What happens after Iraq? The Honorary First Defenders get some answers.

Doug Graves © 2007

“What happens after Iraq,” asked Whitehall native Rear Admiral John Elnitsky in Bethlehem on Friday. Answering his own question, he said, “We will continue to operate from the sea.”
Illustrating his point, he said, “We have stood up the Naval Expeditionary Combatant Command, a return of the ‘green and brown water Navy’ to project force close to shore.”
He was referring to a renewed emphasis on the force projection capability first seen in the Civil War with Union Navy dominance of the coastal waters and rivers of the Confederacy and then later in the gunboat diplomacy of pre-World War II China on the Yangtze River. Most recently this strategy was embodied by the “Swift” boat navy in Vietnam’s rivers and delta areas.
The admiral was the keynote speaker at the 68th annual meeting and “Dining-in” of the Honorary First Defenders at the Best Western in Bethlehem on Friday. He posed several future-leaning questions to the 200 plus attendees and invited their questions.
“Are we in a war? Or a struggle?” he asked. “Are we confronting nation states or small groups [who are] supported by nation states?” The de-centralized nature of modern threats requires us to take a longer view when developing the Navy of the future.
“One thing to think about,” he said “is the influence a navy can have in advance of conflict. That is a lot of the focus today in terms of influencing regions that would otherwise become harbors for radical terrorists.”
“What do we make of the emergence of China?” he asked. He noted that while traditional naval powers like Great Britain will have a navy of approximately 25 ships, Asian powers, especially China, are growing their navies.
“China is addicted to oil,” said Elnitsky. “And,” he said, “they want Taiwan— they just want it. If we don’t defend Taiwan, every treaty we have ever signed would be worthless.”
“The only two countries spending money on their military are the United States and the Chinese,” said Elnitsky.
“Who will fight the next war?” he asked. “Less than 35 percent of today’s high school graduates qualify to join the military. Today’s ‘Millennial Generation’ doesn’t remember the fall of the Berlin Wall; they don’t remember a time before cell phones.”
“This generation that makes up today’s recruits is connected and very collaborative,” he said. “They have a strong sense of team and want to do something for the greater good. They are less focused on the individual. The challenge is to harness this energy and enthusiasm and influence young people as early as grade school to become interested in math and the sciences. The war for technology talent is already a challenge as we compete with industry for technologically savvy recruits.”
Admiral Elnitsky, after a remarkable career as a nuclear submarine commander, is now the Special Assistant to the Director of the Submarine Warfare Branch of the Navy.
He is the son of John and Wilma Elnitsky of Whitehall. He is a 1976 graduate of Whitehall High School. The Admiral is married to Christine (Bell) Elnitsky. They have one son, and one granddaughter.
The rest of the evening was decidedly less serious as alert colonels kept watch for violations of the “Rules of the Mess.” Violations observed ranged from allowing a cell phone to ring to the more egregious error of “questioning the decisions of the President” of the Mess. All guilty of such violations were fined one to five dollars payable immediately.
The Honorary First Defenders were formed to honor the first Union volunteers to reach Washington when President Lincoln called for help. In April 1861, Allentown sent a 213-man company of Pennsylvania militia to Washington, D.C. It was one of the first to reach Washington. By their presence, they not only deterred the South from any plans they may have had to capture our capital, they also may have changed the course of the war itself.
The Honorary First Defenders is an organization of business and professional men and women dedicated to perpetuate the memory of these heroes, one of whom, Ignatz Gressser, was later awarded the Medal of Honor for valor in action at Antietam. The organization helps local military units by contributing $1,000 annually to each of our four services for amenities that could not be requisitioned though their normal supply channels.