Dear Sgt Shaft:

Every year since 2001, Congressman Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., has introduced a bill in the House, to re-designate the Department of the Navy to the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps only to have it die in the Senate without action.

For more than two and a quarter centuries, the Navy and Marine Corps have been partners and shipmates in answering the call to defend our great nation against any foe. The strategic partnership of the Navy and the Marine Corps has served our nation well and gives America a maritime capability that is unmatched by anyone in the world.

This initiative is not intended to diminish the strength of that partnership. It is also not intended to change defense budgets or roles and missions. It is not intended to create any new positions. This effort seeks to formalize that which has been recognized in a “de-facto” manner for many years. To allow the Secretary of the Navy to let the world know that he is proudly “The Secretary of the Navy and Marine Corps.” The nation has always recognized the symbiotic relationship that exists in the Naval Services between the Navy and Marine Corps. This initiative is intended to bring formal recognition to this partnership.

This Department does, in fact provide the civilian leadership to two military services — the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. This has been codified in law for more than six decades. Changing the name to reflect this reality does not diminish the respect and admiration Marines and Sailors share with each other. Rather it strengthens this relationship for the entire world to see.Is it not time for the Marine Corps to receive the recognition it has earned in war and in peace, to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Navy brothers in arms as the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps?

This initiative has gained tremendous momentum all over the country, including the support of former Secretaries of the Navy, Navy Admirals, former Commandants of the Marine Corps, former Sergeants Major of the Marine Corps, Medal of Honor recipients and more importantly, hundreds of thousands of Americans who love and support their Marine Corps.

Retired Gunnery Sgt. R. Lee Ermey, widely known for his performance as the sadistic drill instructor in the 1987 film “Full Metal Jacket,” headlined a recent news conference in Washington, D.C., calling to rename the Department of the Navy as the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps.

The event, at the Longworth House Office Building, was aimed at drumming up support for House Resolution 24, a bill authored by Rep. Jones, that formally proposes the name change.

Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., introduced a sister bill in the Senate, but it has just two co-sponsors — Sens. Richard Burr and Kay Hagan from North Carolina. “Why can’t we call it the Department of Navy — and Marine Corps?” Roberts asked. “Why can’t we add three words to right an injustice?

“I can’t imagine anyone looking at one of these wounded veterans without arms or legs in the eyes telling them no. Ermey said. “How do you reason that?”

Other speakers included former Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Alfred M. Gray; Gen. Anthony Zinni, former Commander of U.S. Central Command; Bronze Star recipient Sgt. Eddie Wright, a Marine who lost both hands in combat in Iraq yet went on to become a Marine Corps Martial Arts Program instructor; Tracy Della Vecchia, founder of Marine Parents.com; and Dick Linn, whose son was killed in Iraq in 2005.

For more information on this very important issue, your readers can go to www.MarineCause.org .

Many thanks and Semper Fidelis,
Michael A. Blum
National Executive Director
Marine Corps League

Dear Mike:

The Sarge joins The Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) and others who strongly support the ongoing campaign to rename the Department of the Navy so it more accurately reflects the Marine Corps’ significant contributions.

I strongly urge fellow combat veteran and friend, Jim Webb to join Sen. Pat Roberts in honchoing this legislation through the Senate. These three words, United States Marines, mean so much to those who wear and have worn the Globe and Anchor.

Retired Gunnery Sgt. R. Lee Ermey, widely known for his performance as the sadistic drill instructor in the 1987 film “Full Metal Jacket,” headlined a Thursday news conference in Washington, D.C., calling to rename the Department of the Navy the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps.

The event, at the Longworth House Office Building, was aimed at drumming up support for House Resolution 24, a bill authored by Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., that formally proposes the name change.

“We’re not asking for a promotion. We’re not asking for more money. We don’t want a uniform change,” Ermey said. “The only thing we want is for future Marine who shed blood for their country to at least get respect and receive honorable mention in the department they fall under.”

Jones has introduced a version of his resolution, which now has 367 co-sponsors, every year since 2001. Despite wide-spread support in the House, it has failed in the Senate each time.

For the eighth year, the language of the resolution was included in the National Defense Authorization Act, unanimously approved by the House Armed Services Committee in June.

Each year since 2001, however, the Senate has stripped Jones’ name change from the legislation. Jones is now waiting to see if it will happen again, but remains hopeful.

“I think we have a chance. We really do,” Jones said when asked if he thought the measure might pass the Senate this year.

Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., introduced a sister bill in the Senate, but it has just two co-sponsors — Sens. Richard Burr and Kay Hagan from North Carolina.

“Why can’t we call it the Department of Navy — and Marine Corps?” Roberts asked. “Why can’t we add three words to right an injustice? Why can’t we add three words to remind the Secretary of the Department of Defense and the world that the Marines are second to none?”

Ermey said he struggles to see logic in those who oppose the name change.

“I can’t imagine anyone looking one of these wounded veterans without arms or legs in the eyes telling them no.” Ermey said. “How do you reason that?”

Other speakers included Gen. Anthony Zinni, former commander of U.S. Central Command; former Commandant Gen. Alfred M. Gray; Bronze Star recipient Sgt. James Eddie Wright, a Marine who lost both hands in combat in Iraq yet went on to become a Marine Corps Martial Arts Program instructor; Michael Blum, the Marine Corps League’s executive director; Tracy Della Vecchia, founder of MarineParents.com; and Dick Linn, whose son was killed in Iraq in 2005.

After the conference, Ermey made his way to Bullfeathers of Capitol Hill, a nearby bar where he planned to hold a rally to drum up additional support and publicity for the departmental name change.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – H.R. 24 – legislation introduced in January by Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) to re-designate the Department of the Navy as the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps – has gained 362 cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives. H.R. 24 has more cosponsors than any other bill or resolution to be introduced in the House this year, except for one.

In each Congress since 2001, Jones has introduced legislation aimed at giving the United States Marine Corps the recognition it deserves as one of the official branches of the military. The language of H.R. 24 was recently included in H.R. 2647, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2010, which the House Armed Services Committee unanimously approved on June 17, 2009. This is the eighth year in a row that the language of H.R. 24 has been included in the House version of the NDAA, but each year the language has been stripped in the Senate.

“I want to thank my colleagues in the House for supporting the effort to give the men and women of the Marine Corps the recognition they deserve,” Congressman Jones said. “This is a matter that is very close to my heart. The Marine Corps is an equal member of a team that deserves equal recognition. I’m very encouraged by the support for H.R. 24 among so many of my House colleagues.”

“This legislation is not about changing the responsibilities of the secretary, reallocating resources between the Navy and Marine Corps or altering the course of their missions,” Jones continued. “Rather, it is about showing the nation the true meaning of the department and recognizing the overall importance of the Marine Corps to our national security.”

Over the past several years, the language of H.R. 24 has been endorsed by several former Navy secretaries, Marine Corps commandants, the Marine Corps League, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Fleet Reserve Association and many other individuals and groups.