A Short Talk With Chief Petty Officers – 1918

If you have read the blog for any length of time, you are probably aware that I collect Blue Jackets manuals. Ever since I was issued my first one in 1972, I have found that this little blue instruction manual has been a great way to understand the training and expectations of sailors through the […]

Letters to the Editor (That would be me)

As of today, there are about 950 posts on theleansubmariner. (Some have been archived for now) I started writing the blog in 2011 and its been a joy to share stories that I have created, stories from history, stories about national and international events and stories about subjects that mean something to me and apparently […]

10 Days

Ten days before the last Presidential Election, I took time to reflect on what this country was. In the ensuing fouteen months since the election, I have watched those freedoms being gradually erased. Mandates, restriction of commerce and trade, failed strategies in foreign relations, addiction to globalism, and the rise of China and Russia as […]

Happy Father’s Day 2020… to the Dad’s who didn’t quit

Where are the fathers? Happy Father’s Day. The words come tripping off the tongue with such ease, we forget what they are supposed to mean. We forget that this was meant to be the one day in the year where we could pay honor and respect to the men who didn’t just help to create […]

SEABEE Combat Handbook Chapter 16: Evasion, Survival and Escape

Chapter 16: Evasion, Survival and Escape I have always loved the SEABEEs. From the first time I saw Fighting SEABEEs with John Wayne until I got much older and saw some of their handiwork, I was always impressed with the Naval Construction Battalions. To be able to drive a bulldozer while killing the […]

Me? Stressed??? No. I am quite sure the flooding will put the fire out

One of the oldest sayings I can remember about the even temperedness of being a submariner was something that I heard a junior officer relay to the Captain during a multiple casualty on the George Washington. We had just had a very stressful few weeks in a sea tossed by typhoons and generally bad weather. […]

Admiral Rickover’s Rules

Admiral Rickover’s Rules “Since the end of World War II, the number of high-grade civilians in relation to the total (federal) government workforce has steadily increased to the point where we have more managers and checkers than we have doers. Our senior employees have been schooled in this “new” philosophy which holds that, as long […]

The Leadership Conundrum – Dealing with People

The Leadership Conundrum A conundrum is described as a problem that is difficult to deal with. The Navy spends a lot of time in the education and development of its leadership. The organization has evolved over the centuries from a very autocratic structure that involved corporal punishment to a more nuanced organization that recognizes the […]

Course Corrections – Where the hell are we?

Course Corrections – Where the hell are we? Recently I wrote a story about five submarines that lost their way on a scheduled mission. https://theleansubmariner.com/2020/02/28/lost-boats-an-occupational-hazard-in-1920/ For five days these boats were unaccounted for and fleet leaders had to send out a number of vessels to locate them. In the end. All made it safely back […]

I want a raise – Where is my cut?

I want a raise. Of course I want a raise. Sadly, I am retired and no one pays me to write this blog. But the natural reaction for many people during any change in business is to expect some kind of pay increase. I mean, I came to work nearly all of last year. The […]