The Navy League of the United States of America is a civilian non-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. It is dedicated to educating the community about the importance of the nation's sea services (including the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and U.S. Flagged Merchant Marines) as well as the men and women and their families that serve in those services. The group's mission and vision is to honor, educate and establish the importance of sea services and demonstrate the organizations' vital contributions to protecting the country's sea lanes.

The Navy League was founded in 1902 through the encouragement of then-President Theodore Roosevelt. The organization's founding was unique among military related organizations - it's an all-civilian group, with no active-duty members included.

Today, the league works closely with sea service organizations through a network of 265 councils located in the U.S. and around the world that incorporate nearly 60,000 organization members.

One of the councils calls Tacoma home. The Tacoma Council, Navy League was established in 1956. At that time in Tacoma, there was an active naval station, which had a reserve fleet of escort carriers mothballed at the piers on the Blair Waterway, according to Roger Olsen, national director and Tacoma Council Navy League member. Though the naval station closed only a year later, the good works of the organization remained and are still in play today.

The council was always an avid supporter of youth activities and this tradition continues. The group has lent its long-time support to the United States Sea Cadets in Tacoma. This organization was established in the early 1950s by a retired Coast Guard officer and the former skipper of The Gray Ghost. The purpose of the organization, according to its national charter statement, is "to encourage and aid American youth to develop, train them in seagoing skills, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance and kindred virtues." The Sea Cadets were formed into a division known as the Hornet Division. Today, the Hornet Division has 29 cadets ages 11 to 17 who participate at a dedicated drill site on Joint Base Lewis-McChord. 

The Tacoma Council, Navy League has added its support to local Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) programs as well. The team supports the Navy JROTC programs at Stadium, Spanaway Lake and Curtis High Schools.  It also supports the Marine Corps JROTC at Wilson High School.

It doesn't stop there.

The council also recognizes Reserve and active Marines of the Year from JBLM's 4th Landing Support Battalion; Reserve Sailors of the Year from Navy Cargo Handling Battalion Five and Navy Mobile Construction Battalion Eighteen at JBLM, which totals nearly 700 personnel.  

It also recognizes the Sailors of the Quarter and Enlisted Person of the Year from USCGC Midgett (WHEC 726), which is currently on patrol in the eastern Pacific performing maritime safety, lifesaving and drug interdiction duties.

Those interested in membership or to learn more about the organization's special events and meeting schedule should visit http://tacomanavyleague.weebly.com/membership.html or http://tacomanavyleague.weebly.com/meetings--events.html.

While current active military cannot become members, active-duty family members are invited to join along with inactive Reservists.  

To learn more about the sea cadets program, visit www.tacomaseacadets.org/index.html.