The Anchor’s Missing Sir

Anchors Aweigh is described as the response to the order to weigh anchor when the anchor has been tripped and is no longer attached to the bottom. I am unaware of there is an official response if the anchor is no longer attached to the ship. A number of four letter expletives come to mind, […]

The Common Thread

I was about five years old when the work was started that created the Polaris Missile Submarine Program. If you think about the complexities of that time frame, there were six distinct challenges facing the Navy and their civilian counterparts. Despite the advent of nuclear power, the systems that needed to be created were all […]

Follow the leader

All of us remember that children’s game called follow the leader. Someone played the role as leader and of course everyone else had to follow their lead. During the Cold War the Soviets played this game and played it fairly well. The submarines they developed always seemed to be strikingly familiar with the boats we […]

Torpedo in the water!

“Conn sonar, Torpedo in the water bearing Mark 140 degrees” Conn Aye, Chief of the Watch, sound battle stations, Diving Officer Commence Emergency Evasion Maneuvers” “Conn sonar, the weapon has acquisition, estimated time to impact is twenty seconds” “Diving Officer, emergency deep” Anyone who has ever watched “Hunt for Red October” (and I know most […]

We seem to be stuck.

No matter what endeavor you are undertaking, these are words you really don’t want to hear. Anyone who follows submarine history at all can tell you about one of the most famous groundings in modern history. A Soviet era submarine (Classified Whiskey Class by NATO) found herself on the rocks near the largest Swedish Navy […]

Liberty call

Its been a good week here at TLS. In just a few weeks, the site managed to double its “Hits” thanks to visitors like you. I am taking a couple of days off for some important missions around the house. But TLS will be back on Moday morning . Hope to see you then Mac […]

Boom

Submarines operate for extended periods of time under the ocean. This ability gives them the advantage of stealth in performing her missions. Since even the most modern submarine requires people to operate it, providing the basics of life while submerged has always been a challenge. Think about those World War 2 movies where the Destroyer […]

Blinders? Why no, these are my new leadership Goggles!

For over a century the leadership of the U.S. Army and Navy were in agreement about how the United States coast would be managed: the Army would defend the beaches and out to the range of their coastal guns, and the Navy would protect anything beyond that range. The advent of the airplane challenged that […]

Turn On Your GPS

A few weeks ago, we went up to the Finger Lakes region of New York. Neither of us had ever been there before so we did what we have always done. One of us will go on either Yahoo or MapQuest and see what the best route is. I should point out immediately that we […]

You Need More Mustangs

I have a great friend and mentor in Michigan who taught me a lot about systems and change. One of the things he talks about is the change that goes on in an organization during its journey from an entrepreneurial adventure to one that is more established. If you think about it, a brand new […]