The Navy Warrant Officer Mystery – 249 Years in the Making

What exactly is a Navy Warrant Officer and what do they do? To be honest, the definitions are all over the map. Quite often, even long serving officers struggle with what a warrant is, no less a Chief Warrant Officer. The basic thing to understand is a Warrant and a Chief Warrant are not the […]

Some “Very Cool navy traditions” as a civilian would view them

As the year 2024 comes to an end, we are finally settling down in our new home in South Carolina. One of the things that drew me to living here is the plethora of historical and veteran’s activities. We haven’t had much time to visit too many places yet, but a number of previous visits […]

Air Mail (revisited)

Part time sailors? There is no such thing

I’m still going through boxes of old paperwork and stuff I have saved over the years. Some of the items include pictures and mementoes from my years in the navy. One item that was in an old album was a faded copy of a Welcome Aboard letter from Charleston’s FBMSTC (Fleet Ballistic Missile Training Center). […]

What happens after Veteran’s Day?

Veteran’s Day in the United States is a great way to recognize all of the service and sacrifices of those people past and present who did so much for their country. Whether it’s a war time veteran or a peace time veteran, we recognize that they put their life on hold and put on a […]

Defending the Defenseless – Veteran’s Day 2024

Defending the Defenseless This will have to be quick since I am going to participate in the Veterans Day Service with the USSVI Charleston Base in Summerville SC this morning. All of my social media platforms are filled with wishes for a Happy Veteran’s Day this morning. I am truly grateful for each and every […]

And now we live here

Home 2024

Home We attended the highland Games in Charleston SC yesterday. It was a pretty nice affair held down on the waterfront in North Charleston. I hadn’t been to a gathering for a few years so hearing the pipes and drums was a special treat. I have to give the bands credit though. They played well […]

Random thoughts to wrap up October 2024

Happy October 30th Some random thoughts as I waited for a family member to come out of his medical procedure here at the Medical Center in Charleston. He has been in pain for a long time, and I hope they can find the root cause of the problem. I got a call from a very […]

Happy Navy Day 2024 – The 75th Anniversary of one of the worst bureaucratical decisions in history

I’ve written a lot about the history of Navy Day in the past including this article from 2019 The Last Navy Day – How Truman almost killed the US Navy This is the 75th anniversary of that last Navy Day and the criticality of having a strong navy is becoming clearer with every passing day. […]