United States Naval Academy - Lucky Bag Yearbook (Annapolis, MD)

Page 14 text:

IMI in Ti e dtee au caa de ▲ ▲ ▲ • •••• . . . To Navy Regulations i iri iriririririf: f T rs- JD ■ H m MVAt co(;f) I i nrrmouunm 1 B ■1 Hi I

Page 13 text:

' - ' ■ ' J • • • :t

Page 15 text:

liif tlie jHcuUAi a ike JVao ■ H Since the. dlci4f we were born, we have been under the guardianship of the law. That it can punish became painfully evident when Dad first applied force of slipper to seat of trousers for our violation of a home rule. But our law also acts as a guide to civilized living and as a safeguard of our rights. It is the cornerstone of organized so- ciety, based on the Golden Rule, constructed by the desire of the majority of thinking men to guard the rights of all. Our law ' s purpose is simple— to ensure to everyone the rights of civilized living without the fear of their unjustified removal. Our Constitution was originally set forth, among other reasons, to establish justice in these United States. Similarly the Four Freedoms were promulgated to emancipate the world from oppres- sion. There are times when a gang of criminals, local or international, threatens the common law of decency. We fight today to enforce that law for ourselves and the world at large. One, dcuf. we ifuiaea. our civil rights and civilian clothes for the U. S. Naval Acad- emy Regulations and the midshipman ' s uniform. From that day on we underwent the subtle transformation from civilians to Naval officers under the surveillance of the Academy Regulations. At times the Reg book was a hard taskmaster; it had to be. Its most difficult job was to harness us to the routine life of the Academy, to teach us to account for our actions, and to help us learn self-discipline. In the Navy, geared for war and spirited action, a slip can be fatal. The Reg book had to indoctrinate us with that fact often and with lasting impression. The hours of punishment awarded us for shortcomings and misdeeds remain one of our most poignant memories. But our Reg book, though hard, was fair. We perceived that clearly when we became its agents, ad- ministering its law as we stood junior officer watches with sword and white gloves. itteHilcut to- tUe Aliiclel for the government of the United States Navy. ' Each Sunday morning, the Regimental Adjutant recited to us a portion of those articles, I the basis of naval law. They are the origin of U. S. Navy Regulations, the comprehen- sive, inclusive legal code of the Navy, the backbone of Naval Courts and Boards, the source of court martial and board of inquiry procedure. Navy Regulations furnish ' instructions and advice on any subject that we may encounter in our Naval careers. There is another source of Naval law, or at least Naval horse sense. It is The Laws of the Navy, by Captain Hopwood of the Royal Navy. That little poem contains the best possible counsel for sea-faring men— common sense. Because we believe that law, the cornerstone of all society, civil or Naval, is nothing more than common sense couched in legal phraseology, and because we maintain that the most vital need in the world today is common sense, we dedicate the 1946 Lucky Bag to the LAWS OF THE NAVY. 13