Message to Garcia

By lex, on January 10th, 2005

One of the very first things that a midshipman receives, once he’s started on his path to a commission, is a small pamphlet entitled, “The Message to Garcia.” It’s a brief, almost ridiculously simplistic tract, first published in 1899, that nevertheless helps to capture who we are as an organization – and the virtues of initiative, dedication and ability to execute the task that we value. This little nothing is an acknowledged first document, a sort of naval Magna Carta, that everyone understands – and it also serve to guarantee a sort of immortality to a man known only as “Rowan.”