One of the greatest the Navy has is, obviously, that of insuring that our own officers and men thoroughly understand the nature of the menace we face, the goals repeatedly set forth by the Communists, and the methods they have employed, are employing today, and will use in the future to attain them. For only if our Navy men understand these things, and are able to differentiate between what the Communists seek and what we in America have are they going to be mentally prepared to withstand the blandishments of those who hope to destroy our way of life and to fight, if this be necessary, to the best of their ability to insure its preservation. And might I add, parenthetically, sir, to endure some of the very hard duties which we have in peacetime. For example, if a young officer or man has a sick wife at home or a sick child or an ill mother, he has to have a real motivation to stand these long watches at sea in the North Atlantic or in the North Pacific far away from home. Regrettably, the task of educating our people along these lines is no easy one, for this is only one of the several educational processes which our people undergo. They also must learn how to operate the vastly complicated equipment which enables the United States to have the most formidable and versatile Navy in the world, to exercise the qualities of leadership that are so vital if we are to have a smartly disciplined, thoroughly ready force, and to understand their responsibilities as representatives of America all over the world. Unfortunately, there is far too little time to devote to all of these processes. However, I am of the belief that the Navy program fulfills our responsibilities in this area, and that the resources available to us, both human and material, are more than adequate. But we must prosecute our actions vigorously, intelligently, and incessantly, for the competition is ever ready to take advantage of the slightest equivocation or complacency on our part. The responsibility in this regard is fully recognized and will continue to be fulfilled by the officers of your Navy. Now, can we in uniform, and should we, contribute our knowledge of communism toward the goal of seeing to it that not only our Navy men but all Americans understand the origin and nature of the peril our country faces today? In my mind, the answer to both questions is "Yes." We in the military have considerable to offer in such a program, and our lessons have been learned the hard way-in Greece, on the mainland of China, in Korea, in Laos, and in Vietnam. I believe any military man who can make a positive contribution in this respect not only should be permitted to do so but be urged to do so if it can be made without detracting from the time and effort he must devote to his military duties. It is clearly understood, of course, that any such ventures by uniformed personnel must be made in connection with purely nonpartisan efforts. We must insure that we do not become involved in political issues; we have no place in politics, and the vast majority of our people know it. However, presuming that affiliation with partisan groups can be avoided, then that which we do have to offer should be used, for it obviously is in the best interests of the United States effectively to utilize all of our Nation's assets. I might say in this regard that our Navy men on board ship have colors every morning. Frequently, they hear our national anthem, probably far more so than most people in civilian life. And on every ship where we have a chaplain and on many ships where we do not have chaplains, we have an evening prayer each evening before the boys go to sleep. I personally do not believe that in my own attempts to speak out on the subject of communism have I been unduly restricted. However, in this connection I do wish to lay stress on one point; namely, our responsibility and prerogative to exercise sound judgment. A destroyer commanding officer whose ship is about to sail into the teeth of a typhoon may receive from his squadron commander by message the finest possible guidance on how to handle his ship under these circumstances. But in the final analysis, it is the commanding officer himself who has the responsibility for the lives of his crew and the safety of his ship. It is he who must exercise the necessary sound judgment to see his ship safely through the storm. It is also his prerogative to exercise this judgment. The guidance received should be warmly welcomed, but it alone cannot conn his ship. The same situation is pertinent, I believe, to the problem of what we should and should not say, not only on the subject of communism, but on any other subject. Certainly we require guidance from higher authority relative to our country's policies, both foreign and domestic. In fact, those of us who are senior officers cannot effectively and efficiently discharge our military duties unless we are thoroughly familiar with national policies. And this applies particularly to the chiefs of service who are also members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Military, political, and even economic affairs are far too thoroughly intertwined today for any one of us to go charging off on his own for a tilt at a windmill. But once guidance has been received, then it is my firm belief we should be permitted the opportunity to exercise our own best judgment and the prerogative to do so with regard to what we say. I know of no more dedicated Americans than those who serve our country in uniform. When we do speak out, it is in the interest of preserving unto eternity the freedom of man, the way of life we have, the security of our country, and the principles on which the greatest Nation on earth was founded. This is our only goal, and it is our desire to use all of the means at our disposal to attain it. This concludes my statement. Thank you. Senator STENNIS. All right, Admiral. Thank you very much for your good statement and in keeping with our usual practice, we will call on counsel for the first questions. Mr. Kendall? Mr. KENDALL. Mr. Chairman, at the outset, I would like to place in the record an abstract of the data concerning excerpts from Admiral Anderson's speeches from August 1961 to January 30, 1962. Senator STENNIS. Very well. It will be put in the record at this point. (The documents referred to are as follows:) Data concerning clearance of Admiral Anderson's speeches (period Aug. 1, 1961, to Jan. 17, 1962). Institute of the Aeronau- Aug. 16 Aug. 21 tical and Space Sciences -Continued 1. "But he's doing this because of an implacable foea foe whose leaders orally and in writing have avowed their intent to conquer us and all other free nationswhose leaders have never, in our relations with them, hesitated to deviate from the provisions of any treaty or any agreement we have signed with them; whose leaders, past and present, regard lies and terror and murder only as a means to an end and who have enslaved the greatest number of people in the history of our civilization. It is the same foe whose leader recently bragged that he došie a 50-megaton "But he's doing this be- Suggested. cause of an implacable foe-a foe who both orally and in writing has from the very beginning avowed his intent to end the free world-a foe who has never hesitated to pursue any course or tactic. The Communists regard lies and terror and murder only as a means to an end and have enslaved the greatest number of people in the history of this world. It is this same foe who would explode a 50megaton bomb-for what reason why? |