Who We Are - Greater Austin Council

Welcome aboard! We are the Greater Austin Council of the Navy League of the United States. We received our charter on 26 January 1962 and are one of 250 Navy League of the United States councils located around the world. Members of the Council largely hail from an eight county area centered around Austin, Texas.

The Council, originally named the Austin Texas Council during 1962-1999 and called the Greater Central Texas Council during 2000-2009, assumed its current name to better reflect its geographic identity with the City of Austin and the adjacent counties which make up Greater Austin. The Council's new name, Navy League of the United States, Greater Austin Council was approved by the Navy League of the United States in May 2009.

The Council pursues the four elements of the Navy League's mission:

• Educate the public and public officials of the necessity of Sea Power to our Nation's economy and security.
• Support the men and women of the Sea Services
• Provide support and assistance to the Sea Services
• Support youth programs (NROTC, JROTC, Naval Sea Cadet Corps)

The Council conducts six educational programs each year. The programs, dinner meetings at the Austin Woman's Club, feature flag and general officers, senior enlisted advisers, DOD officials, historians, and others with insight or affiliation with the Sea Services.

USS Austin (LPD-4), our city's namesake ship, adopted and supported by the Council over many years was decommissioned in Norfolk, Virginia after 41 years of distinguished service on 27 September 2006. She was replaced in the fleet by USS San Antonio (LPD-17), commissioned at Ingleside, Texas on 14 January 2006. The Council recently supported and participated on the Commissioning Committee of the USS Texas (SSN-775) which was commissioned at Galveston, Texas on 9 September 2006.

The Council has coordinated with the City of Austin and the U. S. Navy Historical Center to bring items from the USS Austin such as the ship's bell, flags and pennants, quarterdeck nameplate, an oil painting of the ship, and other artifacts to Austin for display at the City Hall. Unfortunately, the City of Austin unilaterally closed the exhibit and returned the artifacts to the Naval Historical Center. The formal adoption of another U. S. Navy ship by the Council is being explored through an awareness campaign known as "Where in the World is USS Austin?".