Address to a Haggis

From 1961 – 1992, two cultures were given the opportunity to live side by side and learn from each other at a place called Holy Loch Scotland The locals taught the incoming Yanks how to eat Fish and Chips, the right way to drink Scotch, and a wee bit about the old ways. The Yanks […]

Gold! There’s Gold out there!

January 24 1848 is a day that will live forever as one that changed American history. John Sutter had hired a millwright named James Marshall to construct a sawmill along the south fork of the American River. The water was not flowing in the right vicinity so they cut a fresh millrace. The timber from […]

G’day Mate, mind the dingos

I can’t possibly imagine two places on earth that are more opposite then Diego Garcia and Perth Australia. Finishing up a quick run somewhere in the Indian Ocean and pulling up next to a destroyer tender was welcome after all the excitement, but you quickly come to realize that if there was an end to […]

You are sooooo dumb!

1968 is often called one of the most pivotal years in the second half of the 20th century. Even by today’s post 911 standards, many key events happened that would shape the way American’s would view themselves and our place in the world. January kicked off the whirlwind of events that literally transformed us from […]

USS George Washington SSBN 598

You never forget your first… When I requested a submarine for my first assignment after sub school , I wanted to be on a Diesel Boat first, a fast attack second, and a Boomer third preferably a 640 class. I vaguely remember an old salt at a bar in Groton talking about how beautiful Key […]

Our National Shame… oops sorry, I meant to say “Happy Veteran’s Day”

“Happy Veterans Day” the bright eyed young woman at the check out stand says. She sees my US Navy emblem on my hat. I am not sure why I wore the hat today except maybe out of a self indulgent need to show that I am a veteran. I am incredibly proud of my service […]

Steam Will Replace Sails? Madness!!!

An Ohio class submarine slips its mooring next to the Delta pier in Bangor Washington. Silently, she glides down the flat calm waters of the Hood Canal on her way to the open ocean. This five hundred sixty foot vessel will soon submerge and begin her primary mission. For over fifty years, ships like this […]

122 Years of Continuous Improvement

Continuous Improvement for over 122 Years While submarines have existed in one form or another for a very long time, the US Navy formalized the marriage of technologies that would lead to the modern steel warhorses that range the oceans of the world today. After a series of trials in the late 1800’s, a man […]