2020 Virtual 120th Annual Submarine Birthday Ball – 1900 Hours

You are invited to the 2020 Submarine Ball https://www.facebook.com/2020-Virtual-120th-Submarine-Birthday-Ball-107783274227633/ We are separated by distance and forbidden to gather because of the Covid 19 But we are Submariners. We adapt, we overcome, and nothing gets between us and a party I invite you to join us here at theleansubmariner or on our Facebook page tonight at […]

Happy Birthday Submarine Family – 120 Years of Excellence

Happy birthday family. It feels a little odd saying that. For most of the years I was an active duty Submariner, you could just say “Happy Birthday Brothers” on April 11 and that would be accurate. After all, we were “Brothers of the Phin” by the shared connection of having completed submarine qualifications. My actual […]

The Mid Watch Revisited

The Mid Watch What does it feel like to be alone? I am sure that many people are starting to feel alone with the current condition of social distancing. In the interest of slowing down the spread of the Corona Virus, whole cities are being asked to isolate themselves from others. Since close proximity seems […]

1987 – The Counterpunch for a growing Soviet threat

1987 – The Counterpunch for a growing Soviet threat When I became a Machinist Mate Chief Petty Officer in August of 1987, I celebrated having served on a fair representation of Cold War submarines and stations. The journey took me from New London to Charleston to Pearl Harbor to Mare Island. Then the trip continued […]

Who’s sail it is anyway?

Warning: Some salty language mixed with the metaphors and memories… you have been warned One of my favorite submarine memorials has a personal connection. I qualified in 1974 on board the USS George Washington somewhere in the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean. My joy at the time was that the grueling journey was over […]

These are mine

These are mine. I share them with all who have gone through the same crucible. They (like us) were forged in pressure. They were quenched in the waters of the darkest parts of the ocean. They symbolize a tradition that is shared by only a few. Fire, flooding and the crashing of the waves above […]

Coming Home – Saying Goodbye to the USS Pittsburgh SSN 720

Coming Home It’s been over 25 years since I retired from the Navy. We have traveled and lived all over the country since then but Western Pennsylvania has been “where I live” for the past six plus years. I had never intended to come back here even though it was where I grew up. Eighteen […]

Veteran’s Day 2019 – Neptune’s Cadillac Redux

Veteran’s Day is about remembering the men and women who sacrificed so much for the country. If you asked most of us, and we were honest. We would simply say that we did our jobs This article came from the Honolulu Advertiser and was written about the USS San Francisco shortly after we made the […]

USS Woodrow Wilson (SSBN-624) “The world must be made safe for democracy.”

I was assigned to the USS Halibut (SSN 587) in late 1975. The boat had just returned from her last mission and was about to undergo decommissioning. My previous assignment had been at Pearl Harbor on the USS George Washington but I did not want to extend to take the boat into the shipyard at […]

Promises made, promises kept – The Polaris Story 1967

Promises made, promises kept – The Polaris Story 1967 There have only been a few times that I have posted stories from shipmates. Each had value all by themselves but their content certainly made them worth sharing. The story of the installation of the AFDB 7 USS Los Alamos floating dry dock in Scotland, https://theleansubmariner.com/2014/04/04/afdb-7-los-alamos-holy-loch-scotland-in-the-beginning/ […]