Greetings! Shipmates,

And welcome aboard. We, of the Baltimore Council - Navy League of the United States (NLUS), are pleased with your interest in our organization and hope you will be encouraged, by what you find on this site, to join us.

The NLUS was founded back in 1902 at the request of then President Theodore Roosevelt. As a former Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Teddy understood, better than most, the importance of sea power to the growth and defense of a nation. And he punctuated that awareness with the years-long voyage of the Great White Fleet which circumnavigated the globe later during his administration.

The Navy League is unique among military oriented organizations in the United States in that it receives no funding from any governmental entity. None at all. Our sole sources of support are its members and those corporate sponsors who choose to join our ranks. Its mission is simple and straightforward: Support of the Sea Services (Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine) and the men and women who serve therein. When ships arrive in Baltimore, we are there to welcome them and provide whatever assistance we can to their personnel. When a local maritime entity or installation asks for our assistance, we are there.

The Baltimore Council sponsors and/or supports the various commands at the U.S. Coast Guard Yard - Curtis Bay, the only USCG Yard in the nation. Also the Navy Operational Support Center at Fort McHenry. We are the sponsors of a number of ships including USS Fort McHenry, USS Maryland, and USS Sterett. We have taken the lead in the commissioning of vessels including USS Sterett, USS Oriole, USS Raven and, most recently, USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000), the most powerful surface warship in the world. All were commissioned here, in Baltimore.

There is a major educational component to our mission as well. We are sponsors of the Ft. McHenry Division / Training Ship Constellation units of the Navy League and United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps and of Navy and Marine Corps JROTC programs at a number of area high schools.

And we are in constant contact with those government agencies on which the Armed Forces depend for their funding. A close working relationship has been forged with elected officials at all levels, federal, state, and municipal.

Yes, we are busy - all the time. It's our job. And though most of our members are veterans of the Armed Forces, uniformed service is not a prerequisite for membership.

We hope you will find this site to be useful, informative, even entertaining and thank you, again, for your interest.

Respectfully,
COL (MD) Alan Walden
Past-President & Life Member