank and leadership, berthing and messing, the close confines of Civil War era ships, and other factors led to morale problems in the Navy that did not exist in the Army.  The interpretation is especially thought provoking and should stimulate additional research by Civil War historians. 

Morison Scholarship Awarded: The Director of Naval History recently selected Major Shawn P. Callahan, USMC, to receive the $5,000 Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison Scholarship, which is open to serving officers of the Navy and Marine Corps who are pursuing a graduate degree in history or a related field.  Major Callahan, currently assigned to Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 332, Marine Corps Air Station, Beaufort, South Carolina, and a veteran of combat operations in Afghanistan, is enrolled in the Master of Arts in History program at George Washington University.  His studies at that institution of higher learning will focus on the employment of Navy and Marine forces in expeditionary operations and as instruments of U.S. foreign policy.