Submarine Force Issues 2013

Its probably no coincidence that submarines are the focus of this article during a week that marks the highs and lows of US Navy submarine history. Save Our Subs: Prioritizing The Attack Submarine By Rep. Randy Forbes and Rep. Joe Courtney AOL Defense, April 9, 2013 For a host of security and economic reasons, […]

Russian Submarine Base Pictures

In all of my years on submarines, I can never remember pulling into an underground submarine base. Probably because we didn’t have any! The Russians apparently did have a big underground submarine base and docks once in the USSR. After the Soviet Union collapsed and the Russian army left Ukraine it was partly abandoned and […]

USS San Francisco SSN 711 Reunion

1MC: Attention All Hands, this is the Big Mac. The Reunion is On for 2013 Location: Norfolk Marriott Waterside, Norfolk Virginia Date: September 6-8 2013 Venue: Reservations: To receive the guaranteed rate of $100 per night, you must contact Marriott at either 1-800-228-9290 or 757-627-4200 anytime after 1 PM on June 28 or before […]

Spiritual Moments… what was your most memorable moment?

The Pastor this morning asked us to stop and think about the spiritual moments in our lives. Like many people, I think I have had my share. The first time I came face to face with my belief in something greater than myself. The day my Dad died. The day I discovered […]

Strategic Deterrence – 3500 patrols and counting

When most people look back at the fifties, it was a mixture of many different themes. On the one hand, we had the growth of the so called middle class into suburbia as returning GI’s and their counterparts in the other services came home as victors to a nation ready to grow. Home ownership became […]

600 Ships – The Path to Victory started on the 711

After the upheavals in the Navy caused by the end of the Vietnam conflict, you can imagine how discouraged many people who wore the uniform were by the time the Carter years were at the three and a half year point. Blend in the miserable economy, high unemployment, interest rates never before seen and you […]

April 24th, 1972: The Oath

April 24th, 1972 is a day that I first raised my hand. Like most kids, I was cocky, self centered, in too much of a hurry to be grown up and not as disciplined as I should have been. But everything began to change on that day. Up until that point, my recruiter had been […]

How Hef saved the world from Communism

I first published this post in 2012. On September 27, 2017 Hugh Hefner Passed away at the age of 91. When asked how he would like to be remembered he said: “I would like to be remembered as somebody who has changed the world in some positive way, in a social, sexual sense, and I’d […]

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 […]

Boom

Submarines operate for extended periods of time under the ocean. This ability gives them the advantage of stealth in performing her missions. Since even the most modern submarine requires people to operate it, providing the basics of life while submerged has always been a challenge. Think about those World War 2 movies where the Destroyer […]