"Without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, and with it, everything honorable and glorious."--President George Washington, 15 November 1781, to Marquis de Lafayette.
"I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: 'I served in the United States Navy.'"--President John F. Kennedy, 1 August 1963, Bancroft Hall U. S. Naval Academy.
Thanks to CHIPS' sponsors, publisher, authors and past editor for their support and contributions to the 20th anniversary issue. I hope you enjoy this issue as much as we enjoyed putting it together. In addition to an extra 20 pages filled with cutting-edge IT topics—we pay special tribute to CHIPS' greatest fan and supporter – Rear Adm. Grace Hopper. Some of us on the CHIPS and Connecting Technology teams were privileged to have met "Amazing Grace." I think she would be very proud of today's Department of the Navy IT vision, which is focused on delivering Knowledge Superiority to the Warfighter.
A word of thanks to you, the readers of CHIPS, whether you have your own subscription or read CHIPS online, we want you to be informed and challenged by the articles featured in CHIPS. Many folks tell us that they have been reading CHIPS since the first issue in 1982! Please let us know how we are doing by sending an e-mail or an article to chips@navy.mil.
We are planning a special celebration for CHIPS' anniversary at Connecting Technology Spring 2002, May 14-16; so please look for the CHIPS exhibit and join us for the DON's premier IT symposia.
As Americans we have seen the bravery and heroism of U.S. military forces, especially in these recent months in their support of Operation Enduring Freedom. This special anniversary issue of CHIPS is dedicated to the Warfighter. Recently, I had the privilege of reading an e-mail from a U.S. Naval officer (serving in Operation Enduring Freedom), which he sent to his family and friends. I was struck by his cheerfulness, espirit de corps and love of country. In his e-mail, he talked about his work; he expressed how wonderful it was for him to keep in touch with his family and friends via e-mail; he talked about the joy of seeing his wife and children via a video teleconference (VTC) that the ship staged for stateside families to talk to their loved ones onboard ship; he talked about the fun he had watching the Super Bowl in a live simulcast onboard ship...I truly marveled as he recounted the daily routine of shipboard life as I recognized that each of the events that he spoke of are made possible by IT-21; greater warfighting capability and an enhanced quality of life. Reading his e-mail made me keenly aware of the hardships that military members and their families endure, but it also made me realize how essential IT-21, FORCEnet and NMCI are--not only to national defense, but also to how they personally touch the lives of Sailors and Marines serving far from home.