USA: Annual ANSO Symposium Cancelled

The President of the Association of Naval Services Officers announced the cancellation of their convention Feb. 14.

NAVADMIN 029/13 announces the official cancellation of the ANSO Convention which was scheduled to take place from May 6-10 in Arlington, Va.

“In light of the recent correspondence concerning our very drastic funding shortfall in our operations and maintenance account for the Navy, and the direction we all need to take to minimize, if not eliminate, our spending in non-mission essential areas, I have canceled this year’s face-to-face ANSO Symposium,” said retired Rear Adm. William Rodriguez, president of ANSO.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert issued his latest guidance Jan. 25 on yearlong continuing resolution and sequestration. In his message, all temporary travel, duties and professional training not deemed mission essential, to include attendance at conference, will be curtailed.

“Based on the challenges of facing the continuing resolution and potential impact of sequestration, the chief of Naval Operations has given us all clear direction,” said Cmdr. Angela Katson, Director of the Navy Office of Diversity and Inclusion. “The Navy greatly appreciates the mission and value that all the sea service affinity groups provide, and we appreciate the critical support ANSO has provided to our officers and Sailors since their inception.”

In light of Greenert’s Jan. 25 message, ANSO announced its decision Jan. 30 to cancel the 2013 in-person convention. ANSO is currently exploring alternatives to the 2013 convention, including a possible webinar symposium.

“Our ANSO board of directors and I are exploring ways to continue our symposium in a virtual way, in lieu of having a face-to-face symposium this year,” said Rodriguez. “Our focus for our 2013 ‘virtual’ symposium, similar to our 2012 symposium, will maintain our course of continuing to grow our current sea service hispanics to be tomorrow’s sea service leaders, even during these challenging fiscal times.”

“We look forward to working with ANSO as they develop new, innovative ways to move forward with our shared mission in the face of this challenging fiscal environment,” said Katson.

ANSO is continuing planning for a 2014 convention to be held in Washington, D.C.

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Naval Today Staff, February 15, 2013; Image: Navy