Lessons from 1944 – The Need for Advanced Bases

I’ve been watching the news recently and the escalation of naval conflicts. Because I spend more time than I should looking at the nature of naval construction and strength, I have been concerned about the lack of resources to support the people who are sailing in harm’s way. I’m sure the navy planners have looked […]

The Terror of the Sea

The Terror of the Sea – Submarine Warfare October 1914 Up until the moment that German submarine U-9 approached the cruisers she would sink on September 22, 1914, all submarine attacks were either academic of limited in damage. That does not mean that the many brave deeds that came before were not noteworthy, but in […]

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 […]

Speak Softly but carry a big stick – USS Theodore Roosevelt SSBN 600

More than one hundred years ago, as a new century was about to break, Theodore Roosevelt remarked that, “In a crisis, the man worth his salt is the man who meets the needs of the situation in whatever way is necessary.” I can’t imagine a man more suited for the role as President for his […]

A faraway land that still calls me back – Holy Loch and Polaris

I remember the day that the announcement came that Holy Loch was closing. February 1991 was a typical cold Scottish month. I had already completed my initial qualifications as Docking Officer and would be certified in the next docking of a nuclear submarine on March 15th. But before I could even think about the […]

USS Patrick Henry SSBN 599 – Give Me Liberty or Give Me death!

USS Patrick Henry “I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death.” As a sailor who sailed on a number of submarines and ships, I can assure you there is no sweeter word that “Liberty”. I have to be honest with you and say that […]

Oh Flower of Scotland… Happy Saint Andrews Day 2018

November 30th is Saint Andrews day in Scotland. It has been over 27 years since we left Scotland to return to America but in so many ways it seems like yesterday. Our trip was cut way too short with the imminent closing of the American base at Holy Loch and so many things have filled […]

It’s a Bonny Life in the Land of Kilts and Bagpipes – ALL HANDS September 1967

This article was written less than a decade after Site One was established in the Holy Loch. I did not arrive in Scotland until August of 1990 to serve on board the AFDB 7 Floating Drydock but many of the same conditions that existed back in the Sixties were very similar to what was written. The […]

USS George Washington SSBN 598 – First and Finest (December 30, 1959)

A short history of the first ballistic missile submarine. USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (SSBN 598) THIS SHIP has been given the most illustrious name in America. Rarely does history conﬁrm contemporary judgment in pronouncing a man “indispensable” to his country. But there is general agreement that on three occasions, when the fate of our Nation hung in […]

I love LA

Regular readers know that once upon a time when the world was still dark with fears from the Soviets, a little known base in Scotland served as a portable pier for our submarine fleet. Starting in 1960, units of the United States Fleet anchored in a small inlet called Holy Loch that was just up […]