John Mashey was too shy to raise the question in a thread, but he e-mailed me asking about the witness list for the hearing before the Texas State Board of Education on social studies standards: “Texas Navy?” he asked.
Two witnesses listed their affiliation as “Texas Navy.” Edwin Greiner and Dick Brown, both admirals in the Texas Navy, were scheduled to testify early on Wednesday afternoon.
Now, a Nebraska or Utah Navy might not make a lot of sense, since both of those states are landlocked. Texas needed a navy in the past, and at least twice, ships were commissioned and sailed for Texas, in 1835 and 1837.
In 1958, Texas Governor Price Daniel re-activated the Texas Navy with the purpose of “assuring the survival of Texas’ Naval history, boundaries, water resources, and for the civil defense of Texas.” In 1973, the Texas Legislature authorized the charter of the Texas Navy Association, Inc., as the official body to oversee the operation of the Texas Navy.
Click here to join the Texas Navy
You can join the Texas Navy. Both the men listed on the witness list claim rank of Admiral, which is not a position one attains merely by joining — so we might conclude they have done something in the past to merit the promotion.
Consider joining. Your membership will help preserve the history and tradition of the Texas Navy. And — who knows? — you may want to testify to the Texas State Board of Education some day. It looks like they’ll bump you to the first of the list, if you’re a member of the Texas Navy.
(Does anyone know what these Texas Navy officials told the SBOE? Anyone have a copy of their testimony? I’ll check with Steve Schafersman at Texas Citizens for Science to see if he knows . . .)
Posted by Ed Darrell 
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