June 2009   Dear Fellow Members and Friends,   With no doubt, 2009 will mark a new era in the United States. In January the Obama administration made a formal presentation to the world of one of the most ambitious agendas, probably since the Reagan administration, for transforming America and took immediate action on some of the many steps that will be necessary to fulfil this objective. On foreign policy Mr. Obama has made some relevant changes especially in the new ways of dealing with the international world leaders.    However, changes are not only in the USA, the entire world seems to be in an adjustment process and 2009 will be a year of global changes.   On a personal level, I am honoured to be the President of the Navy League of the United States of America in Madrid. For the last five years I have been an active member of the Board of Directors and have found the passion that everyone brings to this Council is absolutely remarkable.   We are very thankful for the unconditional support we receive from the US Embassy, the Spanish Navy and CNO Adm. Rebollo (AJEMA) , NATO Madrid and Naples, Rota Naval Base, the Spanish Ministry of Defence and most specially our loyal members, individual and corporate, with our two exceptional Platinum members - Lockheed Martin España and Indra.   If the beginning of my presidency could be rated based upon the success of our cocktail reception last May the 28th, then I could confirm with no doubts that it will be a fantastic year. Thank you very much to all that attended the cocktail and a special welcome as a first time to General Julio Rodriguez (JEMAD), whom we were delighted and honoured to have there.   Mr. Chacon, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. of the United States of America in Madrid granted us the luxury of being at the residence and we are certain our guests very much enjoyed the opportunity. All the personnel at the Residence were outstanding, most specially Cristina, Beatriz and Marta whom we have had a weekly contact for at least the last 3 months, their suggestions and support are indeed of great importance to us.   We hosted the Sailor of the Year and the award was to First Class Petty Officer Kennon, he is a Construction Electrician in the US Navy's SeaBee Corp and  has qualified for the SeaBee Combat Warfare (SCW) pin. His current duties on the Naval Facility in Rota Spain are as a "Performance Assessment Representative", the award was presented by Captain Bailey, US Defense and Naval Attaché in Spain and Captain Tappan, Chief ODC Spain, also for the first time with us.   One last note to thank on first time assistance to our Council to: Lieutenant General José G. Sieiro, National Armament Director (DGAM) from the Ministry of Defense and Commander Second Fleet Pierre Granger all the way from Northfolk, Virginia.   The day following the cocktail your President and Vice President flew to Menorca for our yearly memorial ceremonies in Cuitadela and Mahon. I would like to express the Council's gratitude to the “Ejército de Tierra” for its excellent work done in maintaining the sacred land of the British-, American Cemetery. This year was better than ever, and we would like to extend our especial appreciation to General Coll (JEME) for the support of his personnel in the island. Also to our Vicepresident in Menorca Mr. George Ferrara for his enthusiasm, impeccable presentation and attention to detail on the logistics for this ceremonies, and last but not least to General Alejandre for the tour he gave us of  “Blood Islands” La Isla del Rey a must do to incorporate in our future trips, and once again a sample of the tights between our countries, it was an American Naval workshop and store depot dated 1833.   However May events this year started before the Cocktail, we were invited  by the Spanish Air Force for a tour of  El Museo de Aeronáutica y Astronáutica, although the original project dated back to 1948 a final decision on its current location was not  until 1975, being so the Aeródromo de Cuatro Vientos the final home, General Alejandro Mendo took us in an unforgettable flight through history and anecdotes.   The July issue of our magazine will have a special section; “Valientes por Mar y Tierra” and “Semper Fidelis”, with this words we will need no more of an introduction. Sincere thanks to General Chicharro, Comandante General de la Infanteria de Marina for accepting our proposal to write about it and presenting us with the Essence of the Spanish Marines, a Corp with so many hundreds of years of fascinating history.  Also to newly promoted Lieutenant Colonel Brian Gilden “Gracias” for his personal contribution in sharing with all of us his personal experience with the “Infanteria de Marina” during his term in Madrid. We are thrilled for his well deserved promotion and for the fantastic ceremony hold at the Embassy last June 1st . that we were honoured to attend. Congratulations Lt. Col.Gilden! we will definitively miss you in Madrid, you have been instrumental for the continuous success of this Council.   In September we will be back at the NATO Component Command Land HQ Madrid in cooperation with CESEDEN, with thanks to the support and enthusiasm of General Miró and his outstanding staff. This will be a conference members will not want to miss. So mark your calendars for September the 23rd and let´s celebrate the 60th Anniversary of NATO and its 10th year in Madrid, with a spirit of thanks to all the men and women “that go in harms ways to defend our freedom”.   I would like to acknowledge the hard work and efforts of our past president Tom Denegre, who performed in an outstanding manner in one of the longest presidencies in this Council. Bravo Zulu - Well Done!!!! I am very happy to have him as my Vice-President.   I would also like to thank Molly Long for all the many contributions she has made during her term as Secretary of the Board. She will stay as one of our members and we are very happy for it.   George Mahl, our best known and one of the longest active  members in our Council has decided to pass the Membership Chairman duties to Mr. Moore, but we are making sure he will remain active at the Board, he has too much knowledge and wisdom to pass along to the rest of the team. Thank you George for all your continuous support and contributions.   And to the newly formed Board of Directors…. Welcome on Board!!! And full speed ahead.   Dear friends, thank you for supporting the US Navy League and its goals of promoting productive cooperation between Spain and the United States of America. May God bless you all   Respectfully,   Eva Garcia The President

Warm wishes for the Holidays Dear Fellow Members,   In the absence of a Dinner when I would be able to tell you in person, I am writing to congratulate you all on a very successful 2007.  I think we can all be proud of what we have accomplished.   Beyond our traditional Gala Ball and May Cocktail Party, we have added two Corporate Members, EDS and INDRA, and hosted a Symposium at NATO Madrid headquarters in Retamares celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Spain’s membership in NATO; the latter thanks to Vice President Eva Garcia. NLUS has posted news of it under Council News on their web page: http://www.navyleague.org/.   Thanks to Second Vice President George Ferrara our Admiral Farragut and Mahon Cemetery ceremonies in Menorca once again enjoyed the US Navy’s support that has been missing for years.   With the reportage of the Symposium and the 80th anniversary of the Buque Escuela “Juan Sebastian de Elcano” we have been able to publish a second issue of our Magazine. Between issues our new web page keeps us current and up to date on our activities   And not to be forgotten, the US Navy League, National, awarded us the “Meritorious Council Award” in recognition of all our hard work. Again, I say “Well Done!”   So, with 2007 rapidly drawing to a close I want to wish you and your families a Very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah and best wishes for a Happy New Year in 2008.    May God bless and watch over us all.   Tom Denegre

President's Letter for 2006 Dear Fellow Members,   Our 2006-2007 Year started off with the award of our Sword of Honor to the Top Cadet at the Naval Academy in Marin at his graduation followed directly by our recognition of him with the assistance of our Padron, Captain Kevin Little, at our July Dinner Meeting. The next day we sent him off to our fellow Councils in Baltimore and Norfolk who hosted him with visits to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Baltimore, Washington, DC and various Naval facilities in the Norfolk-Newport area.   In September, several of our Directors attended a Barcelona conference of the European Navy League Councils, convened by US National President John Panneton. Suffice it to say that the presentation of what Madrid and Menorca accomplish each year with the breadth of their activities presented an example for all the other Councils to follow.   The Internet Web Page and Newsletter our Member Maire Claire Pfeifer has put in place, not only warrants a Bravo Zulu, but was one of the star presentations at the Barcelona Conference which was looking  for a web page to serve all the Councils.   Our October Gala Ball was beholden to Spain’s Supreme Military Commanding Officer, General Felix Sanz Roldan for taking time out of his busy schedule to pass by and share his well chosen words regarding the mutual support and “Amistad” that exists between Spain and the US. It can be no coincidence that the date was the 211th anniversary of the first treaty between our two countries. The then Minister of Defense, Jose Bono gifted us a copy of this Treaty when he spoke to us in January of 2006   How great to have our Corporate Membership Logos on display that evening! We are constantly thankful to Lockheed Martin España and General Dynamics Santa Bárbara Sistemas for their support and the guests they introduce to us at our Meetings. By the time you read this we expect to have added EDS as a second Gold Corporate Member. Thank you.   Our Guest Speakers we feature later in this issue, but suffice it to say that the quality and breadth of what they bring to our meetings is rapidly making us one of the most popular speaker bureaus in Madrid, Membership input and suggestions for the future are both welcome and encouraged. Your input makes this Council the success it is.   We owe a very special thanks to Admiral Harry Ulrich, CINUSNAVEUR, for requesting the opportunity to speak to us. What a fabulous insight he gave us to the timely and urgent matters of terrorism on the high seas via commercial shipping vessels, Spain’s essential contribution to its monitoring,  terrorism operating of Africa, and treatment of immigration issues. Above all else we are thrilled with his completion of a promise to reinitiate and maintain future Sixth Fleet support to our preservation of the American Cemetery in Mahon.   I personally want to commend our Second Vice President representing Menorca, George Ferrara, for his unstinting endeavors not only with Admiral Ulrich and his staff, but with the Spanish Military and Political Authorities in the Balearics for their contribution to the American Cemetery preservation One has to go back almost 20 years to find the kind of support his has generated, A rousing “Well Done”, George   Our May Cocktail Reception returns to the US Ambassador’s Residence.  The Honorable Eduardo Aguirre has been a great supporter of our Council and we most appreciate his taking time to attend our Admiral Ulrich Dinner. His DCM Hugo Llorens was there as well and is coming to appreciate the People to People aspect and importance of what we achieve through most all of our activities, as did his predecessor Bob Manzanares. We look forward to working even closer with him in the future.   Again we are hosting the Sailor of the Year in Spain at the May Cocktail. We understand he may well be the Sailor of the Year for the entire US Navy so very much look forward to his attendance, and perhaps some comments on Today’s Navy.   A very welcome change to the make up of our Board of Directors has been the increasing number of Spaniards, which also reflects the ever increasing number in our membership. This is not only healthy but opens other avenues for us to follow in ever improving what we do. Both the past and current Commanding Officers of the NATO Group in Remates have now been present at a number of our affairs, as have the Commandante and his Second in Command of the Spanish Marines. Hopefully these will attract the Army and Air Force components of both our nations.   Repeating what I said the last time “Land locked as our Council is, I hope you will continue to help your Board in their efforts to think “outside of the box” in giving benefit to ALL our US Military (and I now add NATO) services and their endeavors within our very special host county, Spain.” Thank you.   Highest regards,   Thomas B. Denegre, III President