Honoring our Nation’s Military

July 28, 2015

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While there are many holidays during the course of the year honoring our brave men and women in uniform, we sometimes don’t need a special day to say “thank-you” for all they do for our country. To help celebrate the accomplishments of the armed forces, the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) offers a wide variety of publications and resources on our nation’s military.

In GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys), you can find a variety of documents related to the military. For example, the official record of President Obama’s authentication of Military Spouse Appreciation Day for May 8th is available, and you can read the President’s remarks on military members and their families. There is also a proclamation by President Obama entitled Armed Forces Day, 2015, where he thanks our military service members for their dedication to the United States and establishes May 16th as Armed Forces Day. Another document of interest is the Congressional Hearing regarding providing support for Veterans. The hearing, “From Military Service to Small Business Owners: Supporting America’s Veteran Entrepreneurs,” centers around giving veterans more opportunity and training in terms of running a business. By searching “Armed Forces Day” in FDsys, you can look at the various proclamations made by past Presidents, as well as any other related documents.

Using GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) you can access many military-related documents and publications. For example, a paper from the National Defense University titled “China Moves Out: Stepping Stones toward a new Maritime Strategy,” details the evolving tactics employed by the Chinese in their naval defense of their territory. For the techies, you might enjoy the free eBook, “Army Support of Military Cyberspace Operations: Joint Contexts and Global Escalation Implications.” Another piece of interest is called “New Realities: Energy Security in the 2010s and Implications for the U.S. Military.” This document from the U.S. Army War College focuses on the evolution of energy markets throughout the world and how the U.S. armed forces would likely respond. Search the CGP for other military-related documents and publications.

GPO also offers a great collection of military magazines and journals on its U.S. Government Bookstore. From a monthly subscription about the Navy to a single issue on the Air Force, the GPO Bookstore has every publication you need to stay up-to-date on our Nation’s armed forces. Some of the best-sellers include:

MILITARYREVIEWMAY2015108Military Review – An Army-written bimonthly publication focusing on the ever-changing tactics of land warfare.

SPECIALWARFAREAPRIL2015093Special Warfare – Aims to discuss various special-operations forces strategies, doctrine, and more (released by the United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg).

Layout 1Citizen Airman – Revolves around the various news and articles published by the Air Force Reserves for commercial media.

708-090-00077-8Joint Force Quarterly: A Professional Military Journal – Designed for national security professionals in and out of the U.S. Government to promote understanding of the integrated employment of land, sea, air, pace, and special operations forces.

Approach_2015_May-June_Page_01Approach: The Navy & Marine Corps Aviation Safety Magazine – Contains stories, editorials, and accurate information currently available on the subject of aviation accident prevention and safety practices.

 

 

 

While you relax poolside or next to the grill this summer, stay connected with GPO, and stay connected with the country.

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

You can obtain the resources mentioned in this blog by clicking on the links above or through any of these methods:

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.

Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

About the author: Giovanni Salvatori is a Summer Intern in GPO’s  Library Services & Content Management office.

 

Leave a Comment » | Center of Military History, Department of Defense, Military History, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Marines, U.S. National Guard, U.S. Navy | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

A Book about the Civil War – and a Mystery

May 3, 2010

I was at a book sale last week and, lover of obscure historical topics that I am, picked up a book on the Civil War in Maine. Yes, there was a naval battle in Maine in 1863: the battle of Portland Harbor, when Confederate raiders seized the revenue cutter Caleb Cushing and, after pursuit by Federal forces, set it afire. Seeing this incident mentioned in the table of contents reminded me that the vast Government Book Talk vaults (AKA my office) held a copy of U.S. Revenue Cutters of the Civil War – a Government book published years ago and a perfect subject for blogging.

Things got mysterious after I unearthed it, though. Upon examination, I couldn’t find any indication that it was a Government publication. In fact, the publisher seemed to be “Alised Enterprises.” Had I been deluding myself all these years? On the other hand, the book also stated that it was “A U.S. Coast Guard Bicentennial Publication” and had a foreword by the Coast Guard’s official historian.

After a quick perusal of the Internet, I relaxed. It had a SuDocs classification number – TD 5.30: C49, to be exact – which means GPO had cataloged it as a Government book. I then learned that, according to WorldCat, which bills itself as “the world’s largest library catalog”, U.S. Revenue Cutters of the Civil War was published in 1988 by Alised Enterprises and again in 1990 by the Coast Guard. I couldn’t find a publication date in my copy, but my guess is that it’s a Coast Guard printing and that the author, Florence Kern, may have done the book under contract. (If anyone can add to the solution of this bibliographic mystery, please let me know.)

Florence Kern wrote a number of short pamphlets about various revenue cutters, mostly of the Revolutionary era. This book does something similar for Civil war cutters but also covers which ships went North or South at the beginning of the war, their work as blockaders for the Union, and much more, including the battle of Portland Harbor. It’s based on extensive archival research and provides a good introduction to a little-known aspect of the war. I wouldn’t mind delving into some research on this topic myself – maybe once I finish reading that book about the Civil War in Maine…

I couldn’t find an online version of U.S. Revenue Cutters of the Civil War, which is long out of print, but used copies do seem to be available at reasonable prices – and through Federal depository libraries, of course.

GPO does have other, more recent books about the Civil War that are well worth reading, so feel free to take a look.

12 Comments | Civil War, U.S. Coast Guard | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by govbooktalk

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