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Why are history and tradition important
                   to the Navy?
by: BM3   Dana M. Miller
USS ENTERPRISE CVN-65

            History and tradition are very important to the United States Navy in many ways. History and tradition link the modern
sailor to those who have served before them. An affective military must have a sense of its mission, purpose and direction
and it's role in society. Tradition provides a source of pride to Navy personnel, a somewhat type of invisible paycheck.
Awareness of history and tradition makes one better informed and more understanding of the modern Navys role in
national defense and the preservation of human freedom.

            The Navy includes not only ships and personnel but also air and missile forces, shipyards and shore bases
for the building and maintenance of fleets. The Navy is used for conquest and defense. Sea power has helped shape
history since ancient times. Organized naval forces first made an appearance in the Mediterranean, where over the
course of centuries Egypt, Phoenicia, Persia, Greece, and Carthage maintained navies. Although basically a land power,
Rome built a fleet during the Punic Wars (264-146 BC), and Roman sea power helped in bring about the ultimate
destruction of Carthage. Their earliest warships were galleys, vessels propelled by banks of oars supplemented by sail.

            The principal weapon with which they were equipped was a pointed beak, or ram, used to pierce the side of
an enemy vessel. Archers supplemented this and swordsmen who attempted to capture an enemy vessel by boarding it.
(Pirates) In the 7th century AD, the Byzantines developed Greek fire, a flaming substance that was catapulted at enemy
ships to set them ablaze. The galley was usually confined to protected waters, however the Vikings also known as Norsemen
used oared longships to swoop down on unwary targets along the Atlantic coast of Europe.

            The discovery of sea routes to India, China, and the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries led to a growing
volume of trade, and national rivalries for control of these routes created the need for navies. Naval vessels have since
gone from sail to steam to nuclear propulsion. These changes have helped America win battles for years, going from
wooden surface ships to not only iron surface ships, but also sub-surface vessels, helping surprise the enemy from
down below. The importance of the oceans to American security and economic interests makes the U.S. Navy a
critical component in the countrys military. History of that Navy has helped us learn from our mistakes and grow
in our abilities. The U.S. Navy remains by far the most capable Navy in the world.

Along with naval history, naval tradition is just as important. Tradition gives a sense of pride and the highest respects.
The tradition of the uniform not only gives the sailor pride in him or herself, but also gives them a piece of history.
The Crackerjack type uniform has been around for pretty much the life of the U.S. Navy. The salute gives highest
respects and dates back to Medieval Knights, who once raised their visors, to salute, when passing each other on
horseback so that they could see one another in means of respect.

Tradition and history also make for a good recruiting tool. People love to feel proud of themselves and that they
belong in something. Naval history and tradition give its sailors this kind of satisfaction. History is worth
preserving and our traditions are one of the biggest ways in which we can. Our tradition parish for want
of men to defend them.-Cicero (Roman Leader) Tradition has also played a major role in providing our navy
with its personnel in other ways than recruiting. Many people join out of family tradition. Francisco Franco,
Spanish military leader who rose to power during the Spanish Civil war (1936-1939), went navy to follow
the men of his family. Like so, Americans such as, President Jimmy Carter, who graduated from the Naval
Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, followed the footsteps of his uncle. Even in my own American family the
naval tradition flows with my grandfather, and uncle serving in the Marines, many of my cousins, my father
-in-law, my husband, my stepson, and myself all serving in the U.S. Navy.

The Navy and its traditions have played a major role in history. Many significant people who were either
in the U.S. Navy or received U.S. Naval training have changed U.S. history in ways such as the following:

Commander Alan Shepard, the first American in space.

Marine Corps Col. John Glen, the first American to orbit the earth

.Neil Armstrong, the first man to step foot on the moon.

John Barry, in 1776, during the American Revolution, was appointed to command the brig
Lexington and subsequently captured the British tender Edward, the first ship taken by a
commissioned officer of the U.S. Navy.

Admiral Ben Morrel, the father of the Navy Seabees.