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TACAMO Navy Ball celebrates service’s 237th birthday

  • Published
  • By Mike W. Ray
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Strategic Communications Wing ONE at Tinker Air Force Base celebrated the Navy's 237th birthday recently, along with the bicentennial of the War of 1812, which was "the genesis" of the U.S. Navy.

The Continental Congress established the Continental Navy on Oct. 13, 1775, by authorizing the procurement and outfitting of two armed vessels to "cruise in search of munitions ships supplying the British Army in America."

This year also marks the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, when the fledgling U.S. Navy bested the mighty British Royal Navy in what is sometimes referred to as 'the Second War of Independence'. "We declared war on Great Britain" -- at the time, one of the most powerful empires

on earth -- "with a Navy that really wasn't much of a navy," retired Rear Admiral Douglas McClain said.

The admiral, an Oklahoma City native, was the guest speaker for the annual Navy Birthday Ball held Oct. 5 at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. The event attracted a little over 800 military personnel and their guests, plus civilians and public officials.

"The lead-up to that war was significant," the admiral said. For one thing, Britain was at war with France, and Britain forbade U.S. trade with France. In addition, the British Navy impressed -- kidnapped -- sailors from U.S. ships and forced them to serve in the British fleet.

The war lasted "three long years" and "brought a modern Navy to the United States," the admiral said.

The U.S. Naval Institute reports that at the outset of the War of 1812, the U.S. Navy consisted of 16 ships. In comparison, the British navy was feeding 145,000 men every day. Britain had 335 ships in 1810; although by 1812 many of those ships were in the Adriatic and Mediterranean seas, fighting the French, more than a few were still available to unleash against the United States.

"We fought the British through the Great Lakes, along the East Coast, and ended with the Battle of New Orleans," Admiral McClain related.

At the Battle of Lake Erie, on Sept. 10, 1813, nine vessels of the U.S. Navy defeated and captured six vessels of the British Royal Navy. The War of 1812 produced the iconic "Old Ironsides": the USS Constitution, a 44-gun, wooden-hulled heavy frigate that captured numerous merchant ships and defeated five British warships.

The War of 1812 also gave us our national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner. The lyrics came from a poem penned by Francis Scott Key, who witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814 by the Royal Navy.

According to Capt. Charles Baker, commander of SCW-1 and Task Force 124, the U.S. Navy today consists of 285 ships and 3,700 aircraft manned by 320,000 active-duty Sailors who "operate as a global force on, above and below the seas" through which 90 percent of all international trade is transported. At any given moment, Admiral McClain said, no fewer than half of those ships are deployed somewhere on the world's oceans.
The admiral praised America's military personnel of today and yesteryear alike, for their personal sacrifices.

He singled out the families of military personnel, too. The father of three noted "the hundreds and thousands of nights our kids have gone without us being at home." A 32-year Navy veteran who flew jet fighters from aircraft carriers, the admiral also recognized "our spouses and parents, who have worried whether we'd ever return home."

The admiral also applauded America's military for keeping armed conflict "away from our shores" with but one exception: the Dec. 7, 1941, sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. (A featured guest at the banquet was Ed Veazy, 92, an Oklahoman who was serving aboard the USS Oklahoma when it was bombed by the Japanese and capsized.)

"I believe we will win the global war on terror," the admiral added. "We're far from having it wrapped up," but unlike the Vietnam War, "We have the support at home" this time.
"We sleep well at night in the heart of this country," he said, because of "those men and women who are on watch, protecting us."

In his closing remarks, Commodore Baker said the Navy and Air Force have maintained "a model of joint partnership" at Tinker Air Force Base for 20 years. The Navy has approximately 1,200 Sailors and 16 E-6B Mercury aircraft stationed at Tinker. "We're doing more than just squatting here," Admiral McClain quipped.