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 […]

New Years Resolutions (and other thoughts)

Happy New Years I know, it’s already mid-way through the month, but I have been really busy since the actual new year and writing fell pretty far down my list of priorities. This is the calendar year where America turns 250 years, and I want to try and focus on that with stories unique to […]

Truman’s Decision – 1945

It seems a lifetime ago when I last sailed on a submarine. I left the USS Ohio in December of 1984 after making my fourth patrol. It was a routine patrol with nothing special to report. Considering that we were conducting a strategic deterrent patrol, that is a very good thing. After having served on […]

250 Years of Service to Freedom – Happy Birthday US Navy

As the clock ticks down to the United States Navy 250th birthday, I wanted to take a few moments and reflect on what that really means. As a young boy, I was surrounded by navy relics and memorabilia. My family had served in the navy during both world wars, and I could see the navy […]

July 2025 – Celebrating 14 years on theleansubmariner.com

Fourteen years has flown by Looking back over the past fourteen years since I began the blog, there have been many changes in my life and the world. The stunning event that began the desire to write is long past and mostly buried in the dark corners of my mind. Being let go from a […]

April 24, 1972 Revisited

We are really settling in to our new community. Del Webb Cane Bay in Summerville SC encourages people to participate in a number of clubs. I am one of the leaders in the Veterans Club and enjoy meeting with so many people who served the country. We also belong to the Wine Club where we […]

Happy Birthday in Heavan Dad – You made a difference

April 19, 1927, was the day my dad made his entrance into the world. I’ve written a number of articles about his contributions to the world he lived in. Like all of us, he was not a perfect person, but he more than made up for that in the service he did in so many […]

Memorial Day 2023 – Remembering

I haven’t posted in a while. Life has been busier than I had expected in my 69th trip around the sun. It’s been a year since I went back to work as a Chief of Staff and it’s been nothing short of interesting. But time consuming. And a bit rough on my health. Memorial Day […]

Old Chiefs Never Die… They Just Get Recycled

Chief times 3 Looking back over the last three plus decades, it’s interesting how my life has had a theme. That theme has revolved around being a Chief. Growing up, I always looked up to my Dad for many things. But one of his best achievements was being the fire Chief in the small town […]

The Broken Frame – Accidents happen. Or was it an accident?

Short post today. I was taking advantage of the New Year to clean up my Zombie Room. The Zombie room is where I write and have all my shelter in place supplies. The walls are filled with pictures and memories from my past as well as my family. One of the pictures is my Dad’s […]