<p>BZ to ADM. Fowler for thinking outside the box!!</p>
<p>Annapolis Capital</p>
<p>The Naval Academy is adding a graphic novel and a new television ad to its arsenal of recruiting tools.</p>
<p>Briefing reporters yesterday, academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Jeffrey L. Fowler outlined the challenge before him.</p>
<p>"How do we market the Naval Academy to a young, achieving group?" he asked.</p>
<p>"We cannot continue to do business the way we have in the past and get their attention," he said.</p>
<p>To accomplish its recruiting mission, the academy is commissioning a new graphic novel. The plot: a young person sees what the world would be like if he did not choose a life of service.</p>
<p>"They can see what happens to America if they don't choose to be leaders," Adm. Fowler said.</p>
<p>Adm. Fowler did not provide details about who is writing the story or drawing illustrations for the book, which is expected out this fall.</p>
<p>Graphic novels typically combine the story of a traditional novel with comic-style illustrations. The art form is rather sophisticated and has been growing in popularity for decades, especially in Japan.</p>
<p><i>Time </i>magazine listed the graphic novel "Watchman" as one of the 100 most important pieces of literature for 2005.</p>
<p>When told about the academy's undertaking, Steve Anderson, owner of Third Eye Comics in Annapolis, said "Awesome!"</p>
<p>"I think it might catch their attention," Mr. Anderson said of young people in their mid- and late-teens.</p>
<p>"But, it better be a really good story, and the graphics had better be good," Mr. Anderson said. "It had better be good because comics sell by word of mouth."</p>
<p>Mr. Anderson said readers of graphic novels typically range from late-teens to middle age, and they are a discerning bunch.</p>
<p>"It could be very effective if it is realistic - if it is all fluff, it won't be," he said of the academy's proposed book.</p>
<p>Adm. Fowler said the Naval Academy has to compete with some of the country's best colleges for students, and he's looking for whatever tools will help, especially in reaching remote parts of the country, and in appealing to minorities.</p>
<p>"I don't need more applications, just to get more applications. I need more applications from the underrepresented geography of America," Adm. Fowler said, "and I need more from what I consider underrepresented ethnic and racial minorities."</p>
<p>While the academy is receiving an abundance of applications - 10,000 have already been received for roughly 1,200 seats in next year's class - some parts of the country, and some ethnic groups, are not applying in great numbers.</p>
<p>Adm. Fowler was the Navy's top recruiter during a previous assignment and, at the Pentagon's behest, he has made recruiting more minority students a top priority during his tenure leading the academy.</p>
<p>Briefing reporters inside the Wesley Brown Field House, which was named for the academy's first African-American graduate, Adm. Fowler said about 28 percent of the Class of 2012 are minorities, but the Navy's enlisted force consists of about 47 percent minorities.</p>
<p>During the briefing, Adm. Fowler also showed a new 60-second recruiting ad that will run during televised football games.</p>
<p>The video featured women and minorities, and shows midshipmen evolving into leaders.</p>
<p>In one scene, a group of Navy football players morphs into a Marine Corps squad, and in another a smiling young woman went from being a midshipman to being a pilot in the cockpit of a jet fighter.</p>
<p>In the background, the Naval Academy Gospel Choir sang hauntingly:</p>
<p>"My country, tis of thee</p>
<p>Sweet land of liberty</p>
<p>Of thee I sing."</p>
<p>Fowler's watch</p>
<p>While spending considerable time discussing the academy's recruitment efforts during the media briefing, Adm. Fowler also reviewed his 15 months as superintendent.</p>
<p>Last year, he reduced the time mids had for personal liberty and increased the number of meals they had to eat in the mess hall, as well as the amount of time they had to spend studying.</p>
<p>The Brigade of Midshipmen returned to classes on Monday, and Adm. Fowler said he is not about to lower his standards this year.</p>
<p>Instead, he said, he wants to model midshipmen training after the football team, where people condition and practice constantly, and work together for a common goal.</p>
<p>"I want everyone at the Naval Academy to be Division I leaders," he said using the football metaphor.</p>
<p>Of the tighter policy he implemented 12 months ago, he said, "I didn't change it for a random purpose. We changed the meals and the study hours for a specific purpose."</p>
<p>The result, he said, is that older mids are mentoring younger ones and are becoming better leaders in the process.</p>
<p>There is more camaraderie among the 4,300-member Brigade of Midshipmen now than before, he said.</p>
<p>When asked about the ACLU's recent challenge to the academy's policy of having chaplains deliver a nondenominational prayer before the noontime meal, Adm. Fowler said he isn't going to change the practice.</p>
<p>"We don't see anything wrong with it," he said.</p>