Northrop Grumman Corporation, a co-builder of the U.S. Navy's Arleigh Burke Aegis destroyers, has committed $175,000 over five years to sponsor the U.S. Naval Institute's Arleigh Burke Essay Contest. The announcement commemorates Adm. Burke's 100th birthday on October 19.
The Naval Institute's most prestigious essay contest is open to all; for details, visit www.navalinstitute.org. The top three essayists receive $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000, accompanied by gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively. The top-prize winner also receives a life membership in the Naval Institute. The three winning essays will be published in the May 2002 issue of Proceedings. Essays must be postmarked on or before December 1, 2001.
Arleigh Burke Essay contestants, writing within the broad topic of advancing the knowledge of sea power, include the most serious thinkers on military topics today and throughout its long history. Winners have included names familiar to any student of maritime history, such as Cmdr. Alfred Thayer Mahan; Cmdr. Bradley Fiske; Lt. Ernest King; Lt. Cmdr. Dudley Knox; author Tom Clancy's fictional Jack Ryan; and Dr. Philip A. Dur, a former lieutenant commander and currently Northrop Grumman corporate vice president and president of the company's Ship Systems sector.
"We are very pleased to sponsor this prestigious 122-year-old essay contest that rewards writers for advancing the importance of sea power," said Dr. Dur. "Northrop Grumman is proud to be the first company to sponsor the Arleigh Burke Essay Contest and we look forward to working with the Naval Institute on this most worthwhile project."
The publisher of Proceedings and Naval History magazines and more than 800 professional books, the Naval Institute is a membership organization for Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard professionals and for others interested
in the sea services.