Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy. Lao Tzu and the answer to Global Pandemics

Originally posted on theleansubmariner:
Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy. Lao Tzu Before it moves, hold it, Before it goes wrong, mold it, Drain off water in winter before it freezes, Before weeds grow, sow them to the breezes. You can deal with what has not happened, Can foresee Harmful events and not allow…

A Short Talk With Chief Petty Officers – 1918

If you have read the blog for any length of time, you are probably aware that I collect Blue Jackets manuals. Ever since I was issued my first one in 1972, I have found that this little blue instruction manual has been a great way to understand the training and expectations of sailors through the […]

February 1941- Ten Months to Infamy

February 1941- Ten Months to Infamy Husband Kimmel will certainly be remembered in American Naval History as long as any other figure. Admiral Kimmel was the man who was in charge of the Pacific Fleet on December 7th 1941. Admiral James O. Richardson was his predecessor in the position. Richardson was relieved of command in […]

Large Slow Targets – One Ship’s Story LST 808

I am reminded every once in a while that even though some ships are designed to fight the enemy directly, there is still a lot of honor and bravery in those ships that the Navy euphemistically classified as “Amphibs” and “Auxiliaries”. In my 1943 Bluejacket’s Manual, the vessels were not even listed in the ship […]

USS Pittsburgh – An Honored Name for Ships that Have Defended their Nation

The Pittsburgh Name has an Honored Place in Naval History The City of Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania is geographically located far from the open oceans. Despite the busy Three Rivers that offer pathways for shipping and recreation, no ocean going US Navy ships can easily navigate their way to the Point where the three rivers […]

The confession followed an all-night grilling. Justice in America 1921

Note: This story was deeply disturbing for me to write. Not only because of the seeming failures of the Justice Department but because I am afraid the United States Navy participated in a horrendous miscarriage of justice in the persecution of one of its sailors. I encourage you to look at the story and see […]

The Stirling Letter and How it Helped to Change the Navy

I am reading about the early American efforts to build submarines. There is a lot of great reference material out there that talks about how we entered the submarine race. In the beginning, there was a gap between the creative forces that invented the early technology and the reality of how to make the submarine […]

A super submarine! (well at least it was supposed to be in 1921)

You can be forgiven if you claim to be a submarine expert but have never heard the name Oswald Flamm before today. To be honest, neither had I before I ran into this interesting thread of information that gives a glimpse into his story. Oswald Flamm, Born July 30, 1861; Deceased June 12, 1935, was […]

The Path to War – Japan in January 1921

The Path to War Began in the Ashes of the Aftermath of the World War In 1921, the world was still reeling from the war that had consumed so much of its young men and resources. The European landscape had changed from all of the brutal fighting and the League of Nations proposed by Wilson […]

The quiet eternal epitaph – The Loss of HMS K5

It’s always been a risky business riding submarines. Since man decided to try and conquer the underwater kingdom of Neptune, there has always been an element of risk. Every nation has stories of boats that were sent out on missions that did not come back. Great Britain’s Royal Navy is no exception. Even from the […]