Thomas J. Cutler

Thomas Joshua Cutler is a retired United States naval officer, naval historian, author, and editor. He is "one of the most prolific authors in the history of the Naval Institute Press in terms of sold books."^[1]

Family, early life, and education

The son of Torrence Manasseh and Helen Margaret (Gans) Cutler, Thomas J. Cutler was born in Baltimore, Maryland on 30 August 1947. He graduated from Towson State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969 and later earned a Master of Arts degree at Norwich University in 1988. He married Deborah Walsh Welch Cutler in 1971 and the couple had two children.^[2]

Naval career and education

Cutler enlisted in the United States Navy in 1965 and rose to become a Gunner's Mate Second Class. Commissioned an ensign in 1969, he rose through the officer grades until he was commissioned a lieutenant commander in 1979 remaining on active duty until 1981. His active duty included assignments included, shore duty in Vietnam during the Vietnam War, command of small craft, and while at the United States Naval Academy, he was awarded the William P. Clements Award for Excellence in Education (military teacher of the year).^[3]

Civilian career

Cutler served between 1981 and 1990 at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he was senior lecturer and Executive Assistant to the Chairman of the Seamanship and Navigation Department, and later, Associate Chairman of the History Department. Cutler founded and served as the first Director of the Walbrook Maritime Academy in Baltimore, later commanding the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps unit there. In 1981, he became an associate editor of the U.S. Naval Institute and rose to become the Institute's Director of Professional Publishing.^[4]

Awards

• William P. Clements Award for Excellence in Education, United States Naval Academy military teacher of the year.
• Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Literary Achievement, 1989
• U.S. Naval Institute Press Author of the Year
• U.S. Maritime Literature Award
• Commodore Dudley W. Knox Naval History Lifetime Achievement Award, 2015^[5]

Publications

The Bluejacket's Manual, 24th edition.

• Brown Water, Black Berets: Coastal & Riverine Warfare in Vietnam (Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 1989)
• The U.S. Naval Academy: An Illustrated History, by Jack Sweetman, 2nd edition, revised by Thomas J. Cutler (Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 1995)
• The Battle of Leyte Gulf, 23-26 October 1944 (New York: HarperCollins, 1994, 1996; Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 2001)
• Dutton's Nautical Navigation, 15th edition, edited by Thmas J. Cutler (Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 2004)
• Dictionary of Naval Abbreviations compiled by Deborah W. Cutler and Thomas J. Cutler (Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute and Naval Historical Center, 2005)
• Dictionary of Naval Terms 6th edition, edited by Deborah W. Cutler and Thomas J. Cutler (Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 2005)
• A Sailor's History of the U.S. Navy (Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 2005)
• NavCivGuide: A Handbook for Civilians in the U.S. Navy(Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 2008)
• The Bluejacket's Manual 22nd, 23rd (Centennial), and 24th editions. (Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute)
• The Citizen's Guide to the U.S. Navy (Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 2012)
• The U.S. Naval Institute on the U.S. Naval Academy, edited by Thomas J. Cutler (Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 2015)
• The U.S. Naval Institute on Naval Strategy, edited by Thomas J. Cutler (Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 2015)
• The U.S. Naval Institute on Naval Leadership, edited by Thomas J. Cutler (Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 2015)
• The U.S. Naval Institute on Naval Command, edited by Thomas J. Cutler (Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 2016)

Some of Cutler's works have been selections of the History Book Club, Military Book Club, and Book of the Month Club.

References

1. "2015 Dudley W. Knox Medal Recipients," Pull Together: Newsletter of the Naval Historical Foundation, vol. 54. no. 3 (Summer 2015), p. A-5
2. Marquis Who's Who in the East online
3. "Thomas J. Cutler - U.S. Naval Institute".
4. Ibid.
5. "Knox Lifetime Achievement Awards Honor Naval Institute Authors". 21 September 2015.