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On October 10, 1845, the United States Naval Academy opened its doors at an old abandoned Army post, Fort Severn, in Annapolis, Maryland. There were 56 midshipman students and seven professors. Its mission to train and educate future naval officers by giving them a modern scientific training in the art of naval warfare and instilling discipline, leadership skills, and a strong sense of duty. We take the US Naval Academy for granted today, but in the 1840s, the idea of a land-based school to train sea-based military officers seemed absurd to most Americans. Apprentice Navy officers—“midshipmen” in Navy-speak–received on-the-job training...

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro renamed the Naval Academy building, formerly named after a member of the Confederacy, after the only U.S. president to attend the institution. Maury Hall, which was named after Matthew Fontaine Maury, considered the father of naval oceanography who joined the Confederacy, will now be known as Carter Hall, named after former President Jimmy Carter, who graduated from the academy in 1946, reads a Navy press release. “When Secretary Austin directed us to implement the recommendations of the Naming Commission, he instructed us to give proud new names. Names that echo with honor, patriotism,...

Midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy Chapel. Not all Mids worship God; some worship His Enemy (Anna Clopet/ Corbis Documentary / Getty Images Plus) A reader affiliated with the US Naval Academy said that people there received this e-mail yesterday:The reader said that e-mail set off a firestorm. A few minutes later, the Chief who authored that e-mail sent this follow-up:(Readers, these were sent to me as screenshots. I can’t copy-and-paste in a more readable format. If you are having trouble reading it, the gist is that the Chief is a confessed Satanist, and is inviting others at...

Thirteen years ago Jim Cardosi’s wife, Cindy, discovered she had little time left to live.In 2002 she experienced symptoms resulting from a neurological illness that by 2005 would be identified as frontotemporal dementia or Pick’s Disease, which Cindy developed in her mid-40s.She required full-time care, so Jim retired from the military. They raised five kids together and built their lives around each other.Jim’s faith kept him poised throughout the illness, and he felt the call to the priesthood before her death. He cared for Cindy until her passing in July 2008 at 51 years old in their Jacksonville, Florida home.“I...

Abolish West Point — And The Other Service Academies, Too By Scott Beauchamp January 23 Most Americans are familiar with the prestige that surrounds the United States military service academies. Various names and phrases, spoken like solemn incantations, attest to their sacrosanct status: the Point, the Long Gray Line, Annapolis, cadets. Their graduates constitute a who’s who of American greatness, including Ulysses Grant, Jimmy Carter, novelist James Salter and sci-fi writer Robert Heinlein, to name a few. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, in a 1962 address at West Point, typified the veneration when he told the cadets that they were “the leaven...

Noting that we’re celebrating the Reagan centennial, he praised President Reagan for being both “tough-minded and hopeful,” and also “willing to work with his detractors.” That approach, said Immelt, should also be a model of leadership in the 21st century, which “is about building bigger and diverse teams; teams that accomplish tough missions with a culture of respect.”

You have never seen anyone jump rope like this! ~~~~ VIDEO

A top Chinese general will visit the United States this month and tour major U.S. bases as Washington seeks to improve relations and reduce the risk of conlict, offi

The president outlined his strategy for victory in Iraq at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He met with VFW Commander-in-Chief Jim Mueller and Secretary of Vetrens Affairs Jim Nicholson in the Oval. Laura Bush gave the media a tour of the holiday decor at the White House. Welcome to Sanity Island!

The U.S. Naval Institute 130th Annual Meeting and Annapolis Naval History Symposium (2004) Address by Former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, U.S. Naval Reserve Proceedings, May 2004 'Our Enemy Is Not Terrorism' The former Secretary of the Navy and current member of the Kean Commission investigating the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States addressed the U.S. Naval Institute 130th Annual Meeting and Annapolis Naval History Symposium on 31 March. Following is an edited version of his remarks. The subject here is naval history and the naval history to come. This is particularly relevant, given the subjects...

Story Number: NNS040310-02 Release Date: 3/10/2004 8:26:00 AM By Stacey Byington, Naval Station Pascagoula Public Affairs PASCAGOULA, Miss. (NNS) -- USS Thomas S. Gates (CG 51) will leave its homeport at Naval Station Pascagoula, Pascagoula, Miss., for a five-month deployment March 10. The deployment will cover a variety of missions, including a circumnavigation of the South American continent. Gates’ deployment will include counter-drug operations, high-profile port visits along the eastern Atlantic seaboard; escorting the nation’s newest carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), to her new homeport in San Diego; and international exercises with South American navy ships. “This is an...

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The Naval Academy has seized more than 90 computers in an investigation into whether midshipmen illegally downloaded music, movies and software from the Internet. Cmdr. Bill Spann, an academy spokesman, confirmed Monday that an investigation into what material is on the computers was under way. He would not give any other details. Punishment for illegally possessing copyrighted material ranges from restrictions such as loss of leave to expulsion from the academy, Spann said. The raid on dormitory rooms took place Thursday while midshipmen were in class, according to The (Annapolis) Capital, which reported the seizure on...