Naval Order of the US – Northwest

On 7 December, CAPT Jim McGinnis, MSC, USN, (Ret.), received command of the NOUS Northwest Commandery from CAPT John C. Laible, USN, (Ret.).

In recognition of CAPT Laible’s command tour of NOUS Northwest, Commander General Colonel Allan Cruz, USMC (Ret), had earlier presented CAPT Laible with the annual CAPT Jan Armstrong Memorial Award during the 2020 National Congress. The award reads: “In recognition of outstanding local effort and success achieved in one or more of the following: Membership Growth, Communications, Annual Congress Support, Local and/or National Commandery Initiatives. Bravo Zulu!”

CAPT McGinnis takes over with a distinct family legacy in the Naval Order. His great-great-grandfather, Civil War veteran Sergeant Charles Calhoun Philbrook, USMC, and son Frederick Bacon Philbrook were two of the three original founders of the Naval Order of the United States. Frederick’s diary entry for March 1903 describes the development of the organization:

“Attended meeting and Smoke talk of Massachusetts Commandery Naval Order of the United States at the Boston Athletic Association. A paper was read to the group illustrating the naval service of Captain John Paul Jones and some other Ship Commanders 1775-1903. Lunch was served in the Fencing Room.”

CAPT McGinnis said that “The take home message of this diary entry is that the NOUS founders were doing in 1903 precisely what the NOUS Northwest group is doing again in the year 2020, discussing the history and traditions of the United States’ Maritime Services.”

NOUS Northwest salutes CAPT Laible for his two years of leadership to the Commandery, a particularly challenging assignment during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also welcome CAPT McGinnis’s leadership and vision going forward in continuing the organizations’ unique tradition of studying and honoring our Naval and Maritime Services.