Nebraska Admiral is Nebraska's highest honor, and an honorary title bestowed upon individuals by approval of the Governor of Nebraska, the only triply landlocked U.S. state. It is not a military rank, requires no duties, and carries with it no pay or other compensation. Admirals have the option of joining the Nebraska Admirals Association, a non-profit organization that promotes "The Good Life" of Nebraska. The award certificate describes the honor in a tongue-in-cheek fashion: The use of the title of admiral, instead of some other high-ranking military title, is a humorously ironic reference to the fact that Nebraska has no navy, both because it is landlocked and has no oceans, seas or major lakes to defend, and because it relies on the United States Armed Forces for defense and has had no active state defense force since 1972.
History
The Great Navy of the State of Nebraska was created in 1931. The Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska at that time, Theodore W. Metcalfe, was serving as Acting Governor of Nebraska while GovernorCharles W. Bryan was outside the state. At the urging of some of his friends, he appointed "20 to 25 prominent Nebraskans" as Nebraska Admirals. Commissions in the Nebraska Navy have always been given to prominent citizens both inside and outside of Nebraska. However, anyone can request or be nominated for an admiralship as long as he or she has "contributed in some way to the state, promote the Good Life in Nebraska, and warrant recognition as determined by the Governor".
Charitable activities
The Nebraska Admirals Association was established in 1986. It is a 501 non-profit organization that is devoted to a number of causes, including promoting Nebraska products, educational activities, awarding scholarships, promoting tourism, and providing support for ships and sailors in the United States Navy named after Nebraska-related entities.
Current guidelines for Admiralships
As of January 2015, Governor Pete Ricketts requires the following criteria for awarding an Admiralship:
The nominator or nominee must be a resident of Nebraska.
Self-nominations will not be honored.
Those who are nominating persons for Admiralships will need to send the request by U.S. postal mail or present it to the Governor's Office. E-mail requests will not be accepted. All requests must be in writing.
If the date for the Admiralship is not specifically requested, the received date will be used on the certificate.
The Governor retains full discretion for any Admiralship requests.
The Governor's Office requests notice of two to three weeks to process Admiralships.
Notable admirals
According to the Nebraska Admiral Association, notable admirals include:
and former Gambian PresidentYahya Jammeh were both reportedly granted a Nebraska Admiralship. Both Nguema and Jammeh have been criticized for their dictatorial rule over their respective countries, and the reported granting of the admiralship to Jammeh by Governor Dave Heineman drew the criticism of the state's Democratic Party leader. Governor Pete Ricketts revoked admiralship from two women, Amanda Gailey and Courtney Lawton, in January 2018, less than a month after the award. The honor was revoked, according to the governor's spokesman, because the two had protested the appearance of Turning Point USA, a conservative group that maintains a Professor Watchlist, on the campus of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The governor's office had no enforcement power to retrieve the certificates presented to Gailey and Lawton
