Phantom Blooper
12-30-09, 07:32 AM
Jones: Resolution to rename the Department of the Navy on track to pass
December 30, 2009 3:11 AM
HOPE HODGE
For nearly a decade, a congressional measure to rename the Department of the Navy to acknowledge the Marine Corps has died in committee. But this year, Rep. Walter Jones says the legislation is on track to pass.
Jones, congressman for North Carolina’s third district, including Onslow County, Camp Lejeune, and the New River and Cherry Point air stations, announced earlier this month that the measure, introduced in January, has 362 cosponsors to date, the second-highest number of any bill or resolution introduced this year.
The resolution, H.R. 24, would redesignate the Department of the Navy as “Department of the Navy and Marine Corps” and change the title of Secretary of the Navy to “Secretary of the Navy and Marine Corps,” with similar designations for department assistant secretaries and the general counsel.
Jones said Monday it was only fitting that the Marine Corps received equal recognition as one of the four branches.
“If the Marine Corps and the Navy are supposed to be one fighting team, then why in the name of the department does it not have both names?” Jones said. “To me this is all about honoring the Marine Corps, who deserves to be recognized.”
Jones said he had been told by the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Ike Skelton, that the measure had a good chance of being brought to the floor of the house on suspension, circumventing committee, if Jones could find 350 cosponsors by Christmas.
With 12 more than that before the New Year, Jones said, “we should be in real good shape.”
The resolution would change, for one, the notification that a Marine’s family members receive if he or she is killed in combat, Jones said. While they now receive a letter from the secretary of the Navy, featuring only the U.S. Navy flag in the letterhead, with this measure, the letter would feature the Marine Corps flag as well.
“To me, this is such a simple thing to do, because it is the right thing to do,” Jones said.
Jones said he got the original idea to change the department’s name from Ret. Maj. Gen. R.G. Richard, then-commander of Camp Lejeune. And the feedback he has received from his colleagues in the House has been enthusiastically positive, he said.
“You know what they say to me, truthfully, is, ‘Why hasn’t it been done before now?’” Jones said.
According to the Web site www.marinecause.com, former Marine drill sergeant and Golden Globe-nominated actor R. Lee Ermey is a spokesman for the redesignation issue.
Other organizations that have expressed support are the Marine Corps League, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Fleet Reserve Association.
George Barrows, commandant for the Onslow County Detachment of the Marine Corps League, said, as a retired Marine, he supported the measure.
“The Marine Corps has always been separate from the Navy,” he said. “I think that this bringing a little distinction to the Marine Corps is what we needed.”
Enrico Dalimonte, surgeon for the Jacksonville chapter of Veterans of Foreign Wars, voiced his support as well.
“We’ve been talking back and forth here,” he said. “We can’t wait till it’s approved.”
The legislation will likely go to the House floor on suspension in March or April. Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts, a former Marine, has already introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
Contact Hope Hodge at 910-219-8453 or hhodge@freedomenc.com.
December 30, 2009 3:11 AM
HOPE HODGE
For nearly a decade, a congressional measure to rename the Department of the Navy to acknowledge the Marine Corps has died in committee. But this year, Rep. Walter Jones says the legislation is on track to pass.
Jones, congressman for North Carolina’s third district, including Onslow County, Camp Lejeune, and the New River and Cherry Point air stations, announced earlier this month that the measure, introduced in January, has 362 cosponsors to date, the second-highest number of any bill or resolution introduced this year.
The resolution, H.R. 24, would redesignate the Department of the Navy as “Department of the Navy and Marine Corps” and change the title of Secretary of the Navy to “Secretary of the Navy and Marine Corps,” with similar designations for department assistant secretaries and the general counsel.
Jones said Monday it was only fitting that the Marine Corps received equal recognition as one of the four branches.
“If the Marine Corps and the Navy are supposed to be one fighting team, then why in the name of the department does it not have both names?” Jones said. “To me this is all about honoring the Marine Corps, who deserves to be recognized.”
Jones said he had been told by the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Ike Skelton, that the measure had a good chance of being brought to the floor of the house on suspension, circumventing committee, if Jones could find 350 cosponsors by Christmas.
With 12 more than that before the New Year, Jones said, “we should be in real good shape.”
The resolution would change, for one, the notification that a Marine’s family members receive if he or she is killed in combat, Jones said. While they now receive a letter from the secretary of the Navy, featuring only the U.S. Navy flag in the letterhead, with this measure, the letter would feature the Marine Corps flag as well.
“To me, this is such a simple thing to do, because it is the right thing to do,” Jones said.
Jones said he got the original idea to change the department’s name from Ret. Maj. Gen. R.G. Richard, then-commander of Camp Lejeune. And the feedback he has received from his colleagues in the House has been enthusiastically positive, he said.
“You know what they say to me, truthfully, is, ‘Why hasn’t it been done before now?’” Jones said.
According to the Web site www.marinecause.com, former Marine drill sergeant and Golden Globe-nominated actor R. Lee Ermey is a spokesman for the redesignation issue.
Other organizations that have expressed support are the Marine Corps League, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Fleet Reserve Association.
George Barrows, commandant for the Onslow County Detachment of the Marine Corps League, said, as a retired Marine, he supported the measure.
“The Marine Corps has always been separate from the Navy,” he said. “I think that this bringing a little distinction to the Marine Corps is what we needed.”
Enrico Dalimonte, surgeon for the Jacksonville chapter of Veterans of Foreign Wars, voiced his support as well.
“We’ve been talking back and forth here,” he said. “We can’t wait till it’s approved.”
The legislation will likely go to the House floor on suspension in March or April. Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts, a former Marine, has already introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
Contact Hope Hodge at 910-219-8453 or hhodge@freedomenc.com.