The final watch.

The final watch. All of us who ever served on submarines experienced the first watch. The training we received mostly prepared us for that watch. Technical details, readings and normal operations were the expected results. But in the back of our minds, we were trained for the unexpected. What if a system failed. What if […]

April 27, 1993: It was supposed to be a glorious day

It was supposed to be a glorious day. My dream of being a commissioned naval officer had certainly yielded some unexpected outcomes. I had gone from being a pretty respected Machinist Mate Chief to being a focus for one man’s vitriol. The Chief Engineer that I ended up working for on the Hunley was not […]

Medal of Honor Awardee Frank William Crilley – A Diving Pioneer

Of all the fears I have ever had, being trapped in a sunken submarine is one of the biggest. The second biggest fear is finding out firsthand where crush depth is (My submariner nephews always accused me of serving on the both the Turtle and the Holland. This is dedicated to them.) Over the course […]

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 […]

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 […]

A Great Reunion – Well, Mostly Great

The 2024 Gathering of the Saints is finally over. I have been absent from the keyboard for a while as we executed our latest reunion in Charleston SC. The planning for the reunion started at the end of 2023 and was non-stop until the very last day of the event. One thing about reunions is […]

Tradition!

Tradition! One of my great loves is old school musicals that made it to the big screen. Probably because I was an actor in high school and a few rare times since then. But one of my favorite musicals of all time was Fiddler on the Roof. What a great story line about overcoming great […]

“to become a leader, you must learn the following essential points: (What a bunch of antiquated ideas!)

As my regular readers probably already know, I collect Bluejackets Manuals. I’m lucky enough to have one from both of my grandfather’s eras as well as a few from my dad’s. The ones from their generation were produced by the United States Naval Institute in Annapolis Maryland. The oldest one in my collection was […]

Navy Training, Sir (Adventures in learning)

Navy Training, Sir One of my favorite movies of all time is Stripes and one of the best lines in the movie is when the platoon completes their razzle dazzle maneuver, and the general asks where they have been. Eventually Bill Murray shouts: Army Training sir.” I’m assured by my friend Phillip Dockter that the […]

What is a Warrant Officer? A View from the Navy

We have a great group here in the Pittsbugh Area called the Veteran’s Breakfast Club. Men and women of all branches of the service and all eras gather together for breakfast and conversations. I was featured earlier before the Pandemic and had an opportunity to talk about my submarine service. The have on line and […]