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 […]

Air wars

Its been a week since the tragedy caused by a man who by every account had some serious mental issues. The obvious attacks against personal gun ownership have been unrelenting every single day since. I have forced myself to listen to NPR on my daily commute and whenever it was convenient to do so. As […]

Escape of the Casabianca

One of the most daring episodes of World War 2 submarining took place on November 27, 1942. That story comes from the French Navy in the port of Toulon in a most unexpected fashion. On that day, the officers and men of the Casabianca disobeyed the orders of the Vichy French and managed to pull […]

Shared Sacrifices

On the eve of Thanksgiving, please take a moment to think of all the men and women who will not be able to sit around a table with their families this year. Some are sitting in ready rooms on aircraft carriers waiting for an order to launch in support of ongoing operations in far lands. […]

City of Brotherly Love

This is the 300th blog for theleansubmariner. Philadelphia has a special place in my heart and in my family’s history. It was on her shores that many of my forefathers first arrived in America and in her neighborhoods where our story began in this land of the free. The city has many nicknames. Besides the […]

It Was a Real Honor

I ran into my younger brother’s recruiter last night as we were waiting to get into a local restaurant I haven’t seen George in many years but he recognized me right away. He hugged my wife and her sister and then turned to me and said “You look just like your old man”. I wasn’t […]

The Battle Within

Diet and exercise are simple and relatively easy ways to overcome weight issues. By now, anyone who can read understands that fat, salt, sugar, and preservatives will effect the way a body retains or loses weight. If you continue to eat too much food without balancing it with some exercise, you should not be amazed […]

1913 was a very unlucky year – an entire country lost its freedom

As we opened the new year (2013) I was thinking about how precarious life has become in this new age. A majority of the voters thought enough of Obama to reelect him last year. It would seem that there is a broad spectrum of support for taxing other people in the interest of “fairness”. The […]

Freedom of Speech… The Outer Limits

Where are the outer limits of free speech? The Constitution of the United States is very clear in the rights recognized for every citizen. These rights are actually affirmed by the Constitution rather than granted by it. Being able to freely express your opinion is the heart of a free society. It is not always […]

I never knew how rich we were

One of the big circles in my life is in the process of closing After forty years of travelling the world, I find myself back in the place where I grew up. Part of that journey has been physical and part has been spiritual. The physical part includes travelling and visiting over 650 cities, towns […]