America Owes James Forrestal a Great Debt
Extended Letter to the one published January 2024 US Naval Institute Proceedings Vol. 150/1/1,451

Notably, Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) James Forrestal has often been absent in debates about which SECNAVs have profoundly impacted the US Navy and why.
Forrestal’s guidance of the US Navy 1944-1947 in partnership with Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Ernest J. King was nothing but forward-looking and transformative. Although Forrestal may be more well known as America’s first Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) or for his efforts to see the navy continually build on its achievements in the Pacific so that American sea power could reach its zenith by the end of the Second World War, it is his post-war record that sets him apart from all other SECNAVs. Upon his appointment as SECNAV, he started to think about the shape of post-war national defense and the role of American sea power in it. He rightfully saw the Soviet Union as the future competitor to America and its allies before others did. Elsewhere, he warned if the US Navy understood the Royal Navy sufficiently to replace it as the world’s policeman. But so often praying on his thoughts were the long-term implications of often misguided politically driven inquiries into the attack on Pearl Harbor and how they would impact the spectrum of national defense in particular defense organisation. One result of the attack was the creation of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the creation of the SECDEF. As SECDEF, he sought to temper the demands of the Army and newly created Air Force, warned of overtrusting new technological weapons or overstating tactical engagements of the Second World War based on hastily completed studies, the latter something he learnt from the British Admiralty. It was the pressure to seek compromise between the military services that resulted in him committing suicide as he sought solutions that could best fit all services in their capacity to defend America and its interests. Significantly as it is today, thanks to him, Forrestal saw the allies of American sea power as Congress and the American people. He was ever cautious of navalism and taught vigilance over defence bureaucracy as it has other objectives than the future of sea power. His drive to focus on the future of the US Navy saw following naval leadership like CNO Arleigh Burke, who, together with Forrestal’s efforts, ensured the role of SECNAV remained and the primacy of civilian control of defense. In the tense post-war years of defence unification, Forrestal saw that the US Navy had a future, one that America owes him and every subsequent SECNAV to this day an outstanding debt of gratitude.
Read the US Naval Institute version here.