December is a time of joy and celebration as we share the holiday season with our friends and families. People travel from faraway places to relax, spend time together, reflect on the past, share the holiday spirit, and ring in the New Year. As joyous as that sounds, there will be a number of our Navy families who are apart over the holidays while their Sailor is serving somewhere around the world to make it safe and secure for the rest of us. We can never say thank you loud enough or often enough to all of these brave men and women.

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Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a wish for a great holiday season from the staff here at headquarters. Last month, we had a wonderful Veterans’ Day celebration here in Washington with guests from the Navy Safe Harbor Foundation, the Sea Services Leadership Association, and the Navy Intelligence Professionals joining us in our box at the Arlington Amphitheater. Rear Admiral Moon and his father placed our wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. This month, as we celebrate, we think of family and friends but also those serving far from home. Many of you have missed the holidays while deployed and today we have a new generation serving under difficult conditions. We are thankful for our blessings and consider our military, particularly our Navy, to be high on that list.

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Today’s military spouses are skilled, diverse, and motivated, with sound work values and a strong work ethic. And because of the unique military lifestyle, military spouses need targeted support to enable them to pursue their educational goals and career ambitions. According to the Department of Defense (DoD) Military Community and Family Policy office, military spouses are young, tech-savvy, mobile, and more educated than their civilian counterparts.

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The following are the legislative priorities that I believe that AUSN should pursue for the next few years. These are based on different inputs: AUSN members and veterans, serving members, and Congressional Members and staff.

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Every November, our nation observes Military Family Month to pay tribute to their lasting contributions and the sacrifice they’ve made in the name of their service member and our military. Now that November is quickly becoming a distant memory, what does that mean for our military family?

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“Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard and found that the cupboard was bare.” This old nursery rhyme seems quite appropriate in today’s environment of austerity and budget scrutiny. Not since the early 1990’s have we seen such a drive towards budget consolidation and a pure reevaluation of what is most critically needed to be funded in order to ensure our nation’s commitment to global security and our national defense. Sadly though, under the current economic conditions, we find that we have more obligations than we have the funds to sustain them.

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The Navy Riverine Force completed its mission in Iraq with great success in October 2010, and the lessons learned from multiple deployments validate the importance of the Riverine capability for future missions.

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Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society was founded in 1904. At the time, there were no federal programs to provide for the widows and orphans of Sailors and Marines killed on active duty. Before Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, it was often left to crew members to take up collections in the name of a fallen comrade.

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On September 12, 2001, Josh informed his parents that he was joining the Marine Corps. He felt strongly that he had a responsibility to his country. In July 2005, as a result of a roadside bomb, Josh had shrapnel enter his brain while serving with the Marines in Iraq.

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Support to our Fleet and deployed services and their families are challenged today at levels not seen in decades. Deployments are longer–– the demand for mobilizing Reservists is somewhat constant––and families and family support services simply have a lot of demands placed on them.

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The Chief Petty Officer rate was established in the United States Navy on 1 April 1893 to recognize the skilled senior enlisted leaders necessary to run the rapidly modernizing Navy. On 1 June 1958, the ranks of Senior Chief Petty Officer and Master Chief Petty Officer were added. Anna Der Vartanian became the Navy’s first female Master Chief Petty Officer in 1959.

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Advances in science, better nutrition and improvements in health care have allowed people to live to unprecedented ages. But this blessing of longevity has brought with it challenges that have stretched the demand for services of both professional and family caregivers. As Rosalyn Carter once said, “There are only four kinds of people in the world, those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers.”

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We often hear of the Navy referred to as a family, and in many ways the Navy is a second family to those who serve. Whether we are currently serving in the active, reserve or retired component or are a former Sailor, we know the camaraderie that service entails and the extraordinary bond that is built among those who serve. Our continuum of service helps make the Navy family stronger.

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The phrase “The Navy Takes Care of Its Own” is more applicable now than ever before. In addition to the family support available from the individual’s command (Ombudsman, Legal Affairs, etc) the Navy established Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) to consolidate the myriad of shore commands under a single command structure reporting to the CNO.

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The relationship between the Navy League’s New Mexico Commissioning Committee and the crew of USS New Mexico (SSN 779) during its 33-year life span will mirror that of an extended family.

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Many San Francisco Bay Area Navy people will warmly remember the well-attended dinings-out the FADM Nimitz-Golden Gate Chapter of the old Naval Reserve Association sponsored in the latter part of the last century. They were times to meet and greet old and new Navy friends, to swap sea stories and to enjoy generally being part of the Navy community.

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