Who’s sail it is anyway?

Warning: Some salty language mixed with the metaphors and memories… you have been warned One of my favorite submarine memorials has a personal connection. I qualified in 1974 on board the USS George Washington somewhere in the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean. My joy at the time was that the grueling journey was over […]

These are mine

These are mine. I share them with all who have gone through the same crucible. They (like us) were forged in pressure. They were quenched in the waters of the darkest parts of the ocean. They symbolize a tradition that is shared by only a few. Fire, flooding and the crashing of the waves above […]

Coming Home – Saying Goodbye to the USS Pittsburgh SSN 720

Coming Home It’s been over 25 years since I retired from the Navy. We have traveled and lived all over the country since then but Western Pennsylvania has been “where I live” for the past six plus years. I had never intended to come back here even though it was where I grew up. Eighteen […]

What’s in a name? The story of how the most famous submarine in modern history was named

What’s in a name? All Navy ships have a designation. Through the years, technology and advances in design have created the need for new designations. The book Dictionary of American naval fighting ships. v.1. United States categorized all of the ship types used in the American Navy’s history as of 1959. As far as submarines, […]

2020 – An Epic New Year

2020 – The year of the Fast Attack Coming Soon

USS Sam Rayburn SSBN 635 – Mr. Sam

USS Sam Rayburn SSBN 635 This is the last of the 41 for Freedom Boats that was memorialized in Admiral Rickover’s book the Eminent Americans. It’s been a fascinating year learning more about each of the boats but more importantly, it’s been an enlightening year to learn much more about the men that the boats […]

USS George C. Marshall SSBN 654 – Patience not weakness

Sixty years ago today, America lost one of its greatest citizens. He would not live to see the submarine that would later bear his name. But the work that he did for the nation ensured that freedom and liberty for many people would be assured. From his day as a cadet at the Virginia […]

USS Will Rogers SSBN 659 – Protecting the big honest majority

Why name a submarine “Will Rogers”? I have been reading a lot of background material on Will Rogers in an attempt to understand why his name was included in the list of Eminent Americans (as Admiral Rickover famously named the men from the 41 for Freedom boats). Many of the men who were chosen for […]

USS Henry L. Stimson SSBN 655 “to keep peace you must be strong to resist aggression”

In a world where politics has become more toxic than a bucket full of radioactive waste mixed with every known chemical harmful to mankind, the example that Henry L. Stimson provided is the one shining light that still stands out like a beacon. Stimson was a war veteran, a statesman, a leader, and a man […]

October 4, 1957 – The event that pushed America to Polaris

Rather than being a sign of achievement, Sputnik created a universal atmosphere of fear in the Western nations. The fear was that if the Soviets could launch a satellite that high into the atmosphere and sustain an orbit, what would stop them from launching nuclear weapons. That fear most certainly helped to spark the drive […]