WASHINGTON – The Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC)
began a new chapter, June 27, as its director of two years retired during a
ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard.
Capt. Henry J. Hendrix, Ph.D., was assigned as NHHC’s
director in the wake of a Navy Inspector General investigation in 2011 that
revealed its archives, artifacts, art and other historic holdings were at high
risk or, in some cases, already deteriorating under substandard conditions and
care.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work, the ceremony’s guest
speaker, was the Under Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) in 2011 and knew Hendrix
who was serving on the SECNAV staff.
"I was always impressed by his passion for maritime
history, and his ideas and vision on how the Navy needed to never lose focus on
its heritage.” said Work, who recommended Hendrix for the position of NHHC
director.
"I knew there was nobody better suited to come over to
NHHC because of the way he approached problems. Thankfully, for the Navy and
for our country's rich maritime heritage, he took the job,” said Work. “Under Jerry's direction, the Naval History
and Heritage Command dramatically improved the condition and the awareness of
the Navy's historical artifacts and heritage, all while advancing historical
scholarship in the Navy, and public outreach."
During his remarks, Hendrix discussed the challenges the
command faced and the progress that has been made.
“The record is clear that the staff of the Naval History and
Heritage Command and its predecessor organization had been working for years
under difficult conditions to promote our history and preserve our art and
artifacts, but had lacked resources to properly do so,” said Hendrix. “I am
proud to have added my talent to yours and achieved some modicum of success.
Although we are far from healthy yet, we still have a long way to go.”
Still, the Navy recognizes the work done so far and
appreciation for that effort was illustrated for those attending the ceremony,
when Director of the Navy Staff Vice Adm. Scott Swift formally presented the
command with the Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC). Signed by the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm.
Jonathan Greenert, the award citation recognizes the meritorious service of the
people assigned to the headquarters staff and its nine museums from December
2011 to January 2014 who "first stabilized and then systematically
improved the Navy's historical and heritage assets that were in jeopardy in
2011."
Hendrix believes the MUC represents the dedication of the
entire NHHC team and says he was proud to be a part of it.
“Theodore Roosevelt said great value is found in spending
oneself in a worthy cause,” said Hendrix. “Well this was a worthy cause and I
thank all of you for laboring so hard to preserve and promote our Navy’s
history.”
For Work, the progress made by the command is something he,
as a historian himself, deeply appreciates.
"I want to express my personal gratitude and
appreciation to Jerry Hendrix for everything he has done, for taking on this
critical job, and for his professionalism and personal dedication which I think
has really set NHHC on a great track,” said Work. “And while I’m here, I also want to commend
all the men and women who work at NHHC for the millions of man-hours of work
behind these accomplishments. I’m just in awe of what you’ve done and what you
will do.”
Hendrix was careful in the planning of the ceremony to
ensure it was used as an opportunity to celebrate the Navy family. For him that family begins with his family
from Indiana who he thanked in his remarks for the profound impact they have
had on his life.
He said the most important part of the family to him is his
wife Penny and their daughters Michaela and Amanda.
“My daughters are a blessing to me,” he said. “They made me
want to be a better man, held me to a higher standard, taught me patience,
delighted me, and distracted me from my concerns. To see them happy and achieve great things is
better than any diploma or medal I have ever received and I am so proud of you
both.
“And then there’s Penny,” he continued. “For 24 years you
have always been at my side. Only you know what this day means to me -- torn as
I am inside -- and only you can see me through this, for you are the most
important part of my heart. Thank you
for your service to our nation, and your support, sacrifice and love for me and
our children.”
The other important part of the Navy family, said Hendrix
are the professional Sailors and Navy civilians he served with through his
26-year career.
After recognizing some of them he asked them all to stand
and said, “Mom and Dad, you sent away one son; I show you many sons and
daughters bonded by shared sacrifice. Daughters, you think me protective?
Sometimes overprotective? Look around
you, these were your protectors -- all of our protectors, stretching back to
the dawn of the republic and their service continues to this day. It has been my high honor to serve among you,
you have never been out of my mind, and I will love you forever.”
For the last two years of his career, the focus of his
service and of those with whom he has served has been investing in improvements
to the processes and infrastructure of naval history. He admits there is much work to be done, but
takes pride in that the command now has a strong foundation on which to build
its future.
Progress made under Hendrix’ leadership included:
• NHHC
restructured its organization to better align form, fit and function. Today,
the headquarters is made up of collection management, museum system operations,
histories and archives, and communication and outreach divisions with special
assistants for historic ships and aircraft maintenance, facilities, human
capital and other support functions.
• Launched
significant phased improvement projects to better house crucial holdings,
including the naval archives. Although addressing the facilities and condition
of the archives required their closing, beginning earlier this month a phased
reopening began with the expectation the entire archive will once again be
accessible later this fall.
• With the
support from the Defense Logistics Agency, NHHC recently announced the
consolidation of its collection of more than 300,000 artifacts from multiple
locations into a single tailored facility located in Richmond, Va. which will
offers a generational leap forward for the conservation, preservation, and
management of NHHC holdings with proper environmental controls for high risk
artifacts, appropriate shelving and storage, and an area for conserving and
preserving the artifacts. The consolidation will take roughly 18 months to
complete.
• With the
objective of getting to baseline capability, the command’s Histories Branch has
been hiring additional historians and project managers, while leveraging
contract vehicles to continue reducing existing backlogs of published
documents.
• The command
is hiring additional curators and conservators, while using additional contract
support as needed to consolidate artifact storage, and reduce the backlog of
artifacts requiring accessioning meanwhile the staff has properly accessioned
100% of newly acquired artifacts since 2011.
• Validated
and published facilities requirements for preserving documents, books, and
artifacts. Completed renovation work includes: fire protection and suppression
systems in several Washington Navy Yard buildings and improved HVAC in library
special collections room, historic weapons vault, uniform storage room, and
artifact room.
• Launched
a program to assess the material condition and improve the safety of the more
than 1,200 historic aircraft on loan around the world while providing essential
staff support for ongoing maintenance and availabilities for USS Constitution
and historic ship Nautilus.
• Inspired
by the operating model of the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum System
Operations division and the nine NHHC museums are hiring additional exhibit
specialists and curators, implementing an annual museum action plan and
Pursuing accreditation by American Alliance of Museums for all NHHC museums by
2020 (five of 10 are currently accredited).
• Aggressively
sharing the story of the Navy and its rich history with a forward leaning
communication approach incorporating outreach opportunities, social media,
internal and external media engagements, book and information product
publishing, and a pending top-to-bottom redesign of the command’s antiquated
web site all designed to raise awareness of the importance of naval history
among the Navy and the nation’s leaders, Sailors past and present and the
American public.
Recruitment for Hendrix’s replacement is nearly complete,
and an announcement of a new NHHC director is expected soon.
Hendrix has not announced what he’ll pursue next.
The Naval History and Heritage Command, located at the
Washington Navy Yard, is responsible for the preservation, analysis, and
dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage. It provides the knowledge
foundation for the Navy by maintaining historically relevant resources and
products that reflect the Navy's unique and enduring contributions through the
nation's history, and supports the Fleet by assisting with and delivering
professional research, analysis, and interpretive services.
NHHC is composed of many activities including the Navy
Department Library, the Navy Operational Archives, the Navy art and artifact
collections, underwater archeology, Navy histories, nine museums, USS
Constitution repair facility and the historic ship Nautilus.
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