The Surface Navy
Association at 40
BY DAVID F. WINKLER
A “huzzah” for the Surface Navy Association
(SNA) on its 40th anniversary. Incorporated in 1985,
SNA aims to promote greater coordination and
communication among those in the military, business
and academic communities who share a common interest
in surface warfare while supporting the activities of
surface naval forces. Since its founding, the organization
has grown not only to enhance the professionalism of
those who serve on surface ships in the U.S. Navy but
also, with its merger with the U.S. Coast Guard Cuttermen
Association in 2016, to support those who serve on
surface craft for the U.S. Coast Guard.
By no means was SNA filling a total void. In “Progressives
in Navy Blue: Maritime Strategy, American Empire, and
the Transformation of U.S. Naval Identity (1873–1898),”
Scott Mobley noted the opening year of his study
coincided with the formation of the U.S. Naval Institute
(USNI) as “the service’s premier associative body.”
He noted, “The new institute provided a vital forum
for innovation, sparking an explosion of interaction
and discourse among naval professionals.” Some 152
years later USNI continues, per its mission statement,
“to advance the professional, literary, and scientific
understanding of sea power and the critical issues
shaping global security.”
Following in USNI’s wake, in 1902, with President
Theodore Roosevelt’s backing, came the Navy League of the
United States as an advocacy organization that promoted
the sea services to the American public and facilitated
dialogue between the services and the industrial base.
When the Navy League came into existence, men
joined the Navy to “See the World” from a deck of a
ship. With the introduction of submarines and aircraft,
that paradigm changed, and following World War I,
distinctive naval warfare “communities” began to form.
Throughout that era, the USNI Proceedings continued to
serve as a lead journal for professional discourse.
Whereas the development of nuclear power following
Vice Admiral Robert L. Walters, then deputy chief of naval operations (surface
warfare), later the first president of the Surface Navy Association, speaks during
the commissioning ceremony for the Aegis guided missile cruiser USS Yorktown
(CG 48) in 1984.
World War II had an impact on undersea warfare, the
introduction of jets had profound consequences for those
serving in naval aviation. As Vice Admiral Robert F. Dunn
documented in “Gear Up, Mishaps Down: The Evolution
of Naval Aviation Safety, 1950-2000,” during the 1950s
one in four pilots was destined to be an aviation fatality
statistic. Having self-preservation interests, in 1956
Navy carrier pilots banded together to form the Tailhook
Association. With naval aviation suffering losses in
the skies over Southeast Asia in the 1960s, the annual
Tailhook gathering provided opportunities for aircrews
from both Atlantic and Pacific Fleet carriers to exchange
information about their respective combat experiences.
In recognition that not all naval aviators make traps on
carriers, in 1975 the Association of Naval Aviation came
into existence to serve the professional development
needs of the broader naval aviation community. Seven
years later, the Naval Submarine League was formed with
its purpose being “charitable, educational, and scientific
… support of the submarine force.”
As detailed by Malcolm Muir in “Black Shoes and Blue
Water: Surface Warfare in the United States Navy,
1945-1975,” the surface combatant Navy was beginning
to build its sense of identity after being relegated to
performing carrier escort duties during the early Cold
War. Although Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt’s vision for a
surface strike cruiser never materialized, the impetus
for Harpoon and Tomahawk cruise missiles took hold,
and leaders such as Vice Admiral James Doyle and Rear
Admiral Wayne Meyer pushed for the development of the
Aegis air defense system. With the implementation of
the Maritime Strategy in the 1980s, battleships were to
be the centerpiece of surface action groups. By this time,
ofÏcers and enlisted personnel serving on ships saw
themselves as surface warriors and now had their own
warfare qualification pins to demonstrate an enhanced
level of competency. Whereas newly commissioned
ofÏcers in the past would report aboard and learn on
the job, the Navy now cycled its future ship drivers to a
months-long Surface Warfare OfÏcers School.
Thus, the seeds had been sown for the creation in April
1985 of the Surface Navy Association. The initial board of
directors reads as a who’s who of nine vice admirals and
one admiral who had distinguished careers in the surface
warfare community. Not surprisingly, that one admiral
was Arleigh “31 Knot” Burke of World War II and later
CNO fame. Vice Admiral Robert L. Walters served as the
first president, having just retired from active duty as
the deputy chief of naval operations for surface warfare.
A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1949,
Walters had served on the battleship Missouri during the
Korean War, would later command the cruiser Belknap
in the 1970s and would go on to command cruiser
destroyer and battle groups. Ashore, he had numerous
tours involving weapons systems development.
To get the organization under way, Walters turned to
three retired captains. Raymond A. Komorowski served as
the first vice president. Having received his commission
at the end of World War II through a naval reserve
commissioning program, Komorowski saw extensive
service at sea that culminated with command of the
cruiser Boston off Vietnam in 1969. Assigned as the first
editor of the in-house publication “Surface Warfare”
before he retired in 1975, Komorowski had already
made a significant community-building contribution.
The secretary, Captain Alfred Olsen, also came into
the Navy at the end of World War II as a member of the
U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1945. During his career
he had the privilege to command six warships. Before
he retired in 1974, he served as the first director of
the Surface Warfare Training and Personnel Division.
Finally, the captain who signed his name on the articles
of incorporation within the State of Virginia — William
S. Guthrie — would also serve as the first treasurer. A
classmate of Walters at the USNA, Guthrie retired in 1978.
His sea commands included the destroyer Harwood, the
LPD Austin and Amphibious Squadron 6. Over the next
four decades, the composition of the board would evolve
to be less centered on flag ofÏcers. Now senior enlisted
representatives from both the Navy and Coast Guard join
with midgrade ofÏcers to fill vice president and board
positions.
From relatively humble beginnings, SNA incorporated
many of the best practices of USNI and the Navy League
to promote professional development and to serve as
an interface between the surface warfare community,
academia and the industrial base.
To support professional development, SNA has developed
a healthy network of 32 chapters with varying mission
objectives. For example, at the Annapolis Chapter,
active duty and retired surface warriors provide
networking opportunities and career advice to the
brigade of midshipmen. In most cases, the chapters are
led by active-duty personnel, with Coast Guard ofÏcers
taking charge at a half dozen locations. Historically,
the most active has been the Hampton Roads chapter
supporting the world’s largest naval base in Norfolk,
but in recent years the San Diego chapter has come on
strong. Those chapters, along with the Newport chapter,
sponsor socials and pizza for students attending the
Basic Division OfÏcer Course, affording these upcoming
surface warriors an opportunity to mingle and network
with more senior active and retired Surface Warfare
OfÏcers. Over the years, the “Surface SitRep” newsletter
has grown in length to provide “good gouge” to those
aspiring to have successful careers.
Beginning in 1989, an annual symposium added to
the professional development portfolio as active-duty
personnel and those having interests in the community
flock to Washington, D.C., in early January to hear
perspectives from Navy and Coast Guard leadership
on the future of the respective forces. As for industrial
base interaction, the symposium — held at the Hyatt
Regency Crystal City — offers defense contractors an
opportunity to preview their product lines prior to the
Navy League’s Spring Sea-Air-Space exposition. To
engage more of its membership, SNA in recent years has
initiated Waterfront Conferences on both the East and
West coasts.
Honoring the Greats
Recognizing the need to honor past “greats,” in 1998,
SNA inaugurated the Surface Warfare Hall of Fame.
Among the first inductees were John Paul Jones, John
Barry, Stephen Decatur Jr., David G. Farragut, George
Dewey and Arleigh Burke. With the organization
embracing enlisted Sailors and Cuttermen, there should
be no surprise that in subsequent years 44 stellar
individuals from this segment of the community have
earned Hall of Fame honors.
Perhaps more significant is the recognition bestowed
on the living, as obtaining an SNA award makes for an
impressive ofÏcer fitness report or enlisted evaluation
bullet. Among the more prestigious awards are the
Admiral Arleigh Burke Surface Warfare Operational
Excellence Award, the Admiral Zumwalt Visionary
Leadership Award, the Captain Hopley Yeaton Superior
Cutterman Award and the Shiphandler of the Year Award.
In recognition of outstanding leadership in the chief
petty ofÏcer community, the SNA presents the Master
Gunner George Sirian Meritorious Service Award, and
in recognition of the importance of good medical care at
sea, SNA also offers the Surface Force Independent Duty
Corpsman of the Year Award.
To encourage innovative thought, SNA also recognizes
literary achievement. Over the past 150 years, many
of the winning articles have been published in USNI
Proceedings. In addition, to highlight imagery that
captures the essence of Navy and Coast Guard operations
at sea, SNA features the Captain Raymond Komorowski
photography awards named in honor of SNA’s first vice
president.
Serving the professional development needs of two sea
services, SNA has grown to be a valuable partner to the
Navy and Coast Guard. With its firm belief that our surface
forces represent the core of our naval capability as a nation
and as a naval force without peer, SNA has successfully
added esprit de corps to the term “black shoe.”
Dr. Winkler is a retired Surface Warfare OfÏcer. The author thanks Julie Howard and Chris Bushnell
for their content research assistance for this article.