ANSO is a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to the recruitment, retention and promotion of Hispanics and Latinos across all ranks of the United States Sea Services.
Our Core Values: Leadership, Excellence, and Dedication.
Leadership: We are committed to leading and mentoring our Officers, Enlisted, Civilians, and Youth – individually and collectively. We add value and maintain relevance to our Sea Services and community by enhancing integrity, respect, and moral courage throughout our members and those we lead.
Excellence: We strive for continuous improvement and seek to be a change agent for innovations to improve the readiness of the Sea Services through the recruitment, retention, and professional development of Hispanics.
Dedication: Dedication is our foundation. We fervently strive to facilitate and achieve greater purpose for Hispanics in service to our nation, to members of the Sea Services, and to the Hispanic community. We stay the course, and seek to be a long-term, sustaining, and relevant influence for our Services and members.
Our Five Pillars
Resources: To enhance ANSO visibility, foster relationships with other affinity groups and generate sponsorship to remain functional and relevant to the Sea Services.
Membership (internal communication): To sustain and increase a diverse and active ANSO membership through local chapter guidance, support, and outreach within the Sea Services.
Recruitment (external communication): To achieve an officer corps makeup that reflects the enlisted work force it leads.
Professional Development: To provide networking, mentoring, training and other professional opportunities which enhance competitiveness for advancement and assignment, and support members in reaching their personal and professional goals.
Community Outreach: To develop and grow long term relationships with key centers of influence, mentorship and outreach activities within Hispanic communities.
Our History
Early in 1980 the United States Navy (USN) was concerned about the lack of Hispanic representation within their officer corps and Hispanic applicants for officer programs. Concerned with this situation, then Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Edward Hidalgo, convened the Hispanic Officer Recruitment Conference (HORC) in December 1980. The HORC was tasked to closely evaluate the problem, develop different initiatives and solve the USN’s problem of attracting qualified Hispanics to apply to the USN’s officer programs.
One of the reasons Mr. Hidalgo was especially concerned with the lack of Hispanics in the Navy’s officer corps was because he was intimately familiar with the situation. Mr. Hidalgo was not only of Hispanic descent, but had served in the USN as an air combat intelligence officer aboard the USS Enterprise from 1943 to 1945. Among the HORC’s recommendations was the establishment of an association composed of Hispanic officers that could reach out to Hispanic communities to attract qualified Hispanics to apply to the Sea Services’ officer programs. The Sea Services are comprised of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and the U.S. Merchant Marine. Shortly after the HORC submitted their report on February 12, 1981, Secretary Hidalgo officially established the Association of Naval Services Officers.