Alfred T. Mahan
Alfred T. Mahan was born on September 27, 1840, in West Point, New York. Alfred was a US Navy leader in which he joined in the late 1850s. He served for almost 40 years. When the topic of expanding the military came up Alfred was very vocal about expanding. As a result the US built nine steel hulled crusaders which they started to build in 1883, and they finished them in 1890. Also, he wrote a book called Influence of Sea Power which was published in 1890. Since the crusaders were built it transformed the US into the world's largest naval power. He died on December 1, 1914. Alfred was 74 when he died.
The Mahan Hall was named in his honor at the US Navel Academy. The A.T. Mahan High School at Keflavik Naval Station in Iceland was named in his honor. The Naval Sea Cadet Corps unit that is in Albany, NY has his name, the Mahan Division.
I think that if Alfred wasn't a Navy leader and wasn't vocal in expanding the US military the military would have expanded, but it would have been later.
Source of pics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alfred-Thayer-Mahan.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uZSn5cK98KU/S_cPkKiR05I/AAAAAAAAKAs/SLl-ZlZK17o/s320/mahan.JPG
Information source
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Thayer_Mahan#Honors
The Americans Reconstruction to the 21st Century by: McDougal Littell
Comments
Good choice! A little brief perhaps but good.